Taking the ‘Red Pill’ is a metaphor for accepting that your ideas about the world do not conform to reality, and learning new ways to understand the world. After you ‘take the red pill’ you begin to to relearn what reality is, and to recognize the falsity of your previous beliefs.
No one takes the red pill out of curiosity. We will all stay with whatever beliefs we have as long as they can serve us in navigating the world,. We must have a crises with reality which forces us to question our fundamental beliefs before we can change them. The crises gives us the possibility to look for a better understanding of the world, but leaves us the possibility of remaining committed to our previous ideas, however poorly they are serving us.
The blue pill - remaining blissfully ignorant of the true reality - is always an option. We have a fascinating capacity to maintain our ideas in the face of overwhelming evidence against them. We are invested in our ideas, and everything we have done based on them. We do not give them up easily, and many people will only strengthen their commitment to their accepted ideas as reality tries to pry their minds open.
Whenever someone accepts a new outlook on life, they will talk of having discovered the truth, or of having taken the red pill. When someone discovers religion, they have taken the red pill. When someone abandons religion, they have taken the red pill. So which is reality, and which is illusion? Or is it all illusion?
Most people who have discovered the truth have simply discovered a new lie. The only ‘truth ‘ it has is that it rejects their previous lie. They have swapped a blue pill for a blue pill, and they believe they have taken the red pill.
The proper test for the red pill - for discovering a fundamental truth, and not merely
No one takes the red pill out of curiosity. We will all stay with whatever beliefs we have as long as they can serve us in navigating the world,. We must have a crises with reality which forces us to question our fundamental beliefs before we can change them. The crises gives us the possibility to look for a better understanding of the world, but leaves us the possibility of remaining committed to our previous ideas, however poorly they are serving us.
The blue pill - remaining blissfully ignorant of the true reality - is always an option. We have a fascinating capacity to maintain our ideas in the face of overwhelming evidence against them. We are invested in our ideas, and everything we have done based on them. We do not give them up easily, and many people will only strengthen their commitment to their accepted ideas as reality tries to pry their minds open.
Whenever someone accepts a new outlook on life, they will talk of having discovered the truth, or of having taken the red pill. When someone discovers religion, they have taken the red pill. When someone abandons religion, they have taken the red pill. So which is reality, and which is illusion? Or is it all illusion?
Most people who have discovered the truth have simply discovered a new lie. The only ‘truth ‘ it has is that it rejects their previous lie. They have swapped a blue pill for a blue pill, and they believe they have taken the red pill.
The proper test for the red pill - for discovering a fundamental truth, and not merely
a new lie - is to hold up your new idea to reality, not to your old ideas. The truth is not the rejection of your previous failed belief, but a description of reality. When you hold up your new idea to the aspect of reality it is meant to describe, does it correspond to it, or are you accepting the idea based on the emotional appeal it holds for you?
There is a second way to know if you got a red pill or a blue one. The red one is bitter. You will not enjoy taking it, but you will accept it anyway because it reflects the reality you have to deal with. The blue pill is sweet, Feel-good ideas are appealing, but their appeal is not in their ability to describe the real world.
Religion ans secularism both have aspects of recognizing the fundamental order of the world, and aspects which cover it up. There is a religious red pill, and a religious blue pill. There is a secular blue pill, and a secular red pill.
Most people use religion as a convenient model to replace the real world, and not as a guide for understanding life. For most people religion is the ultimate blue pill. This view of religion has strong personal appeal, but little value.
Religion is the ultimate red pill. Religion provides a metaphysical framework for understanding the world, which with a proper understanding teaches us how to understand the world as we deal with it. When we see religion as a practical guide to life it loses the strong emotional appeal of the spiritual, but it becomes an indispensable framework for appreciating how we live.
There is a second way to know if you got a red pill or a blue one. The red one is bitter. You will not enjoy taking it, but you will accept it anyway because it reflects the reality you have to deal with. The blue pill is sweet, Feel-good ideas are appealing, but their appeal is not in their ability to describe the real world.
Religion ans secularism both have aspects of recognizing the fundamental order of the world, and aspects which cover it up. There is a religious red pill, and a religious blue pill. There is a secular blue pill, and a secular red pill.
Most people use religion as a convenient model to replace the real world, and not as a guide for understanding life. For most people religion is the ultimate blue pill. This view of religion has strong personal appeal, but little value.
Religion is the ultimate red pill. Religion provides a metaphysical framework for understanding the world, which with a proper understanding teaches us how to understand the world as we deal with it. When we see religion as a practical guide to life it loses the strong emotional appeal of the spiritual, but it becomes an indispensable framework for appreciating how we live.
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