You know, if you haven't yet seen What the Bleep?, don't bother. I can't remember how I first heard of the film, but I'm very annoyed no one warned me it's nothing more than an infomercial for Ramtha. Gah!
And because it's the night before Christmas Eve and I'm too lazy to do it all over again, here's a review I wrote about it over on Amazon. WARNING: Proceed with caution! Written under the influence of HOLIDAY CHEER!
Of course, we all want to believe we're "ambitious gods," we all want to believe we're the center of the universe, In Complete Control of the Uncontrollable, yadda yadda yadda yadda.
And boy, does promoting such an egocentric, adolescent view of our world sell! We lap it up. It feeds our ego, gives us the warm fuzzies, makes us happy ...
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Which is why Ramtha, the 35,000 year old warrior (why are they always warriors or Cleopatra? why not impotent Greek accountants?) channeled by the already wealthy JZ Whateverherlastname, is raking in the bucks yet again.
[...]
Had they simply allowed the scientists like David Albert to speak ... had they not included crackpots like Satinover ... had there not been agenda out the wazoo, this could have been an extraordinarily interesting piece of work.
But alas, money speaks louder than quality or critical thinking, and Ramtha continues raking in the bucks.
And so it goes with eating
Because it isn't just followers of Ramtha or other supposed vessels of exalted knowledge who fall prey to magical thinking.
It's all of us who believe we're somehow magically protected from the consequences of our choices --- including our choices about food.
Come on, now. You know what I'm talking about, the classic ...
Not me!-ism:
How many of us have secretly tsk tsked our neighbor hunched over with arthritis and heart disease, and thought to ourselves "Well, you know, he always was pretty grumpy and that's what happens when you lack a positive outlook!"
It's the Illness as Metaphor dilemma, the Humans Uber Alles thing, the belief that somehow our own thoughts and emotions alone are so extraordinarily powerful that they can defeat any and all other natural phenomenon, from tornados to coronary artery disease and cerebral hemorrhaging to cancer --- and that those who suffer disease are somehow emotionally or cognitively defective, as evidenced by their disease.
Of course, Not Me!-ism and Humans Uber Alles go hand in hand with Head in Sandism.
You know what I mean.
"If I just read up on the dangers of trans-fats, that's enough, isn't it?"
"Oh, all that stuff about the dangers of excess fat is a bunch of hooey. Besides, I look good and I feel good, and that's the important thing, isn't it?"
"I think it's more important to be happy than it is to deprive ourselves and follow some awful diet designed by people who are obviously sadists. I mean, being happy is the important thing, a lot more important than how much fat [or sugar or ___] you eat!"
Hoo. Boy.
And so it is we succomb to the seductive powers of magical thinking. If we just ignore it, it will go away. That one over there isn't as happy as me, so what happened to them will never happen to me. Well, they were always weak, so of course they lacked they strength of mind to keep the cancer out. Oh, that's not really bad for me.
Mmm hm.
You know you're doing it. Fess up, now! But is it entirely bad that we do this to ourselves?
I don't know - I don't think it is. In fact, I suspect some of it is kind of normal --- a defense against the reality of our own defenselessness perhaps.
The problem comes when we're too attached to the idea of our own supremacy over nature, I suppose. When we don't believe the rules apply to us. When we think the strength of our own character will more than make up for the fact that we're living on pig fat and butter.
When we refuse to acknowledge our choices in food are not only affecting our health, but the health of our environment.
It's yet another variant of Humans Uber Alles, except here, it isn't a matter of deluding ourselves that we are the most powerful force on earth --- it's a matter of deluding ourselves that we are the most deserving force on earth, and all else has been put here for our convenience and use. You know --- that stuff so many people were taught in Sunday School about the our relationship with the world. That we're on top, all that.
Which is why I've decided to become a vegetarian
Yea, I know, long way around to get to this, but good gawd, it's the holiday break and you're lucky I could get it this together.
But yes, I've gone vegetarian. Although I haven't done much with it yet because I haven't had time to.
So I'm having a baked potato with lots of pressed garlic and olive oil for dinner.
I don't know. This is pretty philosophical for a WFD? diary, but it's what came out.
So what are you all thinking about? And what's for dinner?