The wisdom of children

 A six year old boy asked his parents:                                                       

 Why does life need bodies?

 The parents were unable to give any sensible answer. Instead, the boy came after a while myself up with an answer:

 It is probably to prevent life from escaping.

 Incredibly beautiful wisdom!

 The importance of Answers

 or:                                                                                   

Socrates Midwife-Method        

 A Nobel Prize winner received a question from a journalist:

 How do you manage to find the answers to Nobel prize winning questions?

 The answer was:

 The art is not to find the right answers. The trick is to ask the right questions.

 From these lines, you can learn how to make it easier for yourselves to become wiser.

 First of all, one can draw the same conclusion as Socrates once did: It is the asking of Socratic questions that makes it possible to recall the wisdom that exists in the spirit of every human being.

 It is important to understand that difficulties to release the inherent wisdom of the mind stem from fixed ideas, prejudices and dogmas. Instead, it is important to open the mind to different ways of thinking, just like many children often do (as opposed to adults).

 You can even find support for these ideas in a famous Jesus quote from the Bible (Matthew 19:14):

 Let the children come to me. The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Those who are unable to receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter there.

 Even Socrates felt that it was important to teach the youth rather than older people who already believed they knew. Moreover, Socrates said that the future of the civilization will be created by the young.

 Quote from Theaetetus:

Soc. Such are the mid-wives, whose task is a very important one but not so important as mine; for women do not bring into the world at one time real children, and at another time counterfeits which are with difficulty distinguished from them; if they did, then the, discernment of the true and false birth would be the crowning achievement of the art of midwifery-you would think so? 
Theaet. Indeed I should. 
Soc. Well, my art of midwifery is in most respects like theirs; but differs, in that I attend men and not women; and look after their souls when they are in labour, and not after their bodies: and the triumph of my art is in thoroughly examining whether the thought which the mind of the young man brings forth is a false idol or a noble and true birth. And like the mid-wives, I am barren, and the reproach which is often made against me, that I ask questions of others and have not the wit to answer them myself, is very just-the reason is, that the god compels-me to be a midwife, but does not allow me to bring forth. And therefore I am not myself at all wise, nor have I anything to show which is the invention or birth of my own soul, but those who converse with me profit. Some of them appear dull enough at first, but afterwards, as our acquaintance ripens, if the god is gracious to them, they all make astonishing progress; and this in the opinion of others as well as in their own. It is quite dear that they never learned anything from me; the many fine discoveries to which they cling are of their own making. But to me and the god they owe their delivery. And the proof of my words is, that many of them in their ignorance, either in their self-conceit despising me, or falling under the influence of others, have gone away too soon; and have not only lost the children of whom I had previously delivered them by an ill bringing up, but have stifled whatever else they had in them by evil communications, being fonder of lies and shams than of the truth; and they have at last ended by seeing themselves, as others see them, to be great fools. Aristeides, the son of Lysimachus, is one of them, and there are many others. The truants often return to me, and beg that I would consort with them again-they are ready to go to me on their knees and then, if my familiar allows, which is not always the case, I receive them, and they begin to grow again. Dire are the pangs which my art is able to arouse and to allay in those who consort with me, just like the pangs of women in childbirth; night and day they are full of perplexity and travail which is even worse than that of the women. So much for them. And there are -others, Theaetetus, who come to me apparently having nothing in them; and as I know that they have no need of my art, I coax them into marrying some one, and by the grace of God I can generally tell who is likely to do them good. Many of them I have given away to Prodicus, and many to other inspired sages. I tell you this long story, friend Theaetetus, because I suspect, as indeed you seem to think yourself, that you are in labour-great with some conception. Come then to me, who am a midwife's son and myself a midwife, and do your best to answer the questions which I will ask you. And if I abstract and expose your first-born, because I discover upon inspection that the conception which you have formed is a vain shadow, do not quarrel with me on that account, as the manner of women is when their first children are taken from them. For I have actually known some who were ready to bite me when I deprived them of a darling folly; they did not perceive that I acted from good will, not knowing that no god is the enemy of man-that was not within the range of their ideas; neither am I their enemy in all this, but it would be wrong for me to admit falsehood, or to stifle the truth. Once more, then, Theaetetus, I repeat my old question, "What is knowledge?"-and do not say that you cannot tell; but quit yourself like a man, and by the help of God you will be able to tell.

