Aristotle defines fear as "a pain or disturbance due to a mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future," and anger as "an impulse, accompanied by pain, to a conspicuous revenge for a conspicuous slight directed without justification towards what concerns oneself or towards what concerns one's friends.".....
Wthe root for anger? revenge? hatred? frustration? annoyance? hostility? irritation? do they have all have the same root? or are they rooted differently? do they differ only in their degree of the negative energy within? is not jealousy and the characteristics of Homo Economicus (self centered, self conceited being of self, the homo sapiens) rooted in here too?
Aristotle seems to indicate that they are, that atleast the anger is, rooted in "unjustified insult", but should insult be an explicit event or can it be a perceived or implicit one?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Anger and negative emotions
Aristotle defines fear as "a pain or disturbance due to a mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future," and anger as "an impulse, accompanied by pain, to a conspicuous revenge for a conspicuous slight directed without justification towards what concerns oneself or towards what concerns one's friends."..... whats the root for anger? revenge? hatred? frustration? annoyance? hostility? irritation? do they have all have the same root? or are they rooted differently? do they differ only in their degree of the negative energy within? Aristotle seems to indicate that they are, that atleast the anger is, rooted in "unjustified insult", but should insult be an explicit event or can it be a perceived or implicit one?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Hmm
After some serious thoughts in my previous blogs, I ask myself to get off it and write something non academic, about myself - serious but.
Why am I what I am: clear, confused, honest, hypocratic, loving, hostile, humble, arrogrant, simple, extravagant, selfish, crude, rude ...... such a big mess of duality!! "mein aisa kyoon hoon?"!!!
I love meeting people, but do not enjoy sustaining a long term relationship. I enjoy arguing, but as long as I have a point to make. I enjoy providing suggestions, but dislike taking suggestions. I critique others' work while my work is a shame in itself. I have ideals that I set for myself, but live such a lowly and cheap life. I judge people despite my inabilities proven in the past. I jump to conclusions while giving a lecture on how not to. I believe in myself way over too much though I have failed multiple times. I enjoy solitude while I seem social. I generate enormous ideas but hardly have the inclination, interest, or deligence to see them in action.
I am somehow a "jack of many trades and master of none". I seem to know something about everything, something about nothing, and nothing about anything. I hardly have my facts when I go into a debate, but I always debate so and am mostly wrong (that I realize quite late). I have a misplaced memory that resets and mixes up dates and chronological events.
In short I would describe myself as a lazy man with million ideas and dreams, but billions of diversions with no drive to succeed in any sense. But one positive thing about me is that I look for change, and am hopeful that I will change (as I have) for a better me, simply by the Causeless mercy of the Lord in who I completely believe.
They say, self bashing is not good, but self-realization is, so is this attempt. An attempt to carve a better being from within by taking out the toxins (not all toxins, an attempt such as that would complete annihilate a toxic person as mine).
With Love for myself.
Why am I what I am: clear, confused, honest, hypocratic, loving, hostile, humble, arrogrant, simple, extravagant, selfish, crude, rude ...... such a big mess of duality!! "mein aisa kyoon hoon?"!!!
I love meeting people, but do not enjoy sustaining a long term relationship. I enjoy arguing, but as long as I have a point to make. I enjoy providing suggestions, but dislike taking suggestions. I critique others' work while my work is a shame in itself. I have ideals that I set for myself, but live such a lowly and cheap life. I judge people despite my inabilities proven in the past. I jump to conclusions while giving a lecture on how not to. I believe in myself way over too much though I have failed multiple times. I enjoy solitude while I seem social. I generate enormous ideas but hardly have the inclination, interest, or deligence to see them in action.
I am somehow a "jack of many trades and master of none". I seem to know something about everything, something about nothing, and nothing about anything. I hardly have my facts when I go into a debate, but I always debate so and am mostly wrong (that I realize quite late). I have a misplaced memory that resets and mixes up dates and chronological events.
In short I would describe myself as a lazy man with million ideas and dreams, but billions of diversions with no drive to succeed in any sense. But one positive thing about me is that I look for change, and am hopeful that I will change (as I have) for a better me, simply by the Causeless mercy of the Lord in who I completely believe.
