Something to Ponder...

There are trivial truths and there are great truths.
The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, is making a point that is very Zen - or very Taoist if one prefers.

An example of a "great truth" for which the opposite is also true is the statement, "You are not your body; you are not your mind." While it is very true, if one so believes, that the "real you" is neither physical nor mental, it is simultaneously true that your body and your mind are very real, and ignoring their reality is likely to cause great suffering.

Another example of a "great truth" is the Golden Rule. It is true that we should treat others as we wish to be treated in the sense of being kind and compassionate to everyone. Yet the opposite of the Golden Rule is also true in the sense that it is kind and compassionate to recognize that everyone is called to a different life path and to honor those differences.

[As always, the purpose of these daily messages to provide something to think about, rather than to attempt to dictate conclusions.]

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What is "The Truth?"

To Keep the Golden Rule

What You're Sure You Know, But Don't

The Golden Rule is Not Always Golden
    

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known

 

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.
- Max Lucado

Trust in God's goodness.
Be wary of what humans do in God's name.
Not everyone who claims to speak for God is righteous.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.
- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.
- Eric Hoffer

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Thank You Prayer
    

The Light of Reason

 

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.
- Baruch Spinoza

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest
for easy answers and half-baked solutions.
Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Further reading: Practice Conscious Awareness

Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice
     

The words of truth are always paradoxical

There are trivial truths and there are great truths.
The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, is making a point that is very Zen - or very Taoist if one prefers.

An example of a "great truth" for which the opposite is also true is the statement, "You are not your body; you are not your mind." While it is very true, if one so believes, that the "real you" is neither physical nor mental, it is simultaneously true that your body and your mind are very real, and ignoring their reality is likely to cause great suffering.

Another example of a "great truth" is the Golden Rule. It is true that we should treat others as we wish to be treated in the sense of being kind and compassionate to everyone. Yet the opposite of the Golden Rule is also true in the sense that it is kind and compassionate to recognize that everyone is called to a different life path and to honor those differences.

[As always, the purpose of these daily messages to provide something to think about, rather than to attempt to dictate conclusions.]

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What is "The Truth?"

To Keep the Golden Rule

What You're Sure You Know, But Don't

The Golden Rule is Not Always Golden
    

True Faith does Not Make Demands

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.
- Max Lucado

Trust in God's goodness.
Be wary of what humans do in God's name.
Not everyone who claims to speak for God is righteous.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.
- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.
- Eric Hoffer

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Thank You Prayer
    

Trust Reason and Critical Analysis

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.
- Baruch Spinoza

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest
for easy answers and half-baked solutions.
Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Further reading: Practice Conscious Awareness

Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice
     

The Paradox of Truth

 

There are trivial truths and there are great truths.
The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, is making a point that is very Zen - or very Taoist if one prefers.

An example of a "great truth" for which the opposite is also true is the statement, "You are not your body; you are not your mind." While it is very true, if one so believes, that the "real you" is neither physical nor mental, it is simultaneously true that your body and your mind are very real, and ignoring their reality is likely to cause great suffering.

Another example of a "great truth" is the Golden Rule. It is true that we should treat others as we wish to be treated in the sense of being kind and compassionate to everyone. Yet the opposite of the Golden Rule is also true in the sense that it is kind and compassionate to recognize that everyone is called to a different life path and to honor those differences.

[As always, the purpose of these daily messages to provide something to think about, rather than to attempt to dictate conclusions.]

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What is "The Truth?"

To Keep the Golden Rule

What You're Sure You Know, But Don't

The Golden Rule is Not Always Golden
    

The Nature of Faith

 

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?

- James 2:14

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.

- Max Lucado

Trust in God's goodness.

Be wary of what humans do in God's name.

Not everyone who claims to speak for God is righteous.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.

- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.

- Eric Hoffer

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Thank You Prayer
    

Believe Reason and Critical Analysis

 

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.
- Baruch Spinoza

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest
for easy answers and half-baked solutions.
Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Further reading: Practice Conscious Awareness

Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice
     

Not Everyone Who Claims To Speak For God Is Righteous

 

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?

- James 2:14

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.

- Max Lucado

Trust in God's goodness.

Be wary of what humans do in God's name.

Not everyone who claims to speak for God is righteous.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.

- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.

- Eric Hoffer

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Thank You Prayer
    

Value Reason Above All

 

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.
- Baruch Spinoza

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest
for easy answers and half-baked solutions.
Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Further reading: Practice Conscious Awareness

Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice
     

Faith is the Belief that God will do what is Right

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?

- James 2:14

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.

- Max Lucado

Trust in God's goodness.

Be wary of what humans do in God's name.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.

- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.

- Eric Hoffer

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Where there is Great Love

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Thank You Prayer
    

The Light of Reason

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

True virtue is life under the direction of reason.
- Baruch Spinoza

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest
for easy answers and half-baked solutions.
Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Further reading: Practice Conscious Awareness

Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice
     

The Paradox of Great Truths

There are trivial truths and there are great truths.
The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true.
- Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr, the great Danish physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922 for his fundamental contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics, is making a point that is very Zen - or very Taoist if one prefers.

