The average man and woman is in a trance

Originally posted by theclutch
A lot of people are awake to the fact that they are not going to make a difference in this world at all. So they just give up and pray for death every day they go to work.

Truer words were never spoken. It's not just that they are not going to make a difference in the world, but they won't even make a difference in their own lives.

For some, having the responsibility to feed their kids are the only thing that gives them the will to live. They know their kids have no future. If they didn't have to feed them, I firmly believe many would just lose the will to live and die. Not kill themselves, just die. At least, that's my perspective on it.

reply to post by MDDoxs


Your post is very insightful, MDDoxs!
And you reminded me of someone with what you said...

One of my uncles was a Professor of Mathematics at a prestigious college down south (I wont name the college here for his privacy)... a very wise, intelligent man who made many great strides and accomplishments in his lifetime.

I deeply admired him growing up, more than words can express...

But one day, as he had gotten older, he came for a visit and he was just silently sitting under a tree. We got into a conversation, and during the talk I asked him what he had been doing lately.. he said "Nothing at all.." -- I asked "why not?" -- and he said "Why bother?"

For a few minutes I was taken aback, because I realized he had another meaning behind what he said but I couldn't figure it out.. (I even imagined he was probably depressed for some reason..)

But he went on to say that he realized that regardless of his accomplishments, the most profound sense of happiness for him came from just being alive..

I thought, wow, that was so simple and unexpected coming from a man like him....

And every since then, I've wondered if perhaps some of those who are apparently living average, simple lifestyles may even have a bit more wisdom than we give them credit for....

reply to post by Isabelx


"But he went on to say that he realized that regardless of his accomplishments, the most profound sense of happiness for him came from just being alive..

I thought, wow, that was so simple and unexpected coming from a man like him....

And every since then, I've wondered if perhaps some of those who are apparently living average, simple lifestyles may even have a bit more wisdom than we give them credit for...."

"IMO you are succeeding if you're happy. This is different for everyone."

Couldn't agree more with these post from Sign and Isabel. There was a time when I thought I had success. I got hurt and lost it all and found out that there was another way. As I grew I was constantly redefining my beliefs and what I deemed Success. I open my mind to happiness and found that its free. I don't have to compromise myself to have it. It is everywhere and in the most simplest things. I wouldn't trade the "success" I have now for anything!

reply to post by ninjas4321


I prefer to think of it as an "auto-pilot" rather than a trance. Both labels work, though. The Chinese had a curse, "may you live in interesting times".Bad times are at the least, interesting. Basic needs are met, one now has the freedom to choose his pursuit.Coasting through it all or the stress of excelling at some activity or newly assumed "purpose".

Then there's that Intellectual barrier of the recognition of the "Trance" and now doing something about it, the irony being those that are off auto-pilot are "too busy" to even consider this point.LOL.

Waxing philisophical is a sure sign of the "Trance" we are in. There are few who would be on these threads if they were full out "doing", instead of "thinking" as a substitute......

People are not "lost like zombies". They are distracted. What we think is a blank stare or "stumbling around unawares" is because they are lost in the river of their mind. The eternal thought stream that preoccupies us all day. I gotta remember to do this and not forget that, and that part of my life is so unfair, then I got to pick up the kids and what are we gonna have for dinner, should I stop in the way and pick something up and why oh why won't that light change and just look at that guy next to me in that piece of crap car, he needs a haircut, is my make up alright? cmoooooonn light!

Did you just hear yourself? Most people are too distracted by their own thought processes that give them the appearance of being "zombie like". I wish people would stop with that already. Most of us are also like that at some point during the day. We appear to be zombies to others who see us "staring" at a green light. HONNNK! Get moving you stupid zombie! Pay attention you living dead!

Could practice a little more tolerance. Some are troubled in this day and age. The simple is no longer so. People are stuck in relationships, jobs and financial straits like never before. They are preoccupied with trying to resolve increasingly more difficult issues in their lives. Behind those eyes is a feeling thinking human being just like you. So give em a break already.

Quietly passing judgment on everyone and calling them zombies is part of the problem. And you do it quietly right? When was the last time you called someone a zombie in front of everyone at the check out line?

Originally posted by intrptr

Quietly passing judgment on everyone and calling them zombies is part of the problem. And you do it quietly right? When was the last time you called someone a zombie in front of everyone at the check out line?

