Theos-Talk Archives (October 1999 Message tt00036)

Randy,

Yes, this is something I'm very interested in. I find myself with a paradox
in that I have found the words of others to be very helpful but I do
sometimes find myself aware that I have accepted things that I do not really
KNOW. I agree that the universe MUST be so designed such that we can find
out these answers for ourselves given a genuine desire for truth. ("seek &
ye shall find")

I posted a message some time ago (Theos Talk 888) about "being your own
teacher" and inviting others to share practical experiences. Without this,
it seems to me that we have much discourse which is entirely intellectual
speculation.

What comes to mind is that our real learning is a matter of:
- thinking
- acting
- perceiving the outcome 
- adjusting our thinking / action
- etc
and in this way we get to real understanding through an iterative process
whereby we correct our thinking and actions based on the outcomes perceived.
So your castaway on a desert island would merely have to interact with his
environment and learn the lessons that it presents to him. 

I have a quotation by Carl Rogers, the humanistic therapist, which I cannot
remember exactly but I can roughly paraphrase:

"Experience for me is the highest authority. The words of God or man cannot
take precedence over the wisdom gained from my own experience. My experience
is not authoritative because it is infallible but its frequent error or
fallibility can always be corrected in new primary ways."

The key word here is PRIMARY. Raw data, direct experience NOT hearsay. 

I think to answer the paradox I posed, reading scripture & the words of
others is part of the "thinking" stage of the process I described above. The
only real problem is if it stops here. We need to implement the advice to
the best of our ability and then judge BY OUR OWN EXPERIENCE whether it fits
with reality as we perceive it. 

It may then be legitimately asked "If this scripture is claiming something
that I cannot verify by direct experience then how can I accept it?" My own
answer to this is that I try to keep such things in mind but not form a
fixed opinion. It may be that such truths are revealed directly &
intuitively to those at a certain level of attainment but I haven't
experienced this & until I do, such things have to remain speculative for
me.

I would be interested in what you've come up with yourself.

Kind Regards,

Nicholas John Street

---------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 08:35:31 EDT
From: WLR7D@aol.com
Subject: Theos-World self-evident truths

I would like to discuss with interested parties self-evident truths.  If you

were alone on an isolated island, what could  you come up with in terms of 
your origin, purpose and destiny.  What I'm looking for is to assemble 
self-evident truths that could be apparent to any thinking person and not  
parroted constructs from"holy books" or  sages...unless these are revealing 
such self-evident truths.
My feeling is that this is the starting point for any grounded cosmogony or 
life philosophy.  Let me know if you are interested.  I can send you the 
ideas I have thus far assembled.
Thanks, Randy

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