What Do You Believe? / Who Do You Trust?

in #philosophy6 years ago (edited)

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If 'ignorance is bliss' and 'knowledge is power', then I would say that most of us, myself included, occupy the space between, living our lives in limbo.


I, for one, am not ignorant to the dangers that exist in our world and that affect us all in our everyday lives but unfortunately I'm not privy to the knowledge that might allow me to avoid or defend myself from a lot of these potential dangers either.


I find myself living in a world and at a time in history where reality itself is becoming a relative term, with a million and one belief systems being formed and propagated around what seems to be each and every aspect of our lives, our society, as well as the very nature of our existence and our reason for being.



The diverse spectrum that is the human belief system allows for any and all manner of possible and even seemingly impossible possibilities. From traditional beliefs in a creator god, to belief in the creation of all that is by a single or multiple spontaneous 'big bangs' and everything in between, the list of potential possibilities is seemingly endless.

Some of us believe in ghosts, some believe in aliens. Some believe in global warming, some in chem-trails, some that we didn't actually go to the moon. Some of us believe that the current societal systems we have in place function effectively for all and that those who oversee them do so benevolently. Some would disagree.

Some believe that what happened in New York on 9/11 was an 'inside job'.


Some believe that those who believe such things are crazy.



Some of us believe if we work hard and play by the rules of society then we will reap the rewards for our effort and diligence, whereas some believe that our society is a pyramid scheme of power by knowledge over the blissfully ignorant masses.


Some believe we live on a spinning ball and some believe we actually live on a flat earth. Some of us believe we aren't even here at all, in the here and now but rather this is all just a Matrix style simulation.


Other than the fact that we're all born and all die, I don't think there's anything else at all that each and every one of us would be in agreement on. Even these two seemingly inarguable aspects of our existence would, I'm sure, be challenged by someone who believed they'd been here forever and would continue to be so forever more.

Such is the world we live in. But why do we live in such a world?


There is, of course, always going to be disagreement over certain aspects of life but why are our current beliefs systems so diverse, so personal and spread across such a wide ranging spectrum of possible realities?


After so much time and so many questions, why is the human belief system so shattered and splintered at a point when we should be moving ever closer towards a common understanding of ourselves and our place within this world?

Why do we believe the things we do, collectively or individually?



Some say belief is the enemy of knowledge but in a world where the needle of truth has been concealed and obfuscated among an ever growing haystack of half truths, misinformation, fake news and outright lies, truth and knowledge can be extremely difficult, nigh on impossible to ascertain, which means that belief is all we really have while we struggle in our often thankless pursuit of both.

Belief. Faith. Trust.


You have to trust someone in this life or it wouldn't really be much of a life at all but who do we trust in our pursuit of the knowledge we seek? Who do we allow to inform our belief structures? Who do we trust to inform and guide our children's beliefs?


I would say that most of us trust most of our family. We trust most of our friends. Some of us may even have neighbours or colleagues, etc that we trust. But outside of these immediate groups of men and women that we have direct, face to face, personal interactions with, who do we trust to deliver us the truth?


Most of us would and do trust the state infrastructure to keep us informed and to make decisions in our best interest in the 'belief' that they will and do. Those of us who are religious might also look to and trust our own religious leaders.


The state and the church are the two main players when it comes to moral and spiritual guidance of the masses and yet you would have had to have had your head stuck in the ground for the last century to have escaped the fact that neither of these societal institutions are without controversy, to such a degree, in fact, as to challenge the strength of belief of even the most devout follower or disciple of either, were they not so blind and ignorant to the failings or abuse of both of these systems of control.


Those who do see the deception inherent in the religious and state institutions and who decide to investigate further will soon find that this deception extends into all areas of our society and popular culture to such a degree that trusting anything from a mainstream perspective is almost impossible, whether that be what is presented to us as fact on the daily news, or the 'narrative' that is the official historical record.


In an attempt to figure out for ourselves just what is going on in our lives, our society and our world, what is true and what isn't, we often find ourselves looking at alternative views of the world from alternative thinkers. We throw off our programming as best as we can and again open ourselves up to possibilities that would once have seemed impossible due to what we've been 'taught to believe'.


In so doing, we find ourselves in a world where anything and everything has a possible and plausible glimmer of truth. A world where many do indeed find the answers they were looking for but not necessarily the right ones. A world that is inhabited by all manner of people, most innocently trying to share their message of the truth they've found for themselves but with many also whose deliberate intention is to misinform and muddy the waters for honest truth seekers.


