Psychology. --- .This section is about various other thoughts on psychology. Topics include: ( ) Adjustment and adaptation. ( ) Auto-pilot. ( ) Eco-psychology. ( ) Environment. ( ) Experience. ( ) Hypnosis. ( ) Purity. ( ) Types of psychology. ( ) What is psychology. ( ) Why study psychology. --- 1/24/2006
Psychology. --- "Find something that works and stick with it.": This is the penultimate phrase of the traditional, the conservatives, the bourgeoisie, and the mentally rigid. It is a rather algorithmic attitude, like a computer program. It is robotic. It is an attitude trapped in the routine and the schedule. We can build robots now. People, you don't have to be robots anymore. --- 7/11/2000
Psychology. --- "Looking good and feeling fine". How mood affects self-image. --- 11/9/1999
Psychology. --- (1) A life in which nothing happens to the person. (2) A life in which nothing is done by the person. (3) A life in which no interior life (memory, emotion and thought) is possessed by the person. (4) Or how about a life in which much happens but is immediately forgotten. (5) What kind of life is that? --- 5/29/2002
Psychology. --- (1) Boredom = brain lock. Boredom = death. The plodding boredom makes the system work. The system keeps people alive, but turns off their minds, so that the people end up like the living dead. The system tends to turn off our minds. Everyday after work I struggle to turn on my brain. (2) They debase life. They make lifeless. They decrease life. They deaden. They mortify. --- 11/27/1999
Psychology. --- (1) Focus and concentration. (2) Interest and curiosity. (3) Effort and accomplishment. --- 5/30/1998
Psychology. --- (1) Good. (A) Focus: think of, concentrate on x. (B) Motivate: emotional desires and good reasons to do x. (2) Bad. (A) Lazy: Reasons to not do x, or reasons to do nothing. (B) Temptation: lack of focus, reasons to do other things. --- 05/30/1996
Psychology. --- (1) It is very easy to ignore reality and still keep dreams and remain productive, hopeful, happy. This is what squares do. (2) It is very easy to confront reality and lose dreams. This is what the heads and decadents did. (3) It is very difficult to confront reality and keep dreams and remain productive, hopeful, and happy. This is the big goal. --- 09/01/1994
Psychology. --- (1) Learned helplessness: sometimes found in school children, oppressed workers, etc. vs. (2) Peak experiences, kairos, and self actualization. --- 07/30/1993
Psychology. --- (1) Mental states: type, degree, duration, frequency, and percent time spend in. (2) Behavior states: type, degree, duration, frequency, and percent time spent in. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- (1) Mentally naive (virgin) vs. mentally sophisticated. (2) Experientially naive vs. experientially sophisticated. (3) Experiential sophistication usually implies mental sophistication. But you can be mentally sophisticated without being experientially sophisticated. --- 1/25/1998
Psychology. --- (1) Morning: Energy; Focus; Motivation; Clarity. (2) Evening: Tired; Discouraged; Frustrated. --- 2/15/2006
Psychology. --- (1) People's fascination with the strange, curious, weird, odd, unusual, bizarre, as typified by the carnival freakshow. (2) People's fascination with the related phenomena of ... (A) The gross. (B) Disease and illness. Especially gross diseases. (C) Death. Blood and gore. (D) The perverted and kinky. (E) The rare. The singular. One example of this is our fascination with coincidences and serendipity. Another example of this is our fascination with stone gems. (F) Anecdotes. (G) Daredevils. The possibility of blood and gore. (H) The wacky. The goofy. (3) Television shows like "In Search Of", "That's Incredible", "Ripley's Believe It or Not" and "The Guiness World Book of Records" appeal to our fascination with the above phenomena. (4) Teens especially have a fascination with the above phenomena. Why? Perhaps they want to see just how varied life gets. (5) Related phenomena: curiosity, the mysterious, the fascinating, the disturbing, the shocking, the exotic. (6) People want to be shocked out of their day to day tedious lives. It helps to alleviate boredom. Helps us deal with the mundane. (7) However, the above tendencies also promote discrimination and ostracism by singling out whoever is different and using them as a scapegoat. (8) For hundreds of thousands of years, humans lived as hunter-gatherers in a lifestyle that was essentially unchanging. In an unvarying culture the game to play becomes "Kill the mutant. Kill whoever is different. Beware of change." This attitude may be the roots of today's conservative impulses. For hundreds of thousands of years all that humans had was tradition, and it kept us stuck in caves. However, in contrast, today we embrace creativity, invention and the new, and as a result we have walked on the moon. (9) It is a survival tactic when we focus our attention on whatever is new, novel or oddities in our environment. It helps us recognize possible danger and also possible opportunities. Even today we pay attention to things that we don't recognize or don't understand. Curiosity kept us alive in the long run. --- 5/25/2000
Psychology. --- (1) The human species needs psychological diversity to survive. Different people to do different tasks. Variability in personality and talents. How is this accomplished? Why isn't everyone exactly alike? How much psychological diversity is good? Total complete diversity, as long as it is not unethical. (2) The species needs psychological adaptability to survive. To adapt to changing environments. To adapt to changing problems and challenges. How is this accomplished? --- 4/1/2002
Psychology. --- (1) Those who think or say they are but aren't (posers). (2) Those who think or say they aren't but are. Don't know they are vs. actually know they are. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- (1) Usefulness, achieve, engaged, see clearly, positive attitude. Versus. (2) Complacency, sliding by, bad attitude, withdrawn, isolated, mistaken views, negative attitude. --- 2/25/2006
Psychology. --- (1) Weather and mental states. Cloudy, sunny, cold, hot, rain, snow. (2) Seasons and mental state. Winter, spring, summer, fall. --- 12/10/1999
Psychology. --- (1)(A) Good state of mind: Wide open spaces. Wide open mind. Traveling mind. Rambling mind. Big mind. Dynamic mind. (B) Bad state of mind: Small mind. Static mind. Narrow mind. (2) Mental diversity can be healthy. Many mental landscapes. Many selves. Many voices. Many conversations going on at once. These can be good things, that help us set up an interior creative dialectic, to produce new ideas. However, these things have been wrongly stereotyped as an unhealthy state (ex. multiple personality disorder). (3) Thinking is often defined as talking to self (silently). Thinking or talking to self (silently) is healthy. However, talking to self (aloud) is generally discouraged and labeled as "crazy". The result is that many people tend to think that all forms of talking to self, including talking to self silently, is also crazy. Thus, society, by discouraging talking to self in general, discourages thinking. And that is a bad thing. --- 6/23/2000
Psychology. --- (1)(A) Some things naturally spring to mind for some. (B) Some things neither spring nor retreat from minds of some. (C) Some things retreat from minds of some (due to repression). All above, quite independent of (2)(A) Whether they like the subject matter or not. (B) Whether they are interested in the subject matter or not. (C) Whether they think the subject matter is important or not. (3) When looking for a job, pick a job that covers 1A. Do not do a job that entails 1C (repression). --- 02/04/1994
Psychology. --- A common saying is that, "Actions speak louder than words." My counter argument is that, "Words are actions." --- 3/21/2004
Psychology. --- Active and passive. (1)(A) Active mind: Self-directed, searching, exploring. (B) Passive mind: Directed by externalities, distracted. (2) A passive mind can be psychologically unhealthy. An active mind is healthier to have. A passive mind can be deadly. An active mind can thrive. (3) A mind can be trained to be passive in youth. Learned helplessness (taught not to try). Taught to obey (ex. religion or military). (4) An active mind can take a stand and defend itself. A passive mind is defenseless, helpless, tossed by wind and tide. --- 03/03/1998
Psychology. --- Adjustment and adaptation: learning, changing. (1) Figure out what new situation is. (2) Figure out the ethics of it (acts done to you, by you). (3) Memorize and integrate above. (4) Depends also on your flexibility and rigidity. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Adjustment and adaptation. Being psychologically prepared for an event. How does it help. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Adjustment and adaptation. Getting hard: becoming immune to pain and adversity. Getting soft: getting out of shape. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Adjustment and adaptation. How well, how completely, how quickly, to what? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Adjustment and adaptation. The amount of time and stress it takes you to adapt and adjust to a new situation (better or worse). How different the situation is, in degrees and ways, from what you are accustomed to. How soon it takes you to (1) Recognize a change in environment, (2) Figure out the change (cause and effects), (3) And figure out and make your behavioral change. --- 04/04/1994
Psychology. --- Altered states. The questions remain: (1) Are there natural (non-drug) altered states of consciousness? (2) Are they HIGHER states of consciousness? (3) Can they reveal truth or health to us? Is it transformative? Can it change us for the better? --- 7/25/1999
