The Reality Of Happiness: Just The Facts.

Originally posted by dunwichwitch
WAKE UP, YOU ZOMBIES!!!

*Arms outstretched with a glossy look in my eyes*

Brains, I need Brains ... er ... Neurotransmitters, I need Neurotransmitters



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I forgot about happiness to be honest. I went ahead and replaced it awhile back with ineffable excruciating Joy. The type of Joy that can render the physical vessel immobile if allowed to transmit it's frequency to the chemical receptors. I call it excruciating because when it interacts with the body it produces some of the same effects as incredible pain, without the pain of course. I've had excruciating pain for extended periods so that's where the comparison comes from.

If you can imagine a Joy so deep that you can only just stand there unable to move, unable to form a single thought, just stuck there in whatever weird pose while your body tries unsuccessfully to process what's going on, that's some approximation but obviously doesn't do the experience any justice.

It was like being hugged by the universe. After that I could never really go back to neurotransmitters.

[edit on 24-7-2008 by OmniVersal]

Originally posted by OmniVersal
ineffable excruciating Joy

Sweet. There's a Portuguese word, 'saudade', that doesn't translate into English well, that I feel really expresses this concept. From Wikipedia:

Although it relates to feelings of melancholy and fond memories of things/people/days gone by, it can be a rush of sadness coupled with a paradoxical joy derived from acceptance of fate and the hope of recovering or substituting what is lost by something that will either fill in the void or provide consolation.

Wikipedia doesn't have it exactly right, in my opinion -- the paradoxical joy isn't necessarily derived from hope of recovery or substitute, but is rather a subtly justified state of existence, universal yet only subjectively self-evident.

Originally posted by Ian McLean

Originally posted by OmniVersal
ineffable excruciating Joy

a subtly justified state of existence, universal yet only subjectively self-evident.

Very interesting. That does about sum it up too. Thanks for adding to my 'thought density'. Increasing thought density is one of my personal missions. Just in case, here is what I mean by that. With each thought that can connect to another thought and with each perspective that's added, the density of any given thought increases. It turns thought cotton into thought diamonds. So instead of just warming the consciousness it can start to cut through anything and everything. 'Rock' on!

i dont know, i dont think anyone knows what happiness really is because no one ever experienced it. i could be wrong. but as long as time exists the mind will never accept happiness and will contain it. as a biological species we were never meant to be happy, and it was important for our evolution not to be.

the way is not in the sky.
the way is in the heart.
budda
this is I feel the way to happiness
m x

reply to post by DuneKnight


This should be an ongoing thread, happiness should not die!

One point that I wish to make about happiness is firstly that I agree with Duneknight, none of you have experienced happiness even if you think you have you haven't not on the real scale of things anyway. Secondly happiness as we know it is is mostly a reference thing, iow we gauge it by how happy others are. Also relevant is the aquision of material goods and how much one has compared to the majority/minority. This is a falsehood.

For the most part we are endorphin junkies, we like to do stuff that releases these chemicals into our brain thereby giving us the illusion of happiness. Thats fine but then are we slaves to our bodies or are our bodies trying to give us a push in the right direction?

Shine on.