Is ATS bad for you?

reply to post by FaxMachine


No problem...its just stages of development.

As the zen teaching goes - "This to shall pass". - at least one way or another.
One can either remain 'unconscious' as it were and be gripped by the fears of life, or one can awaken to the truth that already lies deep within, that there is nothing to fear.

But, ultimately, "This to shall pass". So I wouldnt get to worried.
In the stages of learning, it is easy to get trapped by the ego in fear...and then get stuck in some train of thought...this is called dogma.

However, if one perseveres, and takes the journey as it comes (really the only way you can take it) then slowly the fear will fall away as you realize that the truth will not harm you.

At some point it becomes that truth and facts are not necessarily one and the same...Facts come from perspectives and are relative, I know sounds contradictory...but truth - well there is only one truth, and it doesnt change.
- and no, this is not a gospel message.
...although, gospel means "good news", so I suppose it could be.

Peace

dAlen

p.s. - just for clarity, yes at first I was freaked out by a lot of this stuff to when I first looked into all of it and realized the world was not what my social milieu gave to me. (well forced down my throat.)
again...peace

Certainly a good topic, OP, and a valid question.

Here's my experience.

I came across Rense, GLP and various sites back in the late 90's; at the time I was a paranoid mess due to a myriad of factors and the things I read about on these forums drove me up the wall. I began to worry about them constantly and my imagination went into overdrive.

After a couple of years something clicked - I stopped paying attention to it as much. There's only so many "Aussie Bloke"-type hoaxes you can fall for. As other posters mentioned, you have to take the stuff you read here with a grain of salt and then some. Heck, maybe even a tablespoon.

This is the first post I've ever made on ATS and that's after reading it for quite a while. Take some time off if you need it. Life is far too short to drive yourself into a frantic state of mind over material you've read on the "internets". Most importantly, enjoy life and don't let ATS consume you.

Best of luck!

I felt the same way you did at first about this faxmachine, I started reading and getting worried about things and thinking about it more often and reading so much I was having dreams about the things I read but then one day I sat down with my father who is a ufology nut like I am and we discussed it and if some of the things that we see on here are true we have to embrace the good because all of you know just as well as I do that there's more to this earth than we know and thats a fact but to dwell on the bad and be frightened and terrified over it is a waste of time that you could have been doing something else like developing a new hobby or writing a novel or something like that and my fathers exact words were " If I have to go through life worrying about things that I have no control over I'm not really living my life now am I?" and I took it just as he said it just let those things leave your mind and go back to your normal life if the bad things that you hear really do happen what can you do to stop it? absolutely nothing.

just don't worry so much its fun to get on here and read and be interested in things but don't let them rule your life.

Originally posted by Anti-Tyrant
reply to post by FaxMachine

 

It is the fault of the mainstream that we are made to fret over possible threats to our mental wellbeing, when in reality most of those "threats" are perfectly localised and are... "Glitches" in our mental development.

For someone like yourself with a "good" I.Q, it's unsurprising that you would have a few so-called "glitches".

You could infact say that the more intelligent a person is, the more likely he is to suffer from one mental "glitch" or the other.

Hench the "Mad Scientist" stereotype.

Oh yes God (or nature for the godless ones) mist be a wonderful programmer. He would not let in a given group of species some pf them being more intelligent than others if there wasn't for some "glitches" in their programming so these are forced to rely on others, to not act above or outside mutual consensus of a given group since their "glitches" would let them rely on cooperation, different levels of analysis and different views of the same reality. Therefore for the resulting general agreement we are forced to decide at least partly based on other peoples interpretation of reality and this design or programming method God (or nature) chose as a result implements. or is forcing as to take in to consideration many different parameters. for the wellbeing of a group.

I wish science was so clever as to really observe and imitate nature.

ahem.. that anonymous post was me..I wonder what happened.

(post has not appeared yet)

[edit on 15-5-2008 by spacebot]

i dont believe 99.9 percent of the stuff on here, im an athiest and i dont believe in an after life, in ghosts, in ufos or any of the out there kind of things but i want to believe and i enjoy reading the posts of those who do believe and if someone finds genuine evidence of something im pretty sure it will be on here first. just dont take everything as gospel.

You must have mysteriously intercepted my anonymous (by mistake) post somehow (which has not appeared yet) because I was replying in a manner both to atheists and believers quoting and expanding an interesting statement from another member, but I am too tired to repeat it since I did this twice and it failed to post.
Strange things happen here in ATS.