Psychology. --- Altitude. What is it about altitude that I enjoy so much? What are the psychological effects of living in Yosemite or Boulder? Does it affect mood, thinking, or memory? What is the psychological biochemistry of living at altitude? --- 5/13/1999
Psychology. --- Animal psychology. Advances are being made today in training dogs and horses. We are starting to see things from the animals point of view. Example, The Real Horse Whisper on PBS showed how a wild Mustang can tamed without force. Advances like these benefit the animal's rights, make humans more peaceful and enlightened, and will also help us and raising our own kids. We discover what is effective and works best. We discover what is most ethical. We discover what does and doesn't create animal fear, neurosis and psychosis. --- 9/20/1998
Psychology. --- Auto-pilot is a state when we are in a routine. Routine is predictable, safe, comforting and ritualistic. Routine is the mode of conservatives and traditionalists. But routine is auto-pilot and auto-pilot is not living. --- 9/3/2000
Psychology. --- Auto-pilot. (1) Most of us are on auto-pilot most of the time. To conserve brain power we use routines and scripts. No think, no feel, no remember. Another type of auto-pilot is to prejudge everything and everyone. (2) The state of being on auto-pilot is a state of not living. People feel robbed when they live their life on auto-pilot and then have a mid-life crisis. (3) Auto-pilot isolates, insulates and walls off. (4) Other types of auto-pilot: Doing what we are told. Doing what is expected. --- 9/1/2000
Psychology. --- Auto-pilot. Many people have a bunch of pat answers that they work from. They essentially live on auto-pilot. Then one day they "come to" and they are overwhelmed by their circumstances. They often get angry and depressed. They may lash out at others or themselves. When people operate from a series of set answers they are not really thinking. When one is on auto-pilot one is working from wrote memory or sheer habit. They are not thinking. And then one day they start thinking all of a sudden. Watchout. --- 11/6/1999
Psychology. --- Auto-pilot. We go into auto-pilot automatically. Auto-pilot is the default mode for humans. The screen-saver mode. The energy-saver mode. The "same old, same old" induces a hypnotic trance. Zen masters and revolutionaries yell "Wake up!" to try to rouse people out of auto-pilot. Non-auto-pilot mode takes a lot of concentration and energy. How to get out of auto-pilot mode? Carry a reminder. Go to new situations and meet new people. Experience new thoughts and new emotions. --- 9/3/2000
Psychology. --- Brain states, types of. (1) Brain states that are slow to get into and out of. Good if you want to stay in it. Bad if you want to get out of it quickly. (2) Brain states that are quickly changing. Good if you want to get out of it. Bad if you want to stay in it. --- 9/29/2003
Psychology. --- Clear. The phrase "things become clearer" can mean (1) Figured something true(er) out. (2) Values repriortized. (3) Knowledge concepts reorganized. (4) Memory working better. (5) Feelings identified and sorted out. --- 07/30/1993
Psychology. --- Comic books. America's fascination with comic book superheroes. People are fascinated with power. People want to know what their power or abilities are. People want to know what are the powers or abilities of the people around them. Sometimes people feel powerless. People want to feel empowered. People want more power. --- 5/27/2006
Psychology. --- Complain, whine, moan, bitch, criticize. To complain is to reveal your dissatisfaction. Complaining is the first step toward critical thinking. Four variables involved in complaining include: (1)(A) Personal tendency to complain. (B) Personal tendency to not complain. (i) Repressed: will not reveal it even to self. (ii) Optimistic: not unhappy about anything. (iii) Uncommunicative: generally tend not to express anything. (2)(A) Taught by society to complain (ex. whining cultures). Generally communicative cultures. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. (B) Taught by society to not complain. Generally uncommunicative cultures. Generally repressed cultures. Fatalistic cultures. Learned-helplessness cultures. PART TWO. Cheerleaders, complimenters and praisers. (1)(A) Personal tendency to compliment. (B) Personal tendency to not compliment (ex. overly competitive). (2)(A) Taught by society to cheerlead. (B) Taught by society not to cheerlead (ex. They believe "If you compliment a person you spoil that person."). --- 9/12/2000
Psychology. --- Constructing and directing your mind. vs. a naturally flowing mind. Pros and cons of each. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Construction of own mind. Active, not passive. By self, not by others. --- 10/5/2004
Psychology. --- Conviction meaning confidence, persistence and passion. Dispassioned meaning removed, unmoved and objective. We need both conviction and dispassion. We need to balance both conviction and dispassion. Its a paradox. Its a challenge. --- 8/3/2004
Psychology. --- Direction. A self-directed mind or a mind directed by others, are minds that are not free to entertain any and every thought, and thus is a repressed mind. This is the contra side of being very focused and directed. Not being free to wander means being repressed. --- 02/15/1997
Psychology. --- Direction. Right direction: causes and effects. Wrong direction: causes and effects. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Drive vs. fear. Success vs. failure. Pleasure vs. pain. How much can you take of each? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Drive vs. none. Mania vs. depression. Confidence vs. lack of confidence. Optimism vs. pessimism. Hope vs. despair. For any trait, chart yourself on an axis, through time, for positive and negative conditions. What is your average level? What is your range of extremes? What is your frequency of cycling? How does it compare to the human average? --- 07/08/1994
Psychology. --- Eco-psychology. Basic idea of eco-psychology. By examining our relationship with the natural world we become healthier. Just like examining our relationships with others helps us as individuals. --- 02/28/1998
Psychology. --- Eco-psychology. Possible tenets of an eco-psychology. (1) Environment is just as important as heredity. (2) Physical environment is just as important as social environment. (3) A poor physical environment can make you susceptible to pathological psychological conditions. (4) Humans evolved over millions of years in a natural environment and so humans have a hardwired predisposition to live in a natural environment. (5) People who know nothing of nature and who have lost all contact with nature have lost a part of themselves. (6) How is eco-psychology contradicted by the existence of psychologically healthy city dwellers? --- 7/10/2002
Psychology. --- Embodiment. (1) A person has to live with their face. A person has to see their face in the mirror every day. (2) A person has to live with their body. A person has to see their body in the mirror everyday. --- 5/27/2006
Psychology. --- Empathy. (1) Narrow definition: "To feel what others feel", is about emotion. (2) Wider definition: "To see what others see", is about senses. Imaging sense perceptions. (3) Widest definition: "To walk in others shoes", is about the entire self. Imagination. --- 5/6/2000
Psychology. --- Energy efficiency. How to burn bright and strong the whole day long, instead of burning out early? --- 06/30/1993
Psychology. --- Environment. (1) Effect of a specific, or specific type of environment on a specific, or specific type of psyche. (2) Types of effects. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Environment. Environment change. (1) For better or worse. (2) Cause: natural or manmade (by others or by you). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Environment. Events in situations, and actions by us, change us as we flow into changing situations. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Environment. Types of environment. (1) Healthy vs. unhealthy. (2) Direct: direct sense perception. Indirect: beyond direct sense perception. (3) External vs. internal, i.e, physical and mental. (4) Natural vs. manmade. (5) Social vs. personal. (6) Static, momentary environment vs. dynamic, past/present/future. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Environment. Types of environment. (1) Social environments: Do it yourself vs. dependent on others. Learning vs. repeating tradition. Individual respected vs. mass conformity. Freedom vs. control. Work vs. hedonism. Peaceful vs. conflict. Supportive vs. not. (2) Manmade environments: Diverse vs. boring. Changing vs. stagnant. (3) Natural environments: Ecological vs. polluted. --- 3/29/2000
Psychology. --- Evolutionary psychology. (1) Psychological behavior in animals. (2) Psychological behavior in early humans (200,000 - 10,000 BC). --- 5/16/2005
Psychology. --- Expectation. Why do people (1) Slow down on Friday. (2) Feel depressed on Sunday night. Expectations can change the way you feel and act greatly. Some people speed up when they see the end in sight, and some people slow down when they see the end in sight. --- 09/23/1993
Psychology. --- Experience and time. (1) Past: see personal history. (2) Present: at this moment. (3) Future: want, and will get. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience, lack of. An uneventful past, with no experiences, with no actions performed, with no mental life, no thoughts, no emotions, no memories, how does that affect the development of the individual? --- 3/11/2007
