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Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinion at all. ~Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

I thoroughly enjoy the daily quotes I receive on my iGoogle customized homepage. This appeared there some time ago, and I’ve spent a lot of time since then visiting it, and thinking about it.

Wikipedia informs us that “Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was a German scientist, satirist and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. Lichtenberg was the youngest of 17 children of pastor Johann Conrad Lichtenberg.

“As a physicist, today he is remembered for his investigations in electricity, for discovering branching discharge patterns on dielectrics now called Lichtenberg figures which are considered today to be examples of fractals. He also discovered the basic principle of modern copy machine technology.

“His ‘waste books’ (Sudelbücher in German) are the notebooks he kept from his student days until the end of his life. The notebooks contain quotations that struck Lichtenberg, titles of books to read, autobiographical sketches, and short or long reflections. It is those reflections that helped Lichtenberg earn his posthumous fame. Today he is regarded as one of the best aphorists in Western intellectual history.”

And so, to return to Herr Doktor Lichtenberg’s aphorism …

“Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinion at all.”

This is excellent advice. It represents the true spirit of intellectual curiosity, and even in Lichtenberg’s day and age, was almost impossible. Our educational system is predicated on the notion that we must form an opinion of our own.

However, dear Georg, was the last of a family of 17 progeny. I’d hazard a guess that his opinion was not only not much solicited, but even if it had been, couldn’t have been heard in the cacophony that that many children would generate. Besides, the idea is full of wisdom.

To form an opinion, one must learn about one’s subject. Most of us think we already know what peace is, what it means, and can even make a suggestion about how to get there. But what if we, like Lichtenberg, take the stance that we do not know what peace is? Wouldn’t we have to inquire about it? Learn about it? Learn from it?

This is what it would be to begin to address peace WITHOUT opinion.

We also would have to admit to ourselves that we don’t know what peace means. We really don’t. And, that we haven’t a genuine clue as to how to get there.

A.J. Muste was quoted in the New York Times many years ago as saying, “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”

Let’s follow Lichtenberg’s advice and let go of our opinions in the hope that we might meet and befriend true peace of mind.

Eun Sunyoung¹ is a dancer. She comes from South Korea, but she lives in Japan now. She has been here for twenty-one years and plans on staying longer. She has a lot of work to do here.

I first saw Eun Sunyoung when she was dancing at an open-air performance. Her movements, along with the music, were slow, dramatic and deeply haunting. I knew then that I wanted to learn more about her and the mysterious world her dancing evoked.   Read more...

Our mom told us to control our anger, asserting that anger is ‘not a very nice emotion’. If we are depressed or sullenly hostile it was overlooked, but showing anger is considered the shameful thing and I grew up thinking that if we express anger then we are not a polite and well-bred person.

We all know that anger is basically loss of control. When we feel at loss of this power we begin to shout and scream, not knowing how to recapture the authority over the situation. Or some of us just become absolutely quiet, trying to gulp the anger down, in case we look bad in front of others. It is as if by very force of our aggressiveness or passivity, we are deluding ourselves to believe that we are powerful.   Read more...

Simpler Times from B-Rilla on Vimeo.   Read more...

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I often wonder why children get punished, chastised and corrected for behaviors that adults would get applauded, commended, and praised for. We want kids to be self-confident, independent, and empowered. However, they are scolded for arguing with an adult because it is looked upon as being disrespectful. They aren't trusted to make decisions for themselves as far as when to wake up, when to eat, when to go to sleep. They are told when and how to do all of these things, which makes them dependent, not independent. When they try to make these decisions for themselves they get grounded or have things they love taken away from them. I certainly don't think this is teaching them to become independent. It teaches them to learn to be sneakier next time they want to stay up later, or stay out later, or eat that extra dessert that they really wanted. When an adult stands up for what they believe in, they are looked upon as being strong, or intelligent, or someone who really knows who they are.   Read more...

10 Year Old Beat Boxing from B-Rilla on Vimeo.   Read more...

What would happen if all of us would stop once a day for 30 minutes to focus all of our attention on finding and strengthening our inner awareness and amplifying the light within us? What if it were a governmental policy and the president would also be obliged to do so? How much would that effect our consciousness individually and as a whole? How much easier and flowing would the days be? By how much percent would that effect violent attitudes, stress and misunderstandings?   Read more...

Brother Ishmael Tetteh is the Founder and Spiritual Director of the Etherean Mission in Ghana, West Africa, and he’s a person committed to peace. The Etherean Mission is a trans-denominational metaphysical organization dedicated to self-awareness and the study of the natural sciences.   Read more...