July 25, 2012: Post 561 (2012 Day 207)
July 25, 2012
Daily Comment
Including myself, we like to think that others' opinions don't overly influence our actions and beliefs, because the ultimate source of all our behavior is internal. Which it is, to the degree we allow it to be.
This idea is more like an ideal. Speaking for myself, I want to be liked and I want to be open to other people's ideas. That's how we make our social way, and how we learn. No man is an island, right?
What we really are saying, is that people can't (negatively) influence our sense of integrity. This is ultimately true, as well. The difficulty comes with social interaction, and how we allow ourselves to modify the internal messages we're getting based on other's words and actions.
This is the basis of all advertising.
I believe that the rise of advertising in the US is one of the reasons for corporations becoming the dominant influence over the government. The ability to manipulate large numbers of people through what amounts to trickery and subversion is the advertiser's stock in trade, and the ally of anyone who can profit from the deception.
The ability of advertisers to make us want things we don't need has turned the US into a consumer society. The American consumer became the primary engine of our economy, creating a market mentality where once there was a sense of self-reliance. The current financial crisis, brought on by bankers' criminal activities, is made worse and longer-lasting by the effect it has on American consumers, who no longer have the means to make purchases.
Making people believe things that aren't true is one of the most harmful things human beings do to each other. It is responsible for untold suffering, and while I believe that suffering is part-and-parcel of human existence, we are not talking about something existential, ingrained in our DNA, or fundamental to our lives. This suffering does not advance our understanding of our nature, it twists it up, and diminishes us by over-riding our internal thought processes, usually below the level of our conscious awareness.
I wish I could make myself immune to this tampering, and I try to do that every day, frequently falling short, and not recognizing my error until after the fact. I think I'm getting better at it, and maybe I am, but every once in a while I do something - buy something - and, after the purchase, wonder, "What was I thinking?" Sometimes I can undo the transaction, but not every time. I have a couple of hats like that.
Planning on long-term travel overseas is a big help. Everything I buy is evaluated on the basis of whether or not it is something I can take with me when I go, or that will help me execute my retirement plan. Some things are desirable, if not necessary, for my current situation, and are outside either of these two factors (my recent coffee maker purchase, for example, will hopefully still be excellent when I am giving my possessions away), and some things are taking a chance that they will be useful for that purpose (like a course in Spanish I bought - no, I haven't started using it yet).
The best thing I'm doing, though, is meditation. I believe meditation sensitizes you to your inner thoughts and processes by teaching you to what it feels like to put conscious thoughts aside, and that helps stay in the moment. This is helpful, even though the duration may be short, a small fraction of waking time.
The degree with which I succeed in building 'immunity' to these kind of influences (which I consider destructive) will certainly enhance my present and future.
(Note: This is one of those comments that took on a life of its own once I started writing. I had no intention, at the start, of writing about advertising, the economy or meditation. All this poured out of my fingers as I typed. I am pretty sure it is rambling, I just hope it makes some sort of sense).
This idea is more like an ideal. Speaking for myself, I want to be liked and I want to be open to other people's ideas. That's how we make our social way, and how we learn. No man is an island, right?
What we really are saying, is that people can't (negatively) influence our sense of integrity. This is ultimately true, as well. The difficulty comes with social interaction, and how we allow ourselves to modify the internal messages we're getting based on other's words and actions.
This is the basis of all advertising.
I believe that the rise of advertising in the US is one of the reasons for corporations becoming the dominant influence over the government. The ability to manipulate large numbers of people through what amounts to trickery and subversion is the advertiser's stock in trade, and the ally of anyone who can profit from the deception.
The ability of advertisers to make us want things we don't need has turned the US into a consumer society. The American consumer became the primary engine of our economy, creating a market mentality where once there was a sense of self-reliance. The current financial crisis, brought on by bankers' criminal activities, is made worse and longer-lasting by the effect it has on American consumers, who no longer have the means to make purchases.
Making people believe things that aren't true is one of the most harmful things human beings do to each other. It is responsible for untold suffering, and while I believe that suffering is part-and-parcel of human existence, we are not talking about something existential, ingrained in our DNA, or fundamental to our lives. This suffering does not advance our understanding of our nature, it twists it up, and diminishes us by over-riding our internal thought processes, usually below the level of our conscious awareness.