So where exactly do we go for the truth these days? How can we eve be sure what's true and what's not other than the grass is green and the sky is blue?

What do you believe?

Do you believe in God? Which one? Do you believe we live in the matrix or that we're the long forgotten slaves of the Annunaki? What shape is the world you live on?


Why do you believe what you believe?

Did your family raise you to believe in God and that's why you do? Did your school teach you the earth was a ball and that's why it is? Did the state approved scientific community positively 'peer review' a thesis which says the climate is changing due to the influence of man, so it must be?


Who do you trust?

The BBC? CNN, FOX, SKY NEWS? The President? Prime Minister? The Pope? Your favourite celebrity? Alex Jones? David Icke? Your family? Yourself?


These aren't just rhetorical questions. I really want to know what others think and what conclusions, if any, you have reached for yourselves. It's a real struggle for me personally to make sense of this world and the society I'm part of. I've looked into pretty much all of the mainstream and alternative theories surrounding most aspects of our lives and yet still find myself without much of a clear idea of the truth of things.


In some respects, I don't think I ever will because whatever the truth is, it seems to have been hidden so well that maybe none of us know where to find it any more, even those who hold the power in our world.

Perhaps the journey is more important than the destination anyway. :)



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First of all: it's good to see you here again @tonyr. It's been some time since I saw any of your posts. Not just because you haven't been here much, but I've been pre-occupied lately and hardly read anything in my feed nowadays. Good questions and probably questions we all ask ourselves. Some more than others. Who to trust? You mention that most of us trust our family, but I think that with me, a lot of others also had experiences with their family when they turned out to be less reliable and trustworthy than one might have hoped. Friends? Yes. In my case, there are friends I've had for a long time and friends who only recently came into my life, that I trust completely. I am one of those lucky ones who can say they have more than one or even two such friends. Some are close and some are always in my heart but far away. Nevertheless, the trust is there. As for all the others: church (HAH)...Well, I've come to the conclusion (purely for myself) that church would be the last place on earth to find any kind of truth. I am one of those people who thinks that when religious people die (any religion) they will be highly disappointed. But on the other hand, I am very much open to the possibility that I am wrong. There are times when I trust myself 100% and there are times when I am not even sure I can trust my thoughts or feelings. It's nothing disappointing, or depressing or anything like that, it just is. I think with this modern information overload, news media and TV (something I got rid of for this reason), news that gets blown out of proportion or lied about, or not, it is very hard for anyone to stay leveled and know what is true and what is not. So I tend to listen to anyone and everyone who seems to make sense, then filter out the bullshit and add a little of my own spices to make it work for me. But always in the background knowing that either way: I could be wrong.

Hey @misslasvegas. Thanks a lot for the kind words and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. I'm still not as free in the time department as I'd like to be and have a few distractions in my own life which have limited both my time and my enthusiasm for being social. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles and hope all is well at the moment. I have a similar situation going on with one of my family members so can sympathise with everything you're going through and your frustrations regarding the nature of the system. :(

In the modern world I think that's the best we can hope for. To try to gain as much personal experience and 'knowledge' as possible and interpret it as best we can using our natural intuition. But this leads to a world of eight billion different belief systems, even if only different by fractions from one another. If there is meaning to life as opposed to randomness, then surely there is a universal truth.

What the fuck is that universal truth? :)

A world where many do indeed find the answers they were looking for but not necessarily the right ones.

Indeed! Lol.

Great article.
I like to take peoples words for things but I know a lot are deceptive or just inaccurate, so I'm always trying to be trusting but also knowing it might be wrong and if it comes from a politician extra skeptical! Heh.

I don't know much what's really going on either and I think that's usually a good thing compared to the people who claim to know it all. Cause.. I think they're often wrong, but if you can leave yourself open to the possibilities I think that's generally good. Each person measures things differently, though I think we should question virtually everything even our most deeply held believes and try to prove them wrong, then if we can't.. There's a better chance they are true.

I can definitely agree with all that as well bud. I trust that 99.9% of people are good, decent and honest. The trouble is working out if someone is part of that 99.9% or the remaining 0.01 since those in the extreme minority who are truly bad are masters at appearing to be one of and blending in with the rest of us. And its also true that just because you trust the man (or woman) doesn't mean their information is correct. Similarly, just because the information someone is providing IS accurate, that soesn't mean they're to be trusted either. Which makes things even more difficult. :)

Well said. I agree with pretty much all of that except that a lot of the 99% who are good, are actually often this way in their own minds eye, but not the reality of how they interact with the world. Most people still support war and bombs being dropped on innocent people or murder and torture animals when they don't need to. Many lie and cheat and steal when it serves them. And, in their mind they are good. I think even Hitler probably thought he was good and I think almost everyone does. Even some of the most tyrannical. So.. I would say most people are good deep down, but they've lost their way.. And they can be reached through communication, but some are so far gone that no amount of words or reasoning will help unfortunately.. those are generally the "dark occult" people in power. But not always. Sometimes regular people are like that too.. But yes it is indeed difficult trying to weave through these polarities! Trying to bring a bit of balance to the overwhelming darkness.

