Burky's Blog

     Let not waste your time reading something that you wouldn't have anything to do with.  What would you rather be—a close-minded puppet or an open-minded thinker?  A close-minded puppets are the victim of their circumstances and, to them, obstacles are hinderances.  An open-minded thinkers are the makers of their circumstances and, to them, obstacles are opportunities to overcome.

            Most people are in different degrees between the puppet and the thinker.  But do you rather be part of the mediocrity?  What consequences do most people envy?  It is easy to let others do the thinking for you and complain than to do the thinking for yourself and be the change that you want to see.  However, most people envied the rich and the popular, who would tell you that you can be like them.

Ten Tips for Power Thinking

1.      Remember that experience is the only teacher, that you cannot form sound conclusions until you have some basis for these conclusions.

2.      Don't offer judgments unless you have factual, rather than simply emotional, ground for the judgments.

3.      Pay close attention to the meanings of words.  Remember that different words mean different things to different people.

4.      Use words carefully, keeping in mind that they are effective instruments only if they are used with precision.

5.      Never abandon your common sense, even if your experience seems to conflict with it.

6.      Apply to new problems everything relevant that you have learned in the past.

7.      Examine sources of information who interpretations do not agree with your own.

8.      Try to keep an open mind even when you disagree strongly with the other person's viewpoint.

9.      Recognize glittering generalizations when you come across them.  Remember that Cow₁ is not Cow_2.

10.  Cultivate a desire to learn.  Let no obstacles stand in the way of achieving this desire.

Ten Tips for Effective Listening

1.      Don't say a subject is uninteresting, for all subjects are interesting.  There are, however, uninterested listeners.

2.      Gauge the speaker's expertise on the subject under discussion.  Listen carefully to the person who knows what he or she is talking about.

3.      Don't equate eloquence with intelligence.  A very poor speaker may say a great deal, while a brilliant speaker may say nothing.

4.      Make every effort to understand the big words used by a speaker.  Demand understandable English of people addicted to jargon.

5.      Require concrete statements in place of emotion-laden clichés.

6.      Determine the speaker's motive before you try to evaluate the message.

7.      Don't draw conclusions too quickly.  Give the speaker a chance to make his point before trying to contradict it.  Evaluate only when comprehension is complete.

8.      Learn how to get the nonspeaker into a group discussion.

9.      Use every possible method to silence the haranguer and teller of tall tales.

10.  Retain your composure and sense of humor.  Effective listening demands real effort, and such effort is impossible in an atmosphere highly charged with emotion.

Ten Tips for Logical Thinking

1.      Wherever possible, gather evidence before reaching a conclusion.

2.      Be careful of generalizations containing the words all, always, and never.  There are very few rules which do not have exceptions.

3.      Examine statistics with an eagle eye.  Statistics can lie, and many statistics are nothing more than special pleadings.

4.      Beware of the words average and typical.  These are often words of prejudice, not reason.

5.      Learn how to make sensible hypotheses.  Don't just guess at answers to problems; set up a method for testing them.

6.      In reasoning deductively, make sure you know what your major premise is.  Determine whether this major premise is really true.

7.      Always check your reasoning to make sure it is valid.

8.      Avoid inadequate sampling, post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacies, false analogy, and non sequiturs.

9.      Remember that logic involves the meanings of words.  Even after something has been logically proved to your satisfaction, it will not necessarily be accepted by everyone.

10.  Read and listen carefully and critically.  Recognize logical fallacies from your own arguments.

--Selected from Mental Dynamics by K. Thomas Finley

Observe the law of justice.  The best rule is the famous Golden Rule.  It is true in all religions.

1.      CHRISTIANITY:

v  "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12)

v  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Luke 6:31)

2.      BAHA'I WORLD FAITH:

v  "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself."  (Baha'u'llah, Tablets, p. 71)

v  "Lay not on any soul a load which ye would not wish to be laid on you, and desire not for any one the things ye would not desire for yourselves."  (Baha'u'llah, Gleanings LXVI, p. 128)

v  "Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not. This is my command unto thee, do thou observe it."  (Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words, Arabic # 29)

v  "Choose for thy neighbor that which thou choosest for thyself."  (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 30)

3.      JUDAISM:

v  "What is hateful to you, DO NOT to your fellow man. That is the law: all the rest is commentary."  (Talmud, Shabbat 31a)

v  "Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD."  (Moses, Leviticus 19:18)

v  Brahmanism: "This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you"  (Mahabharata 5:5157).

4.      ISLAM:

v  "Not one of you is a believer until he desires for another that which he desires for himself."  (Muhammad, 40 Hadith of an-Nawawi 13)

v  "Do unto all men as you would they should do unto you, and reject for them that which you would reject for yourself."  (Mishkat-el-Masabih)

5.       BUDDHISM:

v  "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself or in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. One should seek for others the happiness one desires for one's self" (Udana-Varqa, 5:18)

6.      HINDUISM:

v  "This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others that which would cause pain if done unto you." (Mahabharata 5:1517)

v  "Do not to others what ye do not wish done to yourself; and wish for others too, what ye desire and long for, for yourself. This is the whole of Dharma, heed it well." (The Celestial Song, 2:65)

7.      JAINIST:

v  "A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated." (Sutrakritanga 1.11.33)

8.      SIKH:

v  "Precious like jewels are the minds of all. To hurt them is not at all good. If thou desirest thy Beloved, then hurt thou not anyone's heart." (Guru Aranj Devji 259, Guru Granth Sahib)

9.      WESTERN SCHOOLS:

v  "What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them." (Pythagorean)

v  "We should conduct ourselves toward others as we would have them act toward us." (Aristotle, from Plato and Socrates)

v  "Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing."  (Thales)

v  "Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him." (Pittacus)

v  "Cherish reciprocal benevolence, which will make you as anxious for another's welfare as your own"  (Aristippus of Cyrene).

v  "Act toward others as you desire them to act toward you" (Isocrates)

v  Confuciansim: "Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you"  (Analects 15:23).