 If you want to read the full dialogue "Theaetetus" you will find it on:

http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/theatu.html

Recycling Economy – benefits both work and environment

 The by far best way to adjust our civilisation to the challenges of the future is by adjusting our societies to systems of recycling. Alas that is not what is currently being done. Both technological developments and climate issues involve growing challenges. A Switch to circular economy, where recycling and green energy dominates, is necessary.

 The discussion about our future jobs needs to be broadened. The debate today is as if we still live in an industrial society and that jobs will automatically increase with growth in GDP. But such guarantees do not exist anymore. The digitalization of the economy cancels many conventional rules of economy. Investments in robots and automation is increasing rapidly. People are replaced by machines. Of course new jobs are created, but not at the pace we have been used to.

 As the rapid evolution of technology continues - with many fascinating opportunities - the tension between economy and environment increases. It is no exaggeration to say that conventional economic growth is on a collision course with nature. An increasingly unstable climate and overexploited ecosystems and natural resources are the most obvious examples.

 Environmental measures have so far often been regarded as threats to both competitiveness and jobs. At the same time it is obvious that waste of energy and material can not continue as before. The prices for various commodities have increased rapidly. Material costs (including cost of energy) amount in some industries to 40-50% of total costs. Moreover, the costs to society of rapidly increasing climate and environmental impact is steadily growing. Some resources are moving towards clear problems of scarcity (i. e. peak phosphor and peak oil).

 With a growing world population (the basic problem behind most of our challenges) coupled with a necessary increase in living standards in low-income countries, the pressure on nature will continue to increase. A more efficient use of resources would save both money and our nature. In addition jobs would increase, as we are about to show. The conclusion is that the agenda for jobs and environment must meet. Sweden has many reasons to take the lead.

 Today's economy is essentially based on the principle of "buy and throw away". The logic of the last fifty years has been the faster we replace our gadgets, the better for enterprises and the economy. This is not good enough.

 The vast majority of our products are discarded today. This waste represents great values ​​that could be used again - and again. Today it is not OK to allow that valuable, ever more scarce materials fall into incinerators, often without sorting first, and risking serious pollution of both air and water.

 Sustainable development demands that we invest in an economy where energy consumption is based increasingly on renewable energy with maximal efficiency. Products should be designed both to last longer and facilitate recycling, dismantling, recycling and remanufacturing. One example is electronics designed for longer life and to be easily disassembled, so that components can be reused. Another example is furniture from recycled plastic, which in turn can be recycled.

 Changes in design must be accompanied with new business models . Selling services is a winning formula. Michelin rent tires for heavy vehicles and charge per km. The tires are recycled and retreaded. Renault takes back old engines, renovate them and then use them in new vehicles. At Mud Jeans and Houdini you can rent clothes instead of buying. Digital Lumens provides smart lighting as a service as an alternative to purchase.

 Not only scientists, but also companies and unions, who want to protect their business and jobs, now directs interest towards radical increases in efficiency of resource use during all stages of a product's life cycle.

 Development towards a more circular economy will not happen by itself. Policy must be made to help with both smart instruments and public investments to enable the transition. The share of environmental taxes in total tax collection in Sweden is currently just under 6 percent and the amount in billions of crowns is decreasing. Labour taxes make up 60 percent, so there are great opportunities to switch taxes to make it easier to hire people and reverse unsustainable patterns. Good work increases professionalism and the meaning of life and strengthens society instead of making unsustainable environmental impacts. Abusing our natural resources will destroy possibilities for future generations to live good lives.

 To create a society with low environmental and climate impact can be done by building railways and public transport solutions for the smart grid - investments that the public sector must initiate. With the right kind of investment – around 100 billion a year, roughly equivalent to 2-3 percent of GDP annually – we would after fifteen years to be on the way to a more circular economy.

