The Power of Thought

There is an old Taoist saying, "Beware what you think for they become your words. Beware what you say for they become your actions. Beware your actions as they become your habits. Beware your habits as they become your fate." So changing your fate simply requires changing your thoughts." Bertrand Russell expounded it better, not only courageously, but more so profoundly: “It will be said that the love of mental adventure must be rare, that there are few who can appreciate it, and that ordinary education can take no account of so aristocratic a good. I do not believe this. The joy of mental adventure is far commoner in the young than in grown men and women. Among children it is very common and grows naturally out of the period of make-believe and fancy. It is rare in later life because everything is done to kill it during education. Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth – more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible; thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habits; thought is anarchic and lawless, indifferent to authority, careless of the well-tried wisdom of the ages. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. It sees man, a feeble speck, surrounded by unfathomable depths of silence; yet it bears itself proudly, as unmoved as if it were the lord of the universe. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world and the chief glory of man.” See Bertrand Russell’s THE PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION. For my part, I said it before, I say it again: FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN LOVE IS THE POWER OF THOUGHT; FOR, DEVOID OF THOUGHT THERE IS NO SUCH BEAUTY AS THE POWER OF LOVE." Poch Suzara Twitter# Facebook# Google#

Bible Scholars

They are among the first religious morons who will tell you that “first of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.”

To think that a published book is for everyone to read and indeed, to understand and learn from. Is it any of the reader’s fault if the bible contents were not as exact and as certain, and indeed as truthful as the multiplication table – not possible for any kind of moronic or contradictory interpretation? Can you imagine a teacher of arithmetic telling his students: “First of all you must understand this, that no part of the multiplication table is a matter of one’s own interpretation.” Poch Suzara

Climate Change

Nothing is permanent. Everything is temporary. Change is the only thing certain everywhere. The danger of climate change around the world is based on a lot of political hogwash. Climate change has been going on around the world and will continue to do so as a law of nature.

Instead of climate change, however, what we should really be concern about is the human population explosion. We humans, not the climate, are the ones destroying our world, especially with the horrors of insane religious beliefs such as we must multiply and replenish the earth with more fools for the glory of God. Poch Suzara

The Truth about the Holy Bible

The Truth about the Holy Bible as exposed by Robert G. Ingersoll:

“Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself.

There are many millions of people who believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God -- millions who think that this book is staff and guide, counselor and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and the future with hope -- millions who believe that it is the fountain of law, Justice and mercy, and that to its wise and benign teachings the world is indebted for its liberty, wealth and civilization -- millions who imagine that this book is a revelation from the wisdom and love of God to the brain and heart of man -- millions who regard this book as a torch that conquers the darkness of death, and pours its radiance on another world -- a world without a tear.

They forget its ignorance and savagery, its hatred of liberty, its religious persecution; they remember heaven, but they forget the dungeon of eternal pain. They forget that it imprisons the brain and corrupts the heart. They forget that it is the enemy of intellectual freedom. Liberty is my religion. Liberty of hand and brain -- of thought and labor, liberty is a word hated by kings -- loathed by popes. It is a word that shatters thrones and altars -- that leaves the crowned without subjects, and the outstretched hand of superstition without alms. Liberty is the blossom and fruit of justice -- the perfume of mercy. Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy.”

For my part, as I look deep at my spiritually poor fellow-Filipinos, and as I look deeper at my morally bankrupt country – I say, it is time for us as the Sick man of Asia to throw this so-called holy book out the window. It is mainly due to the bible and its teachings that we Filipinos still believe that life is a defect and that we must not bother with reconstruction, but only seek obliteration. Indeed, look at us Filipinos as a people in this already 21st century: We are still praying to God to “give us this day our daily bread, and to “lead us not into temptation.” And we still continue praying to Mary, the Mother of God, to “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.” Poch Suzara

Forgiving God

Most men need to believe in a forgiving God to forgive them of their crimes against women. Most women need to believe in a forgiving God to forgive them of their crimes against men. At any rate, God needs to believe and to forgive himself too. After all, at most times, God knows not what he is doing. Really, if God could create a happy place called heaven, why couldn't he create a happy place called earth? Poch Suzara

Philosophy

I love philosophy. It provides me with riches that are lacking even among those who already rich: lively intellectual freedom; and the power to keep away from the monotony of deadly boredom. Poch Suzara

The Unexamined Life

Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, concluded that: “The unexamined life is not worth living for man.” Indeed, we must examine not only our own life, but examine also the life of our parents who gave us life.