Psychology. --- Experience. (1) Some have the mind to create something out of unusual, great, extreme, real (not fake), rich experiences, but never get the experiences (either by fate, accident, or by searching them out). They remain sheltered and safe, all their lives. (2) Some get the experiences but don't have the mind needed to squeeze the juice out of them. So they gain nothing from the experience. (3) Some have neither. (4) A lucky few have both and use both. The point is, you have to search out these authentic, real experiences. These types of experiences are (1) Not entirely pre-planned (by you or anyone else). (2) Where you run the show yourself and make your own decisions. (3) Where something new and different happens to you. (4) There should be some danger (physical, legal, social taboos). (5) You should have to make an ethical decision, and take an ethical action. (6) Fall in love. (7) Fighting for what you believe in. Hero stuff. Anything less is wimping out, bad faith, giving up on life. (8) How often to have these experiences? Where to get them? --- 06/17/1994
Psychology. --- Experience. Different people "experience" the same situation in different ways. --- 3/22/2007
Psychology. --- Experience. How you experience life depends on (1) Your past experiences. (2) Your memory of past experiences. (3) Current concepts. (4) Current methods of thinking. (5) It is a meld of old and new. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. In the same way that there must be a way to become enlightened without taking drugs, so to there must be a way to gain experiential knowledge without going through horrible experiences. The dilemma is this: (1) We need knowledge of the bad things in life in order to know what are the problems of the world in order to be motivated to solve these problems. (2) But we don't want to experience these evils first hand because they can shatter our lives, reduce our productivity, cause pain and suffering, etc. (3) We don't even want second hand knowledge of these problems if it means that we have to see friends or anyone suffer these problems. (4) So in the future, in an increasingly perfect world, how do you explain to people what is war, poverty, crime, oppression, etc.? (5) Overcoming adversity gives many the motivation to succeed. But adversity also crushes the spirits of many others. (6) It is not just a question of motivation. In addition to motivation you simply need to know about the ills of the world and you need to know about them in an immediate and direct way. You have to experience them. And yet, as we said before, you don't want to experience them, nor do you want anyone else to experience them. So what to do? The only thing I can suggest is exercising your imagination, perhaps with the aid of art and history, to the point where you can say "I know about these bad things. I've lived through them via art and history." --- 7/16/2002
Psychology. --- Experience. Relativity of experience: Two people experience same situation different ways. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. The important thing is what ideas (important and unimportant) and emotions (powerful and bland) a environment or experience (or its absence) causes you to "mind" about (or not), or do (or not). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Total experience: psychological, physical, behavior, and environment. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Type of effect of any type of experience on individual (1) Healthy vs. unhealthy effect. (2) Growth, stagnation, devolution effects. (3) Duration of effect: no effect to permanent effect. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Type, frequency, duration, intensity. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Types of experience. (1) Actual vs. perceived. (2) Healthy vs. unhealthy. (3) Painful vs. pleasurable. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Types of experience. (1) First hand: experience it yourself. (2) First hand observation: see, hear it happening to someone else. (3) Second hand: get it from a primary source. (4) Third hand: get it from a secondary source. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Types of experience. Experiencing something (1) Second hand: vicariously. (2) First hand: as a tourist, with easy way out. (3) First hand: for real, with no easy way out. There is a big difference between all three. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. Ways of experiencing the environment. (1) Not alive. (2) Alive. (A) Instinctual. (B) Unconscious. (C) Conscious: magic myth religion, art, philosophy, or science. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experience. What experiences should people have (do and done to) and not and why (in abstract and specific terms). Have: education. Not have: abuse and neglect (see human rights). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Experiences and situations. The amount you have in life: few or many. Vs. What you get out of the experiences you have: much or little. If you have a great imagination, you can imagine an experience, and if you have a keen mind, you can get a lot out of an imagined experience. --- 01/02/1997
Psychology. --- Experiences. A bad experience can make environments seem cold, sterile, alien, strange, evil. A good experience can make environments seem warm, comfy, cozy, friendly. --- 4/8/2004
Psychology. --- Fascination with the commonplace. There are two types of fascination with the commonplace. (1) Fascination with the commonplace when you do not know it is the commonplace. This often occurs when one is new on the scene. An example is tourists visiting a place for the first time. Another example is teenagers who experience the commonplace for the first time. This type of fascination with the commonplace is usually followed by either gradual or swift disenchantment. (2) Fascination with the commonplace even when you know it is the commonplace. One way this expresses itself is when a person becomes a mystic of the commonplace, where one sees enlightenment in chewing gum, etc. Another way it expresses itself is when a person becomes a pop culture maven. The phenomenon of fascination with the commonplace even when you know it is the commonplace is usually followed by the gradual or swift disenchantment of your friends regarding your behavior. --- 4/6/2001
Psychology. --- Focus, drive, confidence, and self esteem. Focus: I see it. Drive: I want it. Confidence: I can get it. Self esteem: I deserve it. --- 12/30/1995
Psychology. --- Folk psychology terms. (1) Unraveled. (2) Wound too tight. (3) Knit self together. --- 10/21/1998
Psychology. --- Four important factors: mind, body, activity and environment. PART ONE. Some people say that all four are equally important. But those with no body (ex. paraplegics) might argue that body is not so important as mind. And those who live in a bad environment (ex. the urban poor) might argue that environment is not that important. And those who do not engage in much activity (ex. couch potatoes) might argue that activity is not that important. PART TWO. Some say that variety of environment, activity, body and mind is just as important as the quality of environment, activity, body and mind. How to achieve a variety of experiences, activities, bodies and minds? A variety of environments can be achieved through travel. A variety of activities can be achieved through work and leisure alternatives. A variety of bodies can be achieved by body metamorphosis or by virtual reality. A variety of minds can be achieved through reading books. --- 6/6/1999
Psychology. --- Four states of mind. (1) I never did anything illegal. (2) I have done something illegal but no one will ever know. (3) I have done something illegal but the statute of limitations has run out. (4) I have done something illegal, and it is punishable by jail time, and I could get caught at any time. One or another of these views is in our conscious or unconscious mind all the time, and colors our world view, and shapes us. --- 04/30/1993
Psychology. --- Fragility versus resilience and robustness. Sensitivity versus callousness. Its healthy to be sensitive yet resilient. Its unhealthy to be fragile and callous. --- 6/5/2005
Psychology. --- Free psychologically. (1)(A) Social freedom: what society lets you do, vs. (B) Psychological freedom: what we permit ourselves to do. What we permit ourselves to need, feel and think. Where we permit ourselves to go in the physical world and in the mental world. (C) Some people experience for themselves the phenomenon where you unchain an animal and the animal stays in the yard anyway because the animal has been conditioned by the chain to stay in the yard. Even though social freedoms can shape psychological freedoms, the point is that you can have social freedom but still lack psychological freedom. Social freedom yet psychologically in chains. (2) Even when psychological chains are broken and one has a sense of psychological freedom, there is still one further step that needs to be taken, that is the urge to explore. (3) It is easy to gripe about society for the way it limits your physical freedoms. It is less easy to blame ourselves for our own participation and culpability in limiting our own psychological freedoms. What things do you say to yourself in order to limit yourself? --- 5/1/2000
Psychology. --- Genius and education are not just about thinking. They are also about emotion, memory, drive, etc. We should stop specifying them as merely thinking. Take them out of the thinking section. --- 9/28/2000
Psychology. --- Give your mind a rest. At what point do we use our mind too much? Use it or lose it. --- 11/8/2004
Psychology. --- Goals and problems. Work toward achieving goals. Work toward reducing problems. --- 3/23/2004
Psychology. --- Harness the energy. Direct the energy. Control the energy. Yet, the energy is like nature, it has its own agenda. --- 8/24/2000
Psychology. --- Haze, blur, fog, unclear, confusion, directionless. --- 4/6/2001
