Sensation, frustration and sensationalism

[Azura]

I've been thinking about why sensationalism has gone rampant in the media.

Human beings as a whole thrive on sensation. When I say sensation I don't simply mean the feedback our senses give us but the combination they can make when mixed with emotions.

For example, think back to the last time you felt motivation. Can you truly call that an emotion or a sensation ? Or maybe a mix of both that makes something unique ?

I thought about this while looking at the photos BBA posted. I recognized these photos as being special and I also knew they should trigger a reaction inside. But they didn't, at least not on the scale they should.

This brings me what may be causing this lack of reaction to an obvious stimulus. We're in this world where attempts are often made to redefine what makes us "happy". Not only do we need a roof, food and water. We now "need" a tv, internet, a mobile phone and other things. But most of all we need more money which isn't easy to get. Dependancy is the key word here.

This has brought me thinking about the dried-up-inside feeling I'm sure everyone gets every now and then. I thought is was health related but it could also be caused by accumulated frustration (in saying this I'm one of those people that is convinced that the mind can influence the body in a small way). Of course, we all strive to make a better future for ourselves but for some the destination may appear to be decades away or even unreachable.

So, there we are in this system that drives frustration, which is turn creates demand for stronger sensation. Where will this lead ? And is there a limit to how far you can push this demand for sensation ?

Discuss.

[Rambowjo]

Learn how to luciddream.

[Matfei]

**** that, too much effort when I'm trying to sleep.

[Rambowjo]

**** that, too much effort when I'm trying to sleep.

Hardly requires any effort, but I guess it's different from person to person.

[shadow_dragon]

I find the subtext for this topic eerilly familiar to this tread:
http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?t=179494

To my mind. Humanity is a chaotic mass, it was born from chaos and it'll burn in chaos and where we'll go and how we'll get there is almost entirely unpredictable accept via the unnatural laws of coincidence that dictate that anything that is possible has already happened, etc.

At the end of the day you choose what motivates you in one way or another. Whether it be desire, dedication, distinction or distraction. Whatever the majority picks the chaotic mass of humanity will roll in that direction for a while like.... a Zorb ball full of bees! Doesn't mean it shan't ever switch direction though... or hit a pot hole.

Hardly requires any effort, but I guess it's different from person to person.

Lucid dreaming is cool but it is very much different from person to person, for myself the very act of making an effort makes it impossible to achieve.

[Azura]

Learn how to luciddream.

Interesting. I have read somewhere that dreams act out frustration. Have you come accross anything that prompted you to reply this ?

[sid]

So, there we are in this system that drives frustration, which is turn creates demand for stronger sensation. Where will this lead ? And is there a limit to how far you can push this demand for sensation ?

Discuss.

I think the existence of sexual abuse is a good enough example to support that there is no limit to this demand for sensation.

Anyway, once at school there was a discussion in our class about how our emotions are constantly suppressed by the pressures of society, we opined that man is actually being burdened on a daily basis as society "progresses". The discussion ended at a note where the teacher said that society will see a day where the nerve finally breaks.

I personally feel that day is far because man has still not lost all his values. In all this chaos there is a pattern which is money. The tables will turn, I just dont know when.

[Grobut]

(in saying this I'm one of those people that is convinced that the mind can influence the body in a small way).

Psychosomatic illness is a fact, its very real and proven, as are psychosomatic cures (the Placebo effect), so there's certainly nothing wrong with beliving in it ;)

[Matfei]

Hardly requires any effort, but I guess it's different from person to person.

Orly?

Well my mind is way too active to 'block stuff out'

Way too active and way too disturbed = /

[shadow_dragon]

Orly?

Well my mind is way too active to 'block stuff out'

Way too active and way too disturbed = /

It's not about "Blocking stuff out" really. It's about finding that place between being asleep and being awake where you have total control of your dreams. An active mind actually has an advantage in this area really because it's all about keeping your mind awake really as your body slumbers but it can also more simply lead to insomnia.

[Matfei]

Yeah well spending my sleeping time not exactly sleeping won't make me feel too good if I have to go work or something the next day.

[Rambowjo]

Insomnia is a medical condition, as far as I know. Consciously making yourself sleep less is not insomnia.

