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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by capricorn on November 3, 2006, at 13:47:33
Just an ephemeral pastiche formed from other people's words.
Posted by Phillipa on November 3, 2006, at 13:53:52
In reply to There is no me, posted by capricorn on November 3, 2006, at 13:47:33
Then there is no me either. Love Phillipa
Posted by rainbutterfly on November 3, 2006, at 14:37:55
In reply to Re: There is no me » capricorn, posted by Phillipa on November 3, 2006, at 13:53:52
no me 3..... sigh
:-(
Posted by muffled on November 3, 2006, at 15:44:04
In reply to Re: There is no me » Phillipa, posted by rainbutterfly on November 3, 2006, at 14:37:55
I dunno which one is real.
Or if ANY of them are.
And who the hell am I?
:-(
Posted by capricorn on November 3, 2006, at 16:29:45
In reply to Re: Theres too many me, posted by muffled on November 3, 2006, at 15:44:04
>
>
> And who the hell am I?
> :-(Ditto :-(
Posted by Lindenblüte on November 3, 2006, at 17:23:20
In reply to Re: Theres too many me, posted by capricorn on November 3, 2006, at 16:29:45
Haha- think you're confused NOW?
just try to delve into Buddhist teachings of Self Not-Self.
You may experience that odd sense of OMG that I did, when I realize that all my "self" concepts are created mostly from "not-self-ing activities" And then I'm kind of left holding a string that not connected to future or past. just here and now. Nowhere to hide neither.
And don't ask me for explanation. I don't get it, except when I do get it, and then I'm not able to explain it either. Just rest assured that:
If you ARE, then you Be, you Am.
you WERE- doesn't matter. you WILL BE- doesn't matter either. You HAVE- nope no possesions necessary to BE. You WANT- but there's no need to suffer cravings to BE. You just ARE. That's all. Nothing more nothing less.
ugh. how come so unsatisfactory? And where's my Haagen Dazs?
Posted by Phillipa on November 3, 2006, at 18:43:36
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » capricorn, posted by Lindenblüte on November 3, 2006, at 17:23:20
Which flavor you have good taste. Love Phillipa
Posted by Lindenblüte on November 3, 2006, at 21:09:24
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » capricorn, posted by Lindenblüte on November 3, 2006, at 17:23:20
Um, I'm trying not to eat too much sugar. I saw Oprah the other day and went out and bought a book. Oh well, at least I'm learning about my omentum.
My self =not my omentum, however puffy and prominent.
If I *were* going to eat H.D. it would be either raspberry sorbet, or coffee light or cookie dough light.
umm. yeah.
*fantasy*
Posted by verne on November 3, 2006, at 22:01:18
In reply to There is no me, posted by capricorn on November 3, 2006, at 13:47:33
I feel such a lack of identity and such emptiness, I don't enjoy anything or even have an opinion about anything - except, perhaps, that no one is home, that I have no self, I don't enjoy anything, and I have no opinion about anything.
an unreformed Goldilocks going back into the Bear's house
Posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 0:19:19
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » capricorn, posted by Lindenblüte on November 3, 2006, at 17:23:20
> You may experience that odd sense of OMG that I did, when I realize that all my "self" concepts are created mostly from "not-self-ing activities"
Can you explain "not-self-ing activities"? And how our self concepts are created from them? I read that and found interesting and yet puzzling, wanting more clarification.
>Oh well, at least I'm learning about my omentum.
And what's an omentum? What's it have to do with Oprah? I like her. Wish I could be more like her.
Thanks,
Renp.s.
"verne" wrote:
>I feel such a lack of identity and such emptiness, I don't enjoy anything or even have an opinion about anything - except, perhaps, that no one is home, that I have no self, I don't enjoy anything, and I have no opinion about anything.Ditto! (Except, I do have opinions... too many of them.)
Posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 9:02:57
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » Lindenblüte, posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 0:19:19
> > You may experience that odd sense of OMG that I did, when I realize that all my "self" concepts are created mostly from "not-self-ing activities"
>
> Can you explain "not-self-ing activities"? And how our self concepts are created from them? I read that and found interesting and yet puzzling, wanting more clarification.I want more clarification too, LJ! At the risk of getting too Buddhist for the Social board, I guess I could give you a bit more explanation.