Psychology. --- Her mind was like a gently sloping table. You could discuss any topic with her, but like a ball on a gently sloping table, her mind always returned to the same subject. My mind is also like a gently sloping table, except the table is on a boat and the boat is on a stormy sea. --- 11/20/1999
Psychology. --- Here now and there then. "Be here now", as they say, is only half the story. "Go there then", I say, is the other half of the story. Be able to do both. Know when to do either. --- 11/23/2004
Psychology. --- Here now and there then. (1) Develop the ability to "be here now". That is, when your mind is not "here now", develop the ability to get "here now" quickly, and develop the ability to stay "here now" for hours. (2) Develop the opposite ability, which I call "there then", which has to do with memory and imagination. Develop the ability to mentally traverse time and space. When your mind is "here now", develop the ability to go "there then" quickly, and develop the ability to stay "there then" for hours. (3) Know when to use either ability ("here now" or "there then") as needed. When overwhelmed by the present use your "there then" ability. When an important task is at hand use your "here now" ability. The ability of "here now" lets one focus undisturbed by one's own stray thoughts and emotions. The ability of "there then" lets one focus undisturbed by one's environment. --- 4/4/2001
Psychology. --- Here now and there then. It is a much richer life if you mentally traverse time and space using your imagination than if you always and forever stay in the here and now. It is very limiting to be only you, here and now. --- 1/1/2002
Psychology. --- Heredity of psychological traits. (1) What's heritable? What's not heritable? Physical traits are heritable, like eye color. Are psychological traits like personality or intelligence heritable? What is 100% predictably heritable? That is, what traits can we predict with 100% certainty. What is heritable by some degree of probability? No one is an exact copy of anyone else, except identical twins. Even identical twins are not mirror images. (2) To what degree can environment and behavior override inherited traits? For example, if a person has inherited limited intelligence, their hard work can make up for that deficit. --- 9/4/2005
Psychology. --- History of psychology. Schools, individuals, subject of interest, theories or views, arguments, evidence. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Home is where you come to rest physically. There is also a mental state at which you spend most of your time, or where you come to rest mentally, and I call that your mental home. --- 10/1/2001
Psychology. --- How do people make sense of their lives? Some people have in their minds an amalgamation of world history, personal history, figured-out ideas, found-out ideas, plus music, emotions, words, images. Other people make sense of their lives by collecting money, objects and people, because the thought of it consoles them. Its all simmering, bubbling, churning, stewing in the subconscious mind. --- 6/20/2006
Psychology. --- How. (1) How important is psychology? (2) How study psychology? (3) How apply psychology? (4) How to do psychology? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Hypnosis. Degree, speed, ease with which, and methods by which a person can be mesmerized or hypnotized. Examples, a girl by a guy on a date (or visa versa); a consumer by a commercial; a consumer by a used car salesman; anyone by anyone. Ways how to do it. Powers of suggestion. --- 01/02/1994
Psychology. --- Hypnosis. Mind control. Lack of freewill. Believing and obeying instead of thinking and acting freely. Having an effect on someone's mind. We all have an effect on each other. We influence each other. Types of people. (1) Some are better at influencing than others. (2) Some are more impressionable than others, especially the young and the psychologically fragile. (3) Those easily persuaded. (4) Those easily encouraged or discouraged. (5) Those who give in quickly to opposition. (See suggestion, hypnosis, susceptibility to advertising, and persuasion). --- 12/29/1997
Psychology. --- Hypnosis. Suggestibility. S&M people get themselves into a trance. The trance is similar to the one an addict gets into. When they get into the trance they are more susceptible to suggestions. The trance can also take the form of a fantasy or daydream. Most people can snap themselves out of the trance, but some addicts and others cannot. They get stuck in the trance. --- 9/30/1998
Psychology. --- Hypnosis. The drone note in music produces a hypnotic affect by focusing your thoughts like a swinging watch. A steady rap will have the same affect on people. It monopolizes their thoughts, preventing other thoughts, and letting their emotions run free, disabling their rational minds so that they can not form arguments against you. Everyone is susceptible to this (Women perhaps more so than men because they are perhaps more emotional). The drone, the state of shock, the verbal rap, and hypnosis are all very similar states. --- 03/01/1989
Psychology. --- Hypnosis. Who can be hypnotized? What can be done under hypnosis? How bad can you mess up a mind with hypnotism? Does self hypnosis work? Can only hypnotists hypnotize? Or does it occur everyday, by everyone? Related topics: suggestibility, brain washing, cults, advertising, seduction. --- 10/05/1997
Psychology. --- Hypocrisy is about three things; (1) The difference between what people think and say. (2) The difference between what people say and do. (3) The difference between what people think and do. --- 10/18/2004
Psychology. --- I have a fickle brain. It does not work on demand. Coaxing it is of little use. (1) Give it a lot of attention. (2) Be patient. (3) Take and save what ideas it gives you, when it gives you them. (4) Solutions can come to you long before or long after you face a problem. The former is better. Write down the answer. --- 12/15/1998
Psychology. --- Impressions. Adult-age impressions. Freud put a great deal of emphasis on childhood, but who can say absolutely that we are most impressionable as children? I say we can be impressionable at any age. Adult-age impressions are important in at least three ways: first impressions at any age; impressions on neurotic adults; and impressions on sensitive adults. (1) First impressions at any age. One reason adult-age impressions are important is because first impressions are important at any age. We say children are impressionable because first exposures, first experiences and first impressions are so important. Childhood is a time of many first impressions. First impressions of a thing are considered to shape our attitudes toward that thing into the future. Thus, childhood impressions are important. However, we continue to experience new things throughout our lives. As teens and adults we continue to have first impressions. For example, the first time you have sex, or the first time you become a parent, or the first time you enter old-age. The first impressions that we have as adults can be just as important as the first impressions that we have as children. (2) Neurotic adults. Another reason that adult-age impressions are important is because many adults are fragile. Childhood impressions are considered to be important because children are considered to be psychologically fragile because their egos have not yet developed fully, and painful experiences to a fragile ego can damage that ego. However, adults can have fragile egos also. Adult neurotics can have fragile egos that can be further damaged by painful experiences. Some people argue that adult neurotics are the result of childhood psychological scaring (in a Freudian sense), however others argue that adult neurotics are the result of biochemical imbalances of brain neurotransmitters. And if this latter view is the case then it can produce fragile adults who are very susceptible to adult-age impressions. Some would argue further that we are all neurotics. (3) A third reason that adult-age impressions are important is the sensitive adult. Childhood impressions are considered important because children are so sensitive. Adults are considered to be less sensitive and more callused than children. However, some adults, artists especially, maintain a high degree of sensitivity through adulthood. Sensitive adults can be just as impressionable as children. (4) To sum up. Adults can be just as impressionable as children. Psychological damage can occur at any age. Psychological healing can occur at any age. --- 7/13/2000
Psychology. --- Impressions. First impressions. (1) If humans were not so rigid and static then first impressions would not carry so much weight. (2) If humans valued thought, and thought often, then first impressions would not carry so much weight. (3) The problem with over-weighting first impressions is that it does not give you the ability to correct wrong first impressions. That is, the problem with being bound by personal traditions based on first impressions (like "I always did it this way." and "I always thought this way.") is that there is no room for improvement, and once you get a sub-optimal attitude it can not be optimized. --- 7/13/2000
Psychology. --- In order to free the mind it takes a mental revolution. --- 8/23/1998
Psychology. --- Independence. (1) The reason to pursue physical freedom (ex. Drop out of school, hitch-hike across country, become a hobo, etc.) Is to achieve psychological freedom (learn "I am free"). (2) Can you achieve the latter without doing the former? Or must one always be a hobo? (3) And then avoid letting anyone or anything (a job, a situation, a lover) make you a slave again. Let nothing own you, physically or psychologically. (4) Achieve autonomy, independence, sovereignty, self-determination, self reliance. Don't be an unwitting pawn in someone else's game. Don't be used. --- 4/28/1998