Definitely a distinction to be made.

it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

So many of us think we are good because we obey the rules both written and unwritten within our society without ever giving consideration to whether or not these societal norms are good or bad for us.

This is why I don't believe there will ever be a mass awakening. I think the vast majority of us are followers and will live our lives in accordance with the example being set.

Say 95% of us are followers. 2.5% are evil and 2.5% are truly good. The battle is between this 5% and whoever wins, the rest will follow.

I'm not sure if this is how things are but its how it feels to me sometimes. I think the balance is a fine one but made to appear as if the power is unshiftable. I think the answer is a simple one, perhaps so somple that we're unable to see it because of our perpensity to over-complicate things.

I think theyre both valid questions. The world is so mixed up its hard to know what to believe or who to trust. We've all become agents of misinformation by default nd by ignorance.

We've forgotten who we are and how to live in harmony with each other and our world. It's sad. I hope we can find ourselves again soon, for all of our sakes.

Well said! I vibe pretty much everything you said. And wanted to touch on this part.

Say 95% of us are followers. 2.5% are evil and 2.5% are truly good. The battle is between this 5% and whoever wins, the rest will follow.

This kinda reminds me of the Star Wars movie, which has often reminded me of what's going on cause it does seem like a battle between good and evil sometimes, and it seems endless.. I haven't seen the newer ones with the "grey" neutral force or whatever, but maybe that's the answer? I dunno.. I still feel like I'm on the good side, but it almost does seem like an archetypal universal language we are playing out, it's like the nature of the universe for these dualities to express themsleves almost.. BUT.. Part of me believes that is hogwash, and that we could mostly stamp out evil. Never suffering and pain, that's a part of life.. Accidents will happen too.. But.. I think we could in time evolve out of wanting to harm others psychologically. And I think it would be preferable to all the war and rape and torture and suffering. I dunno why so many others don't agree, and feel the need to be a part of this slave system of force and bullying.. More and more makes me wanna create a new world, which on some weird level i feel like is happening with the IFC.. And steemit, but especially in the IFC.. We have a good group of people, and our own economy and society and if we were ever able to amass enough wealth, we could make a physical representation as well, real place in the world people could gather.. And that's one of my new ultimate dreams. :) Hopefully steemit blows up like Facebook someday, and the IFC does well, and.. Maybe some day we can wn community. :) Ipice of land and create our own community. :) I think that would be pretty awesome! And noble. And difficult, but.. Better than spending my life fighting the old! I'd rather try to build something new. :) Make the old obsolete!
Also yeah.. I hope we can find ourselves soon as well! Before we go extinct!

Hey luv, how are you? Is everything okay?

:)

I'm fine thanks. How's you? :)

I's good, lol. Just checking in ;)

Maybe it is better to trust ourselves a bit more too if we don't trust ourselves yet. We just need to focus and meditate more maybe in order to trust ourselves more than anyone else.

I definitely agree with that @artgirl. Our intuition is one of our greatest but seldom used gifts. We've been taught to ignore what we feel inside is true and instead taught to focus on what we're told by authority of all sorts is actually true. :(

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment my friend. Hope your days going well. :)

I trust...The Avett Brothers!
There ain't no man, can save me
there ain't no man can enslave me
Ain't no man or men that can change the shape my soul is in
There ain't nobody here
Who can cause me pain or raise my fear 'cause I got only love to share
If you're looking for truth I'm proof you'll find it there

XOXO

wow great post nice writting. i like this sir

Comment removed

This is great publishing and great writing experience.

wow very excellent post Thanks for sharing i will done upvote..

interesting post once again thanks for sharing your knowledge :)

Please Stop - @bontive

You just said "thanks for sharing" and in your your last 100 comments you used 39 phrases considered to be spam and you made this exact same comment 2 times. You've received 0 flags and you may see more on comments like these. These comments are the reason why your Steem Sincerity API classification scores are Spam: 79.80% and Bot: 4.00%

Please stop making comments like this and read the ways to avoid @pleasestop and earn the support of the community.

fabulous one.

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