I think to some extent it depend what you believed before you found this place, and how you have learned to react to different situations. To an extent, I think everyone realizes more about the world than they are able to or wish to admit. Finding the ideas makes it easier to socially accept them.

However, I think it is important to compare what you read on the internet with real world experience. You should try to look for primary evidence, and I don't think there is much use believing in things you can't prove.

At first come the shock of hearing others describe a world very different from the one you have been taught to believe you live in. However, over time you can come to accept the world for what it is. More serious issues can arise when you realize your place in the world, and realize you are being screwed.

How should a student react, who realizes, they are being indoctrinated into a system they don't believe in. What do you do when you realize your job is hurting people? What do you do when you realize you are contributing to something you abhor?

I think Kurt Vonnegut wrote quite compellingly about these issues, and the facts of life. You probably can live a more free life, but knowledge can divert you from the path you might have otherwise taken. You just need to carve out a life you believe in living, and then the details of the world will still exist, but they will simply be a part of life.

reply to post by FaxMachine


I think ats is just like anything else in this world, too much of anything is not good for you. You probably just need to make yourself take a break once in awhile.

I'm new here and don't post much yet, but i've noticed that i've been spending more and more time here. Way more than i should be, it can be kind of addicting. If i'm not reading a thread, i'm checking out information about a thread that really grabbed my attention. I know it's time for me to take a break for a day or two just because i'm spending too much time here.

There are so many different and interesting views here and so much information on so many different topics. It can become very easy to get lost in it and go into overload. Take a couple days off, do what you used to do before ats, get your mind completely off of it. When you come back rested and refreshed if you no longer feel paranoid and fearful then you're ok, it was probably just overload. If you come back and start feeling the same way after a break then maybe it's not for you.

Addiction is the word Chise 61. I stayed off for 5 days once before I hit up my mailbox and recent posts drooling on myself like a heroin addict. It's a great place for mainstream info with a lemon twist. I admire the minions who don't suck up cnn and msbn like dogma. I've also made some very fast friends here who give me a holla' once in a while. Why they want to spend a dime on a kook like me I still don't know.

[edit on 5/16/2008 by jpm1602]

[edit on 5/16/2008 by jpm1602]

reply to post by FaxMachine


Not ATS but Fear is bad for you!
We never have to be afraid of anything, Fear is the tool to suppress and make modern slaves.

Fear is the thing that creates wars, anger etc.
Ban fear from your live's.

ATS is not bad its the people using it that post things out of their own fear to ask for a solution or explanation. But by doing so the readers become afraid or start wondering end make conclusions that makes them afraid of something.

Governments, religions etc. they all use fear in one form or another just to make us do the things they want to happen.

"Make one person afraid and you will reach hundreds because the first one will share his fear and so it spreads. Fear is cheap control of the masses!"

When do we learn that we have a mass consciousness that is being abused by governments and religions. How! they let us think we are individuals and fill us with fear so we become selfish and egoistic. Every body is connected and we can all make fear go away just by not allowing ourselves to be afraid.

It could be that there are people on ATC deliberately creating story's that make us afraid. Don't be afraid you don't have to its a choice!

If something does not feel right leave it its intended to make you afraid.
Listen to the voice within, follow the things that make you feel good and good will come to you.

Ia ATS bad for me? Yes, in a way. It takes up way to much time that I should spend on doing my job

This is one of the best places on the net.
Any growth is uncomfortable.
Fear is powerful. Use it to your advantage. It can be a catapult into a new world or make you shrivel up and die. Personally, if you're not afraid then you're living a lie. It's all about your own behavior. The world is dangerous regardless of how you feel. (Always has been, always will be, sorry I don't buy that Holistic-Peace-Universe-stuff, maybe I don't want to live in heaven. Life without struggle is pretty useless and boring.)

This has all been said, here already. You're not special. Meaning everybody who really learns will experience Cognitive Dissonance.

ATS: Diverse, but as a group I can say the vast majority of people here are trying to find their own hard-fought sense of Truth and I think that is about as noble of a pursuit as a hairless monkey can realistically manage.

Relax. You will die. Don't waste time.

[edit on 16-5-2008 by djerwulfe]

I agree with the OP on the paranioa.
After i first started to read ATS on a regular basis, (6 months ago) i too got a bit paranoid.
After a while though, it didnt bother me anymore.
The same should happen for you as you spend more time on here, you will get used to the kind of information youre recieving.

