A ponderance of the philosophical consequences which define our world.

Knowledge, it is our greatest prize, our most craved end to the means in life. Superceding even the simple trappings of food and water, the desire to know facilitates our collective and individual survival beyond any other. Indeed, what is water to the man whom knows nothing of drinking, or the breath for those who know not to breathe? Without the innate works of the mind which regulate our basic life processes, we would be mere stones in the abyss. It is for knowledge that those seeking ambrosia would consume the vilest draught, or in aims of propagation would bed with strictest propaganda. Only with the buffer of faith do we find a solace from discovery, and it is that selfsame faith which cripples our ability to function in reasonable methods.

Be it faith in the laws, natural or manmade, in the religions which affirm only through repetition, or faith in ones own life processes which enact in the guise of instinct, we lose a consciousness of self and environment in allowing pre-established knowledge function in the fundamentals of living. To wit, the eastern philosophical standards which encourage an all encompassing awareness state that to be aware of even the most sublimated understandings is to seek pure enlightenment. This is in brazen contrast to the western philosophy which, founded on the concepts of certainty only in ones ignorance, fosters a faith based standard of conjecture to bolster the confidences which intrinsically exist in our instinctual recognition.

So it is with no small irony that the Hedonic set of mind and life is automatically dismissed as pure self indulgence for the sake alone. In reality, the original tales tell of a rapture realized through the exploration
of all the fleshes possibilities, that faith in the pleasure of abstinence hinders self realization and actualization. Of course, this discards the conventions of morality and ethics, man made devices designed to regulate the break down of structured thought processes, in favor of a far more immediate sensational order.
Where the positive benefit lies is somewhere midway, allowing for spontaneous external stimuli erstwhile
the hesitation morality affords stays the infringement upon other beings quest for enlightenment.

Herein lies the crux of our modern society, for, while heedlessly permissive of many indulgences, it likewise makes light of lives seeking only a moderate level of indulgence in some terms through umbrella punishments and retributions which fail the account of individual cause. It would seem we are of the elitist disposition that a sum is the whole of a preconceived moral code as opposed to individual standards setting personal precedence. It is truly unfortunate that those who seek and, in truth, impose no ill will upon others should be made to suffer the greatest of indignities for the maligned wills of a status quo.

Looking to what could well be dubbed liberal countries, IE, those who have decriminalized or legalized numerous natural methods of spiritual pursuit and social reform, one finds drastically reduced crime rates, enhanced literacy levels, empowered medical care, and an all over contentment in contrast to those of contrary ends. Likewise, there are far fewer assaults upon such nations from foreign insurgents, and while the rule is that money has some respective devaluation in such places, there tends to be an encompassing economic stability which exists as a result of less capital spent on combating the natural pursuits for which all creatures are compelled.

History has revealed innumerable times that infidel forces seeking to impose a vision of civilization upon unwilling recipients invariably fall prey to the devices which enslaved the minds of conquered peoples. It also shows that the populous which is allowed free tenure in a personal quest for enlightenment life richer, more productive lives-regardless of the method pursuant, given that they also impose upon none. The great tragedy we live is that oppression through any means invites a system of self perpetuation, characterized first in revolt, then in the establishment of a power base which quickly oppresses the masses anew. This is the grand fallibility of civilization, Eden dissipated with the corruptive touch of power.

Ultimately, we must discard the oppressive elements of the Ego on all accounts to survive in a society
which imposes upon the rights of no creature, and thereby relinquish control through faith’s tenants, for
in all actuality the only standard of freedom is that which is neither woven nor bound to specifics of credo, culture, or spiritual pursuit. It is in the persistent practice of cultural favoritism to further nationalistic ends
that ultimately eradicates all cultures, and in the gross over-generalizations of those solutions which are intended to serve as a buffer for few that deprive all of their individual rights. So must the carelessness of collective will be honed to address individual crisis, and the confidentiality which serves as justification for undue punishment be abolished in favor of a realistic approach to the individuals right of choice. Only together, collectively aware of every facet in the most earnest honesty, can we address the reproach of each trespass against mind, body, and soul.