Bettering Yourself

[diamondgirl]

I'm trying to get into meditation. There are so many schools of meditation though. Is meditation basically just doing nothing?

For exercise, I like to walk. Is this enough?

I want to be more spiritual so I've been listening to a bible-in-a-year podcast. It's hosted by a Catholic priest. I'm not Catholic. Is there still a conflict between Catholics and Protestants? This priest seems to put down Martin Luther some times.

 

[Rhinox]

There are some residual issues between protestant and catholic dogma. That said, the differences in denominations are not worth any sort of stressing over.

For meditation, I'd recommend a book or a guide. I'm sure there's more to it than merely doing nothing, but I don't know. I'm not into meditation.

 

[diamondgirl]

There are some residual issues between protestant and catholic dogma. That said, the differences in denominations are not worth any sort of stressing over.

I thought Martin Luther kicked the Catholic Church's ass. Yet, this Catholic Priest subtly still puts Protestants, non-Catholics, down. He said the Catholic Bible has 73 books while the Christian Bible only has 66 books because Martin Luther took out 7 books because he did not like them. He's covering books that are not in my Christian Bible, like the Book of Wisdom and Judith, among others. I feel like he subtly implies that Jesus founded the Catholic Church and that being Catholic is better than being Protestant, or that Catholicism is the first and correct way of being Christian. I get the feeling that he's saying all these other denominations are sort of heretics. Hasn't history shown that the Protestants were right and the Catholic Church was wrong, or corrupt?

 

[Axaday]

Catholic teaching is that when Jesus renamed Simon as Peter and said "on this rock I build my church", he was naming Peter as the leader of the church and that all the history of Popes have been a direct continuation and so they are the original Christian Church. Outside of Catholic tradition the first few centuries of that claim have been lost to history. There were always splinter groups and the Eastern Orthodox became a pretty substantial one, but by Martin Luther's time there had mainly just been THE Church in Western Europe for over 1000 years. Catholic did not then mean a certain kind of church. The point Luther endeavored to make was that THE Church had lost its way and needed a course correction. He did not initially intend to create a competing brand.

 

[diamondgirl]

So are the Catholics right? Should Christians all be a part of the Catholic Church? Is that what Jesus wanted based on the historical record?

It seems to me that if it wasn't for Martin Luther we would not have the Bible because the Catholic Church thought that only they should be able to translate it, interpret it, and teach it to the people. What did Martin Luther think would happen by putting the Bible into book form and making it available to the masses? He was a very smart man, so I would think he would see that it would cause people to leave the Catholic Church. Luther was saying that you don't need a middle man, the Catholic Church, to commune with God. You can do that on your own.

 

[MEDdMI]

We have a whole forum for religion and politics. Just saying.

 

[Axaday]

So are the Catholics right? Should Christians all be a part of the Catholic Church? Is that what Jesus wanted based on the historical record?

It seems to me that if it wasn't for Martin Luther we would not have the Bible because the Catholic Church thought that only they should be able to translate it, interpret it, and teach it to the people. What did Martin Luther think would happen by putting the Bible into book form and making it available to the masses? He was a very smart man, so I would think he would see that it would cause people to leave the Catholic Church. Luther was saying that you don't need a middle man, the Catholic Church, to commune with God. You can do that on your own.

I am not Catholic and it stands to reason that I don't think they are right. I don't want to be unfair to them. But I read the Bible and don't believe they interpret it correctly on many points. I also think Martin Luther was wrong about a lot of things, but we do owe him a debt of gratitude for getting that conversation going.

 

[Axaday]

We have a whole forum for religion and politics. Just saying.

This is a side chat. The topic is bettering yourself.

 

[diamondgirl]

In order to better myself I try to emulate Batman and Spider-man, my two favorite superheroes. Batman is hardworking, committed, diligent, productive, career-oriented, moral, etc. Spider-man is agile, fun-loving, free-spirited, carefree, social, a good friend, etc.

What better role models could you ask for?

 

[diamondgirl]

I don't exercise except for the some walking.

I was wondering if anyone knows how to juggle?

I've been reading that juggling makes you smarter.

The only problem is that I'm not sure I'm capable of learning how to juggle. Are the benefits worth the time I would have to invest to learn to juggle?

Does juggling provide an aerobic workout?

 

[Axaday]

I don't exercise except for the some walking.

I was wondering if anyone knows how to juggle?

Lots of people do.

I've been reading that juggling makes you smarter.

The only problem is that I'm not sure I'm capable of learning how to juggle. Are the benefits worth the time I would have to invest to learn to juggle?

While it is possible that juggling could improve your brain, I would go another route. It will be a lot of work. The main benefit of learning to juggle is entertaining people. If that part doesn't appeal to you, it isn't worth the effort. You can probably improve your brain more doing logic puzzles.

Does juggling provide an aerobic workout?

Not really. Your arms get tired a lot faster than your legs. They are made to do hard things over a short time, not medium things for a long time.

 

[diamondgirl]

You can probably improve your brain more doing logic puzzles.

By logic puzzles, do you mean like doing mazes. I remember mazes was something that teachers gave us to solve in school. Mazes were popular in the 80's. I don't see them nowadays much anymore; they seem to have fallen out of favor and faded away.

 

[diamondgirl]

Is it okay to, is there anything wrong with, extending your childhood to the grave?

I'm reminded of the campaign, "I don't want to grow up. I'm a Toys R Us kid...."

I think this is known as the Peter Pan or Pinocchio syndrome.

 

[diamondgirl]

I used to be fascinated with people who were into Ham Radio and I wanted to get into to better myself.

But now, with the internet, Ham Radio seems kind of pointless.

 

[Axaday]

By logic puzzles, do you mean like doing mazes. I remember mazes was something that teachers gave us to solve in school. Mazes were popular in the 80's. I don't see them nowadays much anymore; they seem to have fallen out of favor and faded away.

I don't think mazes are enough to do the trick. They are still available, but they are still only being presented to kids because they are kid stuff.

Sudoku is probably good for your brain. Cryptoquotes. Mindbenders. Things that make you exercise your brain.

 

[diamondgirl]

I used to play chess growing up. I thought I was good because I could beat those around me.

But when I goy to college and online, I found out I did not know anything.

I did not know any of the configurations except the Ruy-Lopez, and I could not visualize the board which is critical.

I don't know how people can see where every piece is on the board, in their head.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I beat a computer at chess once.

 

[diamondgirl]

I beat a computer at chess once.

This would have been an impressive feat during the 80's and early 90's, but when the internet took off and chess sites connected players from all over the world the computer was easy compared to actual human players.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I never studied any chess strategies though. I dpn't know what's a good opening or a dumb opening. I just learned the mechanics.

 

[diamondgirl]

I've pretty much decided to give up on chess because of Thomas Edison's quote:

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Great accomplishments depend not so much on ingenuity as on hard work. This is a saying of the American inventor Thomas Edison.

I'm not willing to put in the work; it's just not worth it to me.

It's not enough to just like something (e.g..read about it, watch videos, listen to podcasts, etc.). At some point you have to do it, work at it, and practice it if you want to get any better at it.