That bothers me almost on a daily. Why have so many people I have known become addicted? Yet for some reason I never found it all that pleasurable or enjoyable. Not for lack of trying either. I had plenty of occasions where I thought, maybe I didn’t do enough the last time….
I must say I do not recall dreams almost 95% of the time. I find I can easily astral project, and maintain consciousness when I dream. Which is now mostly the only way I recall dreams, if I meditate and fall into that trance. I usually do so listening to Gregorian chanting or something similar. Lately I have a hard time clearing my mind of the days bullshit. That is just a different issue altogether though.
The more I find out about brain development, formation, and structure, the more I feel we have less in common with each other than I thought. How could two things be so similar, yet simultaneously function on vastly different levels in different aspects. It’s jarring how experiences can be viewed as similar, yet have vastly different levels of experience depending upon the subject. I never found meaning or mystery in astral projection or that stuff. I always felt it is some random function of my brain, not some higher essence of being.
Look into Phenomenology and ‘Life Worlds.’ Each and every human lives in their own ‘lifeworld.’ Their own interpretation and experience of the world around them. (We might agree on the nouns, but the meaning of the nouns vary.) We know red when we see it, but red has a different meaning for all who see it. Literally, phenomenology is the study of “phenomena but not in scientific terms. (Well sorta.) Instead, it looks at the appearances of things, or things as they appear in experience of the observer. The ways we experience things, thus the meanings things have in our experience. In my experience as a therapist, being able to understand this idea has been essential to success in dealing with clients. Grocking that we do not have a shared perspective of the world around us, is essential to seeing how another makes sense of the world around them. How things add up. How they draw conclusions. And how acceptable solutions can be constructed or how their perceptions can be challenged. I think your perceptions are spot on.
Reminds of a story I heard, a purportedly true story. I have never verified if it is a thought experiment or a true story though.
A woman gets into a fight, at a night out with her coworkers and friends. She is knocked unconscious in the fight. She ends up being in a coma for several days. After waking up she has no memory of who she is, or what had occurred that she ended up in the hospital. The blow affected her memory, but not her motor functions. So she maintained most of her knowledge of speech and language.
She soon began having visitors, her friends and coworkers. She begins talking with them and asking questions about who she is and what happened. Every one of them describes her differently. Some call her an instigator, some say she is super friendly and considerate. Some describe her as having a temper, others say she is mild mannered. Some say she started the fight, others say she stepped in to stop a fight, and some say she was the one being harassed and attacked.
The more I think of it, it feels as though it is a thought experiment. Anyways, the point being even people involved in the same exact event don’t recall the same details or experience. It is one of those things that has always stuck with me that perspective is a powerful lens. What is important to us is most likely irrelevant to another. The mind is a wild place.
I was horribly addicted to nicotine (smoking cigarettes) for a couple decades. Tried lots of different times/ways to quit, which were horrible failures. Finally the Dr. prescribed something to relieve stress, 3 days later I quit smoking on my own as I ran out of cigarettes and didn’t need them bad enough to go to the store to buy more. It made it ridiculously easy to quit.
That makes total sense to me. I found most of my bad eating habits revolved around anxiety. Leaving religion and embracing nihilism did wonders to curb quite a few of my bad habits now that I think about it. Imagine that, anxiety and stress induced by religion, what a kooky concept.
They recall their experiences and their memories. Your brain makes you think you are a thing, not a process. At any point in her life, the woman was an instigator, friendly, considerate, rude, ill-tempered, mild-mannered, etc. But did her brain see it that way. Do our brains not let us hide from ourselves. I want to slap people every time I hear the expressions "That’s not who I am." I have heard it plenty in my line of work. Now, are you not only what you have done, but you are proving yourself to be a Liar as well.
Always one of my favorite things to hear someone say. I usually start to lose control as my eyes try to go 180 degrees over the top to stare at my brain directly to see what asshole comment it’s loading up. My teeth simultaneously clamp down like a bear trap on my tongue.
I quit after a six years (pack a day). Couldn’t afford it. Went “cold turkey”. Depressed for the next five years of my life. No energy. Known to sleep 48 hours straight and still feel tired. Something to do with my thyroid. I’ve been opening up my throat chakra lately. Seems to get “the gears” going.
kidding. I don’t believe in throat chakra. Only root, sacral, and manipura.
The Woo Woo Express has once again pulled into AR. ALLLL abort… Now leaving for Buddhist temples, Hindu Shrines, the Reincarnation Garden of Poop, Chakra Paridise, and all points sharp as a cue balls.
I spent many years of my career as a social worker working with children and youth often in conflict with parents or their own demons. Leaving aside demons which is to my mind a figure of speech rather than a monster under the bed I would hear arguments that were all about perspective. I would pull out a coin and position it so that each person could only see a different side of the same coin. Then I would ask them to describe what they were seeing and to convince the other that their description was the only correct one. I can say with some pride in my fellow Canadians ability to compromise that they got it, if not right away, then at least by the time the session was over. It proved a useful platform from which to dive into active listening, clarifying questions and of course I statements.
Oh! A fellow grub. 120 kids on a caseload, and you have to write to the court about your two home visits each month. I’ll bet I have some of the same stories you have.
Some but not many I got the hell out of child protection as soon as possible. I worked most of my career in non profit orgs mostly with mental health contracts. My only court appearances was as an expert witness in divorce custody disputes never on the side of either parent always testifying about what I learned from the kids. The year or so I spent in child custody was as you say, case loads too big although half what your experiencing and just awful situations. And of course paper work and reports. And of course politicians ready and willing to throw you under the bus if anything went wrong. My wife and I also ran a group home for teens.
kidding. I don’t believe in throat chakra. Only root, sacral, and manipura.
