oh I know, almost didn't post that, but I'm just really obsessive about getting these kinds of things correct.
much of ideology is knee-jerk ideas that people don't exactly examine but still accept in a vague kind of way.
like knowing something, but also forgetting it, or believing the opposite.
the beliefs people have are not consistent.
there is even a tangent here about the physical structure of the mind; that it exist in space-time, with separation between parts, so that consistency doesn't occur, because it is always a tapestry; rather than like a database or some abstract machine that can exist over and above the physical constraints of a neuronal network.
or putting it differently, nobody holds one ideology; we all operate on multiple simultaneously, cherry picking, updating.
i'm not addressing what you mean or believe, i'm addressing what you, or maybe others, also believe.
and i rant so much that i feel bad about deleting and not posting more.
see, I'm perhaps more perceptive than you thought; it's exactly this, so many people try to maintain two ideologies, one for reality, and one fantasy to keep them happy.
it's why I didn't want to just... leave you like that...
maybe I'm just odd, but this need to avoid reality is one I don't have anymore.*
like, so much of how we think about ideas is as things that give us comfort, it's such a roundabout way to get there.
perhaps what does much of the legwork for me is the simple notion that self-pity takes one problem and turns it into two problems.
now you're fucked and you're sad. but it's a choice. you don't have to be sad.
you clearly already know that your emotional response to reality and mortality is harmful to you; that's why you keep the fantasy.
you don't need the fantasy. or you can have just actual fantasy, where you don't believe, and don't pretend to believe, and don't worry about reality.
the conclusion that your innate emotional response (programmed by natural selection to demand as absolute survival of the organism, or at least the genetic material) is worthless, is enough.
the sensible thing to do is know the truth, accept the truth, and then ignore the emotion, and stop obsessing over the ideas that hurt you.
trying to stick with two stories, that are always fighting against each other, causing cognitive dissonance, and an obsession over it, is what causes you harm.
I'm not even saying you should ignore your emotions, fucking cry about it.
Just stop lying to yourself that it doesn't hurt. Or that this fantasy is actually helping with the existential crisis.
And then move on, put your attention elsewhere, because there's just nothing we can do about.
self-pity is shit, self-love or compassion is much better.
compassion gets us to self-deception, but self-love or self-respect doesn't stand for that. **
sorry for being so preachy, but i'm speaking from too much experience.
* should clarify that avoiding unpleasant images, traumatic stuff, or doom-scrolling are different from avoiding reality.
** if i can care enough about you to write this sappy shit, then you can do it too. >_<
deleted by creator
oh I know, almost didn't post that, but I'm just really obsessive about getting these kinds of things correct.
much of ideology is knee-jerk ideas that people don't exactly examine but still accept in a vague kind of way.
like knowing something, but also forgetting it, or believing the opposite.
the beliefs people have are not consistent.
there is even a tangent here about the physical structure of the mind; that it exist in space-time, with separation between parts, so that consistency doesn't occur, because it is always a tapestry; rather than like a database or some abstract machine that can exist over and above the physical constraints of a neuronal network.
or putting it differently, nobody holds one ideology; we all operate on multiple simultaneously, cherry picking, updating.
i'm not addressing what you mean or believe, i'm addressing what you, or maybe others, also believe.
and i rant so much that i feel bad about deleting and not posting more.
deleted by creator
see, I'm perhaps more perceptive than you thought; it's exactly this, so many people try to maintain two ideologies, one for reality, and one fantasy to keep them happy.
it's why I didn't want to just... leave you like that...
maybe I'm just odd, but this need to avoid reality is one I don't have anymore.*
like, so much of how we think about ideas is as things that give us comfort, it's such a roundabout way to get there.
perhaps what does much of the legwork for me is the simple notion that self-pity takes one problem and turns it into two problems.
now you're fucked and you're sad. but it's a choice. you don't have to be sad.
you clearly already know that your emotional response to reality and mortality is harmful to you; that's why you keep the fantasy.
you don't need the fantasy. or you can have just actual fantasy, where you don't believe, and don't pretend to believe, and don't worry about reality.
the conclusion that your innate emotional response (programmed by natural selection to demand as absolute survival of the organism, or at least the genetic material) is worthless, is enough.
the sensible thing to do is know the truth, accept the truth, and then ignore the emotion, and stop obsessing over the ideas that hurt you.
trying to stick with two stories, that are always fighting against each other, causing cognitive dissonance, and an obsession over it, is what causes you harm.
I'm not even saying you should ignore your emotions, fucking cry about it.
Just stop lying to yourself that it doesn't hurt. Or that this fantasy is actually helping with the existential crisis.
And then move on, put your attention elsewhere, because there's just nothing we can do about.
self-pity is shit, self-love or compassion is much better.
compassion gets us to self-deception, but self-love or self-respect doesn't stand for that. **
sorry for being so preachy, but i'm speaking from too much experience.
* should clarify that avoiding unpleasant images, traumatic stuff, or doom-scrolling are different from avoiding reality.
** if i can care enough about you to write this sappy shit, then you can do it too. >_<
deleted by creator