Thank you Eustace for the "60 Minutes" link. I watched the show - a good plug. Jon Kabat-Zinn is looking peaceful. :) If Anderson Cooper can surrender his mobile devices and keep coming back to his breath, than so can I. And, I practiced this morning and I do feel calmer. If it is good enough for Google and they are teaching it in classrooms, then it is good enough for me. Comments below.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <emily.mae50@...> wrote : Let me try out some mindfulness (no, not a TM'er - no hope for enlightenment here) and see if I can answer you coherently. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <seerdope@...> wrote : EM: I posted this article because I like the topic; personally, I think the "test" they used, based on what they mentioned of it, is a bunch of BS. There are no black and white answers. The article itself is lousy and dumbed down for "public consumption." SD: I think the premise of the study is valid (from abstract) " More generally since humor often involves seeing life or a person from a novel angle and self-deception tends to reduce such angles, self-deception will naturally tend to reduce ones sense of humor." EM2: Yes, this sentence does the best at capturing the essence of how they relate and why different people have different senses of humor. I posted the article, but didn't read the abstract. Basically, sloppy, and then I threw the whole thing under the bus for good measure. I admit I was overtaken by my resentment towards the Myers-Briggs test - my Ma had us kids take it as teenagers in an effort to figure us out (can't blame her for that). I filled it out as "opposite" as I could (in an attempt to outsmart it) and then suffered the consequences. I think I'll move on from this now.....I sound kind of angry in my original reply. SD: My concern is the research design -- whereby self-deception is purportedly measured by a questionnaire.In contrast, if the study identified levels of deception via brain imaging or similar means, it could be quite insightful. That is, almost by definition people don't know when they are deceiving themselves. Tell tale clues might show up if previously identified and established "deception centers" in the brain lit up when a subject gave particular responses. EM2: That 60 minutes show attached electrodes to Anderson Cooper's brain and showed the part of the brain that lit up with stressful thoughts and then how it relaxed. Pretty convincing. Without that, we are left with, it appears, some crude notion of an implicit norm about self-detection such as "its normal for everyone to at times enjoy being cruel." So if one answers "no" to "I could never enjoy being cruel,” one would presumably score higher on the self-detection scale. To me that ass-backwards. People who are cruel to others have a distinctly more limited perspective than a more considerate compassionate person that sees from multiple angles, from other people's perspectives, how actions may hurt another. And taking pleasure in another's pain further indicates some inner pain/distortions twistedness that would generally indicate a limited perspective. Which is counter to the premise of the study that a wider perspective, the ability to see things from multiple angles correlates with a broader, deeper sense of humor. EM2. Exactly. I would like to see how they scored/measured and "corrected for measures of impression management, extraversion, mood and how much a person laughs in their daily life." These things seem unquantifiable. EM: Great humor like great art often comes out of pain and suffering. SD: I can't speak for others or for great art or humor, EM2: What, are you saying I made a pompous and blanket statement? O.K. The word "great" is wholly subjective as is the way I was applying/interpreting "pain and suffering" - was thinking more along the lines of "existential angst" in this instance. Art, literature, and music that I do enjoy and appreciate and that has meaning for me (not always LOL humor though, it's true) often has roots in, or is a comment on, or expression of some form of "pain and suffering"/"questioning" (very broadly defined.) You say it much better, below and I love it. To appease my melancholic self, this is on my refrigerator, which came in a used book: " Stand at the brink of the abyss of despair, and when you see that you cannot bear it anymore, draw back a little, and have a cup of tea." - Elder Sophrony of Essex SD:....."but for me, creative times are generally amplified during times of balance and integration -- when a back drop of relaxed freedom and happiness exists and playfulness is more manifest. EM2: Love this - inspiring My point on the (not termed such in prior post) of the existential angst Woody Allen appeared to express in the posted video -- to me is different than pain and suffering. The angst has forced/motivated him to find humor, if not some degree of joy and happiness, from the creative act and -- and appreciating what there is in life, even if fleeting and ever changing. EM: Well, I like narratives in that I like stories, but in personal terms, it can get so grandiose and egotistical at times - relaying the *narrative* of one's life as a way of being. SD: personal narratives and imposing judgements and values on everything one sees, for me does seem to get in the way -- and over time has loosened its hold. That is distinct from the intensity and degree of mental inquiry one pursues -- which I think is an individual thing -- some are more drawn in that direction -- and the process may be clarifying for them. However, for me as to when it becomes obsessive and marginally productive can be a issue and and can trip me up at times -- warranting some reflection as to when to move on.. EM2: I read this recently, in an article...tells me I should continue working on surrendering both the mobile and sometimes, seemingly immobile devices. (Smile) "As long as we are occupied and preoccupied with our desire to do good but are not able to feel the crying need of those who suffer, our help remains hanging somewhere between our minds and our hands and does not descend into the heart, where we can care. But in solitude our heart can slowly take off its many protective devices and can grow so wide and deep that nothing human is strange to it." - Henri J.M. Nouwen EM: Am learning a new way. I do love to "play" - the definition of "play" and also the word "fun" have radically expanded in scope in the last couple of years. SD: For me, there is a useful distinction between "play"/ (leisure activities broadly defined) which have transitioned a bit towards the boring for me, distinct from "playfulness" which can underlie all parts of life. EM2: I have fully enjoyed reading everything you wrote on "play", as well as the "Actionable Takeaways" and I've saved it for future reference. Thank you!