I completely agree with your post!

I know a couple of more aware minds who succumbs to this in their daily lives... only truly letting their hair down and becoming who they are in the quietness of their own homes. And if for nothing more than to go about their business without being chastised for being different..

I'm sure you've seen the occasional man who's deemed crazy, walking around looking strangers in their eyes and attempting to get personal with them.. everyone thinks this guy's a looney and they steer clear of him. This is the mindset of the common... keep your distance, do your business, and act like you know what you're doing.

If you don't succumb to this busyness, then you're immediately labeled insane..
But if you do succumb, then you're "unaware" and a zombie..

The Philosophical Zombie

I have to admit that I believe this concept utilizes circular logic.

Another way to construe the zombie hypothesis, however, is epistemically -- as a problem of causal explanation, rather than as a problem of logical or metaphysical possibility. The "Explanatory gap" -- also called the "Hard problem of consciousness" -- is the fact that (to date) no one has provided a convincing causal explanation of how and why we are conscious. It is a manifestation of the very same gap that (to date) no one has provided a convincing causal explanation of how and why we are not zombies.[15]

I'm going to give a thanks to Robert Sawyer for introducing me to this. One of his next books will be largely based on this idea.

The essence here is to ask what would be the difference between this world as we are in it, and a world just like this one where everyone in it was exactly the same but essentially an unconscious zombie of a person?

What are you doing here? The "work-life" balance issue that is consistently bantered around is a symptom.

Even if you have the time, what do you do with that time? Every religion tries to answer this question. Your problem is ego, therefore your solution is submission. Your problem is sin, and therefore your solution is grace. Your problem is suffering, therefore the solution is acceptance. For the non-religious, all the activities they would engage in are now commodified. Where they are not commodified, these things are societally restricted or culturally categorized as silly.

Not everyone is going to find their true love in life at work. Nor should they. This is the epitome of greatness in society - like your job. If everything you are is found in your job, I have to wonder if maybe you are a seriously limited human being.

In the poverty stricken (and I mean real poverty, not microwave, tv, dishwasher, fast food twice a week poverty) you could replace "work" with "survival."

The good thing about work is that it is an example of what you can do if you are part of something more than yourself. However, if also gives the idea that all things must be done in this manner.

Here is one example of something I think that people who are into conspiracy theories could get in on, that is feasible and outside the corporate box and puts their mind into gear. Put a high powered camera satellite up and get pictures of the Moon. Its there. The technology exists that you can rebrand.

Some guys put a lego man and a camera up into the stratosphere not that long ago. Instead of it being hailed as a good example of ingeniuty and a way for people to test a hypothesis (like the Moon landing being a hoax), it was an air-traffic nightmare. There are groups like this all over. Why not join one? Are you really sure that you HAVE to be a multi-billion dollar venture, or do you just accept that this must be the case?

(consider that NASA was launching on commodore 64s for a LONG time....)

reply to post by Infi8nity

There you go. Untraining the mind to be "static". Reading a book or even doing a little reading everyday is a good countermeasure to slipping into a "daze". Reading makes you concentrate on the here and now. In order to absorb the meaning one has to pay attention. I think some people do extreme sports for the same reason. To keep from being killed one must be aware of every move you are making when parachuting or surfing or even riding a bike.

I think reading your monitor is okay too. The dumb down training comes from watching lots of mindless entertainment like movies or variety shows (or whatever you call them today). I watch a lot of tv but I pick the kind of shows I learn stuff from. Like the internet. Now there's a classroom. Its what you input to your brain that teaches you to be more or less aware of your surroundings.

Plus a person has a predisposed bent to life anyway. Some like learning, and getting out to experience life, some just sit around getting high and watching stupid s*** on TV. One method produces a vegetable and the other well, its a work in progress.

Edit: After all, my mind is the only thing I am going to be taking with me when I go, so I want it filled to the brim with all kind of wonderful stuff.

I think everybody thinks the same thing deep down, it's just that most don't say anything because nobody really knows what to do about it. It's one of those things that we all know deep down in what I call our 'inner logic'.

reply to post by Xaphan


"I think everybody thinks the same thing deep down, it's just that most don't say anything because nobody really knows what to do about it. It's one of those things that we all know deep down in what I call our 'inner logic'."

