Tag: atheism

Government is Religion – Episode 194

by Kurt Robinson on June 10, 2018 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: States are compulsory cults

In the USA, many children go to school and say a prayer to a piece of cloth, affirming their faith in a deity called a “nation”. Many of them will grow up to continue worshipping the flag, repeating the words of their pledge of allegiance impressed on them when they were too young to even sign a contract. If someone desecrates the flag, urinating on it or burning it, they will get angry, because they know it means something – in fact, in their minds, it’s very difficult to separate any flag from their god – their nation.

The American bald eagle is no longer endangered in the United States, but it’s still illegal to harm one. To the lawmakers, the bald eagle is also a sacred image, a totem that represents the unity of their tribe. If you question whether obedience to the state is really beneficial or necessary, it’s normal to hear the response “It’s the law!” as if just by virtue of being declared a law makes it worthy of reverence, deference, and subjugation. The code of the government is sacred, no matter what it says, no matter how absurd.

All around the world, people have similar practices, blurring the lines between government and religion. In fact, they may be the same thing. Worshipping the government is just a particular kind of religion, a “civil religion”. In this episode, Kurt interviews entrepreneur, traveller and thinker, Shamus Mac, as he presents his case that governments are imposing their own compulsory religions, convincing or brainwashing their subjects into believing that their government, their country, their symbols and the spirit of them are all identical. Join us on another deprogramming adventure on … The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Civil Religion video

Robert Bellah’s Civil Religion in America essay

Peace of Westphalia on Wikipedia

Etymology of “religion”

Huichol Indians

What on Earth is happening – website of Mark Passio

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please like and follow The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Four kinds of leaders – Luis Fernando Mises

by Kurt Robinson on January 17, 2017 in Best Bits • 0 Comments

Luis from Emancipated Human explains the four kinds of leaders that have existed throughout history, about his experience meeting business leaders, and how we can move into the future.

Transcript

There’s been four kinds of leaders throughout history.

First was the religious leaders. They had their religious entities which were able to tell people how to act. But now, those guys cannot necessarily agree with one another – two leaders of religious sects – because they either merge, discombobulate or whatever. So they can’t.

You move to the idea of the militant or military leader. The health of the state is through war or through coercion and all of that, so they can’t, or they will lose their space, their reason for being.

Then you move to the democratic leadership where, through politics, they’re not allowed to have a lot in common with other states – “I always have to be on top.” That’s not ideal, but you don’t see a lot of eye to eye contact. “I’ll help you and I’ll get a bunch of resources…” They just take advantage of each other.

So then we move to the fourth kind of leadership, which to me seems the most spiritually aware and I’ll tell you – it’s the business leader. The business leader is willing to do a deal with the devil if it’s good for all parties involved, because the business leader is not going to lose – but it’s willing to give as well. So it’s a voluntary exchange for mutual benefit.

But a lot of people say “the business leaders are greedy; they’re in it for themselves.” Well, yes and no, but that’s the hurdle that we have to jump. We have to let people see that the business leader is not just there to make a buck and go to the beach – I mean everybody loves the beach right – but the idea is that, when you’re working from purpose – like all these 201 CEOs that I was with, all those guys, they have enough money; they don’t need to work; they have enough resources and influence. They really don’t need to work any more. A lot of people say “They’re just greedy; they just want more.” Well, a lot of those guys stopped taking salaries. They’re just doing it because they love the work they do.

The idea is to help us see, and this just comes with maturity, how the business leader would be able to help eliminate the state, because if you think of international companies, somebody can be in the US, Mexico, Amsterdam, it doesn’t matter what country you’re in, we’re in the same company. Even if you’re Australian and I’m Mexican, and I’m in the states and you’re in Mexico, we’re connected through that link. Screw borders.

So the idea is to help us understand and find our own purpose. The one thing that can save humanity, in my perspective, is raising consciousness in humans. It’s not hating the state, it’s not creating wars. It’s just working on our own individual selves.

Synchronicity – Leandrew Dixon

by Kurt Robinson on January 8, 2017 in Podcast • 0 Comments

Leandrew tells a story about a day full of synchronicities that made him wonder what was going on in the universe.