 The Club of Rome has recently carried out a simulation of the Swedish economy. How would Sweden look today if we were already more energy efficient, had a higher percentage of renewable energy as well as a far more efficient use of materials? Each of these actions would, in the model run, lead to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The total would be close to 70 percent. In addition, the analysis showed that more than 100,000 new jobs would be created. As a matter of fact there would be more jobs with an economy in harmony with narture and caring for what has already been produced than in a "buy and dispose economy”.

 If we want to move towards a more circular economy, political action is absolutely essential - both at EU and national level:

1. Develop renewable energy. Strengthen the Ecodesign Directive - to include both energy and material efficiency - and reform the ETS so that the primary objective: "to move away from coal".is achieved, 

2. Sharpen requirements for recovery and recycling of materials and prevent waste. Increase taxes on waste incineration.

3. Use public procurement to attract new business models with focus shifted from selling products to selling support and services.

4. Tax Shift: lower taxes on labour and increase taxes on environmental impact and on exploiting nature

5. Cancel VAT on recycled materials.

 We live in a world where threats of drastic climate change are increasing. At the same time, unemployment is rising, especially among young people. The digitalization of the economy presents both opportunities and problems. The technology helps us to use resources more efficiently. At the same time there is a risk that many people will be out of jobs, when lots of tasks are taken over by machines. We should not argument against increased investment in sustainable energy, transport and material systems and a shift of the tax burden from labour to natural resources. Such actions would stimulate developments towards exploiting nature in a more responsible manner.

 Johan Rockström, professor of environmental sciences, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre

 Per Olof Sjöö, Chairman of the GS union

 Per Stoltz, sustainability developerWorks, Ikea Group

 Anders Wijkman, chairman of the Club of Rome

Socrates’ Gossip Filter

Gossip - Slander – Fairy tales

 Everyone has sometimes listened to gossip and slander. If you tend to be less critical and hateful maybe you can boast with having heard more gossip than you have spread. Alas most of us have still contributed to gossip and slander far too often by spreading some of what we heard to others. In a spirit of "making-a-hen-of-a-feather" we have probably at one time or another even “improved” such tales. When the world we lived in was smaller, it was "gossip mongers", who were spreading gossip. But if nobody had been listening to the gossip, the gossip would quickly have died out. There is a proverb that says: "It is rarely the fault of only, one when two are quarrelling." According to some philosophers, there is often a third party involved when two who quarrel cannot stop and the conflict seems "insoluble".

 Rule: If two people have a conflict that they can not resolve with the help of live communication, it is because there is someone or something that keeps on creating the conflict. In order to solve such a conflict the “third party” needs to be located and handled.

 The insoluble conflict between Jews and Palestinians is a clear example of a third party conflict. Without the constant flow of false information from religious fundamentalists the two sides could probably resolve the conflict. At least if both sides would adopt some more conciliatory and humble attitudes.

Data Vacuum

 When you do not know anything about some other individual or group a "data vacuum" is easily created. A data vacuum arises from the desire to know when you do not know. Then you get a tendency to fill this vacuum with whatever fits in. Without data vacuums gossip and/or slander would not work. You, as a fellow human being, should therefore be obliged to get yourself vaccinated against gossip and slander by reducing your uncontrolled desire to know. It is much better to know that you do not know than to believe that you know. Anyone who satisfies his/her desire to know by filling their data vacuums with all kinds of gossip and slander is so far from Socratic ideals as is possible.
 In courts, it is considered a serious offense to speak untruths about others that may get those others convicted for something they are not guilty of. It is called committing perjury and is punishable in court.

 In daily life, nobody is sentencing individuals who slander or gossips, even if others are experiencing all sorts of bad things and difficulties because of it. You should cure your data vacuums by being content with realizing that you “do not know” and instead devote yourself to philosophical fairy tales and live communication.

Gossip in the Modern World

 In modern societies gossip mongers and their ilk is certainly still active in the small context. But now we have large sophisticated organizations, which can gossip much more and more effectively. We have media that have been spreading so much slander and gossip that most of us have long ago been forced to realize that "it need not be true just because it says so in newspapers or on radio or if shown on television."