Do you engage in comparative thinking? Constantly defining yourself as compared to how you USED to be or how you WANT to be? Comparing to some social ideal? Comparing to some personal ideal? Comparing to you neighbor or peer or boss? This comparative thinking is the source of much misery. Engaging in such behavior is a not-self-ing activity. Creating a sense of "here I am, right here, no better no worse that what I am, right now" That's how you can start to get a sense of who you really are.
One consequence of this type of definition of "Self" is that the right here-right now living in the present moment makes it difficult to maintain an illusion that our consciousness is continuous. Sometimes the Self that you experience "right here right now" is very different from the self that you experienced a moment ago. Take 2 moments- the moment before you realized that you won the lottery, and the moment after you realized you won the lottery. You may experience Self as very different from one moment to the next.
I guess another behavior a lot of people do is to treat the body as if it were the self. The body is the container of the self. It serves the self, it is related to the self, but it is NOT the self. Beating your SELF up because you body fails to conform to your ideals, your inner concept of who you are, who you want to be, etc... These are all not-self-ing activities.
Omentum- some new word for a tissue that binds fat and hormones inside the abdominal cavity. I'm not sure exactly, but I think that the omentum holds onto the visceral fat that is so toxic to our organs.
Oprah is okay. I find her annoying a lot of times, but I think that she is a positive voice, generally.
I don't like how she can forgive rapists but not rappers, though. I think she denies a lot of her own hypocrisy.
i wish I could be more like her too, though...
-Li
>
> >Oh well, at least I'm learning about my omentum.
>
> And what's an omentum? What's it have to do with Oprah? I like her. Wish I could be more like her.
>
> Thanks,
> Ren
>
> p.s.
> "verne" wrote:
> >I feel such a lack of identity and such emptiness, I don't enjoy anything or even have an opinion about anything - except, perhaps, that no one is home, that I have no self, I don't enjoy anything, and I have no opinion about anything.
>
> Ditto! (Except, I do have opinions... too many of them.)
Posted by Declan on November 4, 2006, at 13:33:57
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » LJRen, posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 9:02:57
of the idea that people with a shakey (or whatever) sense of identity have very pronounced personal styles? And if there's any truth in that, why is it so?
Posted by Jay on November 4, 2006, at 14:11:49
In reply to What do you think, posted by Declan on November 4, 2006, at 13:33:57
> of the idea that people with a shakey (or >whatever) sense of identity have very >pronounced personal styles? And if there's any >truth in that, why is it so?
Well, I think I touched on this a bit bellow Declan. Culture plays a large part of how we perceive others. The 'pronounced' personality styles are written off as eccentric.
Our culture has a problem with accepting eccentric personalities, and you know where that isolation leads to. It may begin with a "shaky"/eccentric personality transferred partially genetically. Again, the looping feedback continues through life. Usually a "pronounced" characteristic is only simply something that is viewed as, again, eccentric, different, etc...hence it "sticks out". So we have a nature/nurture thing going on here.Jay :-)
Posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 15:54:22
In reply to Re: Theres too many me » LJRen, posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 9:02:57
When it comes to my sense of self, I don't know if I think about how I want to be so much as I think about how I want to feel. I think my sense of self is based on how I feel, and since I feel crappy pretty much all the time, then you can imagine what my sense of self is. Emotions rule the roost in this soul. Sometimes, they're moderate to neutral, but other times they're like a runaway locamotive. So thinking of creating a sense of here I am, no better no worse than what I am right now... doesn't do anything for me. Because what I am right now is a pile of cruddy, muddy feelings on the verge of tears.
Thanks for the explanation though. Gave me something to think about. And even though I like Oprah, I don't watch her much b/c she's too much, she's too damn happy & positive. It's too much for me to handle.
Ren
Posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 16:35:00
In reply to Self Clarification » Lindenblüte, posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 15:54:22
> When it comes to my sense of self, I don't know if I think about how I want to be so much as I think about how I want to feel. I think my sense of self is based on how I feel, and since I feel crappy pretty much all the time, then you can imagine what my sense of self is. Emotions rule the roost in this soul. Sometimes, they're moderate to neutral, but other times they're like a runaway locamotive. So thinking of creating a sense of here I am, no better no worse than what I am right now... doesn't do anything for me. Because what I am right now is a pile of cruddy, muddy feelings on the verge of tears.
>
> Thanks for the explanation though. Gave me something to think about. And even though I like Oprah, I don't watch her much b/c she's too much, she's too damn happy & positive. It's too much for me to handle.