Psychology. --- Independence. I used to have such a need to be independent. I would scoff at (1) Going to a shrink, (2) Using psychological self help books, (3) Talking about problems to friends. (4) Now I realize I can live healthier by interacting with others. --- 12/30/1996
Psychology. --- Industriousness vs. the following sub-optimal mental states: (1) Laziness. (2) Apathy. (3) Pathological immobilization. Neurosis. Frozen. Blocked. (4) Hedonism. (5) Zen, passive calm. --- 3/3/2000
Psychology. --- Inertia, laziness, lack of motivation, boredom. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Inertia: causes, effects, cures. Causes: uncertainty, fear, no direction, no urgency, perceived as unimportant. Vs. energy: causes, effects. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Inertia. Resistance and fear (for better or worse) against change (for better or worse) vs. momentum and drive for change. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Inertia. The inertia vs. direction interface is very important. Four cases (1) High inertia, right direction. (2) High inertia, wrong direction. (3) Low inertia, right direction. (4) Low inertia, wrong direction. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Information is a key concept in psychology. Ideas are information. Attitudes are information. A large part of thinking is about information management. A large part of psychological health is about information management. Humans have various techniques of information management, such as lists, outlines, databases, libraries, computers, etc. People ignore information management at their own expense. --- 10/13/2004
Psychology. --- Instincts. I used to have better instincts and reflexes. Now I can't trust my urges, perceptions, emotions, and reasoning. Things must be thought out and tested, conferred on with associates and experts. This is because (1) I am in more complicated situations, and (2) I have to make more important decisions, with higher stakes, and more responsibility on me than I did when I was a teen. --- 12/30/1996
Psychology. --- Integration. PART ONE. (1) Integration: How does it occur? What causes it? (2) Unintegrated: How does it occur? What causes it? (3) Disintegration: How does it occur? What causes it? Forgetting. Pathological psychology. PART TWO. Unintegrated is not a pathological condition, it is just a condition of being half baked. PART THREE. What happens when society does not give the individual the time or opportunity to integrate? What happens when an individual does not give themselves an opportunity to integrate? PART FOUR. When we integrate the result is we create new conclusions and ideas, and as a result of that we grow. PART FIVE. We are always slowly forgetting and we are always slowly remembering. Integration and disintegration take place simultaneously. --- 2/16/2002
Psychology. --- Integration. PART ONE. Integration of the sides of the personality. Integration of various conflicting views. Integration of past experiences. Integration of past selves (i.e, child, teen, adult). (2) Revisiting places is how we integrate. Revisiting memories is how we integrate. History is about integration. Memory is about integration. (3) If we had no memory, and life was a constant series of new experiences, how would we deal with it? If the world was new each day, with new physical laws (i.e., opposite of Groundhog Day movie) how would we deal with it? (4) Even if we look back and say " You know, it was all just random chaos and chance.", we are still making a statement about life, still attributing mean, still attempting to deal with life, attempting to integrate it. (5) Synthesis. Sense making. Meaning making. Logic making. Justice making. (6) To some degree we are each a collection of random experiences. An unintegrated personality is a collection of random experiences with no conclusions drawn. --- 2/20/2002
Psychology. --- Intelligence does not imply knowledge, which does not imply ethics, which does not imply sanity. None of them implies or necessitates the others. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Internal guidance system. (1) Do you have a good one? Or do you have a poor one? Can it be developed or improved? (2) Strong internal guidance system: towards health, towards destruction. Weak internal guidance system: drifting. (3) Home in, on track, focused, in thought and action. Duration and degree of concentration. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Interpretation. (1) Interpretation of a text written by someone else in the same language you speak (i.e., to guess what it means, and to put it in your own words) is essentially the same thing as translation of a text written in another language. Interpretation (within a language) and translation (to another language) are basically the same thing. (2) Humans interpret (or translate) everything (all experiences), not just written texts, not just spoken words, not just body language. In this way, everything (all experience) is, metaphorically, speaking a language. Everything is saying something. Everything has a voice. Or, to put it less figuratively, humans ascribe meaning to not only sentences but also to everything else. (3) (A) Another reason we can say humans ascribe meaning to everything is because humans do not use formal, exact languages like computers. Figurative language (i.e., metaphors) is a result of human analogical thinking. (B) Another reason we can say humans ascribe meaning to everything is because many words have multiple meanings. Many sentences have multiple meanings. It is not always perfectly clear what the author (or even the thinker) means. Is the author being literal? Is the author being poetical? Is the author being sarcastic? (4) So interpretation (translation) essentially takes place in all communication. And everything is communicating to us. (5) When we interpret/translate, we ascribe meaning as much as we infer meaning. That is, when we interpret/translate, we make an informed guess what the speaker means as much as we know accurately what they mean. --- 10/5/2000
Psychology. --- Is reality the way you feel about stuff at your (1) optimum best, (2) pessimistic worst, (3) middle of above range, or (4) average (most of the time)? --- 10/15/1994
Psychology. --- It is possible that there may be (1) Karma, (2) A spirit world, (3) Cosmic poetic justice, (4) Irony. There definitely is (1) A mind-body connection (when one feels good or bad so does the other), (2) Guilty consciences, (3) Stress, (4) Self destructiveness. If anything goes wrong you will blame yourself for every poor decision you ever made. If you do anything wrong it will affect you psychologically (unconsciously and consciously) and physically. --- 12/30/1996
Psychology. --- Key terms. (1) Technique (behavior): how you do things. (2) Attitude (mind): how you feel and think about things. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Key terms. (1) Vision: see goal. (2) Drive and effort: work toward goal. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Laziness. (1) A certain amount of laziness is bio-engineered into us. Humans evolved to conserve their bodily resources. Just like the lazy lion that spends most of its time sleeping. (2) And humans, though they evolved the ability to think, seemed to have evolved to think only when they had to. Humans were not bio-engineered to think constantly. (3) However, keep in mind the "naturalistic fallacy" which states that you cannot derive "ought" from "is". The way nature designed us is not necessarily the way we should be. For example, if humans somehow evolved for fighting over caves that does not mean we should constantly make war. So it also seems that just because we bio-evolved to be lazy and think rarely, that does not mean we should continue to be that way. In fact, the ethical imperative is that we think and work. (4) But the above argument does help explain the rampant hedonism and lack of thought in society. The laziness, the hedonism, the lack of thought are an ecological vestige. --- 7/7/2000
Psychology. --- Laziness. (1) Two types of laziness: the physical laziness of laying about and the mental laziness of rarely thinking. This second type of laziness is more common and much worse. (2) Causes of laziness. (A) Goal-lessness. Aimlessness. (B) Existential protest. (C) Viewing passive inactivity as a virtue. (Ex. Eastern religions). (D) Protest against society, work, school, etc. (E) Lack of meaning. Lack of a sense of urgency. Lack of a sense of importance. Lack of a sense of good. (F) Depression. Hating everything. --- 4/7/2001
Psychology. --- Learning, through practice, how to stop (thoughts) and calm (emotions) the conscious and unconscious mind is a very important skill. --- 3/21/2004
Psychology. --- Living low on the brain stem. Using only a few of your mental abilities. Making no effort to develop your mental abilities. Not thinking. Not feeling. Repressed. Self imposed repression. Societally imposed repression. --- 4/16/2006
Psychology. --- Making sense. How do people make sense of their lives? How do people make sense of their situation? (1) People create stories. People tell themselves stories. People tell each other stories. (2) People create meanings. People attach meanings to the events in their lives. People attach meanings to the world. (3) People are curious monkeys searching for knowledge. People gather knowledge like monkeys gather fruit. (4) People try to figure out what to do in the world. People try to figure out what in the world to do. (5) People talk to themselves. People talk amongst yourselves. --- 3/19/2006
Psychology. --- Making sense. Its a basic human need and desire to make sense of oneself, one's life, and the world. One's life can be defined as the intersection of one's self and the world. People need and desire meaning and understanding. --- 4/17/2006
