A lot of my thinking over the past year rests on an assumption about observers, namely, that cognition and perception are observer-dependent, and thus cannot provide access to any absolute Reality or Truth. Yet notice that for this assumption to justify the conclusion, it has to be interpreted as being actually real – that is,Continue reading “On Being Wrong (And What Comes Next)”
Author Archives: Sean
Beyond Boundaries
Yet perhaps we cannot go beyond names. Perhaps to even try is to descend into a state of infinite regress. “This tree is a white pine.” But before we call it a “white pine” we call it a “tree.” And before we call it a “tree” we call it “it.” Can we reach a stateContinue reading “Beyond Boundaries”
On Descriptions of Spiritual Awakening
Heinz von Foerster once said – here paraphrased – that complexity is a consequence of language; it does not inhere in the world. I want to extend his insight and say that complexity is not a property of experience but rather is a property of descriptions of experience. Basically, I am suggesting that experience happensContinue reading “On Descriptions of Spiritual Awakening”
Dialogue as Love
Recently I wrote this sentence: There is no other way because we are already what we seek: are already the very home in which we long to rest. It was in the same paragraph as this little gem: We are love. Sigh. I try to be careful when writing that way. It’s not that theContinue reading “Dialogue as Love”
Accepting Life As Is
In a sense, the work is simply to not wish that life be other than it is, at this moment. That sounds easy but it is actually very hard. If we look closely, we will see that we are in a state of apparently perpetual resistance to life. We compare it to past iterations andContinue reading “Accepting Life As Is”
On Avoiding Conceptual Dead Ends
Say that we are climbing a mountain and the trail becomes hard to follow. We come to a post with twenty signs nailed to it. Nineteen are marked with lines and squiggles that mean nothing to us. One reads “trail to summit marked with orange circles.” We follow its directive and, lo and behold, arriveContinue reading “On Avoiding Conceptual Dead Ends”