X-Message-Number: 3798
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 1995 13:43:46 -0500 (EST)
From: Andro <>
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS values

Robert Ettinger correctly fingers a danger in the "If it feels good, 
meditate on it" approach to life.  The danger is that spending too much 
time analyzing "Did it feel good?" then leads to too much "Would it feel 
good if...?", and getting locked into an inactive state.  

But the original premise is, "If it feels good, DO it."  Action is 
primary, reflection secondary.  If it felt good, do it again.  If it felt 
bad, consider alternative action, and act.

My personal model for an approach to life is the archetypal hero of the 
fairy story, who leaves home to seek his fortune; I believe there is a 
lot of wisdom in the idea that if you are kind to animals, share your 
crust of bread with old beggars and hags, then serendipitously their 
gifts will aid you, and you end up marrying the princess and gaining half 
the kingdom.

Over the past 25 years I've enrolled at universities in Scotland, 
Denmark, and Canada, and each time quit before completing any courses.  I 
am in love 
with the amount of LEARNING they hold, always disappointed by their lack 
of WISDOM - or at least by their teaching theory rather than practice (in 
the Arts, whether: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History).  Instead I 
have preferred to: join various religions, run as a candidate, start my 
own businesses, and travel as much as possible.  

You have less chance of getting a degree that way, but more chance of 
developing a clean-slate big-picture understanding of the world, and 
becoming a cryonics advocate!

I have been caught for years in states of introspection all the same; but 
eventually, inevitably, my fairytale approach leads me to the next level.

Always optimistically,

Robin

PS there was a typo in the last letter, I wrote "hard" for "harm".



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