For my part, I began to learn to love my mother and father more than I have then loved Jesus, Mary, and Joseph and other bible Jewish characters who never even existed; and, if they did, born centuries ago in foreign countries, none of them had anything to do with us Filipinos born in the Philippines in this 21st century. Poch Suzara

My Life's Ambition

Ignorance and fanaticism is forever busy, and needs feeding. For my part, I try to feed minds and change lives. What could be more ambitious than helping others become aware of the existence of the power of the mind via thoughts to provoke thoughts?

Knowledge needs to be increasing ceaselessly in every mind. There should never be an end to learning or teaching. Books and other writings should be read and analyzed and discussed. It is beneficial never to tire of partaking in the aims and goals of science, of reason, of evidence, of investigation, experimentation, and discovery. The goal should be endless search of the truth – man’s most noble of professions.

Bertrand Russell summarized it best for all of us: “Heroic lives are inspired by heroic ambitions, and the young man who thinks there is nothing important to be done is pretty sure to do nothing important.” Poch Suzara

Our Greatest Strength

“Our greatest strength is often shown in our ability to stand still and trust God.” Phil Star Jan. 8,2000

On the contrary, our greatest strength is often shown in our capacity to stand up and tell God that enough is enough. Oh God, dear God, you were a such a God in the beginning good; unfortunately, in the end, you are good for nothing. Where is your power under your own free will to change and improve creation? Why are you so busy at only being omni-absent; never busy at being omni-present? Poch Suzara

Corruption

It is often said that what goes up must always come down. Not however in our corrupt society. Corruption never comes down. It always goes up. Look how in this already 21st century, we spiritually corrupt Filipinos are still praying to a God up there to “give us this day our daily bread,” and to “lead us not into temptation” down here.

We also pray daily to Mary, the corrupt Mother of God, - to “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.” Poch Suzara

GMA

When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo publicly declared that “God put me here,” we all laughed privately at her as she became the new President of our country.

We forgot, however, to laugh at ourselves too. GMA’s God is the same God as every Filipino’s God in this God-forsaken Philippines. Poch Suzara

Love of the Filipino

Oh yes, I love the Filipino as a people, not however for what they are, but for what, with proper education, they can become: ahead in the whole of Asia in Science via the scientific way of thinking. Poch Suzara

Lucifer and his angels

The bible tells us that Lucifer was expelled out of heaven. Can any of you bible scholars out there explain what in hell was Lucifer doing in the heaven to begin with? And where in hell did Lucifer's silly angels come from? Who created these supernatural morons so much feared by equally frightened morons known as the Sick Man of Asia on this earth? Poch Suzara

Three Great Religions

It is not ironic that the most troubled part of the world is the cradle of the world’s three great religions: Christianity, Islam, and the Jewish religion - all founded not on sacred veracity, but holy mendacity. Each grown and spread out with the power of political lies and religious deception. Especially the mother of all religions – Judaism. The Jews after grabbing more land in Gaza for themselves, they also continue singing: “This land is mine. God gave this land to me.” Poch Suzara

The Collapse

The fall of Wall Street in America spelled the collapse of Capitalism. It was the same thing with the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. It spelled the collapse of Communism. Historically, both were a kind of ideology in a sense. Capitalism and Communism have been great evils as neither couldn’t care less about the human race for as long as either was winning as rats in a race.

