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DEAD MAN TALKING!
[or: More Random Conjectures On The Meaning Of Life]

Dead man talking. We've got a dead man talking here:

 Hello again, dear Cyber-Saints! Well, rumor has it that the offensive one is well dead and buried this time, and we won't be seeing his sort again anytime soon. Yet here I am once more; battered and beaten, bruised and bloodied, but not yet defeated. The Phoenix rises from the ashes (yet again) to confound and enrage the world. Ha!
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 They say that a wise man ought to know enough to stay put in his grave after he's been so well buried. Maybe so, but a man's gotta do what seems right to him; and the Lord is not yet finished with this most-worthless slave. And don't ever imagine that I have abandoned you to the scribes and pharisees and unbelievers. After all, it’s not like I’m not thinking about you, or loving you, or praying for you, or working for you. Day and night it’s just work work work for those nasty, ungrateful cyber-saints. :) That is to say, the Lord commandeth me to “Keep right on sending those love letters, boy!” ... Yahzur, bozz.
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 So then it's been an interesting year, has it not? White hot; I can't take it anymore. White hot; see me melting through the floor. I need rain. I need RAIN! Yes, this is (I prophesize) the century when environmental and population problems finally come home to roost. But I don't wish to discourage you by dwelling upon our collective (and very unpleasant) near-future. Instead, let me now speak briefly about the meaning of life:
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 So it seems that happiness cannot be found, bought, or borrowed. It has to come from within; from out of your own meager resources, from out of the power and passion of your own silly heart. That's just the way it is. Religion, philosophy, science, wealth, etc, cannot really help you to meaning and joy if you do not have your heart and mind set already in the right direction (for therein lies the key that opens the door).
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 Faith, hope, and love dwell there within us also, and these make us who and what we are, but it is the way that we see the world (and all the people in it) that will eventually make life a meaningful and successful adventure for you ... or not!  For it is our most basic and essential attitudes toward life, reality, and all things that ultimately determines our worth and value as a human being.
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 What then is the attitude most required of us? It is not a question of optimism or pessimism. Not a question of selfishness or altruism. Not a question of denial or discipline or piety. Not a question of belief or doctrine. Rather, it is the simplest thing in the world; if only you can manage it. For it is mainly a question of perception and interpretation.
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 Thus the axe falls upon us all in terms of boredom and interest. The great curse of our day and culture is just this disease called boredom; (just consider how much evil results from the constant craving to be entertained). And those who fall victim to boredom’s spell are just those who are seriously lacking for imagination and that peculiar inner-passion that resides quietly deep within us.
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 Therefore cultivate an interest in all things, if you can, for there is no end to the discovery of new and amazing things. And do not vainly seek after absolute and infallible truths; for the only truth we can be certain of is that our time is short, and that soon (very soon) we too shall be gone (having passed through this vale of tears and illusions all too briefly).
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 It's okay. Don't worry about that; certainty is irrelevant. All that really matters is that you care mightily, fiercely, and without reservation. Of regrets we have many. Of worries and troubles there is no end. Only rise above the narrow confines of your selfish soul.
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 Seek out the truth everywhere. Question everything, and everyone you meet. Never cease to find beauty, even in the most unlikely places. And don't let anger and greed and fear lay their wasteful and destructive mark upon you. The world lusteth after idols, and mistakes its own delusions for reality. Do not fall for their easy lies and phony satisfactions. Your world is mostly what you make of it; just as the weight of your heart is just what you make it to be.
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 Be curious, then, with curious matters. Be interested in the world and all of the good things in it (books, music, science, art, philosophy, history, etc and etc); but remember also that this only works when you are in the world but not of it. If you are of the world (ie. in complete friendship and agreement with it) then you cannot gain the detached (but not dispassionate) attitude that is most required of you (and which some can find through religion and/or philosophy).
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 Yet never say ‘I don't care’ (for that is the way of blindness and unseeing), but be always ready to forget yourself, and you will become one with all things. Only then can you rightly say ‘I am truly blessed’.
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                                 - the almost entirely unregulated one –– textman ;>
