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To: alt.magick.tyagi,talk.religion.misc,alt.magick From: nagasivaSubject: Superstition and Knowledge (was Gnome: ...) Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2001 07:39:43 GMT 50011001 VI! om Hail Satan! Happy Lunatix! "Tris" to Gnome: >Let's assume that your statement, "Magick draws on psycho-structures >imprinted in the deep mind", is true - as you have asserted. > >You have said "the Tibetans, whom I trained with and emulate, destroy all >superstition, on a conscious level, and then select what they choose to >"believe" and literally build a magical "religion" for themselves." >It appears to me that it's not a great step to imagine that one could >destroy all superstition, and then one could destroy all one's motivations. quite true, but some of those psycho-structures which Gnome was talking about, are probably left intact, regarded as "not superstition". >One could, in fact, create and destroy one's "psycho-structures" at will, >facilitating the work. possibly, but one would be left trying to decide which are valuable to leave and which are valuable to discard. this is also the dilemma faced by any relativist: given the equal validity or falsity of all proposi- tions, why select any particular choice? inevitably it comes down to personal taste or social dogma. >Perhaps you're right, and I don't get it. My 'problem' is I don't see a >huge difference between eroding superstition and eroding beliefs and >motivations. I don't think I'm taking too great a liberty by attempting to respond here saying that in this model superstition is that belief which is ignorantly adopted and worthy of erosion. whereas the belief consciously adopted toward specific ends, knowing (or believing ;>) that it is a belief which will yield certain motivational and perhaps psychospiritual results, is maintained despite any contrary evidence because its intellectual truth is not as important as what the religious has ascertained is its practical value. it is unimportant whether there is an actual being with a head of an elephant who rides a giant rat in the "science of Ganeshpuja", what is important is that one proceed to do the proper obeisances and offerings in order to get the obstacles before one cleared and get the benefit of the "god". that it is a "science" is much more important than the theological or intellectual accuracy. this is an utilitarian mode of religious or mystical activity. it is perhaps more often aims-oriented and prone to exploitation for the benefit of its purveyor. too often it dismisses the devoted as ignorant plebes and disregards the beauty and truth of poetic mind and ecstatic meetings with the actualities blithely rejected by rationalist skeptics. ultimately there is no difference between superstitions and other beliefs aside from that superstitions may be retained despite what is clearly evidence to the contrary. what constitutes evidence is always subject to dispute, however, and no science reigns supreme. blessed beast! nagasiva -- emailed replies may be posted ----- "sa avidya ya vimuktaye" ----- "that which liberates is ignorance" http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html hoodoo catalogue: send postal address to catalogues@luckymojo.com
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