Consider capitalism, just like communism: it is the extraordinary claim that a bunch of clowns, with the clownish of reasons, can work for the benefit of all mankind.

Hopefully, with these great evils out of the way, our world can now begin to embark on the road towards the achievement of a new kind of civilization where man’s humanity to man will be a terrestrial reality, sufficient unto itself - globally and indeed, peacefully. Poch Suzara

Reform of Ideals

We can never solve the problems of our country with the same traditional mentality that created them in the first place. If we hope to seek new achievements, we should not be going about doing the same thing. Indeed, it will be only more of the same circular story if we just install new faces in the chorus to sing the same old traditional songs.

We can only radically reform our way of life as a people and indeed as a nation by the radical reform of values and beliefs.” And that is precisely what other Asian countries having been doing – growing not with faith behind theology but developing with reason behind science and technology. Poch Suzara

Rizal’s Killers

The killers of Rizal never left town. In fact they were the owners of the town. In fantasy, the town eventually got to be known as the Republic of the Philippines. In reality, however, the Philippines is just one of the numerous backward provinces of the Vatican State – the same power that had Rizal executed during the 19th century. The same killers of the Filipino minds and hearts in this 21st century. All for the sake of God’s will to be done on earth as it for his glory in heaven. Consider most Filipinos today would not with love and respect memorialize the death of Rizal (December 30, 1896), but would rather manifest more faith and devotion to the Rizal’s killers - the Catholic priesthood industry of the Philippines. In the meantime, in Ateneo, the best Catholic school in the Philippines, the main building is named after the Inquisitor Archbishop Roberto Bellarmine, the supreme arbiter for the church in all theological issues. Canonized a saint in 1930, Bellarmine was the same saint who sent the freethinker Giordano Bruno to burn at the stake for heresy in the 16th century. The same Bellarmine syndrome that got our own Jose Rizal executed for writing two great books – NOLI and FILI in the 19th century; and, Hypatia torn off her flesh with Abalone shells to death by the mob of Cyril, the archbishop of Alexandria in the 5th century. Also canonized a saint who saw to it that Hypatia’s name and character be expunged from everything that represents woman’s intellectual capacity. Poch Suzara

Faith

January 11, 2009
Philippine Daily Inquiry
Letter to the Editor

Dear Sir:

We feel no shame for losing a job, health, or pride as a people, or even losing our dignity as a nation. However, we would feel shameful and indeed sinful if we lose our faith.

Sadly, however, a man of faith is like a drunkard who clings to a lamppost for support, not illumination.

As the only Christian country in Asia since the 16th century, what have we proved to the rest of the world with our faith? We have proved ourselves stuck as a people with comfortable myths; and stuck as a nation with political lies and deception.

Indeed, thanks to our faith, blind as it has always been, we obviously cannot see that in this already 21st century, we are still the victims of superstition, and not the masters of religion. Look how with blind faith we only love divinity out there; and we do so by ignoring our sense of common human decency down here.

I write as an atheist and I define my lifestyle as follows: As an atheist I love myself and fellow Filipinos instead of a god. I accept that heaven is something for which we should work now – here in our own land – for all Filipinos to enjoy. I accept that I can get no help through prayer but that I must find in myself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, grapple with it, subdue it, and to enjoy it. I accept that only in knowledge of my country and of the world can I find the understanding that will help me live a life of fulfillment – indeed - live the good life – one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

As an atheist, I do not want to believe; instead, I want to know. I seek to know the nature of human life in reality rather than to believe in a god wrapped in fantasy. As an atheist, I accept that a hospital should be built instead of a church. I accept that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. I strive for involvement in life and not escape into death. I want diseases conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated via human population control. I love the Filipino as part of the human race. I have no need for a divine grace. I want to live not a moral, but an ethical way of life. I accept that that I cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer, nor hope for an end of troubles in a hereafter.

In the ultimate analysis, as an atheist, I accept that we are – in a great sense – our brother’s keepers. We are, first, keepers of our own lives, and that we are responsible people responsible for the growth and development of our country. The job is here, and the time is now.