Watch or listen to the full episode here L-Dixon: Believer to atheist to wonderer- The Paradise Paradox Episode 143

Transcript

I used to be this straight-edge atheist character, and now, having experimented with psychedelics, witnessed synchronicities – I’m still sort of agnostic, but I highly and strongly believe that there is something greater going on than what we currently understand.

I feel like I had become a different person in a way – completely diametrically opposed to where I was before.

The Ouroboros – the snake eating its own tail – it represents rebirth, and cycles. To me, that kind of represented the fact that I had come around intellectually, to start to devour my old ideas – the old picture of reality I had. It’s like, that’s bullshit, that’s almost as much of a religion as the religions I was so opposed to. So I made the decision to go get these tattoos, the Ouroboros tattoos. That day, I wanted to get Carl Jung’s book “Synchronicity”, because he’s the one who coined the term and I just thought it would be a cool thing to read. I went to Barnes & Noble and I picked up the book, and I noticed that he has his book “Man and his Symbols” right next to it. I picked that up and go to flip it to a random page, completely random page in the middle of the book, and it’s the fucking Ouroboros. I have the synchronicity book in my left hand, and that day I’m going to get these tattoos, and I flip open this book randomly and it’s the Ouroboros. It was just a mindfuck that I couldn’t deny.

It was just one of those things. I know my personal experiences and synchronicities – they aren’t really a testament to the larger reality, they’re not “proof” of anything, but it was like a sense of internal validation that, there’s something more going on, that I want to dive into and try to figure out and understand as much as I can.

Anyway, later that day, I go and get the tattoo, still have the books in my car. The tattoo artist is just starting, doing the head. He randomly mentions to me “Hey, you know what, I’d rather be just running through the forest and tripping on mushrooms.” And at the time I had a pretty large supply of mushrooms, so I’m like, “You’re talking to the right person – we can make this happen.” I ended up paying for my tattoos with the mushrooms on the day I grabbed the synchronicity book and opened up the page with the Ouroboros… It was just a mindfuck.

L-Dixon: Believer to Atheist to Wonderer – Episode 143

by Kurt Robinson on December 12, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Hardcore atheist goes on a spiritual quest

Many people in the world grow up with a religion, believing in a certain interpretation of God. When they get a little older and start asking questions, they might notice that those people who are supposed to be the authority on the subject don’t know quite as much as they pretended. This young truthseeker has to face the sad fact that he’s been tricked, that the world is a little different compared to what they told him in Sunday school.

Such a strong disappointment is hard to take, and may be a formative experience. Determined to avoid such feelings, he says “I’ll never be fooled again!” and, going a step further, he says “I’ll never believe in anything again!” He becomes a hardened atheist and skeptic, determined to make sure that everyone knows that magic and miracles are just for children’s stories.

The years pass by, and eventually he sees some strange things happen. He takes psychedelics, and within the course of a few hours, he sees his life from a completely different perspective. He begins to notice coincidences which make him start to question whether he’s been missing something. He’s no longer content to accept just anything, nor to reject everything. Instead, he keeps asking questions, thinking about “what if” and considering ideas “as if true”. He becomes a wonderer.

In this episode, Kurt interviews Leandrew Dixon, a man who has taken this path and enriched his life because of it. Join us both on the next paradigm-shattering episode of… The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Never Get Busted on Facebook

Never Get Busted website

L-Dixon on Anarchast with Jeff Berwick

L-Dixon on Soundcloud

L-Dixon on YouTube

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit and Aaron’s posts on Steemit.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Episode 21 – God Mode

by Kurt Robinson on March 27, 2015 in Podcast • 0 Comments

In this episode, we take on a huge subject, perhaps the biggest. We’re talking about God. Who is God? What does He/She/It do in Their spare time? What’s Their phone number? We find the answer to none of this questions in this exciting chapter of The Paradise Paradox.

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

Please donate to show your support. BitCoin address: 182CzJUbz8xb1JZjuVm2S4YUBfd3xk2XfM

Or donate your Altcoins using Shapeshift: