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The Failure of Rationalism
The Archdruid does it again! Another brilliant essay! This one on the failure of Rationalism– and why it fails (because it doesn't address the unusual, non-material or spiritual experiences of around one-third of the population, that's why!)
That post here: thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-renewal-of-religion.html
Here's my own comment to John Michael Greer:
THANK YOU for speaking out about the most obvious truth regarding spiritual experiences and religion that ever got collectively ignored by the intelligentsia! I have long been frustrated by the divide between those that espouse rationalism and the rest of the population they patronize and proclaim to by turns.
I'm one of those people who has had not just one, but MANY “otherworldly” experiences that don't fit the ordinary day-to-day reality we live in most of the time. I've encountered ghosts, I had a near-death experience at the age of 13, and several other things even far stranger than that, all without help of substances of any kind– and I am not delusional nor prone to hallucinations. I have a high I.Q., I'm college educated, I use logic routinely to come to conclusions… I am fully functional by any measure. And yet there is THAT aspect of my life that defies what we call “reason.”
I have to discount it publicly, and pretend to be “normal”– presumably materialist– and I admit a part of me resents this and long ago turned away from rationalism. It just doesn't explain everything I've personally encountered…
In addition, you are spot on that those experiences are the most powerful of my life! Utterly transforming in a way that cannot be adequately explained to people who have yet to touch such a reality. Since I've had multiple experiences, I feel like my life's journey is indeed a quest full of meaning. But our society as it stands now discourages sharing this sort of thing, and so the most important part of my life is mostly kept secret, because the rationalist prejudice out there is so staunch. Despite this, I have managed to run into many, many others like myself who quietly but adamantly disagree with the prevalent paradigm.
Interestingly, though staunchly “paganesque,” I get along quite well with sincere (that is, walking the talk) conservative followers of several Abrahamic religions who should be quite hostile towards me for my own views, yet the aspect we have in common is just exactly these sorts of non-material experiences. That we get along so well to one another as opposed to rationalists/materialists says a great deal about the layers of hostility buried beneath this grand divide!
You're touching on topics here that makes me think that something big is under pressure and will one day emerge to express itself. Whether it emerges with a small pop or a great explosion remains to be seen.
Of course, I'm not SO private about this in my blog and close personal life. And I've had more than a fair share of more rational-minded friends and contacts let me know they were not on the same page and so hear my stories or read my paranormal posts but sort of file them to the side intellectually. Not doubting me so much as the possible realities I espouse. And I've never taken that personally from respectful skeptics. I love logic and don't believe everything I hear by any means, and if I had not had so many personal experiences, I would quite likely be where they are today: intrigued by such possibilities, but hardly convinced given the spotty data.
The hostility I feel is for the countless thousands of supposed experts who refuse to even look at anything outside of the materialist box. And yes, even for those cowards who betray their own sense of curiosity about spiritual topics, giving in to outside pressure to keep the funding coming. This is what science is reduced to today, a political system whose greatest priority is keeping the status quo. That's why I found myself cheering for Sheldrake's TED talk (and Hancock's as well) that were so controversial they got pulled and censored by the TED science board!! I'll be writing about this tomorrow because that controversy from earlier in the year goes so perfectly with Greer's blog post this week.
Source: http://lucretiasheart.livejournal.com/982257.html
