Science and Religion boil down to essentially the same thing: Perception.

Religion, and to a certain extent, Philosophy, deals with the more internal side of our perceptions, our feelings, emotions, dreams and all that which exists within the boundaries of your mind. Religion gives us a model, a way of understanding what we have just perceived. Religion tells us a "story" that allows us to understand that which we have just perceived . In other words, religion supplies a conceptual framework of the world that allows us to understand and interact with the world. Mystics thus judge their internal perceptions as divine, their dreams, a message. They believe it to be so because they believe that no other story can adequately explain their perceptions. This conviction comes from the fact that they have based their assumptions on perceived fact.

Science, and to a certain extent, Philosophy, observes the outside world and draw conclusions from the events witnessed. Then the scientific mind creates theories, or "stories", that try to explain what the scientist just experienced. It is the theories, the inventions, the people of before who created those theories, that explain the world to us. In other words, science supplies a conceptual framework of the world that allows us to understand and interact with the world. However, it is not that we observe objects and events, as Bertram Russell points out in his volume, "An Inquiry Into Meaning and Truth", but that we observe the effects they cause to us. Science can never exclude the possibility that what we observed and how we understand what we observed is false. Scientists must then assume that their theories are correct. Thus it is perceived fact upon which scientists base their assumptions.

The key difference between these philosophies is one of verification. A mystic may claim lack of knowledge, or that the Gods chose otherwise, or his own imperfection as the reason for faulty advice, bad predictions. A scientist, on the other hand, can claim lack of knowledge or her own imperfection as the reason for failure of an experiment or faulty advice. If the "Gods" have the ability to interfere with all our affairs, no matter how great or small that ability, then it can never be said that any one thing occurred naturally. Thus any deviations from prophecy or commandment can easily be absorbed by basically saying that God changed his mind. If one does not possess the faith that allows one to believe that God is the source of all our experience, then one must rely upon repeatable experiments to justify ones reasoning.

None of this denies that the mystic is correct, only points out that the mystic can never prove what they know to be true. It is up to you, the individual, to decide which conceptual framework for understanding the world you believe in.

My early belief in Christianity taught me what true goodness is. Kindness, respect. Respect for a fellow being. Not for their power, but for the fact that they are Human. I have learned much about the world, and this seems to be the most reasonable way of existing in it. Life has taught me that one must have power in our world since there are those in this world who would use power against you for personal gain. But with power comes responsibility.

Physical prowess is the most self-evident form of power. The ability to physically subjugate another to your will has vast destructive properties. With it you may render someone unconscious, not only damaging them, but leaving them helpless. Any actions on your part that further damage the person, such as humiliating, robbing or harming them, are reprehensible. They are reprehensible precisely because they are helpless, and by your own hand. Not only that, but you could end or drastically change someones life. Breaking someones leg could leave them in a wheel chair for weeks, maybe never able to properly use the limb again. Or even worse, in these times, you could prevent them from going to work and earning the money that is neccesary for their survival. One could easily put someone into a coma or give them brain damage. I can find no reasonable excuse to render such terrible consequences on some one when they are incapable of defending themselves. And to maybe even kill them? In what circumstances would you have reason to end someones life? And what if you sought to kill someone? intentionally attacking someone with deadly force? I can see no reason to do so if everyone possessed respect for the dignity and integrity of the Human spirit.

I have a great respect for martial arts. I am endeavouring to learn the art of fighting, partially because there are those out there who would use physical power against me, who say that power grants one the right to impose there will upon another, simply because there are none to stop them; I must be capable of defending myself from such people. But I must not grow to love my ability. If I do, then I will seek out opportunity to use it. It will be easy for this desire to distort my perception of the situation. Mistakes could be easily made; I could end up regreting my actions. If my perception of the situation is distorted, then my conception of the situation changes. Since my priorities are set according to this conception, my priorities will inevitably change with every change in my conception. Thus, my love of physical force may lead me to damage a friendship, leave me isolated and alone, or disgust a girlfriend. And it could just as easily lead to an unjust ense of entitlement. If I am aware that some one cannot defeat me in a fight, and i enjoy this feeling, then what's to stop me from, say, cutting in line? demanding goods and service from someone? or simply beating them into unconsciousness because they have no way of preventing it? In this way physical prowess may damage who I am as a person. To avoid the destruction of myself, I must not love my power, I must not use my power at every opportunity, but only in dire need; when someone is attacking me, or ones I care for, or at any time using force to subjugate another. Defense of self and defense of others are the only times that I will use physical force to harm another.

