"ADEQUATE"

During the months since I reviewed the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza (1632-77), a single word from his writings has emerged in my mind as representing what was, to me, his most important concept. That word was "adequate." Joseph Ratner, editor of the edition of Spinoza's writings I read, spoke of Spinoza's belief in "the adequacy of the natural powers of our mind to understand the mysteries... of heaven and earth."

This concept is important because many agencies, particularly religions, power structures and political parties, don't want regular people thinking for themselves. A person is supposed to have "faith" in some prepackaged belief system, or follow the party line, or simply think what you're told to think, else you'll have trouble.

I've been thinking about this because I'm more and more convinced that at this stage in human social evolution -- especially because of the Internet and social media -- we humans finally have enough scientifically based information and enough of the thoughts of geniuses throughout the ages, that we no longer need prepackaged belief systems, party lines, and orders from the top. It's time for each of us to consciously and individually formulate our own opinions about the big questions -- "the mysteries... of heaven and earth."

Part of the problem is that the radiant, golden nuggets of scientifically established facts and profound philosophical insights are awash in oceans of wishful thinking, pseudo-science, propaganda and advertisements, repeated and repeated. Religions, governments and the like have the money to propagandize their points of view, while we peons seldom do.

In that context, I'll share with you a process I've stumbled onto enabling the winnowing out of false and misleading information and thoughts, from the good stuff. Mostly, the method consists of being as intimate with Nature as possible. My own personal technique for doing this has been to identify lots of plants and animals, hike and camp in beautiful areas, be alone, do my best to refine my sensitivities, and to pay attention to everything. Other people have different paths, maybe teaching children about Nature, maybe painting watercolors of flowers, or gardening. Many wonderful, fulfilling paths are available.

If you're around people who always are negative and complaining, before long you get grouchy and dissatisfied yourself. I'm guessing that that same process, working in a more positive direction, explains how one can be inspirited and instructed by being immersed in Nature. It's a process of osmosis, of a general mood and manner of being being conveyed wordlessly. We can trust these non-verbal messages from Nature because since the beginning of the Universe all Her features have been tested, and all falsity has been winnowed out.

My experience has been that, after spending a lot of time with Nature, when something phony or disharmonious with the general flow of things comes along, it simply doesn't "feel right," and I can avoid it.

This is hardly a rational approach and the messages Nature sends are seldom very precise. However, the system has proven to be "adequate" for me with my "adequate" mind.