The first time we do it, we may not get very far. If we make a habit of doing it slowly, by degrees, then a feel for where we are in life, of what our lives might be about, may swim more clearly into view. As Ludwig Wittgenstein put it:
‘What’s the good of having one philosophical discussion! It’s like having one piano lesson!’
We should take stock of the big questions rather than flip our eyes over them.
Arrival at what seems to be the right decision can be that one’s ‘guts’ ...
We can think about why we think what we think and think how best we can think. The best means to the best ends begins in the best thoughts. Watch the observer – you – and give ‘him’ the best advice you can. The process points up the purpose. It is as true for reflection itself as for anything else.
The furthest reaches of the mysteries surrounding some of the deep questions of life may be beyond our ken to answer at present but science is peeling back some of the outlying shrouds.
Our bodies impinge on our minds, but how? Does the mental realm dominate our physical world or vice versa, and how?
Both as individuals and as societies, we are what we have thought. We should think again. What works or does not work for societies of today and for you and me?
Why should ‘one size fit all’? What are you thinking when you reflect? Can your own thoughts be prescribed for you by anyone else? Are they the same as thoughts that anyone else may have in a similar context or are they more personal to you? This is a subjective voyage. One individual’s ideas during one sitting are here. Do you think in the same way?
The ‘magic’ of the world may lose its magic as we understand more about it but it can be magical if imaginatively portrayed.
In secular terms Doubting Thomas may be more justified in his doubts than in scripture. Treat with caution many ideas of the new way of looking at the World.
There are many paths to enlightenment and many meanings of that word. You wish to Reflect? Stand tall on your right to do so! It is an allowable, rewarding way to spend time. You do not need to Meditate in the way that is a trend unless it speaks to you. There are teachers and traditions from the West to draw upon.
ACTION STARTS WITH THOUGHT. Do you start to ‘act’ – in this sense – in the right mental space? Do you learn ‘on the job’ of life? Are there viable short cuts? Is yours an approach to take into account as many as possible useful factors? School yourself to reach your best way of taking decisions.
Socrates thought he could accomplish this worthwhile goal. It is a cornerstone of our way of thinking. To reverse the message in dated phraseology of Dante’s The Divine Comedy: ‘Prepare to meet thy salvation all ye who enter here!’ The carving for The Thinker by Rodin is no longer associated with The Gates of Hell of Dante’s original concept and today is a symbol of philosophy and knowledge.
The unseen world! Is it any wonder that so many people ‘see’ it in different ways? Is it not passing strange that ‘so many’ people see it? If there is nothing to be seen, how come? Is it a collective delusion?
