So, a few things I've been reading and thinking about have converged in my brain.
Most people, when they hear about "affirmations" think about new-age self-help parodies like Stewart Smalley, and the belief that if you just look in the mirror and repeat a positive phrase to yourself, it will some how change your life.
I've come to the conclusion that once again, a good idea has been misunderstood and corrupted.
An affirmation (damn, that word makes me feel dirty, can't we call it something else?) serves the function of a trigger, designed to push you into a new mental state. But you can't just start at zero, and say, "I'm a good person" over and over, expecting something to change. You have to have the change first, and then code your trigger ("trigger"... that might be a better word for it).
As an example, in I3!, when George was on the submarine, Hagbard took him through an experience where he saw himself as a robot. He had an epiphany, from which he took the phrase "I Am The Robot". That became his trigger, his mantra, his affirmation.
One point of this, stressed later by Mavis, was that each person's mantra is their own, because each person's experiences and needs are their own. The other point is that you'll never get a useful trigger without a supporting experience.
"Fine," you say, "but what the fuck is the point, anyway?" Here's the point: It is incredibly easy to let yourself fade back into you null-state programming, to drift back to the Monkey Mind, to let the habits and conditioning of your Black Iron Prison take over when you're not looking. The effort it takes not to simply say "fuck it" and join the pigs at the trough is immense, especially in times of stress. So you gather yourself together, repeat the trigger, and go back to that moment of epiphany.
So, let's say you have a problem with your Ego, and of how you relate to others in a power dynamic (in the 8C model, I'm talking about C2 here). You get yourself to a moment where you break out of your programming, and at that moment, a phrase comes to you. It could be "I am here. I am now," or it could be 'KICK THEM IN THE FUCKING NADS!" Either way, it is a phrase that sums up your experience of epiphany. Now, if you carry that trigger around with you, and repeat it to yourself, you are reminding yourself of that moment when you were able to overcome; and so are able to enter that mind state once again.
So, you can build yourself a set of code phrases that can help you change whatever metaphor you think you are to whatever metaphor you want to be. But remember: You can't start with nothing, and you can't cheat off of someone else. Like most everything in this life, it takes work.
LMNO
-will KICK THEM IN THE FUCKING NADS.
This is good and I agree with you!
:mittens:
somebody's letting The Secret out of the bag!
I like the TROOFYNESS of this post!!
Also please notice a lack of any sort of "Madgjiyick" or "Occult" or "Ritual" language.
Dr. James asked if these things could be discussed without those things.
Nice!
It's useful to revisit these over time too. Sentiments, memories, or conotations attatched to these may not always be relevant to who you are and where you're looking to develop.
Quote from: LMNO on November 12, 2009, 02:58:34 PM
I've come to the conclusion that once again, a good idea has been misunderstood and corrupted.
There are LOADS of these.
And a lot of them are "occult".
Quote from: LMNO on November 12, 2009, 03:32:21 PM
Also please notice a lack of any sort of "Madgjiyick" or "Occult" or "Ritual" language.
Dr. James asked if these things could be discussed without those things.
The book "Mind Hacks" actually reads very much like several differnet "magical" books... except it uses entirely mundane terms. It's a good book for people that want to play in their brain but have an aversion to the occult model.
I will be a complete and utter bastard this weekend.
I will shit upon all that is Good and Right and most particularly on the American Way™.
TGRR,
Trying this as an experiment.
Please to be taking copious notes.
QuoteHe took a duck to the face at 150 knots
Aaaaannd another thread killed.
I can see why you guys went on strike.
Quote from: LMNO on November 12, 2009, 07:34:24 PM
Aaaaannd another thread killed.
I can see why you guys went on strike.
Yep.
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Archive for February, 2003
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Duck In The Face
Thursday, February 27th, 2003
As I've mentioned, I'm reading William Gibson's new book, Pattern Recognition. It's different from his other novels, being set in the present instead of the future, and I'm really enjoying it.
The main character in the book has few odd quirks. One of my favorites involves the use of a strange mantra; whenever she encounters something disturbing she says "he took a duck in the face at two hundred and fifty knots." It's a phrase she heard someone say once with regard to an aviation mishap, and the words magically soothe her for some inexplicable reason.
It's fucking brilliant. I wish I had a mantra like that. Something to help me cope with lifes little nasties.