Yours sincerely,
Poch Suzara

Christianity Everywhere

Christianity is everywhere. It is demonstrated in our custom and tradition, indeed in our culture, damaged as it is already. Christianity is in the home. In the schools, colleges, and universities. In the cinema, theatre, and radio and television, in newspapers, in books, magazines, and journals. Christianity intrudes into our judicial, executive, and legislative branch of government. In the social functions and other civic organizations. In the business meetings, political campaigns, commercial seminars. Christianity is there in prayer before mealtime. In sports contests. The music of the day is contaminated with Christian messages. From all sides it moves in on us, endlessly. Ceaselessly. It is not possible to go through a day of one’s life without being exposed to Christianity. In the office, banks, hospitals, police precincts, city hall, residential buildings, hotels, motels, streets, highways, and in billboards, and public transportation system. In any important event of one’s life Christianity is standing by ready to take over the event: birth, marriage, anniversary, death. In fact Jesus Christ demands that you shove Christianity at everyone. Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, son, and of the Holy Ghost: 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It is all about behavioral control of the Filipinos. To have more faith in the failure of education that brings about not the Age of Reason or the Age of Enlightenment, but simply the Age of Christianity that gives the Filipinos the power to act as its own destroyer both as a people and as nation. We are not, by any measure, the intelligent masters; on the contrary, as a matter of history, we are the insane victims of organized insanity otherwise more known in the Philippines as Christianity. Indeed, Christianity has developed insufficiency, incompetence, and diminished self-reliance of, with, and for the Filipino as a people since the 16th century. The essence of Christianity is its intolerance. The first commandment of the Christian god is: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Christians cannot live with other ideas. They are forced to convert all persons to their belief system because that person, who is outside, illustrates that your god has failed to bring at least one person to his flock. Therefore he is not all-seeing, all-knowing, all-understanding, all-benevolent, all-powerful god. If he were that, he could induce all to “come unto him” and feel the “glad tidings of great joys.” It is impossible for those of you who are caught in that trap to understand that others have no need of faith in such beliefs systems and do not live in mental prisons or spiritual cages. Therefore you scream out to us atheists that our position is one of religion too, that we have a belief system as you do. What you are trying to do is, by definition, include us in your insanity. You define the positions and attitudes, opinions and ideas that we have as “a religion” because your thinking is so structured that it is impossible for you to understand the concept of a “free mind.” Indeed, you can only believe in the freedom of religion, when there is something better and greater - the freedom from religion. Atheism has none of the attributes of a religion. We have no god above or beyond nature, no breach of natural laws by such a god to demonstrate that he exists, no method of communication between such entity and ourselves, no elaborate reward and punishment system such as heaven or hell for being in accord with that god’s dictates. There is not one element needed for religion existing anywhere in Atheism. We have no atheistic morons known as atheist saints. Therefore, you charge that our religion is the worshipping of “nothing.” But, in fact, this is what the Christians do: worship nothing. An unseen, unknown, unhearing, unresponding entity which you call god is supplicated by you daily with no response. Nothing is there – but you worship it. Nothing hears you – but you address communication to it. Nothing responds – but you hear some messages in the void. Nothing ever happens – but you rationalize that “something” occurs somewhere, perhaps in one’s heart. It is an incredible game that you play all year round like children do for centuries. Poch Suzara

Jesus on the Cross

“One of the malefactors which were hanged railed at him, saying, If thou be Christ, save yourself and us.” Luke 23:39 If I were among those present during the crucifixion of Christ, I should ask: Jesus, as you are the Son of God, the creator of heaven and hell and the universe, gifted with powers to perform miracles including walking on water, making the blind see, the deaf hear, curing diseases, changing water into wine, raising the dead back to life, what are you doing there nailed to a cross crucified by a gang of religious dumbstruck morons who were themselves created in the image and likeness of your own God, the Father? Poch Suzara