Truth Seeking

Over the years there have been many threads on critical thinking, and other ways of discerning truth. These are undeniably valuable but I have always found them lacking some humanity, lacking some appeal to intuition. These rules of thumb aren't fool-proof (what is?) but I have found them to be excellent signposts as to where the truth may reside, and they can train our intuition:

"Truth doesn't mind being questioned. Lies will not tolerate being challenged" - Unknown

In all the potentially contentious subjects currently proliferating - I find this to be an excellent first filter.

"Cherish those who seek the truth. Beware of those who claim to have found it" - Voltaire?

Lies are often presented as certainty, the truth is almost always complex, nuanced and specific. (see also: "The truth is rarely pure, and never simple" - Oscar Wilde)

As per my signature "Before the truth will set you free, it'll make you miserable" - attributed to various, but I love the song MANTRA by Bring Me The Horizon! In any case it develops the words in John 8: 32 ("And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free"). It may sound very pessimistic, but it still remains one of my favoured diagnostics in truth seeking.

What do you think? What wise words can you share when it comes to truth-seeking?

I feel truth first, in my body. Usually in my belly or chest, though sometimes I authenticity is a hot feeling in my head. And then, secondarily, it hits my brain and I have a conscious thought about it and can analyze my suspicioms, et cetera. Learning to pay attention to and trust the way intuition feels in my body is my biggest tool when it comes to discerning anything.

Thank you for this topic. It's easy for me to get self judgmental for not being more cerebral sometimes.

In this case, I'd like to quote Matthew Stover:

The Force is One. It encompasses all opposites. Truth and lies, life and death, light and dark, good and evil. They’re all each other, because each thing and everything is the same thing. The Force is One.

What is real? What is illusion? Where is the line between truth and lie? Between right and wrong? It’s a cold and lonely place: the void of ‘not knowing’.

All these things are all one thing: pain and joy, loss and reunion, life and death. To love any is to love all, for none can exist without every other. The Universe. The Force. All is one.

These are only different faces of the same thing. Call it the Universe, or the Force, or Existence: those are only words. They are half truths. Less. They are lies. The truth is always greater than the words we use to describe it.