Originally posted by FaxMachine
Hello

Before i came to ATS to read and learn, i was normal sheep. Now im detecting alarming pattern of paranoia. The problem is that so much that you read in here has strong prove for it and you start to see whole different world. In goverment tyranny, aliens and much more. Now i find my self depressed, paranoid and scared.

I watch on avarage 4 documents per day, read alot and i love to absorb information, all information not just conspiracies. I also have scored more than 150 in IQ test, so i see my self bit brighter than the avarage. Sometimes i feel like ignorance is a bliss, i would be much happier and could concentrate in "normal life". Now days i sometimes question my sanity, while i read ATS.

Anyone else have the same feelings, or am i the only one? Shrink anyone?

FAX

(irony)You mean the normal life that has been carefully selected for you by the aliens who control the tyrannical governments who enslave the sheeple? (/irony)

Just thank god you realize there's more to the world now.. bask in the information rays and don't forget your sunscreen and tinfoil hat, (but the sunscreen gives you cancer and the tinfoil hat gives you alzheimer's disease)

People think that this is a new phenomenon and that somehow out there, there is an answer for or a method to deal with this incredibly increasing influx of information.
I am not paranoid because I went and researched some very amazing tools and feel comfortable enough to sift through the information and assume my own conclusions are just as baseless as the next persons because very few people ever experience that which we obsessively pore over, and since observation plays a keen part in reality creation, if I wasn't there all I can do is reenact it in my minds eye and work from there which is just the same for those actually present and involved because everyone experiences this world in a "quantum way" meaning they will give vastly different accounts while being in the same environment/surroundings of what is taking place or what it appears like.
Much in the same way it would be different if they were to experience it together and openly discuss it; and if they were to individually experience it and catalog their "findings" ...
[What I'm getting at:] Nothing is definitively good or bad.... if you feel this way.. take a break for a bit, come back when your interest is peaked by something you see in the news, or from work... etc.. Once you start categorizing things as definitively one way or another you take all the maybes out of the world, and for Robert Anton Wilson's sake we should maybe leave a bit of room for a maybe because maybe it will provide enough possibilities to maybe survive in this seemingly definitive world.


[edit on 5/17/2008 by PuRe EnErGy]

reply to post by jpm1602


FIVE days! Heck I'm just tryin to be able to stay off for one day .
It's just so hard , there are so many interesting threads and people here. So many different opinions from so many people, from so may places, it's kinda like traveling and meeting new people without actually going anywhere. So much knowledge here, there are people that post here that i am just in awe of, the things that they know.

Anyway i figure i can't be any more paranoid than i already am, so i might as well stay right

Originally posted by Shere Khaan

I recommend a strong dose of reality and when you consider worldwide conspiracies, go and work for a government department of some kind and understand the nature of incompetent bureaucracy. The idea of these massive secret conspiracy melt away in the large part when faced with human incompetence.

With all due respect, I highly doubt that the cream of the crop of Illuminati are working at the DMV.

reply to post by FaxMachine


Personally, I think the key to staying sane on ATS is objectivity. You not only have to be objective about what you read, but about yourself as well.

When I first came here, I thought that there might be some alien involvement in my life. After perusing the many threads of personal experiences of others; I am less convinced that I fit in that mold. I believe that my symptoms can fit into other categories that are more easily explainable.

If you hang around here long enough, you will be able to spot the BS from the fact. Just don't become so hard-core that you never allow that someone might actually be telling the truth. Everyone needs to be heard.

To answer the original question: Is ATS bad for you?

For some people here, yes, constantly subjecting yourself to this way of thinking is most definitely bad for you.

After a few months of looking into this stuff, I've come to this conclusion:
Many of the posts here at ATS are delusional BS.
Not that the posters don't believe what they're saying, sadly I am certain that they do. Most people (myself included) do not understand how the human mind works, especially the subconscious mind. Fiction is frequently believed as fact, and anyone can see examples of that all around them.
Science is the best example of how the 'beliefs of today' are found to be completely wrong tomorrow, ie. That the Sun revolved around the Earth was believed for a very long time.

But, there most certainly are corrupt men, governments and organizations in the world today, and there always has been.
The Earth itself is a volatile environment with huge land and water masses shifting around a molten core, there will be problems for those on top.
One day our Sun will explode and this planet will be no more.

You wanna Save the World?, You wanna 'Crush the Enemy'?:
Do it one square foot at a time - the box you are in right now.
Get your minds right people, and everything will be just fine.