Azura, for some luciddreaming gives a new perspective at life and spirituality. For me, I just do it out of pure fun, and perhaps a bit of the "mystery" stuff. Standing in a room, and realizing that everything in there is made by your brain, nothing of it is real (by reality's definition anyway) and nothing can harm. No consequences, at all. This is an incredible feeling for me.

[shadow_dragon]

Insomnia is a medical condition, as far as I know. Consciously making yourself sleep less is not insomnia.

... being unable to sleep due to having an over active mind however is....

[Steyr]

The american mind is always driven by the false belief that happiness can be achieved through external means. And while some people find temporary happiness through chasing whatever the newest sensation is, the effect is fleeting. It causes an addiction, until the real addicts end up rich managers of large corporations, more miserable than ever before and still desperately trying to bring happiness into their life by accumulating more money, as if that would help them.

When one can reach a state of enlightenment, for lack of a better term, they realize that happiness does not come from an external source. Not from money, or power, or possessions, or sex, or friends, or marriage, or even family. Those who choose to be happy can be so regardless of their surroundings, and those who choose to be miserable will be miserable no matter what happens to them.

Most people in so called "civilized" countries will never reach this point on their own. This is not to say there is no hope for them. There is actually a medicine to this society's problems, a medicine that can help people discover their inner peace and happiness.

A sensation of well-being and renewed life flowed through me. Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which persisted for the entire day.

The quote is from Albert Hoffman, describing the day after he had intentionally taken LSD for the first time. The first LSD experience EVER. And as I and many other hippies can attest, that state does not wear off after a few days. It stays with you. How long I cannot say for sure, but it's been 3 weeks now and I'm at the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. That's off of one dose.

But the peace and happiness of others is not profitable to these addicts of our society. War is money. Money is their drug. And they will destroy anyone that gets in their way so they can have it. They need other addicts to fight for them, to kill for them, to steal for them.

People need to show them that fighting and hate will bring nothing but more fighting and hate. Jesus preached truly unconditional love. He even loved the Romans who killed him, asking god to forgive them as they crucified him. We need to be more like that.

Peace is the goal. Love is the means. And LSD is the tool.

You should go hug someone today, then give them some acid.

[sid]

Peace is the goal. Love is the means. And LSD is the tool.

Dont know about Acid but Love and Peace sure go hand in hand.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

Sex is great stress relief.

And I'm not talking about lucid dreaming.

[shadow_dragon]

Sex is great stress relief.

And I'm not talking about lucid dreaming.

heh heh! Who would confuse those two?

[Azura]

The quote is from Albert Hoffman, describing the day after he had intentionally taken LSD for the first time. The first LSD experience EVER. And as I and many other hippies can attest, that state does not wear off after a few days. It stays with you. How long I cannot say for sure, but it's been 3 weeks now and I'm at the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. That's off of one dose.

I'll just add that you aren't advocating the stuff (even if you are ;)) just so there aren't any accidents after someone reads this thread. That said, lsd is on my list of things to try just once.

Anyway, general ill feeling can be caused by a locked perception of things. Everyone should be able to enjoy their breakfast cereal like that guy did. I'm not surprised some people go barmy from being stuck in an infinite loop of highs and lows because they're incapable of seeing and feeling things differently.

Sex is great stress relief.

And I'm not talking about lucid dreaming.

It is indeed but that's just the body kicking in with its chemical reward from attempting to reproduce :p .

You can also try magnesium as a general relaxant. It helps to decontract and relax the muscles. There are low doses of the stuff in chocolate.

Insomnia is a medical condition, as far as I know. Consciously making yourself sleep less is not insomnia.

Azura, for some luciddreaming gives a new perspective at life and spirituality. For me, I just do it out of pure fun, and perhaps a bit of the "mystery" stuff. Standing in a room, and realizing that everything in there is made by your brain, nothing of it is real (by reality's definition anyway) and nothing can harm. No consequences, at all. This is an incredible feeling for me.

Sleeping problems can be caused by physical discomfort or a general state of nervousness (I have both to deal with at the moment).