Psychology. --- Many people make the mistake of conflating critical thinking with a negative disposition. Its a mistake to think that thinking critically means being negative about everything. This phenomenon may be the result of the very word "critical", which can mean "improving" on the one hand and "negative" on the other hand. It could be that the unconscious mind has more trouble distinguishing homophones than the conscious mind. As a result, people often have psychological problems due to unconscious difficulties distinguishing words with multiple meanings. Another example of this mistake are people who are conservative because they think its the "right" thing to do. --- 8/27/2004
Psychology. --- Meaning, in terms of "life meaning", is an important psychological topic. Meaning, in terms of "life meaning", is also an important philosophical topic. See: Philosophy, ethics, meaning. --- 9/12/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control defined as the ability of an individual to control what is going on in their own head. Many people focus on individual physical control, defined as the ability of the individual to control their physical behavior, for example, the ability to stop overeating. However, individual mental control is equally important. Achieving some degree of mental control is an important skill for learning, health and development. There are various types of individual mental control. (1) Thinking control. (A) The ability to say, "I refuse to think about that topic.", and make it happen. For example, if its taking up too much of your time. (B) The ability to say, "I will now think about this topic for one hour.", and make it happen. For example, if studying for school. (2) Emotional control. (A) The ability to say, "I refuse to feel this way about that topic.", and make it happen. For example, if you are feeling a way that you think you ought not feel. (2) The ability to say, "I will feel this way about that topic.", and make it happen. --- 2/11/2006
Psychology. --- Mental control is variable. (1) Mental control is variable from person to person. (2) A person can have much mental control in one subject area and little mental control in another subject area. (3) A person can have more mental control at one moment and little mental control at another moment. --- 10/17/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. (1) A positive aspect of mental self control is that it gives someone the focus to pursue goals single mindedly. (2) A negative aspect of mental self control is that it can reduce levels of tangential thinking that result in creativity. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. (1) If you have a strong, active subconscious then you may have less conscious mental control. (2) If you tend to obsess, dwell or brood then that may be seen as a lack of mental self control. (3) If you are subject to your moods then you may have a lack of mental control. (4) Addiction can be viewed as a lack of behavioral self control, which is based on a lack of mental self control. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. (1) The greater the number of addictive distractions available in an environment, and the easier their availability, the more difficult it is to maintain mental self control. (2) The greater the number of stressors to distract a person in an environment, the more difficult it is to maintain mental self control. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. In today's society there are: (1) Increased access to addictive substances like alcohol, drugs, food, sex, computer games. (2) Increased number of stressors. (3) This leads to more challenges to mental self control. As a result there in an increased need to teach mental self control techniques and coping skills. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. Is mental self control a learnable skill? How to learn or practice mental self control skills? Meditation? --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. Learn to control your own mind, or risk that someone else will control your mind. Mental self control techniques: Sensory skills. Picture in your mind. Sound in your mind. Memory of past. Imagination about future. Emotional recall. Doing the opposite. --- 4/1/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. Mental control components. (1) Emotional self control. (2) Memory self control. (3) Thought self control. (4) Behavioral self control. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. PART ONE. Mental control defined as the following: (1) The ability to think of something that you want to think of, and not think of something that you do not want to think of. (2) The ability to remember something that you want to remember, and not remember something that you do not want to remember. (3) The ability to feel an emotion that you want to feel, and not feel an emotion that you do not want to feel. PART TWO. Different people have different levels of mental self control. PART THREE. Mental self control is not necessarily an all good nor an all bad phenomena. There are pros and cons to mental self control. --- 10/10/2005
Psychology. --- Mental control. The degree to which a person can direct their own mind, from none to all. The ability to willfully remember a thought. The ability to focus on a thought. --- 4/3/2005
Psychology. --- Mental energy. (1) How long and well can you do mental work. (2) How often great ideas just pop into your head, on any subject, at any moment. (3) How mentally active you are. --- 06/06/1994
Psychology. --- Mental states. Two states. (1) When your soul is jumping out of your body. Drive, energy, confidence. Vs. (2) When your soul quivers and cowers inside. Fear, paranoia, self consciousness. 1 is better than 2. --- 12/30/1995
Psychology. --- Methodology. Behaviorism. (1) One way to define behaviorism is to reject any concept that cannot be empirically verified. Behaviorism as an outgrowth of Logical Postivism. Behaviorism as a rejection of the limitations of Freudianism. Arguments pro and contra this view. (See also: Psychology, behavior > Behaviorism). --- 9/12/2005
Psychology. --- Methodology. Cognitive science. Arguments pro and contra cognitive science. (1) One way to define cognitive science is as a study of the brain/mind that focuses on the brain/mind as a computer. Pro this view. Contra this view. (2) Another way to define cognitive science is as a study of the brain/mind that focuses on thought. Pro this view. Contra this view. Then then how do you define a thought. And what of emotion? (3) Another way to view cognitive science is as a rejection of the limitations of Behaviorism. --- 9/12/2005
Psychology. --- Methodology. Freudianism. (1) One way to broadly define Freudianism is as a theory of mind that distinguishes between the conscious and subconscious or unconscious mind. Pro. Contra. (2) Another way to define Freudianism is a theory of therapy that focuses on delving into a person's past. Pro. Contra. (3) There are objections to seeing childhood as the source of all problems. (4) There are objections to the completely passive, silent therapist. --- 9/12/2005
Psychology. --- Mind trains are the sum of drive, memory, emotion, and thought trains (or flows) through time. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Much of our time is spent with free floating images, sound and words in our minds. The contents of our minds is a melange or stew. We have seemingly random access to memories. --- 8/9/2005
Psychology. --- Narrow minded vs. close minded. Narrow minded means only thinking of a few subjects. Close minded means not open to new opinions. --- 12/30/1995
Psychology. --- Newness and novelty vs. Familiarness and habit. --- 6/4/2004
Psychology. --- Nirvana comes from within, not from without. Not from any person or thing. People and things are merely the building blocks you build with, or the garbage you avoid, in order to create, find, or recognize the truth. --- 06/06/1994
Psychology. --- Non-development, static, stall. To what extent can we spur development of self and others? Development defined as health. Development defined as maturity. To what extent is development equivalent to one's knowledge base, thinking skills, emotions, ethics and social skills? --- 9/7/1999
Psychology. --- Not looking someone in the eye can be a sign of shyness, timidity or fear. Not looking someone in the eye can be a sign of anger. --- 6/23/2000
Psychology. --- On the social side of psychology and on the nature side of psychology. One cannot be fully developed and completely healthy as an individual if one is removed from either society or nature. One cannot be fully developed and completely healthy if one is in a poor social situation or a poor physical environment. Social psychology and ecological psychology are vitally important but often overlooked components of psychology. --- 1/14/2002
Psychology. --- Organization (structure). Mental organization improves mental efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity. --- 06/30/1997
Psychology. --- Pace. City boy: quick thinking, fast talking, and fast walking. How do you feel when you finally slow it down? Like on vacation on a beautiful summer day in the country. It feels strange at first. A slower pace. Did a slow pace or a fast pace ever make anyone healthier, happier or more productive? What is the best pace? --- 7/11/2000
Psychology. --- Para-psychology. Find the record of success and failure rates by psychics in police work. Evidence of psychic phenomenon. --- 04/30/1993
Psychology. --- Para-psychology. Why astrology may work. It is not the stars that affect us. It is the weather and seasons, and their order of occurrence in your impressionable first year. Freudian. --- 06/17/1994