Blown fuse?
Duck in the face
Humilliated in airport security check?
Duck in the face
Gruesome traffic accident, computer breaks, parking ticket?
More ducks, more faces, all intersecting at speeds of exactly two hundred and fifty knots.
Brilliant. The only hard part is coming up with the right magic words. I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all deal; you gotta have your own unique magic mantra. Suggestions?
I'm assuming the terror engendered by your proposed activities has rendered Enki only capable of brief quotations and left him otherwise dumb . . .
. . . its also like a kind of affirmation . . .
Quote from: MMIX on November 12, 2009, 07:48:50 PM
I'm assuming the terror engendered by your proposed activities has rendered Enki only capable of brief quotations and left him otherwise dumb . . .
Either that, or he plagiarizes authors in an attempt at teh appearance of sagacity.
Enki is a fucked up little toad who turns every thread he posts in into raw shit, in his never-ending quest for guru-hood.
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Generally if something is in a quote box, I assume the poster isn't claiming it as their work.
However, lack of comment or context rendered the comment useless... :(
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:06:39 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Generally if something is in a quote box, I assume the poster isn't claiming it as their work.
However, lack of comment or context rendered the comment useless... :(
1. Fair enough, but he still should have mentioned the author.
2. That's the Enki Effect: Snatching FAIL from the jaws of WIN.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:08:34 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:06:39 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Generally if something is in a quote box, I assume the poster isn't claiming it as their work.
However, lack of comment or context rendered the comment useless... :(
1. Fair enough, but he still should have mentioned the author.
2. That's the Enki Effect: Snatching FAIL from the jaws of WIN.
:lulz:
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:06:39 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Generally if something is in a quote box, I assume the poster isn't claiming it as their work.
However, lack of comment or context rendered the comment useless... :(
Someone spent a few seconds on google and came up with a better explanation than the one I typed up and deleted. I would consider this an optimal outcome.
Oh, you mean other than derailing the thread?
Worthless meat-sack.
Is it jealousy, Enki? You and TOA and KopyKat... is it because you're incapable of writing out a well-thought post like LMNO's OP here, so when you see one, and the thread is going somewhere good with it, you feel such impotent spite rooted in your own incompetence that you can't resist the urge to try to derail or kill it with complete, moronic inanities?
Quote from: Enki v. 2.0 on November 12, 2009, 08:17:40 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:06:39 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 12, 2009, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Doctor Rat Bastard on November 12, 2009, 08:03:05 PM
In Gibson's book, the protagonist keeps repeating that phrase as a sort of mantra. The future, Cayce felt, was coming straight for our face, just like the duck that went through the windshield on the plane, whacking the pilot.
Well, that would apply, if this thread were about mantras. Also, Enki could have:
1. Attributed the quote, and
2. EXPLAINED the quote, so he wouldn't look like such a fucking retard to anyone who hasn't read the book.
Generally if something is in a quote box, I assume the poster isn't claiming it as their work.
However, lack of comment or context rendered the comment useless... :(
Someone spent a few seconds on google and came up with a better explanation than the one I typed up and deleted. I would consider this an optimal outcome.
You should have deleted your whole post, as you actually had nothing to say at all.
LMNO, say the word, and I'll clean this awful shitmess up.
I really like this.
Strangely enough, I was thinking about the same thing the other day. Sort of. I had an internal conversation that went, roughly, like this:"When you 'see the light,' you can't just keep staring at it, or you may go blind. You have to blink every so often. But when you're done blinking, you need to regain focus again, which can be difficult, what is the best way?"
You totally just answered a question I asked myself.
:mittens:
So in keeping with the idea of this thread.....
I want Enki, TOA and KopyKat to GO AWAY!!
I want Enki, TOA and KopyKat to GO AWAY!!
I want Enki, TOA and KopyKat to GO AWAY!!
Quote from: Nigel on November 12, 2009, 09:49:29 PM
Is it jealousy, Enki? You and TOA and KopyKat... is it because you're incapable of writing out a well-thought post like LMNO's OP here, so when you see one, and the thread is going somewhere good with it, you feel such impotent spite rooted in your own incompetence that you can't resist the urge to try to derail or kill it with complete, moronic inanities?
You mean giving a well-known example of a personal affirmation that meets the criteria of the OP post isn't productive? I didn't derail the thread; you guys did it yourselves.