 Moreover, we have the Internet, where everyone is free to publish almost anything. As long as we have data vacuums that needs filling, many lies fall conveniently in place in the data vacuums of our minds. So please realize that we have some responsibility for what happens in our surroundings. We have an obligation to try to avoid receiving and spreading slander and gossip. We actually have an obligation to recognize that we do not know only because we have filled our data vacuums with information. We have an obligation to recognize that information can be both false and true. It is our duty not to disseminate false information, if we want our communities to function. To be aware that you do not know is a Socratic ideal. To accept responsibility for the data vacuums in your mind that are filled with information that you never checked properly, when you accepted it, is an obligation that is not easily fulfilled. Almost everyone who has anything good to say to his surroundings will sooner or later be defamed by questionable "educators", who feel threatened by what is said.

 The gossiping and slandering artists have a method to gain acceptance for their views. They turn to the ignorant masses peddling "labels" that they make people accept. E.g. they say that "sects" are always evil. They do not inform their followers that sects can be both good and bad. When the ignorant masses have learned that "all sects are evil," it is enough to put the label "sect" to a group for it to be classified as a vicious group, regardless of the goodness or badness of that group.

Fairy Tales

 Gossip and slander consists of truths, falsehoods and outright lies. If you believe in gossip and slander you will easily get a negative view of your fellow human beings. Fairy tales are the opposite of gossip and slander. Fairy tales also consist of truths, falsehoods and/or lies. Anyone who reads a fairy tale does not believe that the fairy tale is true just because it is written. One reads fairy tale to receive the message that the tale conveys. Spiritually edifying fairy tales convey spiritually edifying messages. Virtually all written materials in the philosophy of life claims to be spiritually edifying fairy tales. We do not claim that such stories are true (even if the message may be a message of truth). We only ask the person studying the written materials to try to understand the message and use it to increase their spiritual wealth. The same principle applies to Socratic questions. The question itself means nothing. It is only when the individual answers the question and gives birth to their own ideas and truths, that the question fulfils its purpose.

 Fairy tales are the positive side of the coin, if gossip and slander is the negative. Information can be used positively or negatively for good or evil. It's the result that counts.

 Some of the most uplifting tales we know in our modern Western civilization, are the stories of Gautama (Buddha), Socrates and Jesus. As life-philosophers we do not worry about the truth of our fairy tales. All we need to know is that individuals studying them are elevated to new levels of awareness by their messages.

The gossip filter of Socrates

 When Socrates met a friend who wanted to tattle to him, he asked his friend to first undergo a threefold test. He proposed three "filter questions":

 1) Are you absolutely sure that what you are about to say is true?

 2) Is what you want to tell me something inherently good or desirable?

 3) Can what you want to tell me be of good use?

 If what the friend wanted to tell Socrates met one or more of these three criteria, it was good to inform Socrates of it, otherwise it was just as well to leave it unsaid.

 Each one of us can by answering these three filter questions sort out gossip and slander from our speech.

 Imagine if the tabloids used these three questions before they announced their "news" to us.

 Moral; Believe in gossip and slander and you feel worse. Make sure you receive spiritually uplifting messages and your life will improve.

The choice is yours!

Todde

A disturbing thought about low interest rates

Thoughts in Sweden on lower interest rates

 Lower interest rate – press the accelerator. Now! The pressures central banks are under to fix the economy have rarely been greater. But what if low interest rates are not the magic solution, but part of the problem

 Anyone who follows the merciless criticism of the Governor (Governor Stefan Ingves), led by the likes of former colleague Lars EO Svensson, may begin to wonder. Perhaps the explanation is that Stefan Ingves plays the lead role in a monetary equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, a sadist who finds enjoyment in high unemployment and the sight of closed factories in a darkening Swedish countryside.

 There was a time when Sweden’s central bank monetary policy protocols could be prescribed as an anaesthetic. Today the bank is a besieged institution where every breath is strictly monitored. The cause of the anger toward Stefan Ingves is that he is blamed for sabotaging the Swedish economy with (what the critics consider insanely high) the key interest rate at 1 percent. This policy has created a slightly bad mood when things now are going shaky. The hard truth is that growth in much of the industrialized world is still far below what we have been used to.

 Lars E O Svensson and others were supported when the former US Treasury Larry Summers recently held a widely publicized speech. In brief, Larry Summers theory is that something is essentially sick with the world economy. The sickness started long before the financial crisis and the world economy has been in a semi depressive condition and need large doses of uppers just to function somewhat normally.