Psychology. --- People desire that there be some sort of sense to their lives. People desire meaning as much as justice. When people see only the absurd, nonsense, emptiness, nothingness, waste, and meaninglessness, then pain and misery can result, anger anxiety and depression can result, psychopathology can result. People do not want to say, "It was all a big waste. It was all for nothing. It was all a lie. It was all nonsense." People want order, truth, justice, reason, meaning, purpose. People want, desire and need all these things for happiness and psychological health. --- 3/19/2006
Psychology. --- People don't just want to be encouraged. People want to be reassured. --- 6/8/2001
Psychology. --- Perfect storm. Why is the public fascinated with the concept of a perfect storm? (1) Because a perfect storm represents a perfect frenzy. (A) For example, the frenzy of orgasm. (B) For example, the frenzy of emotional outburst. (C) For example, the frenzy of temporary psychosis. People want to get out of their heads temporarily. Out of control. Go wild. (D) For example, the frenzy of murder. (E) For example, it represents perfect id (a Freudian term). (F) Thus, to exaggerate the point, one could argue that, subliminally, a movie about a perfect storm is just more sex and violence. (2) A perfect storm shows that Nature can still kick human's butts. Nature as a higher power. Another example of this idea is the recent spate of mountain climbing tragedy books. --- 6/23/2000
Psychology. --- Power, control. A synonym for "power" is "control". Three types of control. (1) Attempts at controlling natural accidents. (2) Attempts at controlling other people's lives (bully). (3) Attempts at controlling your own life (perfectionism). Control freaks and power freaks. --- 11/7/2003
Psychology. --- Practice shifting gears and focusing. Practice serial thought, as well as parallel multi-tasking. Instead of thinking of everything at once (to avoid obsession), practice thinking of one thing at a time (to avoid distraction). --- 5/21/2006
Psychology. --- Progressivism and psychology. Rights of the mentally ill. The civil rights struggle during the 1960's in the United States helped many groups of people gain civil rights, including the mentally ill. The courts decided that it was illegal to hold peaceful people in mental hospitals against their will. The mental hospitals emptied out. That was a good thing. People should not be held prisoners in mental hospitals. The United States should not be run like Stalinist Russia. --- 5/5/2007
Psychology. --- Psyched = motivated, driven, desire, have to want it bad. Also confident, hopeful, think you can get it. --- 5/30/1998
Psychology. --- Psychologist go on and on about how genetics is what determines who we are, or how parents, or peers, or culture (via the media) determines who we are. But I want to focus on how we ourselves determine who we become through will, reason, writing and action. We have freewill and thus responsibility to create ourselves. By exercising our reason we learn, grow and change ourselves. We create ourselves to a great degree. Or at least we have the capacity to create ourselves. (1) Because to a great degree we can ignore parents, peers and society, we can rebel against them, and we can surpass them. (2) To a great degree what we do after age 13 (when we can read, write, and learn to learn in a self-directed way) has as much effect on us as what happens from birth to age thirteen. --- 10/22/1998
Psychology. --- Psychology of hero worship vs. leader hatred (rebellion?). Are they opposite sides of same coin? --- 05/30/1993
Psychology. --- Purity as (1) Innocence (never did wrong). (2) Naivete (never knew evil or wrong) (intellectually or experientially). (3) Idealism, idealistic. --- 06/30/1993
Psychology. --- Purity of mind (Zen mind, Child mind?) = focus (no distractions of thoughts like sex, etc.), and calmness (no emotional pain). Simplicity? --- 12/01/1993
Psychology. --- Purity. Terms. (1) No mind: unthinking. (2) Egolessness: humble, no big head. (3) Transparency: no real self. (4) Inscrutable: others can't see your real self. (5) Unselfconsciouness: you can't see you; not aware of self. --- 11/20/1993
Psychology. --- Purity. When I had purity of pursuit (ex. skateboarding and climbing) I enjoyed the process and devoted all my time, attention, and energy to the pursuit. I believed in what I was doing. I was obsessed. I would give up all and live off air to do it. I was happy with my results. An ascetic, obsessed lifestyle fits me well. I have a reason to live. Man on a mission. Dedicated, devoted, pursuing. Reason is my reason to live. Calm, confident purpose. Intense, single minded concentration and effort. Lean, mean, writing machine. The only way to live is as an idealistic visionary. High feeling of youth in spring, summer of life ahead. "Purity of essence. Peace on earth. Precious bodily fluids. God bless america", to paraphrase the movie "Dr. Strangelove". --- 04/26/1994
Psychology. --- Quiet mind vs. busy mind. --- 12/4/1998
Psychology. --- Related subjects, effect of and on. (1) Body: nature, genetics, heredity vs. nurture, developed, formed. (2) Philosophy: ethical systems as a sign of mental health and mental development. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Repetition can induce a trance or a type of hypnotic calm. Types of calm inducing repetitions: (1) Repetitious actions. (A) Grooming another, like our ape ancestors did. (B) Chewing gum. (C) Dance. (2) Repetitious experience. (A) Being groomed. (B) Beach waves. (C) Sounds like heartbeats or music. (D) Sights like strobe lights. --- 8/14/2000
Psychology. --- Resolve, Persistence, Dedication. --- 6/4/2004
Psychology. --- Rock and roll is the key to the brain chemistry that will create the vision. --- 12/15/1998
Psychology. --- Seeking attention. (1) Having a good sense of humor (creating jokes and enjoying hearing jokes) is different from actually being a comedian, performer, entertainer. The latter likes to receive laughter because laughter is feedback. Feedback is attention. Attention is love. (2) Another form of attention is abuse (psychological, verbal, physical), or other strong negative emotions. People with low self esteem, who are love and attention starved, will do anything for attention, and this can lead to masochistic behavior. (3) It would be interesting to see how many comedians are masochists. I think there would be a high correlation. Do people with low self esteem seek attention from others as a form of validation from others? Does low self esteem form comedians and masochists? --- 12/30/1996
Psychology. --- Self censorship. Unconscious limits or sanctions you put on your thought or behavior at any time. --- 05/30/1993
Psychology. --- Self concepts: self confidence, self esteem and self worth, self respect (dignity). --- 5/30/1998
Psychology. --- Self concepts. (1) Self confidence. Lack of it is worry and anxiety. (2) Self respect. Lack of it is loss of self esteem. (3) Self direction. Lack of it is aimless wandering or else motionlessness. (4) Self motivation. Lack of it is no drive or laziness. --- 09/01/1994
Psychology. --- Some people contend that each of us has the accumulated knowledge of past generations in our genetic unconscious. Wouldn't it be cool if that knowledge was conscious? It might go something like this: "I have worked in the fields. I have fought in wars. I have had countless loves. And countless children. I have died countless deaths and been born even more." If each of us had the real memories of all humans past, how differently would we live? --- 4/13/2000
Psychology. --- Sometimes when I am walking, I forget about my body and I feel like a detached head hovering six feet off the ground. It is the reverse of the headless horseman phenomenon. I call it the bodiless pedestrian. --- 8/31/1999
Psychology. --- Stable people are the same person everyday and see the same world everyday. Unstable people are different people everyday and see a different world everyday. Unstable people are more prone to creativity, and more prone to mental illness. --- 1/18/1999
Psychology. --- States of mind. (1) Bad states: Feeling beat, old, wacky, mocked, alone, low energy, motivation, hope. (2) Good states: No fear, not letting fear stop you. Fear understood and controlled. Strong, steady, clear, energized, endurance, power. Physical and psychological. --- 9/29/2003
Psychology. --- Techniques for psychological improvement. You can build your mind. You are responsible for building your mind. You can choose which knowledge and skills to learn. You can pick views or attitudes to hold. --- 2/12/2006
Psychology. --- Terms. (1) Wisdom: breadth of knowledge pool. (2) Expertise: depth of knowledge pool. (3) Vision: idealistic, sight, future. (4) Savvy: pragmatic, present. --- 06/10/1994
Psychology. --- The big problem for the masses: Let's say that you are an average person, or more to the point, below average. The big dilemma is (1) How to maintain your self respect and self worth, despite being average or below average. (2) How to find meaning and purpose in life, knowing that your chances of doing anything remarkable is slim. (3) This is the dilemma of the proletariat or the working class. To know that life is passing you by. To know that you are the less fortunate. How to justify one's existence? Those who are parents have a project, that being their children. Childless mediocre artists have a dilemma. --- 7/15/1999
Psychology. --- The big question is (TBQI): (1) What to do with my brain? (2) How much can using your brain help? (3) How best to use your brain? (A) By addressing your own problems (job, mate, kids, friends, relatives, money, love). (B) By learning about the world in general. (4)(A) Some people have their brain in the "on mode" by default, and they have to expend energy to not think (i.e., to relax). (B) Some people have their brain in the "off mode" by default and they have to expend energy to think. (5)(A) Some people don't use their brain. (B) Some people use their brain but don't build. (C) Some people use their brain and build by saving and organizing ideas. (6) How much do the following help? (A) Reading: how much can it help? (B) Talking: how much can it help? (C) Just be and observe: how much can it help? (D) Hang out with friends. Deep talk. Or shallow talk. Or just bowling. --- 8/26/2000