10.    TAO:

v  "Pity the misfortunes of others; rejoice in the well-being of others; help those who are in want; save men in danger; rejoice at the success of others; and sympathise with their reverses, even as though YOU WERE in their place."

v  "The sage has no interests of his own, but regards the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind, he is also kind to the unkind: for virtue is kind." (T'ai Shang Kan Ying P'ien)

11.  NATIVE AMERICAN:

v  "Love your friend and never desert him. If you see him surrounded by the enemy do not run away; go to him, and if you cannot save him, be killed together and let your bones lie side by side."  (Sur-AR-Ale-Shar, The Lessons of the Lone Chief)

v  "Do not kill or injure your neighbor, for it is not him that you injure, you injure yourself. But do good to him, therefore add to his days of happiness as you add to your own. Do not wrong or hate your neighbor, for it is not him that you wrong, you wrong yourself. But love him, for The Great Spirit (Moneto) loves him also as he loves you."  (Shawnee)

v  "Respect for all life is the foundation."  (The Great Law of Peace)

12.  AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION:

v  "A SAGE is ingenuous and leads his life after comprehending the parity of the killed and the killer. THEREFORE, neither does he cause violence to others nor does he make others do so."  (Yoruba Proverb, Nigeria)

v  "One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."  (Yoruba Proverb, Nigeria)

v  Zoroastrianism:

v  "That nature ONLY is good when it shall NOT DO unto another whatever is not good for its own self."  (Dadistan-i-Dinik, 94:5)

v  "Whatsoever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others." (Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29)

v  That which is good for all and any one, for whomsoever - that is good for me. What I hold good for self, I should for all. Only Law Universal, is true Law."  (Zoroaster, Yasana-Gathas)

13.  BAHA'U'LLAH:

v  "O son of man! If thine eyes be turned towards mercy, forsake the things that profit thee and cleave unto that which will profit mankind. And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself."  (Baha'u'llah, The third Leaf of the Most Exalted Paradise, Tablets, p. 64)

To summarize: be open-minded, objective, honest, and practice Golden Rule at all times in all situations in all areas as much as humanly possible.  It is same as surrendering and submitting yourself to the facts, totally accepting the most obvious truth.

"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." (Rene Descartes)  One problem with this is that it can eventually confuse one from finding the right truth.  The safest bet is to doubt all truths where there are disagreements.  However, it is noteworthy to see that Descartes arrives at only a single principle: thought exists. Thought cannot be separated from me, therefore, I exist (Discourse on the Method and Principles of Philosophy). Most famously, this is known as cogito ergo sum (English: "I think, therefore I am"). Therefore, Descartes concluded, if he doubted, then something or someone must be doing the doubting, therefore the very fact that he doubted proved his existence. "The simple meaning of the phrase is that if one is skeptical of existence, that is in and of itself proof that he does exist."

Observe science.  When I refer to science, I am not referring to any specific branch.  I am including philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, geology, and so on.  Because of our limitation, we tend to specialize in some specific field.  Hence we have the problem of missing out the whole truth, so it is good to read all angles as much as possible.  Even go as far as thinking opposite of your observations, such as any specific moral standard you believe in.  Think like this: what would happen if someone else have similar beliefs and impose them on you?  This is where Golden Rule can be observed.  For example, if you hate someone, how would you feel if that person hates you?  What feeling would you feel at the very thought?  Remember, feelings are the part of reality, in which science have studied.  Observe why you react the way you do and try to find ways to avoid such reaction—especially if you don't like that reaction.  But don't let emotions control you.  Emotions are very fickle, extremely undependable.  Rather, look at cold, hard facts—even if it makes you feel uncomfortable.  Then check why it made you uncomfortable.  Be honest at all times. 

Note five keys that require philosophy, which is also a branch of science: rationality, life, consciousness, thought, and the self.  How come we have ability to rationalize?  How come we have life?  How come we are conscious of being conscious?  We even can make conscious choice.  Why do we think?  How can science explain all that?  Finally, we see the self very fascinating.  As we read before, thought cannot be separated from me.  We may hear people say, "I hate myself."  Our body is not the self, because the cells are always replacing.  Cut open any corpse and you cannot find thoughts, consciousness, and rationality.  You only see physical cells.  So what is the Self?  Although our whole body replaced itself every 2 years, our personality remains the same.

When you study or observe different religions, try finding their authoritative book or sacred writings in which they believe in.  Which sacred literature would make sense out of science?  In other words, which sacred writings most agrees with what science has proved?  Once when you find which sacred writings that meets to your observations, follow after that book.  We all know that each religion have their good people and bad people, so don't let changeable mob control you.  Be rational.  Think for yourself.  Even if you are not strictly religious, it is always best to stick to truths provable by science.  By agreeing with the truth, it is much easier to be in control of yourself.  When I mean provable by science, I am referring to following after the common sense.

After you find such sacred writings that most agree with factual science, the writings may include few examples that cannot be proved by science.  That is where Golden Rule comes into play.  Would you rather have us hold you guilty until proven innocent or would you feel better if we hold you innocent until proven guilty?  Then treat such sacred writings as you would want us to treat you.  After all, some people have experiences that most people don't have and how would you feel if no one would believe your actual experience?

Finally, you should be able to say, "I am because I think."