 In such situations old dreary measures, like managing state finances and ensuring that banks do not engage in irresponsible lending, become obsolete. In fact counterproductive, says Larry Summers and even Paul Krugman, who runs the thesis. That is the reason for central banks to continue “stimulating the economy” by printing ever more money (i.e. QE = Quantative Easening).

 These men may well be right. (If so we have a problem, more on that shortly).

 But there is also another possibility. It's just the opposite. The anorexic economy is not due to high interest rates, but at too low for too long. So says Bill White, who for 40 years held a number of top jobs in central banks around the world, and already in 2003 warned of a coming crisis.

 He notes that central banks, especially the Federal Reserve, since the 1987 stock market crash cut interest rates at the slightest sign of economic downturn. But cuts in bad times have not been followed by corresponding increases in interest rates in good times.

 Bubbles have barely cracked until they have been replaced by new ones. And for every slump, central banks have been forced to cut rates even more to achieve the same stimulating effect. Why? According to Bill White, an explanation may be that whole economies weakened as depressed interest rates for a long time lead to wrong investments that never get corrected: debts are not written down and zombie companies are kept alive at the expense of more viable projects. Read Japan since 1990 and in Europe today.

 Unfortunately former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and others considered that it was not their job to prevent bubbles, but only to clean up afterwards. Interest rate increases were not needed: There was no inflation! However, this was an optical illusion, according to Bill White.

 The low inflation was not due to central banks' ability or the absence of overheating but on globalization and a tsunami of cheap goods from Asia. THIS productivity shock according to Bill White should have been met with increased interest rates instead of lowering. The result: a dramatic increase in debt and the mother of all bubbles bursting in 2007. And this crash has been handled with even more extreme lows. This has given very meager dividends, except that inflated stock markets made the rich even richer. According to Bill White the old problems remained unresolved and some new were added. The medicine that should have cured the symptoms became one of the causes of the disease.

 Which brings us to the sad part of all this. Bill White may indeed very well be wrong. But if he is right the dependency on low interest rates must be broken sooner or later, otherwise we are threatened by a long period of depression and unemployment, not to mention the risk of another crash. Moreover, it is high time for reforms and other unpopular measures that are otherwise easily pushed into the future as long as there's an easier way. Nothing indicates that this is going to happen.

 If Krugman & Co. are right, we are however not much better off. Should interest rates really lie well below the minus mark (technically impossible?) and the world's major countries turn around and ignore the rampant indebtedness (politically unlikely)? Whichever analysis is correct, it looks then like a historical mistake is about to be committed.

 It would be nice if these economists could get into more agreement with each other and then brief an occasional politician on a better solution. Those who will eventually have to pay the price, our young ones who spend their time in the world kindergartens and primary schools, do not at all care about who is right, if he is called Krugman, Svensson, Mr Ingves or White. They will be busy with other things.

 One of the laws of life that seem to be most forgotten is that when changes (like financial policies of interest rates) are introduced into societies, the population adjusts accordingly.

Todde

True Friendship, Philosophy, Freedom, Happiness, Truth, Wisdom.

 Praise Eternity for true Friendship and Philosophy. And also to the other children of eternity: Freedom, Happiness, Truth, Wisdom etc.

  True friendship and philosophy exist beyond time and space in the essence of eternity. No perception of the body will recognize them. Only with thought will it be possible to grasp the meaning of these spritual subjects.

 Humans equipped with the power of thought can reach and understand these concepts. The task of philosophers is to learn the skills needed to accomplish this.

 The word philosophy is from greek. Philos means love or friendship, sophos means wisdom. 

 It is necessary to over and over again mention the fact that such a great being as Socrates lived on this planet to teach us. Hopefully sometimes it will happen that some humans recognize the wisdom he delivered.

 In his book "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull" Richard Bach tells a beautiful story of Philosophy. It was the number one bestseller in the USA for the year 1970 and has continued to sell in large volumes since then. The book is an excellent introduction to true philosophy.

A review of the book "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull":

 A saga about Freedom.