>
> Ren
>Hey Ren,
sorry you've got runaway/yucky emotions. I don't have many emotions that I'm aware of, so sometimes I envy you... Are there some things in your environment that you can act on to improve your emotional well-being? Can you find an activity to do that's soothing, or find comfort in calling a friend, reading a good book or watching a funny movie (there is a very funny movie out in the USA this weekend... Borat? is that his name?)Anyways, it's nice to meet you, and I wish I were feeling clever, but I'm kinda dumb today.
((hugs))
-Li
Posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 21:50:08
In reply to Re: Self Clarification » LJRen, posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 16:35:00
Hi Li,
don't envy my emotions. this is a curse I wouldn't wish on anybody. bout the only thing lately that helps my mood at all is music. hopefully my mom will be moving into her new house this week leaving me alone to unpack & set up my stuff so I can start playing my tunes.
I have some long distance friends but I'm so low right now I can't burden them with my problems. I just recently, temporarily lost my closest friend b/c I brought too much stress & drama into his already difficult life. I don't want to be responsible for bringing anyone else down.
Seeing a movie or anything else is a good idea except I don't have anyone to do anything w/ and I'm so tired of doing things alone all the time. I do read pretty often. It at least gets my mind off the crud.
Nice meeting you too. No worries about cleverness. I'm never very eloquent myself.
Take care,
Ren
Posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 22:25:52
In reply to Re: Self Clarification » Lindenblüte, posted by LJRen on November 4, 2006, at 21:50:08
> Hi Li,
>
> don't envy my emotions. this is a curse I wouldn't wish on anybody. bout the only thing lately that helps my mood at all is music. hopefully my mom will be moving into her new house this week leaving me alone to unpack & set up my stuff so I can start playing my tunes.okay- but can you set up just the first few components and pick a couple CD's, just to get you in the spirit of unpacking?
> I have some long distance friends but I'm so low right now I can't burden them with my problems. I just recently, temporarily lost my closest friend b/c I brought too much stress & drama into his already difficult life. I don't want to be responsible for bringing anyone else down.
I'm sorry. That sounds a lot like depression speaking. I think that you might be surprised that if you open up and give people a chance, they may feel comfortable helping you through these rough spots. I hope the temporary loss is over soon. Maybe you can support each other- often another's pain is more bearable than our own? And of course, you should feel comfy sharing stuff on P-Babble and allowing us to help you too.
> Seeing a movie or anything else is a good idea except I don't have anyone to do anything w/ and I'm so tired of doing things alone all the time. I do read pretty often. It at least gets my mind off the crud.that sounds good. You can even turn reading into a social event (kind of) by taking a book or paper to a cafe on a weekend morning. Linger over your cappucino and muffin, and maybe you may even be able to strike up a conversation with some other souls. If not, just enjoy your book :)
> Nice meeting you too. No worries about cleverness. I'm never very eloquent myself.
>
> Take care,
> Ren
>you take care too- emotions moods and all that can be overwhelming. Don't lose perspective- you'll get through this, I have a feeling... ;o)
-Li
Posted by LJRen on November 5, 2006, at 12:41:29
In reply to Re: Self Clarification » LJRen, posted by Lindenblüte on November 4, 2006, at 22:25:52
> okay- but can you set up just the first few components and pick a couple CD's, just to get you in the spirit of unpacking?
>
right now, there's no place to set up my stereo. I barely have enough room on this small table for my computer. they'll be out in a couple days tho. no worries.> I hope the temporary loss is over soon. Maybe you can support each other- often another's pain is more bearable than our own?
unfortunately, the temporary loss is an agreed upon 6 month no communication hiatus. something that'll be very difficult for me, not him. but we're in such bad places right now we'd only end up hurting each other, so no matter how hard it is for me, it's better off this way.
> you take care too- emotions moods and all that can be overwhelming. Don't lose perspective- you'll get through this, I have a feeling... ;o)
>thanks. I'm gonna sign up for a oil painting class that takes place in a couple of weeks. Something that may prove to be helpful for me.
Later,
Ren
Posted by Declan on November 7, 2006, at 0:11:15
In reply to Re: Self Clarification, posted by LJRen on November 5, 2006, at 12:41:29
I try not to dwell on my emotions (how do you do that?). I tell myself it doesn't matter how I feel, that it's just stuff, it passes and so on and so forth. It's not much, but what can you do? Drugs haven't done me much good, in fact they've been worse than useless.
This is the end of the thread.
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