An example of a "great truth" for which the opposite is also true is the statement, "You are not your body; you are not your mind." While it is very true, if one so believes, that the "real you" is neither physical nor mental, it is simultaneously true that your body and your mind are very real, and ignoring their reality is likely to cause great suffering.

Another example of a "great truth" is the Golden Rule. It is true that we should treat others as we wish to be treated in the sense of being kind and compassionate to everyone. Yet the opposite of the Golden Rule is also true in the sense that it is kind and compassionate to recognize that everyone is called to a different life path and to honor those differences.

[As always, the purpose of these daily messages to provide something to think about, rather than to attempt to dictate conclusions.]

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

The more opinions you have, the less you see.
- Wim Wenders

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What is "The Truth?"

To Keep the Golden Rule

What You're Sure You Know, But Don't

The Golden Rule is Not Always Golden
    

Time to Say, Enough is Enough

Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, from which the "valley of death" lines come, describes a fatal and futile 1854 cavalry charge during the forgettable Crimean War. You can read the whole poem at www.dancelightly.com/valley-death.php

What is the proper balance between individual responsibility and blindly following the orders of an authority? When has the time come to say, enough is enough?

There are times, sir, when men of good conscience
cannot blindly follow orders.
The claim "I was only following orders" has been used
to justify too many tragedies in our history.
- Captain Picard, STAR TREK: The Next Generation

Morality is contraband in war.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Further reading: Half Reveal and Half Conceal

Your Own Authority 
          

Don't let "Experts" Stiffle Your Creativity

I want to be very clear that today's Daily Inspiration Quotes refers only to not letting
"experts" stifle your creativity and goals. PLEASE trust the medical experts
(and not the politicians) regarding the COVID19 pandemic, it is still spreading
exponentially in the United States and Europe, and places like India and Africa 
are going to get hit hard.

Please Stay Home (especially if you are over 60 or have a medical condition)!
Protect yourself, your family, and your community by minimizing all contact.

Take precautions, but try not to worry.

Always listen to the experts.
They'll tell you what can't be done and why.
Then do it.
- Robert A. Heinlein

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance."
- Steve Ballmer (CEO Microsoft in April 30, 2007 interview)

If stock market experts were so expert,
they would be buying stock, not selling advice.
- Norman Ralph Augustine

The best way to predict the future is to create it.
- Peter F. Drucker

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

An expert is someone who knows a lot about the past.
- Tom Hopkins

Don't Let "Experts" Throw Cold Water on Your Dreams.

Further reading: The Illusion of Knowledge

Don't Be Too Sure

Be an Instrument of Change

Success Tip: Drive Change
    

Be wary of what humans do in God's name

Trust in God's goodness.
Be wary of what humans do in God's name.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.
- Max Lucado

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.
- Alan Watts

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.
- Eric Hoffer

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Further reading: Know that You have been Blessed

Thank You Prayer

Heaven on Earth

Where there is Great Love
    

Not All "Experts" Are

No statement should be believed [solely] because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.
- Grace Hopper (United States Navy rear admiral and a pioneer of computer programming)

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it,
or who said it, no matter if I have said it,
unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
- The Buddha

A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.
- Laurence J. Peter

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Always listen to the experts.
They'll tell you what can't be done and why.
Then do it.
- Robert A. Heinlein

Further reading: Trust Reason

Use Common Sense

Take Charge of Your Life

Authority Does Not Define Morality

Exercise Your Free Will
     

Faith That Stands On Authority Is Not Faith

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.
- Max Lucado

To know a person's religion
we need not listen to his profession of faith
but must find his brand of intolerance.
- Eric Hoffer

What does it profit, my brethren,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith save him?
- James 2:14

The faith that stands on authority is not faith.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person who is fanatic in matters of religion,
and clings to certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe,
becomes a person who has no faith at all.
- Alan Watts

I don't doubt God. I have firm faith absolutely in God.
It's religion I'm doubting.
- Bono
(Bono is deeply influenced by the Northern Ireland "Troubles," the 1968-1998 civil war
between Protestant Christians and Catholic Christians in which thousands were killed.)

Nothing is so firmly believed as what is least known.
- Michel de Montaigne

Trust in God's goodness.
Be wary of what humans do in God's name.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Thank You Prayer

Know that You have been Blessed

Heaven on Earth

Where there is Great Love
    

Your Own Authority

The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.
- Terry Goodkind

No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.
- Robert A. Heinlein

The ultimate authority must always rest
with the individual's own reason and critical analysis.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

If we would guide by the light of reason
we must let our minds be bold.
- Louis D. Brandeis

Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic,
for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.
- Robert Lindner

Further reading: Re-Examine All You Think You Know

Trust Your Own Advice

Practice Conscious Awareness