 The book is full of wisdom - Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary seagull. To cry, yell and fight for the fish offal is none of his business. He would rather spend his time perfecting the noble art of flying. But going against the rules and the morals is not easy, neither in world of men or seagulls. Jonathan tries to conform and behave like other gulls.

 But soon he is out over the sea again practicing low- and high-speed flight, looping, top role, etc. It is only when he gets to practice in flight that he feels really happy and free. But his training is not appreciated by the flock.

 He gets expelled from the gulls community and relegated to a life of loneliness on distant cliffs, because he by his reckless irresponsibility offended the dignity and traditions of the seagull community. As the first gull ever Jonathan defies the provision that no one may speak against the Council's verdict:

 Irresponsibility? Who can be more responsible than the gull that seeks and finds a meaning, a higher purpose in life? For thousands of years we have toiled around for fish heads, but now we can attain higher purposes in life - to learn, to discover, to be free! Give me a chance, let me teach you what I ...”

 But Jonathan gets no chance. He is banished and beyond the distant cliffs, he learns even more about aeronautics.

 Suddenly, one day, he gets a visit. Maybe he is not as alone in his quest as he thought. Two seagulls WITH "wings that shimmer like starlight" brings Jonathan along on a flight to new worlds and dimensions. Here he meets soul mates and learn more about flying, about himself and life than he might have thought possible ...
 A really true philosophical idea from the book: You will start to enter heaven, Jonathan, at the very moment you attain perfect speed. And that is not flying 1500 km/hour, or 15 000, or even the speed of light. Every figure marks a limit and perfection has no limits. Perfect speed, my son, is to have arrived. - What beautiful philosophy! Perfect speed is TO BE THERE! or TO BE PRESENT!

 "The story of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull" by Richard Bach is a nice little book. Although the book is thin it is literally crammed with existential, spiritual and philosophical musings - presented in an easy to understand way out from a seagull point of view. 

Todde

Also check: http://axiom1b.blogspot.com/2015/03/friends-true-friend-is-someone-you-know.html

Friendship

 A true friend is someone you know what to expect of. You know your friendship will endure no matter what happens.

 This article covers a topic that has been discussed by many philosophers. Aristotle, Descartes and David Hume are some of the most famous philosophers who worked to explore how people relate to each other as friends.

 Your best friend can sometimes be more important than your family. Colleagues and club members often become best friends. If people in a group are working well together, they are probably friends. Still, you have friends who do not belong to any of the groups you belong to. People are sometimes willing to die for their friends.

Aristotle divided friendships into three different categories:

 1. Useful Friends (= Friends of utility)

 2. Amusing Friends (= Friends of Fun)

 3. Lasting Friends (= True friends)

 A Friend of utility is your friend because you can use him one way or another. People in a group are often friends of utility. Many friendships exist only because somebody wants to take advantage of the acquaintance. But such career friends" are rarely really liked. Their mere existence questions the value of friendship and might lead one to wonder if friendship really exists.

 Amusing Friends are friends you enjoy having fun with. It may be a friend you go out and have a drink with or someone who tells you lot’s of jokes. People like to hang around persons who spread funny stories and jokes. But that has very little to do with true friendship.

 Aristotle pointed out that true friendship lasts. When it lasts, it does so because the friends are decent beings who respect each other and like each other as they are. Aristotle emphasized in particular that such friendship lasts, while the other kinds of friendship only exist for a short while and is also very capricious.

 Every individual is basically the same good-natured being at all times. If you like that individual the way he/she basically is, then your friendship will endure. However, if you like someone because he/she is funny or useful, there is no reason to continue to stay friends with him/her anymore once the fun or use ends. Aristotle's analysis of friendship works as well today as in ancient Greece.

 All human relationships work better when based in true friendship. One can become sexually aroused by someone, but that has very little to do with true friendship. To become worthwhile a marriage needs a foundation of true friendship.

 Of course you can have working relationships at your job, even without being true friends. But if you are true friends, things will work out just so much better. It is very possible to work together with others without true friendship. But the cooperation will work much better on a base of true friendship. A group without true friendship will easily turn bureaucratic. It becomes impersonal and cold, people are treated as packages. They must behave in a certain way towards each other, because they do not like each other the way they are. Real lasting friendship enhances the quality of life on all accounts. Perhaps the reason behind betrayals between friends and lonely individuals is just a lack of understanding of what friendship really is and how to cultivate it

 It has been said that accepting responsibility makes you lonesome. But a leader need not stand alone, if he does not fall into the trap of selecting only those that are useful as friends. If he instead seeks friends among those he can like the way they are, he does not need to be alone.