Ego stops us from accepting truth or any opinion or thought that differs from our own. We fight and struggle from one box right into another. We just cant seem to let our pride take the back seat for any extended amount of time. Look at it this way ... Truth, the meaning of existence, our purpose, answers these are all pieces to a huge puzzle. Billions of pieces. Each of us holds pieces. every piece has equal value because each is unique to that individuals perspective. Some of us have more than others. Some of us have even fitted some of our pieces together. Some fit perfectly others have been forced together. We are trying to assemble this huge puzzle with the very small amount of information each individual has ... Alone ... What happens if we all share information freely and honestly using the golden rule to guide us? Sending out positivity!

Quick input
The frog in the boiling water. Everyone is so busy doing what they need to do they do not see the cage of mediocrity closing tighter around them. Society and its norms and demands (which we actually impose on ourselves), has us striving for mediocrity and normality and thereby we simply blend into the core of popular "thinking" rather than expanding it into new places.

From Man of La Mancha, the soliloquy by Miguel de Cervantes:

He lays down the melancholy burden of sanity and conceives the strangest project ever imagined - -to become a knight-errant, and sally forth...

The melancholy burden of sanity. I simply love those words and through active participation, pay homage to them at every chance. Perhaps we all try to be too sane because we are scared of others' perceptions of us - if we do not appear to be normal. Even the cults and subcultures fall into this trap as they strive to fit into their adopted cages and forget about self identity.

The world of art can thankfully take us out of this sanity-doldrum but even there, the favoured music is that which everyone listens too, the favoured paintings are those that are least provocative, the favoured sculpture is that which is most pleasing to the eye.

That said, thank goodness for Dali and Picasso and Pink Floyd and ..... who all took thinking to different dimensions. So to the many who do not follow but break the bubble of normality (ATS members?), I say thanks, and look forward to the next perturbation that will rock my mind.

From a different viewpoint. The much quoted "live in the moment" and "enjoy the journey" etc etc phrases are supposed to remind us to be alive to all around us so that we do not miss these perturbations that come to tempt us away from normality. I cannot agree more with these phrases and try as best possible to always be present in the moment.

Oh and by the way ....
the advantage of living in the moment is that you become aware of all that is around you
and
the disadvantage of living in the moment is that you become aware of all that is around you
'nuff said

Originally posted by Infi8nity
Just because your on ATS does not mean your not in a trance.
Your MONITOR puts your mind in a loop and puts it in a half awake state. Notice how I said monitor and not TV.
hypnogenesis.com...

Excellent point. How many of us "automatically" wake up and check ATS and "must" scroll through the topics to "make sure we haven't missed something"? This may not be a trance, but it may be. (This isn't my subject matter to discuss.) It may be said that we aren't in a trance, because at least we are reading something and possibly analyzing...possibly not depending on the subject matter.

What I do know is that today's music is ever more powerful in the way it hypnotizes people. You'll have to take my word for it, but when music is highly repetitive, it practically puts you to sleep. The repetition is practically equivalent to a rocking chair with your mother saying, "Ah, ah, ahhh. Ah, ah, ahhh." over and over. Not only that, but listening to the same song itself, creates the same effect over a broader period of time!

People really forget what happens in your brain when it hears the exact same thing over and over again. Go ahead now and say the same thing over and over again in the same tone for a few minutes. It will calm you. Great. Now imagine what your favorite songs do to you. They play exactly the same way every time. They may make you feel certain other ways, but it always relaxes you.

Look up what an "earworm" is. It's when a song is stuck in your head. I hate this, and I gave up music for a year (with some rare breaks) to see what would happen. It just became harder to keep songs out of my head when I would eventually have to listen to one. To this day, I consider music to be an invasion of mind unless I choose it, and even then, I realize the negative effect it has. One way to help with this, is to always sing along. It may not help much, but at least you're doing something active at the same time and not just absorbing the music.

Another reason a TV or monitor is so addictive, is that it is bright. We favor brightness, most of us anyway. That is why stores are so bright. It has a perk-you-up effect. When you stare at your monitor, you feel better, even if it were just a white screen! To counter this, adjust your brightness all the way down, possibly cover your monitor with tint screen (taped), and make the backgrounds black and text white. People may balk at this idea, but when computer's first came out, this is what it was!! Black background with white or green text. They probably realized it was easier on the eyes. Today, people forget. Website designers for commercial sites know that white makes you feel better than black, but it's very hard on your eyes.