I wish I could make myself immune to this tampering, and I try to do that every day, frequently falling short, and not recognizing my error until after the fact. I think I'm getting better at it, and maybe I am, but every once in a while I do something - buy something - and, after the purchase, wonder, "What was I thinking?" Sometimes I can undo the transaction, but not every time. I have a couple of hats like that.
Planning on long-term travel overseas is a big help. Everything I buy is evaluated on the basis of whether or not it is something I can take with me when I go, or that will help me execute my retirement plan. Some things are desirable, if not necessary, for my current situation, and are outside either of these two factors (my recent coffee maker purchase, for example, will hopefully still be excellent when I am giving my possessions away), and some things are taking a chance that they will be useful for that purpose (like a course in Spanish I bought - no, I haven't started using it yet).
The best thing I'm doing, though, is meditation. I believe meditation sensitizes you to your inner thoughts and processes by teaching you to what it feels like to put conscious thoughts aside, and that helps stay in the moment. This is helpful, even though the duration may be short, a small fraction of waking time.
The degree with which I succeed in building 'immunity' to these kind of influences (which I consider destructive) will certainly enhance my present and future.
(Note: This is one of those comments that took on a life of its own once I started writing. I had no intention, at the start, of writing about advertising, the economy or meditation. All this poured out of my fingers as I typed. I am pretty sure it is rambling, I just hope it makes some sort of sense).
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
Food and Diet Section
Today's Weight: 205.6 lbs
Yesterday's Weight: 205.0 lbs
Day Net Loss/Gain: + 0.6 lbs
 |
| Year 2012 daily weight from December 31, 2011. |
Two possible explanations for my weight gain: A) Dietetic, namely large amounts of pepperoni (not the healthiest thing I can put in my body - I'm done with that) and/or my home-made mayonnaise (made with healthy fats and organic eggs, so healthy, although calorie-dense); and 2), the new exercise regime I'm doing. It is making me sore, which indicates more muscle activity, and obviously stresses me physically (that's what it is for, right?) and that means I'm probably retaining more water.
Food Log
Breakfast
Chia gel.
Lunch
Dinner
Dinner was actually a succession of single dishes, not eaten together, so, sorry, no pics. What I ate was salmon salad with Spring Mix and cole slaw mix, an Italian-style chicken sausage, and cole slaw.
Snack
Hard boiled eggs, guacamole, salsa.
Liquid Intake
Coffee: 30 oz, Water: 90+ ozChia gel.
Lunch
 |
| Chili (beef, black beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, spices) with peas. |
Dinner was actually a succession of single dishes, not eaten together, so, sorry, no pics. What I ate was salmon salad with Spring Mix and cole slaw mix, an Italian-style chicken sausage, and cole slaw.
Snack
Hard boiled eggs, guacamole, salsa.
Liquid Intake
Please leave a comment if you visit my blog. Thank you!
posted by Reverend Ken at
8:58 AM
2 Comments:
I also want to be liked and to be open to other peoples ideas. I want to be liked for who I really am, not for who others think I am, or how they want me to perceive them. Perhaps this is why I have no friends. Have you ever noticed how people react when you don’t behave according to their expectations, or when you don’t agree with their cherished traditions or value equally their “ pearls of wisdom” they so generously share with you. They take it personally, and usually in an unpleasant, and sometimes violent, way.
I don’t believe that advertisers or anyone else can make someone believe things that aren’t true. Who am I going to believe, him or me? His “truths” or my internal truth. I can only say - When your are shopping, BUYER BEWARE (be aware).
Are you familiar with the idea of moving meditation? If not, and if you’re interested, you’ll have to phone me and we can discuss it. - andy
Most people think I am a very different person than I think I am inside. I think this is because I am a different person in different contexts. At work and in most social contexts I am actually gregarious and funny, very nice and understanding. I am well liked. On my own, I am a recluse- don't really want to do anything but read, don't even want to talk on the telphone. I have tried to structure my life in a way that I am not on my own too much because I think that that is not too good for me and leads inevitably to feeling depressed. But I feel a need to have some significant amount of time spent like that in order to carry out the other. I don't think either me is inauthentic. Just different parts of me.
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