 The Code of Honour states that you should never betray the fidelity once promised. But what fidelity is most important? Is it the fidelity you swore an ideal or the allegiance given to individuals? Sometimes groups try to make you betray your friends for a "good cause". Maybe you get a hint that you can not continue associating with some of your friends, if you want to advance in the company. That is a really inappropriate way to interpret the Code of Honour. If an individual is one of your close friends, it is obviously more important to maintain that friendship than a “friendship with ideas” that requires you to break all ties with your real friends.

 Parents often worry that their children do not choose the right kind of friends. They do not want their children to get into bad company and may tell them to socialize with sons or daughters of parents who have high status in society. But it's the same as telling your children to only acquire friends of utility. Children need to learn by themselves who is a good or bad friend. We do not judge our own friends based on some quality control to see if they deserve to be our friends. Instead, it is better to realize that we all deserve to be loved for what we basically are. It's a matter of learning to know each other as we basically are. True friendship is something very simple and natural. If people just took the time to learn to know each others true nature as the good beings they basically are, they would become friends with no effort.

 True friendship lasts. Maybe the most painful thing that can happen to you is if someone, who you thought was a true friend, turns out to be very unfriendly and do something that you would never expect a true friend to do. A really true friend is someone you know how he/she is. You can usually predict how a true friend will act in different situations. You know that the friendship will last no matter what happens. Religious or political beliefs do not matter, because true friendship is way above such things.

 Actually, true friendship is total understanding and therefore a spiritual quality. True friendship only exists between living beings and is thus beyond such things as family, group, society, economy, politics, space and time, ideas and thoughts. Your true beingness is ultimate truth. If you can learn to fully know yourself, you will find ultimate truth. Then you can be free to be yourself and a true friend to others. True friendship exists between beings who are alive and who know each other as they basically are and disregard appearances or body qualities. True friendship demands that you care about the other person's inner qualities and is achieved only if one is willing to allow others to come close to you and also dare move close to others. You must also be willing to allow others to find out who you really are. When you confront learning to know someone else as he/she is deep down inside, you are confronted with much truth. Thus you need high confront on truth to acquire true friends.

 True friendship is a spiritual quality. To make it possible for true friendship to exist in present time, it needs "something" to incarnate into. When two (or more) individuals are true friends, it means they are forming a spiritual communion that exists beyond space and time. This community can manifest itself in the space/time, where individuals have created something they can coexist in. The existence (beingness) they create together is closer to their true selves (basic personality) than most other identities and continua. That's why you get closer to your true self, the more true friends you have.

 Friendship also concerns empathy. If you can share another person's feelings and thoughts you can be his true friend, but that does not imply that you have to agree with the person. If you only share thoughts and feelings with him/her you can become true friends.

 A person who hides his feelings and thoughts and pretends to be something else than what he really is, prevents others from becoming his true friends. You feel disappointed if you discover that someone was not the friend you thought, or was not able to deliver what he promised.

Know Yourself

  People who are unwilling to show themselves as they basically are can not get true friends. Probably they do so because they believe that no one would like them if they got to know them. They do not understand themselves and they do not like what they see in themselves. Therefore, they believe that others would think badly of them if they could get to know them. If they could learn to understand their true motives and their own true nature, they could enjoy themselves and get out of the trap. Then they would be able to acquire true friends and they could be true friends.

 To have the same ideas does not necessarily mean that you become true friends and it isn’t necessarily so that you become friends just because you have a common enemy. True friendship goes much deeper and is much finer than ideas and common enemies.

 "Friendships" based on common ideas and interests are unstable and very risky. When such friendships cease because the agreements no longer exist, it can turn into hatred or open hostility. This is especially true when ideas are considered more important than individuals and beings. There is a scarcity of true friends in our world, but each one of us can think up hundreds of ideas and thoughts any time. Thus you should care more about true friendship and not worry so much about ideals or ideas.

