Category Archives: Metaphysics

Bureaucracy,Empiricism and the American Election

Republican Convention: Some mediocre speeches,some reality.As opposed to the Democratic Convention.Better,more intelligent speeches.Less reality! Fascinating this play between theory and reality.Most people believe in theory! Yes,theory.Because that’s what we’re taught to believe in at our schools.You know- like double-blind ,randomized placebo-controlled studies.That is bureaucratic theory and it has cost thousands of lives! One thing I must say in Trump’s defense.He is THE ONLY politician who sees through bureaucracy-sporadically for sure,but nevertheless from time to time.Everyone else just accepts it.I consider bureaucracy and its natural allies-Empiricism and so-called Rationality THE biggest problem of our times-far beyond even corruption because bureaucracy and Empiricism corrupt our vision and make it impossible to see Reality and act accordingly.This phenomenon is in full view in the current Covid-19 crisis! God help us!

Vaccine Development! The Corona Crisis

Kudos to the Russians for the rapid vaccine development i.e. circumventing the obsessional regulatory vaccine process.I did not use vaccines in my medical practice but I can tell you that each time a new anti-depressant came out,I did not need 30,000 cases to tell me if it was safe and effective.By less than ten cases and CERTAINLY by 100,I was well aware of the cost/benefit therapeutically of the new meds! And btw (please turn off your contradiction detectors here.They are not useful lol!) with all this obsessive testing of the regulatory agencies many vaccines have shown harmful effects down the road anyway.What is really needed here is not greater numbers, as the Empiricists like to believe,but better observational skills among the scientists-something sorely lacking in modern medicine- lacking because of this very emphasis on measurability rather than “seeing”!)

Epistemology 101

Beginning to formulate the contours of a diplomaed course in Epistemology lol.Epistemology 101 will be titled “The Myth of Rationality: The Superheroes of the Rationalist movement”.In this first and introductory course we will study the statements of Bill Gates(Remember perfect 800 SAT scores lol),Antony Fauci,who is still in denial about his role in creating the Covid crisis in the first place and ex-president Obama who had the chutzpah at the end of his presidential reign to say:”We did the right thing in Syria”! (At least Clinton had the humility to say he messed up in Rwanda).That should be a good start!Applicants will be screened to test if they are able, in the smallest way, to demonstrate associative and intuitive thinking rather than the “rationalist” sort.Needless to say we will be fighting against decades, if not centuries, of social conditioning so I expect lots of pushback lol

It’s NOT all about the money

It’s NOT true that it’s ALL about money! That is another contemporary myth! In the guise of fighting materialism,that affirmation is actually supporting it?!Greed is only one of Seven Cardinal Sins in Christianity lol.Actually ignorance ,as the Buddhists rightly point out,in all likelihood has more to do with people’s mischief than greed itself.Take Fauci for example.I really don’t believe his mistatements are about greed.That’s not my reading of his personality(even if he has financial interests in vaccine development as one of the “money causes all evil” ideologues is likely to point out).No.Fauci is limited mostly by his scientific ideological framework sometimes referred to erroneously as “evidence-based medicine”.Actually people like Fauci are UNABLE to read the evidence because of their narrow intellectual paradigm.That paradigm excludes anecdotes,excludes individual case histories especially of the patients themselves! and excludes studies that don’t have large populations or expensive statisticians onboard.Science has lost its capacity for the pillar of Clinical Observation and replaced it with an obsession about study design and complex statistical analysis.In that way they OFTEN get things wrong.P.S. There may well also be embarassment about his role in developing this virus! But for now,he seems to be in complete denial(unconscious?) of that connection.

Medical Epistemology

People seem to have trouble grasping what I mean by the “Obsessionalization” of medical and social processes.So let me give you an example to help you understand.Dr. Richard Bartlett ,a Texas physician, claims he is having great success in treating Covid cases with inhaled steroids specifically Budesonide.He explains that Covid is a respiratory inflammatory disease and these steroids are inhaled and anti-inflammatory.He also claims that Taiwan,Japan and Singapore are doing really well with the same approach.Makes perfect sense to me.I  I call that”scientifically plausible hypothesis” something I much prefer to “evidence-based” which is far too technical and Empirical for me.