Hope these tips help. If anyone has trouble choosing their own background and foreground, if you have Firefox, I can help you. Sometimes sites won't display well when you alter settings, but it is easy to switch back and forth. Since I've been having mine set up this way for a few weeks, I could never go back to the old way!!

Originally posted by Wolf321

Originally posted by theclutch
A lot of people are awake to the fact that they are not going to make a difference in this world at all. So they just give up and pray for death every day they go to work.

Truer words were never spoken. It's not just that they are not going to make a difference in the world, but they won't even make a difference in their own lives.

For some, having the responsibility to feed their kids are the only thing that gives them the will to live. They know their kids have no future. If they didn't have to feed them, I firmly believe many would just lose the will to live and die. Not kill themselves, just die. At least, that's my perspective on it.

edit on 11-6-2012 by Wolf321 because: (no reason given)

This is why suicide is higher in those who do not have kids, for example the homosexual community. They really have no real reason to stick around other than their friends and maybe family. It is much much different if you have kids. You really feel responsible to live for them. They also give you hope because of their energy and innocence. I think people have kids to relieve their childhood through them. It's completely wrong, so wrong, to bring a child into this world for that reason, because you are not considering the child, you are considering yourself!

I wish people would STOP having children, altogether, and yes, I'm serious. Just stop. Let the elite have the children who have to grow up working menial jobs for pennies compared to what the corporations make off of their cheap labor. It's sick. It's close to slavery but with some pay versus none. You barely get enough to feed yourself and pay rent. The employer always rips you off, because that's what all businesses must do to profit. If you're lucky, you will get a bonus at the end of the year...after they've made sure they have a little extra to spare.

Imagine if Obama's kids had to work at McDonald's because the poor stopped having kids. Maybe we would get better laws!

They freaking need us so bad, and we don't even acknowledge how much they do! They need cheap labor! Stop having kids; cut off their cheap labor! But, that is a fantasy. The world is stupid and won't stop breeding.

Originally posted by daynight42

This is why suicide is higher in those who do not have kids, for example the homosexual community. They really have no real reason to stick around other than their friends and maybe family. It is much much different if you have kids. You really feel responsible to live for them. They also give you hope because of their energy and innocence. I think people have kids to relieve their childhood through them. It's completely wrong, so wrong, to bring a child into this world for that reason, because you are not considering the child, you are considering yourself!

I wish people would STOP having children, altogether, and yes, I'm serious. Just stop. Let the elite have the children who have to grow up working menial jobs for pennies compared to what the corporations make off of their cheap labor. It's sick. It's close to slavery but with some pay versus none. You barely get enough to feed yourself and pay rent. The employer always rips you off, because that's what all businesses must do to profit. If you're lucky, you will get a bonus at the end of the year...after they've made sure they have a little extra to spare.

Imagine if Obama's kids had to work at McDonald's because the poor stopped having kids. Maybe we would get better laws!

They freaking need us so bad, and we don't even acknowledge how much they do! They need cheap labor! Stop having kids; cut off their cheap labor! But, that is a fantasy. The world is stupid and won't stop breeding.

I don't think you understand that some people are happy in their families.

Not everyone feels like a "slave" because not everyone lives that life of working a menial job until death.

"Poor" is all relative.

I don't have a lot of money, but I have a lot of love. I have a lot of fun, I have a lot of compassion, I have a lot of ideas, I have a lot of happiness, I have a lot of music, I have a lot of gardens, I have a lot of calmness.

I do what I please. Just because I work to get money that I use for purchases doesn't mean that money and big business own my life.

I don't care about the government or their idiocies. They'll implode eventually, that isn't my concern until it happens. Why worry about it? Why get upset about the actions of others, which you can neither control nor change?

Just because I have children doesn't mean they are slaves. In fact, if I have my way, we will live on a self-sustained farm; they will only have to work regular jobs if they want to earn extra money for things they want to purchase.

Big business only owns those people who want "stuff".

Not everyone wants "stuff".

I think I have told you this before, daynight42, but it seems like you need to go out into nature and just breathe.

