Heh.
Reading that while simultaneously listening to a podcast where Tim O'Reilly's speaking incited the thought of a realtime death update system, where our futuristic selves get pinged every time someone dies.
But I'm just musing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by InJoy  Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Chui I'd have to disagree with you here, InJoy; it seems to me that you're making the mistake of ignoring the presence of time. | I don't understand. |
For example, there's an event of pain now, and there's an event of pain next year. Say that the stimulus for the pain is identical. "Avoidance", then, is very nearly synonymous to "building resilience", except that the former suggests that you run away whereas the latter suggests facing and dealing with it.
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Originally Posted by InJoy I don't think that emotional pain is a natural consequence of life experience. I believe strongly that emotional pain is a direct consequence of thought. |
Well, certainly. In order to think about your uncle Theo's death, you have to experience it first. The experience is of thinking about it. Once, I was reading about Australian aboriginals and how one of their rituals involves gashing the underside of their penis. I tried to imagine it, and discovered the mistake of doing so. I still groan when I remembering imagining it. I also once tried to imagine crucifixion, but I don't feel I imagined that accurately because it was too complex for me to conceive (two or three points of being punctured, plus the difficulty of breathing).
Thus, thought itself is a life experience.
Interestingly, physical pain has a very significant psychological component. I've successfully dealt with reasonably similar stimuli with others, some of which appear tougher than I, and was more able to take care of myself. What I have learned is how to channel negative reactions, like pain and anger, into a kind of productivity. In one Star Wars novel, I read the best description of that action I ever saw: "He considered his pain: let it drop." While I'm certainly not so effective, I've learned that pain comes largely from one's awareness of it. But it's not
thought per se; it's letting the pain become a part of who you are. It's the identification of "I am in pain." that brings pain at all.
That strikes me as disingenuous, but also correct. Anyone want to weigh in especially on my last sentence?