So you would think this would elicit interest and enthusiasm in the medical field,no?! Not at all! Remember.these people can’t hear!

So here is the commentary from one medical analyst.I am including it because it is so typical of contemporary “scientific” thinking!

A few things to beware of in COVID “news”:

  • Evidence that is ANECDOTAL– testimonial – no numbers, data, study. (Always be concerned when this is the primary evidence that is given. It is one of the hallmarks of medical quackery.)
  • Lacking specific numbers or data to back up the claims.  The doctor we are discussing today won’t tell how many patients he’s treated, just that he’s been “doing it since March” and that “they’re all alive”. (So have I and mine are too…maybe I should go on TV!)
  • Bashing all of the major national and international health care authorities (CDC, WHO, NIH), suggesting they are missing something very basic. (“All the experts are wrong” is usually a suspect position)
  • Consider the Source – Credentials Matter.  Physicians should share their specialty, medical school training, etc. rather than mentioning TV appearances or political appointments.   When a physician speaks, he should have a specialty that would be tied to the topic as well.  For instance, this doctor mentions being a surgeon.  That carries a bit less weight than a pulmonologist or infectious disease specialist or even an emergency physician or family physician who are on the front lines.
  • Over-simplification of statistics can be suspect as well.  These claims of why ENTIRE COUNTRIES are seeing such low numbers, claiming it MUST be because of this treatment and not because of effective prevention because of masks, tracking, etc.  (Beware of oversimplification of something this complex)
  • Consider Motives.  This is most obvious when someone is trying to peddle a product – medication, therapy, book, etc.  But occasionally it might be for other reasons, like notoriety.  I see no clear red flags in this case, but this is often the most obvious warning sign that something is amiss.
  • Let’s take these one by one:
  • 1) Evidence that is anecdotal-the bugaboo of all medical science.That terrible enemy of all Empirical processes.But you know what?!”There is more reality in anecdotes than in all the scientific literature(Ibrahimic aphorism lol)How did you chose your last vacation spot(anecdotal evidence lol).How did you choose your last partner lol?Unless you went on a dating site lol Anecdotal evidence etc.,etc.What they are  saying is: “Don’t listen to anyone.Just read the peer-reviewed journals.”Then you will get lost for sure.Ok. Then be guided by an expert who studies them regularly.But the experts like Fauci don’t listen,don’t look elsewhere,don’t really think deeply.They just accumulate data.i.e Empiricism!Never ignore anecdotal evidence! It can be life-saving!
  • 2) Lacking specific numbers. They had very specific numbers in the Lancet study that had to be retracted-from 95,000 patients(probably the reason it got published!These people are omnibulated by numbers.Like some men with breast-size lol)
  • 3)Bashing all the major international health authorities.Duh… Well,they have been wrong on nearly everything about this virus so I don’t see that as a big problem!
  • 4)Consider the Source – Credentials Matter.   I see! So if he were a respiratory physician he would be credible?!But as a surgeon he is not. Then I guess we need to listen to Trump lol He’s the president,the top of the food chain. Personal Anecdote lol: I once went to be evaluated at The Shouldice Hernia Clinic outside of Toronto.They saved me from an unnecessary operation! All the doctors there are recycled physicians.The vast majority are not even surgeons .But they have the best results for any hernia clinic in the world.No.Credentials are NOT what is most important.Knowing how to get the job done is what counts.

5)Consider motives.  Aha,the last-ditch attempt to deny real knowledge.Impute a selfish motive! They do it in politics all the time.Why not in medicine?!Since the drug in question is very cheap,they can’t impute a greed element.It must be the search for notoriety.Maybe he’s looking to sell a book like John Bolton lol? This is obscene.

So there you go.If you want to mistrust,I would suggest you go to the top of the food chain-the so-called experts.There are a lot of good people like this Christian doctor looking for practical solutions rather than ideological and greedy ones.We need to listen more to them and less to experts!

State of the Nation-Muslim AND non-Muslim

Most people in the modern world are unwittingly affirming and defending the humanistic,secular,Empiricist,Rationalist social consensus.At the same time they are refusing to develop the insight(firasat),discernment(furqan),inner vision (basirat) and real hearing(samia) that would lead them to the Truth- on all levels.Dangerous state of affairs,really! Btw ,this includes most of the Muslims who often have the right ideas,but the wrong instincts! That is, they are consciously believers but unconsciously Rationalists and believers in self-direction(tadbir).