They say, self bashing is not good, but self-realization is, so is this attempt. An attempt to carve a better being from within by taking out the toxins (not all toxins, an attempt such as that would complete annihilate a toxic person as mine).
With Love for myself.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Do prayers work?
OK, keep the Ostracism stuff ostracized for sometime!!!
Had some interesting debate/discussion today: do prayers work? Answers were typical - Yes of course it does!! No, thats all bullshit!! Hmmmm May be! or hmmmm may be not (i have never understood why there are two versions of "may be", do not they both mean the same???, anyway no diverstions!)!! hmmmm who knows!!!
Then the question was "can we test it?" "can we setup an experimental basis to test it?". Is it possible to test it? ....... Hold on!!! now tell me, "what is that we need to test?" First of all, how do we define "prayer"??? how will we measure it? how will we know if someone really prayed and if someone did not? how can we know what did one pray for? what if one says he prayed but in fact did not, or vice-versa? does prayer mean to "get something", what if one "gets something" without prayers? does that make prayer worthless? We may need to define the scope, characteristics, and nature of prayer before we can venture into testing it.
Anyway. Lets forget "testing" and just look at whats in a prayer and what makes it work, if it works? a question that has remained virtually unanswered, and will probably remain so, for ages. Does it matter at all?
I have seldom prayed for something, so I dont have an answer but would certainly love to seek out a few reasons atleast. I have my own reasons to pray, which I think I can atleast write about.
Prayer, for me, is thanking for my mere existence (but thanking who?, the Lord of course idiot!! You dont believe in one?? ok dont!!!, you do? great!! lets continue). Prayer, for me, is an attempt to be with the self, that lets me off the pressure, that lets me detach from the material realms for a while. It lets me perceive a subtle existence that glorifies my presence by belittling me. This helps me feel insignificant, and thus the problem on hand even less significant, rather insignificant. But that does not mean I pray when I have a problem, but the context of today's conversation was as such I suppose.
Anyway, let me stop here absurdly and get some work done. I wish I could pray that I get my work done before its too late!!!
Had some interesting debate/discussion today: do prayers work? Answers were typical - Yes of course it does!! No, thats all bullshit!! Hmmmm May be! or hmmmm may be not (i have never understood why there are two versions of "may be", do not they both mean the same???, anyway no diverstions!)!! hmmmm who knows!!!
Then the question was "can we test it?" "can we setup an experimental basis to test it?". Is it possible to test it? ....... Hold on!!! now tell me, "what is that we need to test?" First of all, how do we define "prayer"??? how will we measure it? how will we know if someone really prayed and if someone did not? how can we know what did one pray for? what if one says he prayed but in fact did not, or vice-versa? does prayer mean to "get something", what if one "gets something" without prayers? does that make prayer worthless? We may need to define the scope, characteristics, and nature of prayer before we can venture into testing it.
Anyway. Lets forget "testing" and just look at whats in a prayer and what makes it work, if it works? a question that has remained virtually unanswered, and will probably remain so, for ages. Does it matter at all?
I have seldom prayed for something, so I dont have an answer but would certainly love to seek out a few reasons atleast. I have my own reasons to pray, which I think I can atleast write about.
Prayer, for me, is thanking for my mere existence (but thanking who?, the Lord of course idiot!! You dont believe in one?? ok dont!!!, you do? great!! lets continue). Prayer, for me, is an attempt to be with the self, that lets me off the pressure, that lets me detach from the material realms for a while. It lets me perceive a subtle existence that glorifies my presence by belittling me. This helps me feel insignificant, and thus the problem on hand even less significant, rather insignificant. But that does not mean I pray when I have a problem, but the context of today's conversation was as such I suppose.
Anyway, let me stop here absurdly and get some work done. I wish I could pray that I get my work done before its too late!!!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Ostracism and Mental state
What does it mean to "Ostracize"? or mean to be "ostracized"? is it a physical rejection or is it a psychological feeling of being ignored? or is it both? What are the consequences of being Ostracized, something that I wish to explore in the coming few months.