This lucid dreaming sounds like something to try but it's difficult when you don't remember your dreams. I've noticed that being tense before going to sleep can cause a dream to be more of a nightmare. For example, the last dream I had was about a bulldog coming through a ventilation shaft near the floor and it had to be chased for some reason. I used steam to convince it to turn back but ended cooking it's backside so much so that it's pelvis dropped off. Yuck.

[Rambowjo]

Nightmares are beneficial to luciddreaming. It's quite the read, but read through the DreamViews (www.dreamviews.com) frontpage and perhaps some of the subpages. It's a good read and gives a good grasp of the entire deal.

[Manticore]

It's about finding that place between being asleep and being awake where you have total control of your dreams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnagogia

[pine]

I think it mostly has to do with your personality. If you are an essentially positive, enthusiastic and active person, you will find things that interest and excite you almost anywhere you go. If you passively wait to be entertained and have new experiences, you will gradually become more and more numbed to the information you are bombarded with and pretty soon it will all seem uninspiring.

If you go out and do something interesting and really put some effort into it, you will most likely end up having fun and experiencing new and interesting things. Lucid dreaming is a way to do this, but it certainly isn't the only way.

[Steyr]

I think it mostly has to do with your personality. If you are an essentially positive, enthusiastic and active person, you will find things that interest and excite you almost anywhere you go.

Very much true. But it's hard for many people to get to that point.

Oh, and I don't advocate Illegal LSD use. We need to get those laws fixed.:D

[BobTheBeheader]

Oh good, just what we need. Another cheesy shallow philosophy thread. I KNEW there was a reason I stayed away from OT.

/me leaves.

[T2A`]

Bob, GTFO and STFO, you whiny bitch. No one likes you.

This has brought me thinking about the dried-up-inside feeling I'm sure everyone gets every now and then.Too much interbutts causes this too. The cure is interacting with real people for a change. And I don't mean sending them text messages or gaming with them, but actually connecting on some level.

I posted a similar article awhile back... Ah, here it is (http://www.cracked.com/article_15231_7-reasons-21st-century-making-you-miserable.html). Therein it says people are unhappy nowadays because interaction has been removed from their lives. TV, phone, internet, etc. all serve to distance people from other people. It's a convenience with poor results in the end. We live in a time where people look away hurriedly when they make eye contact with a neighbor.

[dragonfliet]

I don't know, it seems to me that people feeling they SHOULD be feeling a certain thing is the bigger problem than the lack of feeling. So you didn't really get off on the photos? Okay. They were pretty and they were old but...so? If someone is really moved by them, then great, but isn't that whole diversity thing nice?

Sure there's the need for sensationalism, but that's always been around. I understand that psychologist and sociologists are interested in WHY we crave that and all, but isn't it enough to realize we do, temper it with a bit of rational thought and not worry about it?

In conclusion: don't worry, be happy. Do doooo, doo doo doo doo dodododo dododo

~Jason

[rex]

I'm going to Sensation White in Copenhagen 15/11 :)

[Matfei]

If you passively wait to be entertained and have new experiences, you will gradually become more and more numbed to the information you are bombarded with and pretty soon it will all seem uninspiring.

So that's what's wrong with me = /

Too much interbutts causes this too. The cure is interacting with real people for a change.

Pssh, who does that.

[16MentalTempest]

We're in this world where attempts are often made to redefine what makes us "happy". Not only do we need a roof, food and water. We now "need" a tv, internet, a mobile phone and other things. But most of all we need more money which isn't easy to get. Dependancy is the key word here.

You only 'need' those things if you allow yourself to be influenced by others. I pity people in school who are so easily pressured into doing things they don't want to do from either friends, family, or the media for that matter. This lack of stimulus is caused by doing things that we don't necessarily want to do, but everyone else wants us to do. It's unfortunate enough that people 'need' money to live, much less 'need' all the petty things that entertain us and, more importantly, distract us from what really matters. I take great pride in doing only what I want to do, not what others say I should do.

Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to spend a week, a month, maybe even a year, with nothing but a roof, food, and water. What could one learn about his/her self in that time without all those distractions?

Last school year, my English teacher told the class, 'If your life is full of 'needs', you are going to be miserable. You don't 'need' to do anything. It's either you want to do it or you don't want to do it.'