Psychology. --- The big question is how does sense data become attitudes? Apparently by adding memory, emotion and thought. But if you take senses and just add memory and emotion you still have an interesting being even without thinking. Even sense with memory alone could produce an interesting animal. --- 6/3/2002
Psychology. --- The chain of psychology. One leads to the next: environment, experience, memory, drive motivation goals, emotion, think, attitude, personality, behavior. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- The most important psychological state to achieve is one where (1) New ideas are not considered a threat by you. (2) You actively search for new ideas. (3) You can tell an idea that is new to you from an idea that is not new to you (so that you do not repeat ideas). (4) You can tell a better idea from a worse idea. (5) The most important aid in achieving the above state of mind is an idea sorting machine to aid your brain, which is itself an idea sorting machine. The best idea sorting machine that we have today is a computer. The Notes are also an idea sorting machine. --- 6/10/1999
Psychology. --- The new Buddhism. (1) Life is emotionally painful. (2) Pain is expressed as sadness and anger. (3) Sadness begets free floating depression. (4) Anger begets free floating rage. (5) The world is full of free floating rage and depression. (6) The innocent suffer. --- 10/26/1999
Psychology. --- The Quest is what makes life worth living. A quest for an unobtainable ideal insures that the quest, and life, will continue. Quest for ideal love and woman. Quest for the big idea. Quest for the unknown. Quest for the dream. --- 11/16/1998
Psychology. --- There is a tendency in people to put a high value on what they are good at. That is to say, people have a trait of seeing their personal strengths as values that are good for all. Whatever they know, whatever they have mastered, whatever they can do well, so should other people value, do and be. "Why can't others see things my way and do things my way", we all say. This is an example of how people have an instinct for success. --- 3/21/2001
Psychology. --- Three alternatives to growth. (1) Static stasis. (2) Furious circles. (3) Devolve. --- 4/8/2001
Psychology. --- Three types of mental states to practice being able to get in and out of. Be able to turn it on and off at will. (1) Calm. Still. Quiet. Blank. Nothing mind. Resting. (2) Free flowing mind. Free associating mind. Goes where it wants. (3) Focused and directed mind. Lead it where you want. Concentrated, not distracted. --- 6/4/2000
Psychology. --- Time and psychology. Freud viewed the past as the source of all problems. However, the current situation may also be a source of problems. And anxiety about the future may be another source of problems. --- 4/27/2006
Psychology. --- To dwell or obsess on past mistakes, failures and losses is not healthy. To always worry or be apprehensive about the future is not healthy. Yet to remember only the good things, or to anticipate only the good things in life is also not healthy. --- 12/28/2003
Psychology. --- To label is to stifle. --- 10/21/1998
Psychology. --- Today we are faced with a whirlwind of information and a cyclone of change. People often grab hold of other people, things and ideas and try to hold on for dear life. However, what if you lost everything in a disaster and were left with nothing? All you have left is an attitude. My point is that we tend to get very anxious and cling to other people, objects and ideas. But if we become comfortable with emptiness and nothingness then a lot of the anxieties disappear. --- 2/10/2001
Psychology. --- Two phenomena. (1) Sell out: To give up on ideals. (2) Burn out: To be fed up. To give up. --- 2/23/2000
Psychology. --- Two problems. People who act without thinking. People who think without acting. --- 9/1/2004
Psychology. --- Two ways to look at change. Reflected in political persuasions. (1) Pro Change: Can cope vs. can not. Flexible vs. rigid. Adaptable vs. not. Learning vs. not. Growing vs. not. (2) Contra Change: Incorruptible vs. corruptible. Not gullible vs. gullible. Strong vs. weak and wishy washy. Good memory vs. forgetful. Dedicated vs. blowing in wind. Enduring classics vs. changing fads. Not decaying vs. decaying. (3) I still am in the Pro Change camp. --- 2/21/2000
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. (1) Philosophy: philosophy of mind. Philosophy of psychology, conceptual analysis. (2) Science: qualitative and quantitative. Theory and experiment. (3) Technology: methods, tools. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. Cognitive science is interdisciplinary. Philosophy, psychology, computer science, linguistics. --- 10/27/1993
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. Hard psychology: facts vs. soft psychology: theories. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. Psychology: study of mind and behavior. Psychiatry: study of sick mind and sick behavior. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. Systematic analysis (trained professional) vs. intuitive analysis (everybody). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Types of psychology. Types of psychology. (1) Clinical vs. experimental. (2) By area: work, school, family, sex, organizational. (3) By school or method: behaviorist, psychoanalyst, etc. (4) By subject: children, old people, men, women. (5) By culture: academic, pop, folk, primitive. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Use all of your thinking ability. Use all of your emotional ability. Use all of your mental ability. Emotion is as important as thought. Thought is as important as emotion. --- 4/16/2006
Psychology. --- Viewpoint. Three different points of view, or vistas, or ausblickts, or horizons, from bad to good, of what people think of. (1) Right here, right now. (2) My entire life, everywhere I go. (3) All the world, all through time. (4) What percent of time do you spend in each phase? --- 05/20/1994
Psychology. --- What is psychology? (1) Psychology as the study of the mind. (2) Psychological as the study of behavior. (3) Psychology as the care, feeding, and running of head. (4) Philosophy, science, and technology of psychology. (5) Psychology never sleeps. The mind is always working. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- What we need. (1)(A) A thought generator. (B) A thought organizer. (2)(A) An emotion generator. (B) An emotion organizer. (3)(A) An attitude generator. (B) An attitude organizer. --- 1/20/2000
Psychology. --- What's on my mind? What can I think about? --- 12/5/2006
Psychology. --- When things go badly. (1) Illness and injury. (2) Fear, depression and anger. (3) Unemployment, poverty. (4) Rejection, breakups, shunning. (5) Death of a loved one. (6) Personal attack, gossip, lies, humiliations, degradations, mockery, ostracism. (7) Setbacks, failures, losses. (8) Ruthless competition, name calling, deception, betrayal. (9) Crime. Assault. Robbery. (10) Invasion of privacy. (11) Threats. Bullying. (12) Loneliness. (13) Emotional pain. Emotional hurting. Emotional stress. (14) Develop psychological techniques to deal with all of the above problems. Develop ways to drop negative thoughts and emotions. Develop ways to create positive thoughts and emotions. --- 3/21/2004
Psychology. --- When you feel like you can't do anymore, as you reach a deadline or shortly thereafter, that is often a psychological, unconscious, self-playing, mind game. --- 12/25/2003
Psychology. --- Why do people vegetate? (1) It works for them. (2) No other options. Trapped. (3) No other ideas. (4) Conformist. Doing what they are told to do. Doing what everyone else is doing. --- 3/29/2002
Psychology. --- Why is psychology important? (1) The times at which you need psychology most are in times that are stressful, difficult, confusing, complex, high stakes, one of a kind, oppositional situations. (2) It is tough to get head together at last minute, so get it together ahead of time. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Why. Goal of psychological study. Optimal, ideal, peak mind. You have to have experienced it. Excellent ethical judgment, industrious, wide ranging, etc. --- 09/28/1993
Psychology. --- Why. Personal reasons why study psychology, for anyone or me, reasons (past, present). (1) Understand yourself better. (2) Improve yourself, improve behavior. (3) Get goals, solve problems, avoid mistakes. (4) I'm neurotic and need help. (5) Get head and behavior together. (6) For mental health, and to get a clear head. (7) Develop, maintain, protect, improve head. (8) Position and expand head. (9) Get a fully integrated, constantly, optimally working mind. (10) Skill in struggling, survive, kick ass. (11) Get successes, avoid failures. (12) Reach potentials. (13) Improve performance: mental and behavioral. (14) Avoid, prevent, cure mental illness, decay, damage, breakdown. (15) Gain psychological strength. (16) Gain strength of character. (17) Get: goals, successes, wins, growth, progress. (18) Get head and behavior together to develop and get best goals best. (19) Avoid self destruction, embarrassment, failure, loss. (20) Avoid destruction of self, property, life. (21) Avoid destruction by self, others, nature. (22) Avoid mistakes, pain. (23) Avoid pathological or sub-optimal mind or behavior. (24) Avoid stagnation and decay. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology. --- Why. Social reasons. (1) Understand other people. (2) See how they see things. (3) Figure out their agendas. (4) Figure out their weak spots. --- 12/30/1992