What is to be Ostracized? Some researchers seem to define Ostracism as a state of temporary banishment by popular vote without trial or special accusation practiced in the real world, or a few others define it as exclusion/rejection from a community and being deprived of common privileges.
But what leads to being ostracized? There seems to be a general agreement across the community that one is ostracized when he/she breaks an universally (specific to the context) accepted "rule". These rules could be self-imposed, group imposed, socially imposed, or culturally imposed. Many a times these rules are set of "generally accepted principles/practices", some sort of psychological contracts, tacit agreements, and "taken for granted" behaviors. Breaking a rule can be in terms of specific unacceptable behaviors, against the accepted norms. There are evidences from History that people were Ostracized for thinking differently, many creative individuals seem to have been ostracized because of this very premise.
Somehow, a type of ostracism that I feel amused is that of self-ostracism. Though I have not explored the psychological reasons leading to such behaviors, history seems to provide numerous cases of self-ostracism. Why do people self-ostracize? is it because they cannot conform with the generally agreed rules? is it due to a psychological rebel? is it their lack of competencies or lack of confidence in a specific area? is it to do with a bad childhood? Somehow people with multiple talents seem to ostracize themselves (my personal observation). Literary people who have numerous internal contradictions, who enjoy being critics, and who overly strain their intellectual faculties seem to suffer from this self-ostracism. Self-ostracized individuals isolate themselves from their social constructs and involve in self-conversational, self-pitying, self-centered, self-indulging behavior. An extreme form of this kind of behavior is what leads to mental instabilities, as a result of being ostracized and excluded from the society. They feel lonely, but they start to enjoy loneliness; get sadistic and enjoy being so; have self-conversations and any intervention in the process is seen as an unwarranted attack on their territoriality.
Why do people engage in self-ostracism? what factors lead to that state? what are the consequences of such behaviors? a few questions that I would want to explore in future.
For now, as my blog marks the beginning of a new way of expressing nonsense :) Am I self-ostracized hehe :)
What is to be Ostracized? Some researchers seem to define Ostracism as a state of temporary banishment by popular vote without trial or special accusation practiced in the real world, or a few others define it as exclusion/rejection from a community and being deprived of common privileges.
But what leads to being ostracized? There seems to be a general agreement across the community that one is ostracized when he/she breaks an universally (specific to the context) accepted "rule". These rules could be self-imposed, group imposed, socially imposed, or culturally imposed. Many a times these rules are set of "generally accepted principles/practices", some sort of psychological contracts, tacit agreements, and "taken for granted" behaviors. Breaking a rule can be in terms of specific unacceptable behaviors, against the accepted norms. There are evidences from History that people were Ostracized for thinking differently, many creative individuals seem to have been ostracized because of this very premise.
Somehow, a type of ostracism that I feel amused is that of self-ostracism. Though I have not explored the psychological reasons leading to such behaviors, history seems to provide numerous cases of self-ostracism. Why do people self-ostracize? is it because they cannot conform with the generally agreed rules? is it due to a psychological rebel? is it their lack of competencies or lack of confidence in a specific area? is it to do with a bad childhood? Somehow people with multiple talents seem to ostracize themselves (my personal observation). Literary people who have numerous internal contradictions, who enjoy being critics, and who overly strain their intellectual faculties seem to suffer from this self-ostracism. Self-ostracized individuals isolate themselves from their social constructs and involve in self-conversational, self-pitying, self-centered, self-indulging behavior. An extreme form of this kind of behavior is what leads to mental instabilities, as a result of being ostracized and excluded from the society. They feel lonely, but they start to enjoy loneliness; get sadistic and enjoy being so; have self-conversations and any intervention in the process is seen as an unwarranted attack on their territoriality.
Why do people engage in self-ostracism? what factors lead to that state? what are the consequences of such behaviors? a few questions that I would want to explore in future.
For now, as my blog marks the beginning of a new way of expressing nonsense :) Am I self-ostracized hehe :)
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