独裁者

A person seeking inner development must first of all make the attempt to give up certain formerly held inclinations. Then, new inclinations must be acquired by constantly holding the thought of such inclinations, virtues or characteristics in one’s mind. They must be so incorporated into one’s being that a person becomes enabled to alter his soul by his own will-power. This must be tried as objectively as a chemical might be tested in an experiment. A person who has never endeavored to change his soul, who has never made the initial decision to develop the qualities of endurance, steadfastness and calm logical thinking, or a person who has such decisions but has given up because he did not succeed in a week, a month, a year or a decade, will never conclude anything inwardly about these truths.

-- Rudolf Steiner



whether or not this altering of the soul by one's "own will-power," this lifting oneself by one's bootstraps, is a metaphysical possibility is against the point. the power of self-discipline, in both the effects and process, is a remarkable thing. there is also, as is obvious here in steiner's last statement, an incredible amount of faith that is required that these things will come with time. but such is the importance of the means, the process, even sometimes over the ends.

There is nothing wrong with seeking happiness or peace of mind. It is the natural motivation behind all our thoughts and actions. Where we have gone wrong is in assuming that whether or not we are at peace depends upon what is happening in the world around us. ...

This attachment to the material world as our primary source of happiness lies at the root of much of the craziness that humanity perpetuates upon the world. It is this that leads us to consume resources we do not need, to treat other people as elements in an equation, to discharge our refuse out of sight, and to mistreat and abuse our own bodies.

...

If we are to stop abusing our world we need to let go of our attachments. ... In a state of non-attachment we no longer believe that what we have or do will provide the peace that we seek. As a result we are free to care more fully for other people, and for all living beings.

Thus the most important fight of all at this crucial stage in our evolution is not the fight against hunger, the fight against inflation, the fight against pollution, or the fight against corrupt governments. Each is very necessary and cannot be relaxed. However, they will not be won until we have also won the fight within ourselves: the struggle between our self-centered mode of thinking and the inner knowing that there is more to life than gratifying our ego-centric needs.

－　The Global Brain Awakens,
Peter Russell

「きみのところの人たちは」と王子さまは言った、「たった１つの庭で５０００本のバラを育てている……それでも自分たちが探しているものを見つけられない……」

"The people of your world," said the Little Prince, "grow 5000 roses in a single garden... And yet they can't find the one special thing they are searching for..."

「そうなんだ」とぼくは答えた。

"Yes," I answered.

「みんなが探しているものはたった１本のバラやほんの少しの水の中に見つかるのに……」

"Even though that one special thing can be found in just one rose or the littlest bit of water..."

「そのとおりだ」とぼくは言った。

"It's true," I said.

王子さまはこう付け足した ---

The Little Prince replied with this ---

「目に見えないんだ。心で探さないとだめなのさ」

"It can't be seen with the eye. It can't be searched for by any other way than the heart."

－　『星の王子さま』

Le Petit Prince (my translation),

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

to treat what is minoritarian as though it were majoritarian is, besides unfitting, both actually condescending and counter-progressive. it lies, and through lying feigns absolute equality, which is really homeomorphic deception. that is, it assumes -- and propagandizes the assumption -- that there is no significant difference between the former and latter, thus the former need only accept the (false) given -- that is, 'shared' -- conditions of their relations with the latter.

it's the path of least resistance for neocolonialist agenda. there must be friction if there is to be change in favor of anyone or anything beyond these in power. and there must, at key times, be acceptance of this friction, by those who feel the heat of it.

the way

bertalanffy's General System Theory is going slowly. i have yet to make proper notes on it to share. and i decided to postpone the Intro. to Cybernetics until i had the more general system theories down first. this is all in collaboration toward a better understanding of memetic behavior and evolution -- and i'm now discovering what greater application this has in the practically underground war that is the Transhumanism movement. the movement itself doesn't appear harmful -- but i'm convinced it's in the wrong hands. a snippet of physics says that quantum mechanics research shows human evolution to be neither at a standstill (as some misinterpreters of evolutionary theory might think) nor still in the middle of a dynamic transformation, which is to say that there's no higher niche to fulfill for humans; in which case, our evolution is more of 'form' than of 'substance' (F. A. Wolf, Space-Time and Beyond 1982). i plan to look further into that matter to decide for myself, but as of yet i'm still operating under the assumption that evolution is a never-ending process of form and substance (which can never really be separated from the get-go anyway). in mind of it being a dynamic process, transhumanism serves to utilize technological benefits (which only the rich and opportune can afford, as it is) in the transition to another stage of human evolution. our reputation for a sharp separation among economics, environment, and ethics, is what most concerns me; i don't think that we can function without an integration of these fields -- nor can we take another step without addressing the presently persisting science-spirituality dichotomy. if religion is falling wayward (although buddhism and fundamentalist christianity hardly seems as such), that which religion is meant to be a catalyst to must not, and so we mustn't ignore it.

anyway, that's where i'm headed (as far as i can see right now). my lifestyle has slowly over the past couple of months started to reflect this deeper intention -- i am discovering a whole new respect for the taoist, the samurai, and the mystic. it is not for me to become any one of these, but to integrate, where i can, their heterophenomenological meanings in this strict science of healthy living. in my case, the way of the warrior will always presume over the way of the scholar.

もしみんなは一生懸命に頑張ってれば大丈夫になるかもしれないんだ。