 If you read history you can see that fanatical cults and cult movements often get the idea that ideas are more important than friends. They believe they can afford to sacrifice their friends for the good cause. They believe that "the end justifies the means" and understand that "it is OK to commit harmful acts against other people" to promote "the cause".

 You can discuss how to protect yourselves, so that you don’t become fanatical and begin to sacrifice your fellows and friends for a sacred cow. If we care about (empathy) our fellow human beings and believe that individuals are more important than ideas and cults, the risk is not so great. If you improve your judgment by loving wisdom and truth it will be difficult to make you commit such deadly sins against your friends.

 To show empathy for your fellow human beings is perhaps the most important thing on earth. In any case, it is extremely rewarding for those who care for people and for those who receive care and consideration. Both are growing stronger as beings while approaching the truth. If kindness and friendship were considered of greater importance in our world, life would become more inclusive. It would create conditions for more peace, more unity and better quality of life. What has led us astray is that we have allowed ideologies and untested theories to become more important than individuals and the people affected by them. We must not forget that the ideologies and theories are there to serve the individual and not the other way around.

 A very important lesson everyone needs to learn about friendship, is that the most faithful and most stable friend you have is yourself. It is a true friend who will never abandon you. The most important thing when building true friendship is to "know yourself" (this was written in bold letters over the entrance to the "Oracle at Delphi" in ancient Greece, along with “nothing in excess”). When receiving or delivering meditation (by our Modern Socratic Method) on "The Road to Truth" that is what you do - Learning to know yourself/your true self. So let us become true friends.

Todde

Also check:

http://axiom1b.blogspot.se/2015/04/true-friendship-philosophy-freedom.html

 Modern Western Philosophy on Friendship at: www.duga.se (use google translate)

Environmental problems of China

 It's amazing what a troubled Chinese mother can accomplish. Documentaries can change the world, but then they have to deal with the realities of today, and not about the times in the past when the West was the source and solution for everything. A film that has the right focus is Chai Jing's "Under the Dome". It has been widely accepted. Within 48 hours after it’s release online it had 200 million visitors. This means that one in three Chinese netizens saw it before censorship started to remove the film on March 6th. The film can still be seen on YouTube (which is blocked in China). Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM

 "Under the Dome" is a project of one woman, Chai Jing, a former investigative journalist with the state-television CCTV. It starts with her telling how her daughter developed a tumor even before she was born. The daughter survived the surgery but grows up in a bell jar. Each day begins with checking the smog report. The smog determines if the daughter may go out. Out: face mask. Inside: cover cracks and ledges with tape. She was filming an operation of a cancer woman with black lungs, even though she never smoked. Six year olds who have never seen blue sky. She makes up for with a widespread myth that you can make children immune to smog. "China burn 3-4 times more fuel than Europe ... China burns more coal than the rest of the world!"

 She travels to Los Angeles and London and show how they solved their smog problems. She reveals how smog comes from subsidized steel mills, oil monopolies that sabotage environmental regulations and a corrupt society. Beijing was once the capital of bicycles. It probably had the world's largest traffic system of bike paths, but these have nowadays been converted to parking places to benefit the automotive industry. The film is partly problematic (Chai Jing sees oil, natural gas and as the solution and ignores the problems caused by the one party state).

 But the main message arrives: "It's not that I'm not afraid to die. But I do not want to live like this" said Chai Jing in a quote that has become viral.

 The Problem for the world of today is not that the United States built it’s society on cheap oil, private cars and houses far from citycenters. It is that China’s urbanization right now follows that model. China has more than 100 cities with over one million inhabitants. It is far more than the total population of the USA. Shanghai has three times more inhabitants than New York and more environmental impact per person. To be over clear: The focus should be on the Chinese society and its urban planning. Chai Jing makes a call in the film to the people of China to turn things around and engage in environmental protection, and hundreds of millions have listened.

Link (Sorry it seems the English subtitles are sometimes removed - If so you can search on Youtube for Chai Jing "Under the Dome" and maybe you can find the film with English subtiteles - It is one hour and 43 minutes long = 103 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM

 It seems as it works on firefox (English subtitles) better than on Chrome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6X2uwlQGQM