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SpeedOfSound wrote:I
A couple of things I think are necessary. I have to create in my mind some focal point outside of my mind that is undefinable. For me that is the complexity of the physical. Second, it has to be such that I get some perspective of my self as being very tiny and even non-existent. Third, doing things for others that in no way could benefit my 'self'.
tuco wrote:So you pray or meditate?
Pebble wrote:SpeedOfSound wrote:I
A couple of things I think are necessary. I have to create in my mind some focal point outside of my mind that is undefinable. For me that is the complexity of the physical. Second, it has to be such that I get some perspective of my self as being very tiny and even non-existent. Third, doing things for others that in no way could benefit my 'self'.
Sounds like ritualistic thought and behavior, a form of stress relief. I find intense exercise stops me gnawing at a problem and then a nights sleep often leads to a calmer analysis of the issues the following day. Each to their own I suppose.
SpeedOfSound wrote:
I am often asked by bleevers what I pray to. I tell them that if you are 'praying to' then it's not prayer, not faith. It is rather belief or dogma.
SpeedOfSound wrote:I consider myself a flaming atheist, a level 7. I'm a recovering addict/alcoholic and am active in AA. Just hit my 90,000 hours sober mark. I seem to pray more than most xtians and frequently refer to 'god's will' in conversations. I have had to do much interpreting on those twelve steps and the overly religious readings of AA supplemental literature.
I am often asked by bleevers what I pray to. I tell them that if you are 'praying to' then it's not prayer, not faith. It is rather belief or dogma. The AA eleventh step is 'praying ONLY for knowledge of god's will and the power to carry it out'. Clearly meaning that praying for remission of a child's cancer is not in the program.
I maybe should've put this in philosophy because it is.
Now I do not know how all of this works. I have suspicions but no certainty. It does seem to me that something about religion is worth keeping around. Minus the belief. It's kind of like motor oil for the human brain. If I have some issue or depression or am anxious about something I have to do, I do a prayer thingy and invariably it helps. I appeal to something I cannot name or define and mentally verbalize my issue. I then clear my mind of the issue. I do a physical movement that amounts to 'letting go' and then I go check netflix recent additions. After a few days I review what happened and always find some poetry, synchronicity, in the events around the issue and note it's resolution. Always good, always learn something.
A couple of things I think are necessary. I have to create in my mind some focal point outside of my mind that is undefinable. For me that is the complexity of the physical. Second, it has to be such that I get some perspective of my self as being very tiny and even non-existent. Third, doing things for others that in no way could benefit my 'self'.
These three pills seem to form a cocktail for sanity and emotional well-being. what the fuck kind of a mammal are we that would make that work?
Fallible wrote:Yep. People often think that a selfless fatal act has no benefit to the individual, because duh, they die...but the reason people perform them is because they think it's the 'right' thing to do. When we do the right thing even if there appears to be no gain, the simple fact that it's right and we're going to do it makes us feel good and therefore benefits the 'self'.
Fallible wrote:Yep. People often think that a selfless fatal act has no benefit to the individual, because duh, they die...but the reason people perform them is because they think it's the 'right' thing to do. When we do the right thing even if there appears to be no gain, the simple fact that it's right and we're going to do it makes us feel good and therefore benefits the 'self'.
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