I was stuck in a rut and working a job I hated for many years until one day last year I just could not get out of bed. I realized my job was my entire life and I was just 'sleepwalking' through the days, no goals, nothing to get excited about, nothing to look forward to. I decided to make a change and quit my job to start my own business with what little savings I had. I have been on a roller coaster ride since. I don't have much money and my business is struggling but I feel like I finally woke up. I learned to eat better and take better care of myself, I've cancelled needless services and stopped buying expensive stuff. At first it was really hard doing without but it got better and easier.

Now I get up at 5:00, just simply to sit on my patio with a cup of coffee and watch the sun rise.

I get the 'zombie' feeling. I see couples who don't talk and kids who are glued to their video games. As a society we are always trying to 'keep up with the Jones' by accumating more stuff that only makes us marginally satisfied. I was that way.

I think a better way to describe the "trance" is lower vibrational frequencies and TPTB know this and this is why they control the things that effect these frequencies...food, media, religon...keep them so busy with their life that they don't have time to organize. The very first time the system gets rocked and upsets our every day life, people will figure out what is going on and revolt.

My guess... A solar storm knocks out electronics breaking the system down then people are forced to look at their life with different eyes when the net and TV goes down. A new age is coming and I for one am very ready for it to happen.

reply to post by ottobot


That's fine. I respect your life and point of view. You must understand that my views expressed at any given time do not reflect my feelings most of the time. I have plenty of breaks, and I get out around trees and such several times a week at least. I do laugh too. True, though, yes, I have plenty of frustrated moments.

If everyone banded together, we could accomplish something drastic and change the world or at least, America. That is why it bothers me that people get apathetic and just wait for things to change. I am scared to get to that point. If the time comes we all get locked down confined to our houses and face the chance of starving should the government run out of food for us, I'm really going to have the "I warned you" attitude and be disgusted with people for letting it get so bad. The time is now to try to change things, not next year when they'll be no chance to do anything because we'll be shot at from the sky or who knows what else. It will only get harder.

Originally posted by daynight42
reply to post by ottobot

 

If everyone banded together, we could accomplish something drastic and change the world or at least, America. That is why it bothers me that people get apathetic and just wait for things to change. I am scared to get to that point. If the time comes we all get locked down confined to our houses and face the chance of starving should the government run out of food for us, I'm really going to have the "I warned you" attitude and be disgusted with people for letting it get so bad. The time is now to try to change things, not next year when they'll be no chance to do anything because we'll be shot at from the sky or who knows what else. It will only get harder.

So, let me ask you: when martial law is put into effect, who will be easier to subdue - the people with picket signs on the capitol lawns or the people with rifles on their home terrain?

Who is it that you think will stand up to "the man"? If you think these rich people who are pretending to be poor people living in tents and not having to worry about anything because they have money are going to die for their cause, then I don't know what to tell you.

Most people would gladly die for their children.

These "glassy-eyed" breeders you despise and dismiss so easily will be the saviors of the nation, if it comes to martial law.


You seem to think that the only course of change is railing against those you believe have power over the rest of us.

I have the power of my life.

I change the world every single day of my life.

Yesterday, I was very tired and getting toward apathy because I was very sad about the state of the world - everybody fighting about something, everybody complaining about something, nobody DOING anything.

Today, I realize that just smiling at someone else changes the world. I realize that just being kind to other people and caring about them and taking the time to listen to them changes the world. We can only change the world we live in if we live in the world we are in. The one right here in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our towns.

I can't think of one thing the "Occupy" people have changed.

An elderly man I assisted told me, "I never trusted them dark-skinned fellas. But you're so nice and kind that I see now that it wasn't fair of me to think that way about people with brown skin. You have taken care of me and helped me, and I wouldn't have even looked at you otherwise." And he started crying. And he thanked me profusely and gave me a big hug.

That is change.

You want change? Change, then.

reply to post by daynight42


"If everyone banded together, we could accomplish something drastic and change the world or at least, America."

We are coming together! Everyday more and more people are realizing that our greatest asset is each other! No worries my friend. The time is at hand! Sending out a positive vibe to you!

reply to post by TRGreer


Thank you!

And, I hope you are right! Power is in the change! The power structure as it is is now must crumble! People must see they are the victims of a system that is designed to keep them poor. I believe anything else is just self-delusioned fantasy.

Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining! - "Judge Judy"