The Contemporary Zeitgeist

People nowadays( the good ones lol) are so concerned about expressing themselves,about being heard, about having their opinions respected( all progressive,humanistic,democratic principles) that they have a lot of trouble hearing the Truth.It is all well and good to be respected and heard but this is NOT the way the deepest truths are transmitted!

Think of how the Prophets taught.Did our holy Prophet Mohammed go around saying;”What did you think about my latest revelation.I want to hear your opinion” lol.Did Jesus say to his apostles”Let’s have a vote.How many of you think we should confront the Pharisees?” Did Moses say”O.k. guys.The majority of you don’t want to enter Palestine.Let’s wait on this for awhile”.Ok.You get the gist of it.

The same is true with the saints and awliya and gurus.They don’t wait to do polls on their students as  to how to proceed.They rather call on their own inspirations or that of their teachers and everyone follows from there.Sometimes they get it wrong,in which case if they are sincere,they backtrack and look for a better way to proceed.If they asked for everyone’s opinion ,they would be paralyzed and the entire movement forward would come to a halt.

Even in the domain of science,the democratic.Empirical way doesn’t work.Science advances through geniuses like Archimedes and Galileo and Newton and Einstein not through a consensus of mediocrity.

One of my favourite science-oriented people these days is Chris Martenson of peakprosperity.com(forget the financial stuff,for now.Look at the science) Especially look at the Epistemology.He looks around at all reports and emails sniffing around for the Truth.He has developed what I call “The Ear of Truth”-in science! Then he puts it all together and he is very often right.As opposed to the bureaucratic W.H.O and CDC who,despite their billions of dollars of resources, seem to get it wrong more often than not.I really like his epistemology.Check it out.

And why can we not use a similar epistemology in spiritual matters? We can, I believe!That is precisely what I am trying to do-look at the other religions,look at  psychology, sociology,the n.d.e experiences and put it all together in a coherent package.

But then there is the delivery.Then you come up against the “But what about my opinion? Does it not matter what I think” Actually not! l remember   my first  spiritual seminar with EST in California.The trainer at the front held up a pencil and dropped it on the floor.”That’s gravity” he said.It doesn’t matter what you think.The pencil drops anyway.A law of nature” And a lot of reality is exactly like that.It doesn’t matter what you think! Put that in your democratic peace pipe and smoke it lol.

And then there is the diplomacy of it all-the relationship aspect.Most people have trouble with the Truth.They react-from personal offense,from social-conditioning,from prior mindset.And they get upset and angry.So the message needs to be diluted and sugar-coated in order to pass.The danger there is that ,like a lot of sellers and marketers,you lose the essential truth of the product.In any case,that is what I am working on.Wiser people than me have “failed” at this project.( Think John the Baptist.Of course”failure” is a very relative term.His apparent “failure”-being beheaded- may well have been ultimately a great success!)So I am trying to remain humble and maintain my bodily integrity lol.Salaams.And pray for the success of Truth over falsehood.

Judgment vs. Discernment

As Westerners,most of us were raised with the Christian slogan “Judge not,that ye be not judged” Matthew7:1 as a basic teaching of Jesus.This concept has echoed throughout history so that even nowadays we hear people saying “Don’t be so judgmental” as if this was an obvious truth.

In Islam, as well we are taught by the scholars to have a good opinion of people( Husn Al Thann) although most of the textual evidence actually refers to having a good opinion of our Lord rather than of humanity.Also we are told to make 70 excuses for our brother or sister if we see them doing wrong although this is not really an authentic hadith.On the other hand, at the same time, we are encouraged in the Quran to practice “amr bil maroof and nehi al munkar”(enjoin the good and prevent evil).How can we possibly do that if we don’t acknowledge and state to others the good and evil of their actions.So,this is a much more problematic question than meets the eye at first glance!

If we go back to the Biblical references to start with we have in Genesis of the Old Testament Adam and Eve being forbidden to eat the fruit of a particular tree.This fruit is from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.The punishment for this act was being exiled from the heavens and sent down to earth!

