And so, one day we woke up… in this strange machinery called body-mind. And ever since that moment, we’ve been trying to figure out how it all works. We’ve been conducting endless experiments on ourselves, pushing something here and pulling something else over there with hope that eventually … we will start feeling good. And, over time, we began to suspect that maybe it is not possible to tune it all up… to make it all run smoothly… and we are forever doomed to the experience of these acidic emotions, grayish thoughts and shallow sensations.
Why do the states of peace, happiness and joy appear so rarely, and the states of tension and stress seem to dominate our lives?
Fighting the holograms
The horror of a couch potato.
In a series of texts “Fighting the holograms – the horror of a couch potato” we will try to understand why even in the most comfortable situations, we are still experiencing the never ending mental tension. In the series, we will take a closer look at the following topics:
Feelings versus emotions – why do we need emotions and feelings at all? – What are emotions and feelings? Why do we need them at all? What is their role in the functioning of an organism? Is there any difference between emotions and feelings, and what is the role of consciousness in all that?
Emotions as unconscious changes in a state of an organism occurring in response to challenges posed by its environment. Feelings as how these bodily changes feel like to the mind.
Stress – battle ready – Stress as being essential to the survival of an organism in the environment where many others would be more than happy to eat us.
Thinking – the virtual reality – Thinking as a virtual reality in which the body runs a series of simulations of various horrible events that may take place in its environment.
The word becomes flesh – How virtual events cause real changes in the body.
The horror of a couch potato – How an elaborated thought leads to constant tension and stress.
Fighting the holograms – What determines the degree of an emotional reaction to a thought.
It’s not you but your cells who believe in thoughts – Even more thoughts on how the thought becomes reality.
The Holy Grail
Why are we not happy?
In the series of thoughts: “Holy Grail – why we cannot be happy” we will ask ourselves what happiness is and what this seemingly ungraspable state of mind depends on.
In search of happiness – What we really want from life is happiness, but do we actually know what is this?
Feelings versus emotions – why do we need emotions and feelings at all? – this text is common for both “The Horror of a couch potato” and “The Holy Grail”. It is worth familiarizing with, because most of the presented reflections are rooted here.
A recipe for happiness – short and easy recipe for happiness.
What is stress? – we will understand what mental tension is and why, even when we are not fighting the holograms, mental tension keeps separating us from happiness
Why you cannot force your mind into a relaxed state – we will understand that the mind is something much greater than yourself, in some sense completely independent of your will, and that any attempts to relieve mental tension are doomed to failure.
How the belief in the efficacy of pushing and pulling gets formed? – we will look closer at a process of forming habitual reactions in the mind.