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 Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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 The Virus 
#7495002 - 10/07/07 03:57 PM (16 years, 6 months ago) |
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What do Aids/HIV and SPAM have in common? They both act in similar Virus type ways. As the human immune system attacks the Aids virus the virus mutates to avoid destruction and so continue on it's merry way.
SPAMMERS, in the same fashion seek to outdo the folk trying to shut them down by continually evolving or mutating their tactics on the Web.
I heard on NPR about a Aids researcher who is studying how SPAM works on the Web to help him understand how the aids virus reacts in the human system.
What this gets me thinking on is how similar our actions are to other basic life forms so often. It confirms for me the suspicion that we are not special or superior to any other part of nature in any physical or spiritual way. I think we are just another part of the web of life and no different in any major way. We just like to tell ourselves we are.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
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Do we really know the true nature of basic life forms? Are our actions similar because our natures are similar, or because nature uses simple patterns to reach complex results?
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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Are our actions similar because our natures are similar, or because nature uses simple patterns to reach complex results?
I am guessing yes to both.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
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What evidence do you have that our spiritual nature is the same as a unique plant or a dog? We can compare, but this is always dualistic and artificial. How can we really know, outside of our perceptions, the true nature of another being?
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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Sure, I'm just guessing from my personal experience and ruminations.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
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I understand, it was just this:
Quote:
It confirms for me the suspicion that we are not special or superior to any other part of nature in any physical or spiritual way.
That sounded less of a guess than an affirmation of truth. As Robert Anton Wilson says, the Universe contains a maybe  
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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That's why I said this;suspicion. I, like Anton, am sure of nothing but have many suspicions.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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I do wonder why you used the metaphors of AIDS and SPAM though, two things that humans strongly dislike - and then compared us to them. Is that suppose to shock us, or make us view ourselves as perverted?
I guess you just used them to make us rethink the possibility there could be any more spiritual purpose for us being here, I suppose.
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 onlynow
transformativeinformativeenergy
Registered: 02/06/07
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Last seen: 16 years, 6 months
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Strive to be more than a codified manifestation of a generalized technological consciousness
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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Quote:
EternalCowabunga said:
I do wonder why you used the metaphors of AIDS and SPAM though, two things that humans strongly dislike - and then compared us to them. Is that suppose to shock us, or make us view ourselves as perverted?
I guess you just used them to make us rethink the possibility there could be any more spiritual purpose for us being here, I suppose.
As I said I heard it on NPR. You may view aids as perverted but I do not. It's just another life form doing it's thing. You certainly are a suspicious dude. Do my posts make you nervous?
Yes my point is that it might be that we only believe that we are very different or that there is a special purpose in being human, because we are insecure and have weak ego structures. When in actuality we are just another life form eking out an existence and doomed to parish and be for ever gone like everything else.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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Quote:
Icelander said:
Quote:
EternalCowabunga said:
I do wonder why you used the metaphors of AIDS and SPAM though, two things that humans strongly dislike - and then compared us to them. Is that suppose to shock us, or make us view ourselves as perverted?
I guess you just used them to make us rethink the possibility there could be any more spiritual purpose for us being here, I suppose.
As I said I heard it on NPR. You may view aids as perverted but I do not. It's just another life form doing it's thing. You certainly are a suspicious dude. Do my posts make you nervous?
Yes my point is that it might be that we only believe that we are very different or that there is a special purpose in being human, because we are insecure and have weak ego structures. When in actuality we are just another life form eking out an existence and doomed to parish and be for ever gone like everything else.
Aids is not a perversion in the absolute sense, but might you agree that it is a perversion of human health? Why associate our very life force with something that is damaging to us - it sounds like you have issues with your personal worth.
I'm sorry for being so suspicious, didn't mean to pry on your inner motivations or your frame of mind when you posted this - after all, these posts really mean nothing and the thoughts we communicate have nothing to do with what we actually believe of course 
Quote:
When in actuality we are just another life form eking out an existence and doomed to parish and be for ever gone like everything else.
does this idea make you nervous? or does it make you feel secure?
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
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And now I have to admit that any further discussion in this thread between me and Icelander will mostly be projecting
Edit: In fact, most of what I did in that post up there is project. Icelander said what he was thinking and I attached those things to his character. If I would remake that post I would have simply said I don't think it's pragmatically useful to see ourselves as a Virus or similar to one... it could turn people off from doing some spiritual work on themselves.
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Edited by EternalCowabunga (10/07/07 05:57 PM)
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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but might you agree that it is a perversion of human health?
I disagree again. More like humans getting out of balance with their health.
it sounds like you have issues with your personal worth.
If by this do you mean that I over value my importance in an egotistical way, then no.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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it could turn people off from doing some spiritual work on themselves.
Quite the opposite IMO.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
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If the point of your post was that it is only important for us to survive, then I disagree. I think it is also important to work on our characters, and grow spiritually. It's the difference between growing up and growing old.
Now I guess it would be hard to argue whether this spiritual growth were just revised strategies for surviving or something more... important. Weird, I just got dejavu again.
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
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Funny, I think I'm starting to see the motivation behind our posts. Yours is to get people thinking about humbling their egoic self importance and mine is about seeing the importance of going beyond the ego.
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
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But the posts can only be viewed from an ego... unless we can see them from different perspectives.. interesting stuff happening on this forum
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
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Funny, I think I'm starting to see the motivation behind our posts. Yours is to get people thinking about humbling their egoic self importance and mine is about seeing the importance of going beyond the ego.
Right.
I believe the search for truth (our best idea of what that is) is what spiritual growth is all about. The spiritual challenge here of course would be to adjust your beliefs to fit your best conclusions rather than trying to make reality adjust to your personal comfort zone.
I myself don't know what the truth is but I do encourage myself and others here to actively look for it and when they believe they have found it to search their conscience in an effort to accept what seems to be real, always checking in as to whether they are avoiding the things that scare them or seem unpleasant and so creating a false but comfortable belief system.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
Edited by Icelander (10/07/07 06:16 PM)
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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But the posts can only be viewed from an ego... unless we can see them from different perspectives.. interesting stuff happening on this forum
Indeed. I believe an ego is a good thing if it is healthy and strong. Unfortunately, IMO, culture does not support strong egos. Just scared inflated ones.
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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.
" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.
With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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EternalCowabunga
Being of Great Significance
Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 7,152
Loc: Time and Space
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yes... it's important to question our belief system
are we important? maybe
are we here to do more than survive? maybe
do we have the same worth as AIDS - depends on the context, and how you define your own worth and the worth of aids and where you are in life and what the word worth evokes in you
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