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P.S. To the one who shines. Regarding u r s: Surely it is outstanding, excellent, beautiful, brilliant, etc. One pure and eternal angelic tone in an atmosphere filled to overflowing with mindless noises. Now I only buy one cd a year, max, and I skipped last year (and maybe even the year before that), owing to a notable lack of passion and imagination among the world's supposedly musical offerings. So I consider the acquisition of u r s to be a most wise and happy investment. Many heartfelt thanks to thee. Luvu, and especially 9&10. Forever yours, tx.
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P.P.S.  the best is yet to come
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/ Subject: Re: DEAD MAN TALKING! / 09Sept02 /
/ Ngz: alt.philosophy, alt.religion.apologetics /
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>> On 09Sept02 "textman" wrote: So it seems that
>> happiness cannot be found, bought, or borrowed.
>> It has to come from within; from out of your own
>> meager resources, from out of the power and
>> passion of your own silly heart. That's just the
>> way it is. Religion, philosophy, science, wealth,
>> etc, cannot really help you to meaning and joy if
>> you do not have your heart and mind set already
>> in the right direction (for therein lies the key
>> that opens the door).
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> Later on GeneIn ([email protected]) replied:
> it is and has always been within the province of
> religon, philosophy and science to show us the
> way, to adopt a manner that sets our minds to
> pursue the "right" direction for the individual.
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 textman sayeth: Hi GeneIn. It's true that these
three things still serve us to that end, at least
in some respects, but the power of any or all of
these things over the average post-modern individual
can hardly be very significant. At one time, long
ago, the world was indeed considered a single unit.
Philosophy, science, and religion were struggling
for their own unique identities, but still more or
less jumbled together. At that time being commited
to this or that philosophy or cause meant something.
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 Today, however, the world is almost totally mapped-
out, and thus fragmented into nice managable bits
and pieces; just as philosophy, science, and
religion are themselves fragmented into various types
and flavors so as to better serve this or that
specific goal or purpose. Philosophy in particular is
not what She used to be. The poor old girl is but a
pale shadow of her former glory. Consequently, even
philosophy can no longer satisfy those who may be
seeking a more rational mind or life, or those
wondering if the pursuit of reason is even worth-
while in the first place.
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> ... without contemplation (philosophy), no
> direction is possible and in life direction is
> everything.......wealth always helps of course.
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 Health, wealth, and a quiet and peaceful life are
all essential (in some measure) for the exercise of
the more contemplative mind. Once the will and
preconditions are all in place, the only question
remaining is the matter of what to reason about.
This is, of course, the point at which we separate
the sheep from the goats. LOL
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>> <snip> P.P.S.  the best is yet to come
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> and with it the worst.....these two are
> forever inseparable...... g.
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 I tend to agree.
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      - the semi-fragmented one - textman ;><
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/ Subject >  Re: Dead Man Talking /
/ 09Sept02 / Forum: TOL - Philosophy ~ Religion /
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> On 09Sept fadingcolours wrote: can i have cliff's
> notes version? or the abridged quickie summary?
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textman replies: Hi fadingcolours. Bad news, I'm
afraid. It seems that this IS the abridged quickie
summary version. Now how could you have failed to
miss that? I can see that you'll go far in this
world. Such dedicated short-sightedness can hardly
go unrewarded.
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    - the always unrewarded one - textman ;;>
x

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/ Subject >  Re: Dead Man Talking /
/ 09Sept02 / Forum: TOL - Philosophy ~ Religion />
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> On 09Sept fadingcolours replies:  hehe
> ok so in reply to your stuff: can you
> summarize your first post in one or two lines?
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 NEIN!
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> if not, then i would not be so hypocritical of
> others by calling me short sighted because you
> do not even see what your post was mainly about,
> main ideas are important yes?
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 Sure they're important, and of course I see what the
post was mainly about. May I direct your attention to
top of the post? There you may find a brief summary
or pointer to the contents of said post in the form
of the subtitle: 'More Random Conjectures on the
Meaning of Life'. In other words, you may file the
epistle somewhere in your philosophy department.
That's what I'm doing with it anyway. Nuff said.
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   - one who redirects conjectures - textman ;>
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