The article “Conceptual Blending and Analogy” (by Gilles Fauconneir) explains the mind state one must be in to become enlightened. It is about how we blend or combine two different concepts to create other ideas. Such as, a “race” between the 1853 and 19193 boat excursions from San Francisco. This is how one must look at religion scriptures and the concepts that they portray.
Let us look at the story of Adam and Eve. It describes why we live on earth and not in paradise. But, blend it with our life today and we have a deeper meaning. When I am tempted to take the last cookie, I think twice and take the message of greed from the story. When I make a mistake, I revert back to how Eve blames the evil serpent for her eating of the apple and I take responsibility for my actions. Also I am thankful for the things I have, for they could be taken away as quickly as they came just as God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. We blend the two somewhat similar circumstances (Adam and Eve’s life and my live) to create a third more perfect life.
Also, we can discover the true religion by blending all religions. We take all the parts that are the same from all of them and use those ideas to create a universal belief that could be accepted by everyone.
The WWJD and LIVESTRONG bracelets are perfect examples of blending ideas to better your life.
Interesting. I didn't look at the article that way, as a way to become enlightened. I saw it as simply explaining how we interpret things or how we come to get a message out of the scriptures. For example you interpreting Adam and Eve's story as one warning against greed and taking responsibility where I see their story as one telling us that there are some things god says we cannot know or that he didn't want us to know. I took the article to mean that you and I interpret this story differently because we have both conceptually blended it differently.
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