There are those who would abuse power. A superior at work may use there power over you to hold you back from advancement. They may pass you over for a promotion, or tell others that you are not deserving of of one. Maybe they'll only report your failures and none of your successess. If they do so in order to facilitate another, then this is wrong. To do so in order to help themselves is selfish. And to do so simply for personal animosity is terrible. Not only does this person become a detriment to the company by denying the company of any potential asset you may be, they tarnish themselves and destroy a part of there character. I see little difference between a person wielding power wantonly at work and a person that uses physical force to force you into a course of action that you disagree with.

Fr. Karol Wotija once said something to the effect of physical exhaustion opens the mind and facilitates it's use. When I come home from working a long day of construction, I am able to think clearer. I am able to write more coherently, and I am capable of writing and playing music to a much higher degree. When I train, I focus on my body. I hone it, improve it. Physical and mental energies focus on one specific thing or activity. When I have exhausted myself, I stop. I relax, and become completely still. I clear my head of all thought. I close my eyes and open my mind. I find great clarity at this point. When I am in such a state I can find great truths, the fundamental truths that underly the workings of the world. I find the true meaning of dignity. I discover morality. When I am in this state I know strength of character. And it is with strength of character that I may defeat abuse of power at work without damage to myself.

All power is the power to effect change. A fist may change a persons actions. A bomb may change the landscape. A politician may change a people. And my will changes myself. If I set a goal, more push-ups maybe, and I accomplish that goal, then I will have strengthened my will as well as my body. If I choose to learn a new language, my mind grows stronger and my will fortified. The stronger my will, the greater my power to change myself (body). The stronger my body, the more able am I to understand it. The more I understand my body, the more able my mind becomes to understand all things. The stronger my will, the greater my power to change myself (mind).

The more my mind understands the stronger my mind becomes. It is only with a strong mind that one can possess wisdom. One must understand the consequences of their actions if they are to possess wisdom, therefore, they must have the patience to learn from there mistakes. And they must have strength of character in order to admit that they made a mistake before they can learn from it. And of course, one must have the will to pursue strength of character, and by extension, widom, from the beginning.

If I or anyone else wishes to change the world for the betterment of Humanity, then they must have wisdom.

I will not respect someone simply because of there power (Though I will respect the power itself. A missile to the face hurts). It is how one chooses to use there power that affects my respect for them. And it is my respect for the Human spirit that prevents me from abusing power. It is my respect for Humanity that has put me on the path to Wisdom. If I or any one else wishes to change the world for the betterment of Humanity, we must have Wisdom, we must have Strength, we must have Compassion.

"Only understanding for our neighbors, justice in our dealings, and willingness to help our fellow men can give human society permanence and assure security for the individual."
-Albert Einstein

At that moment, man began to discover the world, and himself.