If we reflect on this story ,which is very deep indeed ,what can we understand?This is what I would propose as an explanation.1) That having ideas about good and evil is inconsistent with being in the heavens.Makes sense ,no?There is only positivity,light and love in the heavens.No need for judgment,no need for discernment.

Now,what about the Earth-plane? It appears that discerning good and evil is fundamental to existence on this plane! Is that not your experience?!Common sense,no? How can we possibly manage our lives in this world without being able to discriminate between the two? Ever known people who are too unaware or too naive to make those judgments lol?Ever noticed all the trouble they get into ?!

So how do we resolve this apparent contradiction- between being forbidden to judge and needing to judge in order to survive?!Let me propose a potential solution.It has to do with the difference between discernment (‘furqan’ in Arabic- also one of the names of the Quran ‘Al Furqan” so it can’t be bad) .Discernment is necessary.Judgment may be optional .

And what is the difference between the two.”Aye,there’s the rub” (That’s Shakespeare.Let’s bring in some secular wisdom as well lol).This is how I see it.With discernment,you can see clearly the difference between good and evil.But at the same time you don’t denounce the evil.You take note of it and you manage it,you try to inoculate yourself against it,you detoxify it, you mitigate it-call  it what you will..But you don’t denounce it because it,too,is from God.One of the recitations we did with the BaAlawi people of Yemen  said “Al Khair wa shaar fi mashiat Illah” Both good and evil are from the will of Allah.Sorry for the moralists amongst you but that is the reality.Evil has it’s purposes!We need to confront it without denying it.

So every time you come in touch with evil,remind yourself that it too is purposeful.It might be designed as a test,it might be there to teach you something,it might purify you and raise your rank.But it needs to be there for this life’s  purpose to be realized.And when you get to the other side you will know why!

Now ,one of the main practical aspects here is how to manage this evil- or this ignorance or this untruth(‘batil’ in Arabic). The first step is not to deny it!That just makes matters worse.The second step is to develop discernment and use use your wisdom .This is no easy matter.It requires a life-time and more.Our parents should be our first teachers but,in all honesty,most of them,caught up in their social conditioning ,daily worries and unresolved conflicts and desires,are woefully inadequate on this score!

So we have to seek out teachers of various sorts.Sometimes ,if we are lucky,we may meet them in our daily lives and during our professional training but most of the time,we need to seek them out.And that is a whole other subject and many go awry on that path.It’s somewhat like a Catch-22! You need discernment  to find a wise teacher so if you don’t have it to start with,how can you possibly get there?! The answer is the Mercy of Allah who will grant you this great ‘niamat'(gift) of a wise mentor if you are sincere and worthy.May you all be granted this Mercy. Without it, life can easily become a shipwreck! Salaams,Ibrahim

Schools,Oy!

CNN “Everyone agrees that getting kids back to school is important”. One moment……Not me! Schools are the epicenter of a transmission of an atheist,Empiricist, corrupt hedonistic,overintellectualized culture.The more we can avoid them and develop more healthy,organic educational alternatives the better off we will be! Let’s stop idealizing academia.That is the contemporary version of idol-worshiping!

Science? Oy,vey!

                                                   Science,Oy vey!
Eldridge Cleaver.one of the originators of the Black Panther party, wrote a long time ago:”You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution!”.We now have to stop parroting our so-called leaders who keep telling us how wonderful science is and ask ourselves:”Is science part of the problem or part of the solution?”What chutzpah to raise this question?! But think about it.Look at every modern problem that surrounds us-an epidemic of cancer,Alzheimer’s disease and Autism.Global warming,polluted waters and air and food-even the current pandemic of a GMO corona virus(yes,man-made undoubtedly!) and behind it all ,in every case!,you will find a scientific,technological origin! We are literally playing with fire(yes,that too is science-driven O Californians and Australians) and surprised that we are burnt.And NONE of our political leaders,even the most conservative ones,are telling us this story! Does this mean we should abandon science?! No,not at all.But it has to be MUCH better managed and its side-effects much better controlled.As long as economics and lobby groups are in charge we are doomed! We need a better leadership model,for sure.And the other question:”Is there an alternative to this destruction?”Yes,there is.We need to return as much as possible to nature,to natural means-God-given means and ways.Otherwise we are on the eve of destruction.And science,itself,will be impotent to change that! Just look around if you don’t believe me lol