This I believe

I use the intentional stance to try on various beliefs about belief.Currently, I have a belief about the proposition that Siddhartha Gautama was awakened -- that he was the Buddha. I have a belief about the benefits that seem, upon careful study, to accumulate while I practice the discipline of zha-zen. I do not say "I am a Buddhist" since, from the Buddhist stance, there is no permanent and unchanging self. Rather, I declare that at this time I prefer the practice of Buddhism to a rejection of Buddhist behaviors. I do not need to believe any particular thing or another about the Buddha or the absence of the Buddha to practice various methods described by Siddhartha Gautama.

This in contrast to my stance on Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama. I am convinced there is a particular urban primate who is the Dalai Lama but I do not harbor a real notion that this man is holy (even though he writes and speaks as a person with great knowledge of the Dharma, the elements of true statements about the practice of Buddhism). I part ways with him on the details about reincarnation and other matters in the same manner that I disagree with some statements about the world that Barack Obama or Bill Clinton produce. But I believe that the belief that all three of these men exist as living urban primates who hold secular office that impact human affairs. They exist in this region of space time as a changing pattern of atoms.

In the same fashion, at the writing of this post, I believe in the belief that our universe evolves toward the Omega Point. Further, a path (among many paths in many instances of many universes in a multiverse) may be found (as a result of the practice of certain behaviors) which weaves through instances of a specious present (a three second interval) where many levels of consciousness (including urban primate consciousness) emerge as structure from chaos to form a universal consciousness. The universe exists to reflect on itself. As I, a part of the universe, reflect on "I" (a part of the universe) a part of the universe reflects on a part of the universe. As "I" reflect on myself reflecting on the entire universe, the model of the universe inside my head is observing a model of the universe inside my head (observing itself).

The current super-ordinate structure exists as the Rough Beast. There are an infinite number of branches; Sexy Beast (a transhuman utopia), Dire Beast (the Matrix from Skynet), and the Furnace (anno insecta or even a dead world).

These provisional conjectures are no more true than provisional conjectures about unicorns. I believe in these beliefs for now since they seem like harmless ideas that only change the way I think about my behavior and do not, as far as I can tell, modify my behavior. These statements, when I think about them, do seem to relieve my stress when I ponder what is going on and how I fit into the situations I find myself in. I cannot, as yet, determine if my provisional acceptance of the simulation hypothesis changes the ongoing simulation that I am part of if this hypothesis is true. My low moods become buoyant when I remind myself that this is all just a ride at an amusement park. As far as I can tell, thinking these thoughts does not cost me anything or upset the balance of power between the sovereign nations of the world. It does open up new vistas of imagination -- it fires the imagination laser -- which could be a good thing.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.