The first biography I read as a kid was on Albert Einstein. The way he rose above current knowledge and used thought experiments made an impression on me. It gave me an appreciation for the gift we all have of a rational mind. I read about Thomas Edison, his work ethic and determination to try new things. It stays with me today. The ordered thought process of Aristotle appeals to me also and I enjoy the perspective of the Greeks along with their passion to form civilized societies. Then there’s Thomas Jefferson and the other founders of the United States too. Here are a few short thought exercises that can be the start of long discussions. I might just add a few down the road.

I spend a lot of time on this blog concerning philosophy since it is the means we use to determine how to apply ideas. It is good to have dreams and to have passions, but when people come together they don’t always agree. Philosophy helps us reason things out and come to agreements on how to apply these things and whether ideas have merit. It is like shelling sunflower seeds. Personal opinions and passions can be like hard shells that are tough to crack but good things can be found when you get to the heart. We throw unfounded things away and keep the good stuff.

There is a struggle between the Ideal and the actual in politics. Politicians are standing in line to prove their theories, convinced they know the best way to manage their fellow human beings. But people do their best work when they are free. It is like a young bird in a nest. The leap out into the world is scary and dangerous but it is unreasonable to expect the parents to keep bringing worms. Although it might seem ideal in some ways for the young bird to stay safe in the nest, his life’s purpose would be fulfilled far better by showing a little independence, taking the risk on his own and jumping. It is the only way for birds or people to soar.

Concerning religion, the nuns at St Cecilia in Clare along with the aunts I had who were also nuns had a tenderness and love about them that made me think that God must be that way too. Reading the Bible all the way through seemed a worthy goal and so I did it the first time when I was eleven years old. I worked my way through numerous doctrines in other churches later in life, saw people who were spiritualists and those who feigned authority over people’s lives. Some were good at disguising worldly ambitions as callings. I saw fear mongers who made a living selling peace of mind to the very people they had just instilled with fear. It came down to two conclusions for me: either God created love or he is love. I believe the latter. He wouldn’t be a broker who is trying to help us beat the odds of something bad happening if we pay up. He would be present in every act of love that we do. To know his love’s depth is the only thing worth pursuing beyond the physical realm. It has to be heaven’s only currency. What every person needs is something stable to fall back on when all else fails so they can have peace in their souls. Peace is what brings longevity to our minds and bodies. The concept of a God who always loves us is one way to obtain it since people and things have the potential to fail us.

Having a good grasp on descriptions and word associations helps us in two ways. It allows two people to share how they feel with good descriptive language. We can present the results of experiences we have in life either precisely through science or loosely through conversation. Descriptive language will put the same picture of what one person perceives with their mind into another person’s mind using word associations. The more skill one has, the better they will be at sharing these impressions. It is similar to what an artist would do on a canvas only the canvas is in each others minds. There are times when people exaggerate or give outright falsehoods. Knowing how categories and associations work gives us the ability to examine what is being said to either savor it, take it as a grain of salt, or outright reject it. We hate to throw the baby out with the bathwater and it is unfortunate to throw good statements away because of hysteria or pride. It is also important to know when someone is giving a line and not being honest. No one wants to be gullible.

The way to be free from outside influence is to be objective. A person becomes free from drama by rising above claims using a certain skill to sort the sense from nonsense. Some things are fact, others are possible, while some things are outright false. It becomes pleasurable listening to people and their opinions if it is approached with an objective view. This is not to be confused with a cynical view, one in search of finding fault. A person who is objective gives everything and everybody the benefit of the doubt and yet they also examine everything that is said. Confident people aren’t after finding fault to make themselves appear smarter. They will value input from others, be respectful and then lay aside the input that isn’t applicable or true. This should be a lifelong study. It gets tedious sometimes yet it is similar to music theory. Music may be enjoyable to listen to, but playing is even more. You always have to go through the tedium of study and practice to achieve worthwhile goals. We can always afford to sharpen up during any period of of lives.

Categories are the foundation of logical thinking. If someone told you that a chicken has four legs, you would immediately recognize a few points. The drama side would ridicule the person. The objective side would recognize that chickens exist and they do have legs. Everyone knows chickens have two legs yet for some reason this person thinks they have four. Using an objective approach one would ask, “Why does this person think this way?” He could have seen two chickens together and mistook them for one. He might just be trying to make a joke. Maybe he needs glasses. If the person is passionate about it, you might want to pursue the matter further and try to help them out a bit. If you are skillful, it is much easier to make good points with tact. Rather than throwing everything this person says out, being objective rescues the conversation and treats the person respectful. The use of categories that examine objects and their descriptions properly are the foundation for this.