Introverts are the future, if only the extroverts would just focus on doing all the work and leave us alone.
Or be replaced by robots.
All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
361–370 of 468 posts
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#362Earlier quoted context omitted.
the day you can sit for hours without doing anything, you've attained the state of self-realization – self-love free from all conditions. The conditioned mind is no longer there, the thoughts no longer bombard you, the emotions no longer disturb you. You enjoy the deep peace, contentment and bliss of your infinite self. Then you can truly contemplate deeply on anything you feel important, then the deep mysteries of e…
Not if you are hungry. Deep mysteries are fine and all but doing so in -1 deg celcius on an empty stomach lays out the reality of existence with exacting clarity. We are merely animals. Nothing more. Nothing less.
You might be interested in learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs:
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#363Earlier quoted context omitted.
The modern world is also set up in such a way* to preclude such activity because we are surrounded by stimuli and activity that distracts people and gives them things to do and think about. I noticed this when I became more interested in quiet contemplation. Its not easy for everyone to allocate uninterrupted time for such activity. * the modern world emergently selects for these interruptions, I'm not suggesting an…
"...to preclude such activity because we are surrounded by stimuli and activity that distracts people and gives them things to do and think about." You're right. In my opinion, one of the best examples of this is to be seen in our films, videos and multimedia presentations, etc. With very few exceptions, extremely tight editing is now the norm, scenes are cut to within an inch of incomprehension and there's rapid swi…
This is some helpful insight. Anyone who plans to edit video in the future should contemplate it. We need more longer, slower shots. Rapid cuts - like high notes for a singer - should to my mind be used more sparingly for greater impact.
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#364Earlier quoted context omitted.
> -1 deg celcius on an empty stomach Sounds like a walk in the park for an ascetic. We forget how comfortable we’ve become, 250 years ago this would have been your average Tuesday.
Show us an ascetic who would find this a walk in the park.
"Published in science journal PLOS ONE in March 2013, the study documented reliable core body temperature increases for the first time in Tibetan nuns practising g-tummo meditation...
"The researchers collected data during the unique ceremony in Tibet, where nuns were able to raise their core body temperature and dry up wet sheets wrapped around their bodies in the cold Himalayan weather (-25 degree Celsius) while meditating. Using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings and temperature measures, the team observed increases in core body temperature up to 38.3 degree Celsius..."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408084858.h...
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#365Where can I apply for that room? For virtually everybody, that quiet room is not a given, but has to be acquired and maintained. How can you sit in that room and give yourself to silence if you know deep down that the silence is a temporary illusion? You have to leave that room and either defend your wealth or acquire the means to be able to return. Additionally, the experiment doesn't measure what it wants to measur…
> Sitting in silence for somebody else is not the same as sitting in silence. I don’t see the difference? If some researcher asks me between sitting in silenceand getting an electric shock, I know what I’d pick.
In one experiment, kids were allowed to play all the arcade games they wanted. They played endlessly.
Another set of kids were paid to play video games for hours. Those kids cheated and were found to slack off when viewed in a hidden camera.
This is one example of why I think people are essentially anti-authoritarian.
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#366Earlier quoted context omitted.
How helpful to have a person who knows nothing about my situation police my behaviors because of a vague congruence and an apparent desire to score internet points. No, for the purposes of what I'm doing, HN was not included in that. From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way. No personalized, UAM-optimized algorithmic feed, no infinite river of small content bites, no rich mechanisms…
"From my perspective, HN isn't really designed for addiction in the same way." I mean, it's fine that you feel this way, and you are probably correct - it wasn't designed for it. But I suspect for a lot of us , me included, it serves that exact purpose. I post so that strangers on the internet read it and give me likes. I compulsively check my comments section on my account to see how many upvotes my comments have. E…
> And surely, you participate in the same process, even if you don't feel as strongly about it - otherwise, why are you replying to strangers that you are unlikely to ever meet or speak to again?
Why not? Do you not value discussion, hearing new ideas, learning new concepts, having a soundboard for your thoughts? I also like sharing knowledge and participation in the process of humanity developing its collective memeplex (or at least fooling myself that I'm doing that). The fact that I'm not going to meet the people I discuss with has no bearing at all.
While what you describe in your comment is a factor, I cannot agree the rush is the dominant factor for commenting for me.
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#367Just my interpretation (of the Pascal quote), beginning with the full quote. > When I have occasionally set myself to consider the different distractions of men, the pains and perils to which they expose themselves at court or in war, whence arise so many quarrels, passions, bold and often bad ventures, etc., I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly…
A buddhist, occultist, or existentialist might suggest Pascal just didn't explore this space far enough. Those with the courage to question even the existence of God and meaning might find more rewarding insights or experiences.
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#368Earlier quoted context omitted.
With all the sociological data we have now, it’s almost certain that Pascal’s wager has never been more true for those looking to lead a meaningful life.
Which deity do you pick in that case? There are many of them.
I would suggest paying attention to the ones that speak to you.
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#369Earlier quoted context omitted.
the day you can sit for hours without doing anything, you've attained the state of self-realization – self-love free from all conditions. The conditioned mind is no longer there, the thoughts no longer bombard you, the emotions no longer disturb you. You enjoy the deep peace, contentment and bliss of your infinite self. Then you can truly contemplate deeply on anything you feel important, then the deep mysteries of e…
> Then, you see the truth, of life, existence and the universe. Pretty words, but do they mean anything? For example, if I reach this state, will it be revealed to me why there is something rather than nothing? I think not, otherwise someone would have reported back with the answer already. I'm interested in meditation to learn more about my own body and mind, maybe improve my life somehow. But IMHO the discussions a…
> Pretty words, but do they mean anything?
Yes.
> For example, if I reach this state, will it be revealed to me why there is something rather than nothing?
More-or-less. You do get the punchline, and the joke is quite good.
> I think not, otherwise someone would have reported back with the answer already.
They have, over and over and over again. However, it's not something that fits in words. You have to stop wording in your mind, and know. Literally the first line in the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao that can be spoken of is not the true Tao."
Meditation sans "mystic woo" is like using your car only to drive from your garage to your mailbox at the end of the driveway to get your mail and back. You might learn a little more about your own car, and maybe improve your mail-retrieval somehow, but you're not really going anywhere, eh?
Re: All problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone (2014)
#370TBH I probably find myself spending about an hour+ a day just thinking. I'm not sure that that, in the isolated pandemic situation we are in now, is the best thing for Mental Health or celebratory. It depends on the person. If you've been talking to people all day, an hour+ just thinking to yourself can obviously be excellent and useful and allow you to process stuff. But if you're lonely, you're not going to be wanting to do that: thoughts will often be unhelpful or negative and you would almost literally be better off not thinking them.
When I was happier pre-pandemic, thinking to myself would be great. When I was 17 doing my first philosophy classes my head would just be abuzz with questions, e.g I'd be in a corner store and be almost stuck there for 5m thinking about what Plato/Aristotle would think about me buying a bar of chocolate that I didn't necessarily need.
Not to digress, but I imagine further that it's dependent on your occupation and life. If you're doing menial 9-5 stuff, you're obviously not going to be thinking heavily about job related stuff and will be too tired to consider questions. If you've just started a start-up however, your mind will continuously be abuzz (hopefully) thinking about what you're gonna do etc etc.