24 May 2004

"Yazidi taboos include not eating lettuce, as they believe that evil is found in it (because) tradition has it that 'the devil once hid in a lettuce patch.' And very religious Yazidis do not eat chicken or gazelle meat." This means no decent Yazidi would ever order the Mardi Gras Delight salad, but I guess the mushroom cheeseburger would be OK. (MORE ON YAZIDIS)

I am under that particular delusion that says an idea stated one way elicits nothing but yawns, while the same idea issued more clearly or energetically can be powerful enough to turn our world upside down. I suppose I caught this sickness from Mark Twain, who famously said that the difference between a good word and the right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. So I am forever trying to get my ideas to move past the weak, green glow of bug light — but probably none too successfully.

So here I am courting failure again with some familiar ideas recast in new terminology to shed more light on one of my main concerns: the limitations of human judgment in regards metaphysical truth.

GOOD CONVERSATION

These new terms came in the wake of a conversation, which featured none other than Ralph Waldo Emerson. In regards transcendence, I offered that Emerson did a pretty good job of it — if we're to believe his writings, that is. But the reply came back that sooner or later Emerson would hit a glass ceiling called "Emerson," which would halt his spiritual advancement. More, it was suggested that Christianity as a method of transcendence offers no such impediment, no glass ceiling, because Christianity links people to a real supernatural reality that allows for unlimited transcendence, ending, of course, in the transcendence of death itself and eternal life.

NEW TERMS

And so we find new terms to better grasp the problem of religion. On the one hand it is asserted there exists a true, actual, factual, valid, objectively REAL SUPERNATURAL REALITY, which each person must link themselves to if they're to have a good life and eternal life. On the other hand it's quite obvious that we have an ever-growing number of INGENIOUS METAPHYSICAL SYSTEMS — we could also call them ingenious metaphysical "practices" or "constructs" — that purport to be the real thing but work wonderfully well for billions of people, who live and die for them every day.

In other words, the difference between the real supernatural reality (should it exist) and an ingenious metaphysical system (of which there are obviously many) is imperceptible to human judgment. As far as anyone can tell — from the vantage point of owing allegiance to none — one system seems to offer just as much meaning, comfort, guidance, strength, peace, joy and transcendence as the other. Of course, from the inside looking out, one must deny that; every believer swears by his own system as the one, true thing, while the "real" supernatural reality (if it exists at all) goes begging for universal attention.

PLACEBO POWER

We can leave aside the question of what is the real supernatural reality and simply realize that whatever it is, should it exist, it is falling behind all the ingenious metaphysical systems when it comes to attracting followers. We might conclude from this that the problem of living a good and meaningful life is just as well addressed by a placebo as by the actual medicine itself. That makes sense if the problem of living is mostly (or all) in one's head. It also might explain why Emerson could soar so spiritually high on secular wings: He believed he could; he studied and wrote himself into a transcendent state of mind.

Maybe the Yazidis are right that we should abstain from lettuce, chicken and gazelle meat and honor the Peacock Angel. Sound enlightening? Do you get a transcendence buzz off that "real" supernatural reality? Everyone who plans to research the Yazidis and rethink their current transcendent-producing, life-structuring beliefs please raise your hand.

Hello?

I didn't think so.

(MORE ON YAZIDIS)