2011- the year of the news overload

[UndercoverElephant]

RGR was right, this site is full of religious nutters.

You talking about Ludwig and me? We're not exactly your average religious nutters...

[Ludwig]

RGR was right, this site is full of religious nutters.

You talking about Ludwig and me? We're not exactly your average religious nutters...

It's pathetic when one can't talk about religion without being accused of being a religious nutter.

Some people here just aren't bright enough to follow a subtle argument.

[mr brightside]

I'm quite glad that these 'religious nutters' have carried on posting on the thread and taken the time to explain the logic of their beliefs...which seems to me to be sound enough. I still don't believe it'll all end in apocalypse, but at least now i can start making plans for such an event.

[eatyourveg]

UE, Ludwig, you keep it up

Interesting conversations that unnerve straight line thinkers are always good.

[emordnilap]

Heh heh heh...'religious nutters'! As a 100% anti-organised-religion person, I totally support these religious nutters to whom Cat refers.

[UndercoverElephant]

I'm quite glad that these 'religious nutters' have carried on posting on the thread and taken the time to explain the logic of their beliefs...which seems to me to be sound enough.

There's nothing logical about believing the Maya correctly predicted TEOTWAWKI in 2012. That's beyond logic. I think the rest of what we believe tends to be based on logic, albeit with a dose of paranoia and schadenfreude...

I still don't believe it'll all end in apocalypse, but at least now i can start making plans for such an event.

That's what this board is here for.

[MrG]

I'll probably die of liver failure anyway. What I fear the most is losing my mind - dementia.

Liver failure can lead to you losing your mind. Doctors say that's what's happening to my Dad.

[Bandidoz]

when you think you are about to die violently, the body's reaction of uncontrollable terror is probably as horrific as any actual physical pain.

I think it depends on how well you've released yourself from wanting security. A few years ago I was in a situation where I thought I was going to drown. Did I panic? Was I terrified? No, I just remember peacefully thinking, "Oh shit. Is this it? Is this my time to go?" Staying calm is probably what saved my life...

[Kieran]

when you think you are about to die violently, the body's reaction of uncontrollable terror is probably as horrific as any actual physical pain.

I think it depends on how well you've released yourself from wanting security. A few years ago I was in a situation where I thought I was going to drown. Did I panic? Was I terrified? No, I just remember peacefully thinking, "Oh shit. Is this it? Is this my time to go?" Staying calm is probably what saved my life...

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

[Ludwig]

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

True... but as I said, beyond a certain point fear is not mental but physiological. Most people in my experience are strangely unaware of their bodies, and don't notice that fear is not simply an abstract view of the world, but muscular rigidity, a knot in the stomach, headaches, shivering and torpor. Once you get stuck in the physical symptoms of fear, what you are scared of becomes irrelevant; you're not even really aware of a cause.

Off-topic I know.

I agree about meditation, it can help. Again, it's as much about the body as the mind.

[UndercoverElephant]

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

True... but as I said, beyond a certain point fear is not mental but physiological. Most people in my experience are strangely unaware of their bodies, and don't notice that fear is not simply an abstract view of the world, but muscular rigidity, a knot in the stomach, headaches, shivering and torpor. Once you get stuck in the physical symptoms of fear, what you are scared of becomes irrelevant; you're not even really aware of a cause.

Off-topic I know.

I agree about meditation, it can help. Again, it's as much about the body as the mind.

That sounds like a panic attack to me.

When I was most scared I've ever been in my life, I did not react with uncontrollable physical symptoms. I got down on my knees and did something like praying.

[Snail]

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

True... but as I said, beyond a certain point fear is not mental but physiological. Most people in my experience are strangely unaware of their bodies, and don't notice that fear is not simply an abstract view of the world, but muscular rigidity, a knot in the stomach, headaches, shivering and torpor. Once you get stuck in the physical symptoms of fear, what you are scared of becomes irrelevant; you're not even really aware of a cause.

Off-topic I know.

I agree about meditation, it can help. Again, it's as much about the body as the mind.

The best way to become happy is to smile a lot. It's yin and yang. Dealing with the mind involves dealing with the body, which is why the best treatment for depression is lots of physical activity. Walking for example involves all the senses: hearing, touch, sight, smell etc. Mindfulness is about using all your senses at once, so its also physical. Even meditation isn't all about the mind, its about the body too (correct posture, breathing, concentrating at one spot, or counting breaths etc). This mental aspect of PO is even more important than physical preparation, in my opinion. Maybe following a certain spirtual belief will prove just as important as stockpiling food.

[Ludwig]

The best way to become happy is to smile a lot.

That depends on why one is unhappy, and how unhappy one is. If all the unhappiness in the world could be cured by smiling... well, it just can't.

Little tips like smiling a lot can have a significant effect on one's mood if one is just feeling glum, but actually if you're feeling really really down or anxious, the strain of trying to smile can make you feel worse.

That's not an excuse for being miserable, it's just an observation.

It's yin and yang. Dealing with the mind involves dealing with the body, which is why the best treatment for depression is lots of physical activity.

No, the best treatment for depression is drugs Unfortunately the best of them are addictive.

Even meditation isn't all about the mind, its about the body too (correct posture, breathing, concentrating at one spot, or counting breaths etc). This mental aspect of PO is even more important than physical preperation, in my opinion.

Well you're preaching to the converted here. Whether "chi" energy really exists or is just a way of describing a flow of attention through the body, it certainly corresponds to a real subjective experience.

[Ludwig]

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

True... but as I said, beyond a certain point fear is not mental but physiological. Most people in my experience are strangely unaware of their bodies, and don't notice that fear is not simply an abstract view of the world, but muscular rigidity, a knot in the stomach, headaches, shivering and torpor. Once you get stuck in the physical symptoms of fear, what you are scared of becomes irrelevant; you're not even really aware of a cause.

Off-topic I know.

I agree about meditation, it can help. Again, it's as much about the body as the mind.

That sounds like a panic attack to me.

Well whatever it was, it was by far the most intense fear I've ever felt.

Still, this ain't the forum for discussing these things, is it.

When I was most scared I've ever been in my life, I did not react with uncontrollable physical symptoms. I got down on my knees and did something like praying.

Everybody's nervous system's different I guess - as different, from my observation, as their personalities.

[Kieran]

Good ways of developing this kind of calmness are practicing mindfulness meditation or imagining viewing yourself as if from a distance, creating feelings of detachment (but don't do it all the time). In order to scare yourself silly about something that hasn't actually happened in the way Ludwig describes requires using your imagination in certain unuseful ways.

True... but as I said, beyond a certain point fear is not mental but physiological. Most people in my experience are strangely unaware of their bodies, and don't notice that fear is not simply an abstract view of the world, but muscular rigidity, a knot in the stomach, headaches, shivering and torpor. Once you get stuck in the physical symptoms of fear, what you are scared of becomes irrelevant; you're not even really aware of a cause.

Off-topic I know.

I agree about meditation, it can help. Again, it's as much about the body as the mind.

That sounds like a panic attack to me.

Yeah, it does to me too. When your hyperventilating like that you must force yourself to breath slow and deep. A bastard to do though, in the thick of it.

Ludwig, I highly recommend reading some books on NLP. This is a particularly good introduction - http://www.DODGY TAX AVOIDERS.co.uk/NLP-Technology- ... 170&sr=1-1. Pages 183-203 detail great techniques to reduce fears.

I must say, after years of being seriously let down and messed up by various therapists the most healing I've experienced has been by what I've taught myself from books on NLP. Mostly from this particular technique: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~lady/archive/co ... ation.html . It's the most elegant and profound thing I've ever come across.