I have been thinking about the history of science. How it was created, why it came to be. And since all science is the desire to ask why, I must ask myself, why do we ask why? When I look along our path through history, I see this desire to know why threading throughout all cultures and all times. Religions answer the questions asked by the people: Why are we here? What brought us here? Wwhen did we arrive? Who made us? How can I understand? For what reasons did the gods make us? Why are we here? While each religion answers these questions differently, they all try to answer these questions. They seek understanding from a higher power.Philosophy loves to ask questions. It was practically a religion for some cultures. Philosophy didn't ask questions about religion so much as the world around us. And philosophers, instead of asking the gods there questions, they asked each other. They were more concerned with what mankind could do then with what the gods could do. This mindset not only helped to create the arts, but laid the foundations for science.Science is the dedicated , logical pursuit of the answer to the question posed by that which is wonderous: Why? Scientists ask nature questions, and recieve natures divine answer. From this wealth of knowledge, science has created many things that are as wonderous as nature. Science has undeniably created an improved world for humankind to exist in. What fascinating insights into the world and into mankind that philosophy has brought forth. And there are many great morals that reilgion has given us: Honor, Strength, Truth, Justice, Honesty. There is no doubt in my mind that seeking the reasons why has been our greatest asset, and that keeping on this path will lead us to ever greater sucesses. But none of this answers the question: Why do we humans ask Why? There seems to be no more momentous occasion in our history then when we "discovered" fire. The Greeks even enshrined the moment into there religion, and since these people also invented philosophy and democracy, it is reasonable to assume that it was logical, intelligent people creating this mythology around fire. They even say that Prometheus brought not just fire, but technology from the gods. Maybe the Greeks were right.While there certainly was some rudimentary tool usage before we acquired the ability to control fire, it seems that the real explosion of tool sophistication and our growth as a species came when we started to use fire for our benefit. From heat to cooking, ceramics and metallurgy, even boosting a rocket to Mars, all have had some benefit for us. But what is it about fire that seems to inspire us? Maybe because it forced us to ask ourselves, what can it do? We began to ask ourselves questions. We wondered at fire and what we could do with it. And we found that we could do amazing things. I like to imagine the moment in our history right before we discovered fire. I can see an early human standing at the mouth of his cave, watching the rain, and watching the lightning. I can see him watching as a bolt of lightning strikes. I can see him waiting for the rain to end. I watch as he shivers in the cold. He ventures out into the wind . He moves towards the flames, and he reaches out. We found that fire is warm, and we saw that it was good. At that moment, man began his discovery of the world, and of himself. We have far too often used the answers to our question to visit terrible calamities upon ourselves. We know much, and we have achieved much. We have shown that we can do amazing things. We know that we can create wonderous creations. We have awesome powers. Why do we always want to use power to control others? How much have we held ourselves back by thinking this way? When will humanity stop asking itself, What more can I do to others, and start asking itself, What more can I do?

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

-Neil Armstrong

i am

I am aware of my existence in the world. I am aware of my environments ability to effect me, and I am aware of its affect on me. Being aware of myself in the chaos in the world brings me the freedom to choose. I am able to choose my surroundings, and I am able to choose how they affect me. I am free to choose my own path. But to wisely choose my own path I must know truth in this world. The first truth cannot be truly called "the first" since it is the truth, that when known, is awareness, for it is the truth that I exist. Thus it may more properly be called "The Zero Truth". The first truth then is awareness that there are others like me, others who are aware of themselves and who are able to choose for themselves. If I wish to secure for myself a place in this world that provides the greatest opportunity for my developement, then I must treat those who are, those who choose, as equals. Thus I find Justice in the world. To know truth in the world I must experience the world. To find truth in the world I must analyze my experience. To analyze an experience brings understanding of an experience, though only partially. For to analyze an experience brings understanding of the situation, but to understand deeply an experience, I must understand why the situation is, which is to understand a "thing", be it a time, place, object, person, story. To know a thing is to know of and the why of its creation. What or who made it, how it was made, which, where, when, why it was made. I must seek to know anothers creations. To know anothers creations is to know how to create for myself, to create that which will go into the chaos of the world, to create that which will change the world. To know that which I have created is to understand how to create myself, to create myself into the man I wish to be. If I choose to analyze the truth of my creation of myself, I will understand who this is that is existing in the chaos of reality. I will become aware of WHO I AM.

What better way to study history...

The mind is a powerful thing. All the things that you see around you that owes it's existence to mankind was once only an idea in someones head. The minds creative power is unlimited. Everything that designates you as an individual resides in the mind. In one sense, all that we call "human" resides in the mind. But the mind alone is just several pounds of soggy tissue.

The body is where we get every sensory experience. All information that the mind recieves is delivered by the body. The body is the only tool that the mind has for shaping the physical world to the minds desires. Your body is the only one you have, the only one that can make your imagination a reality. Therefore, one should hone to the utmost their physical abilities. If you wish to improve your body you must know your body. You must study it, love it, you must be in tune with it. You must embrace that which is animal. Our animal forefathers were excellent at maximizing the use of there bodies. Whenever we feel something primal, something deep down under our psyche, we have tapped there greatness.

We have long since stopped being animal. Once our ancestors achieved sentience they were no longer like the other animals. Being self-aware, they were no longer creatures of instinct: They had the conception of "I". And we were no longer simply animal when we learned free will. We alone have the ability to learn lessons from where we once were to guide us to our next destination. From the moment we looked around us and said "I choose" we became something new, something different: The Human Animal.


This body we inhabit is the product of our animal forefathers greatest achievements. There is a rich history we delve into whenever we study our body. We find within us a great power. A piece of history, our family history, is alive within us all. And with the power of our intellect, we are capable of ever greater accomplishments.