The usual end-of-year introspection, coupled with a beer or two, gets one to thinking.

And so is born the gospel according to rationalbrain.

In case you were wondering, the word gospel derives from the Old English ‘gōd-spell’, meaning ‘good news’ or ‘glad tidings’.

Happy New Year to you all.

The Scheme of Things 1

1:1 Beginnings

It is self evident: That We are a group of complex biological organisms on quite a nice little planet. That the planet is quite nice simply because We evolved to match what it could provide for Us. That We have senses and responses which developed for the purpose of surviving and thriving on this quite nice little planet. That those senses also provide the functionality required to for Us to see beyond the trees, the ground and the sea, to the expanses beyond our nice little planet and to the microscopic components within it.

1:2 Awakenings

It is also clear: That We have developed sufficient complexity over millions of years to transcend mere observation and reaction, and to add to Our inventory the ability to plan, to dream, to calculate, to communicate and to conceive of that which does not exist in physical form. And thus to conceive of Self and understand Its place on this quite nice little planet, and Its place in the We. But also to conceive of shadows and ghosts and consider them real, born of the senses and responses developed for the purpose of surviving and thriving on this quite nice little planet.

1:3 Conflicts

And thus We now see: That the We differentiated according to the shadows and ghosts and the location of the We on this quite nice little planet. That the shadows and ghosts of each of the We became the reason for the existence of the We. That, for the biological organisms, obedience to the shadows and ghosts superseded the purpose of of surviving and thriving on this quite nice little planet. And thus some organisms were selected for survival by the followers of the shadows and ghosts, while others were extinguished.

1:3 Ages of Reason

And furthermore We now see: That conception of the non-physical was developed by the complex organisms for the purpose of surviving and thriving, and not as tools for division of the We. For exploration and understanding of the abstract and unseen. For invention and extrapolation of the unknown. And therefore the survival of biological organisms is incompatible with obedience to shadows and ghosts.

1:4 Transcendence

And finally We now see: That reality consists of the We, and of the quite nice little planet. And that the complex biological organisms must re-focus their well-earned capabilities to the purpose of surviving and thriving on this quite nice little planet . And not in the obedience of the shadows and ghosts.

1:5 That will be all.