tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4375429865320384075.post8220766315812304644..comments2023-05-25T06:24:45.873-07:00Comments on Conniption Fit: GodlessCandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13674169405059074492noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4375429865320384075.post-81417062971674541292009-03-17T11:27:00.000-07:002009-03-17T11:27:00.000-07:00I have to confess, I used to be so bad at making u...I have to confess, I used to be so bad at making up my mind that I would flip coins. I must further confess to sometimes doing the two out of three flip. Now, you'd think if I didn't like the first flip that I would then realize I didn't care for that option, but no . . .<BR/><BR/>I used to cast the I Ching. I have to say, as a method of divination I know - intellectually - that it was bollocks, but it was so eerily accurate on occasion. The situations with the I Ching are so specific. Sixty-four hexagrams, and each hexagram has the potential to change via changing lines into a new hexagram. Fascinating reading, the I Ching. As a means of focusing on a problem, it's probably a fairly useful tool, but apparently I'm just too obsessive to merely meditate on something. I got to the point where I wouldn't make a move without throwing the coins. I knew the hexagrams by sight and most of the changing lines. I once had too much time on my hands.<BR/><BR/>I love my New Age friends and co-workers, too. They tend to be earnestly interested in doing what is right, in ethics, in a healthy planet. I worry about them, though, when they forsake good solid science in favor of alternative medicine. I just saw a kind old man die because of this very thing. It's hard to talk to them about it, because they get very defensive. It's scary. There are lots of bad people willing to take advantage of someone's trust.Candyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13674169405059074492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4375429865320384075.post-64161631455154714412009-03-15T14:02:00.000-07:002009-03-15T14:02:00.000-07:00My mother has taken on a superstition about crysta...My mother has taken on a superstition about crystal divination. I think she picked it up from my stepfather. Every time either of them can't decide something, they take out a little crystal on a chain and swing it like a pendulum over the thing that they are unsure about, while asking a question. They believe that the crystal will signal the best answer to their question by altering its swing. If the answer is yes, it'll swing as an oval, and if the answer is no, it'll swing straight. Something like that.<BR/><BR/>I am sympathetic about the difficulty of decisions in an unsure universe. Whenever they do this, I simply let them carry out this ceremony and come to their decision. I've never seriously considered telling them just to decide. I'm not sure it would be productive.atheisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044432505583647262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4375429865320384075.post-84124589602943478382009-03-15T08:41:00.000-07:002009-03-15T08:41:00.000-07:00I have an issue with Paganism/New-Ageism/Woo/whate...I have an issue with Paganism/New-Ageism/Woo/whatever-you-wanna-call-it as well. My issue is that, my family and freinds include a lot of New-Agey or Pagan people, and actually some of the most New-Agey people are some of my favorite people. Which makes me feel sorta dumb, as an atheist.<BR/><BR/>I'm such a bad atheist. I just want people to enjoy themselves. And I sometimes find superstitions entertaining and enjoyable. I'm probably too likely to say, "OK sure. Crystals have mystic powers of divination." or "OK sure. The trees have spirits."<BR/><BR/>But I'm glad that you ultimately can't. Because you're right, ultimately that's a good thing.atheisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044432505583647262noreply@blogger.com