Quote from: Enki v. 2.0 on November 12, 2009, 10:06:44 PM
Quote from: Nigel on November 12, 2009, 09:49:29 PM
Is it jealousy, Enki? You and TOA and KopyKat... is it because you're incapable of writing out a well-thought post like LMNO's OP here, so when you see one, and the thread is going somewhere good with it, you feel such impotent spite rooted in your own incompetence that you can't resist the urge to try to derail or kill it with complete, moronic inanities?
You mean giving a well-known example of a personal affirmation that meets the criteria of the OP post isn't productive? I didn't derail the thread; you guys did it yourselves.
You posted an unattributed quote without context or explanation. It looked like nonsense, which you have given yourself a reputation for posting. The fact that someone ELSE looked up and posted an explanation does not absolve you of posting nonsense. Without attribution or context, the wisest quote is still atopical nonsense. Someone else doing your work for you doesn't make it OK.
Grow the fuck up. If you can't be bothered to post something coherent, don't post, because you're not contributing anything, you're just detracting from the conversation.
Quote from: Enki v. 2.0 on November 12, 2009, 10:06:44 PM
Quote from: Nigel on November 12, 2009, 09:49:29 PM
Is it jealousy, Enki? You and TOA and KopyKat... is it because you're incapable of writing out a well-thought post like LMNO's OP here, so when you see one, and the thread is going somewhere good with it, you feel such impotent spite rooted in your own incompetence that you can't resist the urge to try to derail or kill it with complete, moronic inanities?
You mean giving a well-known example of a personal affirmation that meets the criteria of the OP post isn't productive? I didn't derail the thread; you guys did it yourselves.
Bullshit. You gave a quote without attribution or context, just to look like the pretentious fuckwad that you are. You did this.
MY AFFIRMATION DIDN"T WORK DAMMIT!!! :argh!:
Quote from: Khara on November 12, 2009, 10:33:19 PM
MY AFFIRMATION DIDN"T WORK DAMMIT!!! :argh!:
KEEP TRYING
I'LL DO IT WITH YOU.
Quote from: Nigel on November 12, 2009, 11:28:38 PM
Quote from: Khara on November 12, 2009, 10:33:19 PM
MY AFFIRMATION DIDN"T WORK DAMMIT!!! :argh!:
KEEP TRYING
I'LL DO IT WITH YOU.
Christ Nigel, I came on here this morning and we seem to have made it worse..... That little furbyfuck is everywhere... :x
I know this thread has gone to flaming, but I just wanted to point out that the above posts are diametircally opposed to what the OP was talking about.
Quote from: LMNO on November 13, 2009, 03:12:07 PM
I know this thread has gone to flaming, but I just wanted to point out that the above posts are diametircally opposed to what the OP was talking about.
I understand what an actual affirmation is. I have refrained from sharing my personal experience with affirmations because nobody wants to read that shit.
It was a lame attempt at humor on my part, so sorry I shit in your thread....
Eh, the thread died yesterday, anyhow. No worries. I just wanted to explicitly point out the difference.
Quote from: LMNO on November 13, 2009, 03:32:01 PM
Eh, the thread died yesterday, anyhow. No worries. I just wanted to explicitly point out the difference.
Should I shovel it out?
You have caught me in a rare, non-lazy moment. Make use of it.
Fuck it. Let this serve as an object-lesson.
Also, it was just something I wanted to get out of my system. It's not new knowledge.
Quote from: LMNO on November 13, 2009, 07:51:54 PM
Fuck it. Let this serve as an object-lesson.
Also, it was just something I wanted to get out of my system. It's not new knowledge.
it does help me. what i had been doing was writing down epiphanies i had, and the lack of organization or timeline in my notes causes a lot of muck on the road to personal progress. this idea will help me a lot.
and actually, the one time i've used something similar to this was with buddhist breathing exercises. the idea was to come up with a personal mantra that you speak as you breathe out, thus measuring the length of your breath and opening yourself up to whatever thought you were washing your brain with at the time. this is a useful tip for really getting that mantra to stick.
one of mine from a while ago:
breathe in on 6 count or whatever
breathe out whispering "now i awake to the beauty of the world"
i don't know, not meant to be an exact science, but it has a calming effect and gives you something to meditate on.