Better living through magical thinking

[Tonbo]

I've been studying at the bookstore for the past two days and I happened to pick up a copy of "Happiness Now" and "The Secret" and read through them during breaks. They both talked about the power of visualization to achieve your goals. If you dream of having a BMW you have to visualize having the BMW now, and really feel the emotions of having achieved your dream. And you have to keep it up, practicing it frequently, because positive emotions attract positive things (with the inverse being true as well)."The Secret" was much more materialistic in its focus, but both books made me smile and I felt happy after reading them. It reminded me very much of the magic lessons Farnese had to practice, visualizing the apple over and over again until she could reconstruct it perfectly in her mind. In these books we are promised that if we can perfectly reconstruct the future we desire in our mind, and live and feel in the now as if our dream future were now, the future we dreamed of would soon become reality.

There is more to it than this, but the quotes that had the most power for me were:
"You do not deserve happiness, you choose happiness," and "Your happiness is your gift to the world."
Both statements are hard to swallow, but "Happiness Now" made convincing arguments that allowed me to accept them and feel good about it. I also know the happiness I felt after reading those books won't last long without support and positive feedback. Anybody here a self help junkie or feel like reading these books and practicing magic lessons with me? We can share stories in this thread.

[psi29a]

Erm... isn't this just reconditioning? If you keep thinking on something or topic, the neurons that make up your brain will start change, creating new pathways. By repeating the same action/thought over and over, it just makes it easier to think like that in the future. So when faced with a choice, the impulses are more likely to follow the path of least resistance, hence the new pathways you formed. This is also how learning works, it applies to everything from math to religion.

[MrFelony]

ahh, the science behind happiness. that's almost like thinking about how love is basically the release of neurotransmitters in your brain in relation to your object of affection.

[Femto]

If you dream of having a BMW you have to visualize having the BMW now

lol

I've visualized giving it to Jessica Alba up the ass daily for the past 6 years.

I guess I'll just keep thinking about it and maybe someday it'll happen.

[LordMune]

If you dream of having a BMW you have to visualize having the BMW now

lol

I've visualized giving it to Jessica Alba up the ass daily for the past 6 years.

I guess I'll just keep thinking about it and maybe someday it'll happen.

Christ, you people. Did you even read psi's post, Femto? You're just conditioning yourself so that when Jessica Alba asks "do you want to give it to me up the ass" you will say yes.

[psi29a]

If you dream of having a BMW you have to visualize having the BMW now

lol

I've visualized giving it to Jessica Alba up the ass daily for the past 6 years.

I guess I'll just keep thinking about it and maybe someday it'll happen.

Christ, you people. Did you even read psi's post, Femto? You're just conditioning yourself so that when Jessica Alba asks "do you want to give it to me up the ass" you will say yes.

Exactly!

He will say 'yes' faster than he would have provided he didn't think about it for 6 years.

[Femto]

when Jessica Alba asks "do you want to give it to me up the ass"

This part made me shed tears of sadness.

[Eldo]

Or maybe if Jessica Alba asks me if she wants me to give it to her in the arse, and I say yes, she's been visualising for me to do it and through the power of visualisation it'll come true for her.

[Starnum]

If you dream of having a BMW you have to visualize having the BMW now

lol

I've visualized giving it to Jessica Alba up the ass daily for the past 6 years.

I guess I'll just keep thinking about it and maybe someday it'll happen.

Heh, the ass eh? Now see, in my thoughts it was a totally different orifice. *shrugs*

[Rolos]

I read some bullshit like that......and you are right, it makes you feel happy.
I mean, the feeling of superiority you get because of how inteligent you are compared to the asshole who wrote the book.....

Anyway, that theory has even more holes than this one...







Shit, it even has more holes than creationism.............giving it a second thougth, I am not sure thats possible.

[psi29a]

Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true.

[Femto]

Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true.

I think, therefore I am.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT, PSI29A?!

[psi29a]

Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true.

I think, therefore I am.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT, PSI29A?!

That you need to read more on René Descartes.

Descartes was a major figure in 17th century continental rationalism, later advocated by Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz, and opposed by the empiricist school of thought consisting of Hobbes, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume. Leibniz, Spinoza and Descartes were all versed in mathematics as well as philosophy, and Descartes and Leibniz contributed greatly to science as well. As the inventor of the Cartesian coordinate system, Descartes founded analytic geometry, the bridge between algebra and geometry crucial to the invention of calculus and analysis. Descartes's reflections on mind and mechanism began the strain of western thought that much later, impelled by the invention of the electronic computer and by the possibility of machine intelligence, blossomed into the Turing test and related thought. His most famous statement is: Cogito ergo sum (French: Je pense, donc je suis; English: I think, therefore I am), found in §7 of part I of Principles of Philosophy (Latin) and in part IV of Discourse on the Method (French).

I have great respect for the man, but I'm siding with empiricists. Just because you think it, doesn't mean it's true. You need to draw conclusions from evidence, not find facts to support a conclusion.

[MrFelony]

does this mean femto isn't real? and Rolos, that theory only has one hole in it.

[Rolos]

What do you mean? its full of holes!!!

You have to find out where the holes are yourself though, I have no time to explain anything.

And Psi, your statement attacks the very core of theology.....



*Sarcasm on*
See? You don't need solid facts to base your hypothesis on, you can just invent a hypothesis and start looking for something to back it up........that is a practice religions have been exercising for years.....and we all know Religions simply cant be wrong..

*Sarcasm At full Power!*

I will pray for all those fact-demanding fools....

[Buzkashi]

You should bang your head against the wall in real life.

English obviously isn't you're first language as is the case with many of us here, but for the love of God, when you make as many blatant mistakes as you do ....use the SPELL CHECK.

[psi29a]

English obviously isn't you're first language as is the case with many of us here, but for the love of God, when you make as many blatant mistakes as you do ....use the SPELL CHECK.

Firefox comes with spell-check on by default. Please don't make me install it as part of a phpBB plugin.

That wasn't the cartoon I was referring to, but similar. I'm agnostic for a reason, I require evidence... this is why things like 'Theoretical Physics' is akin to Philosophy, until it becomes 'Experimental Physics' which can be tested.

[Buzkashi]

Forget the spell check psi.. Where the chat !!!

[psi29a]

Forget the spell check psi.. Where the chat !!!

Easy, fire up your handy dandy IRC client and go to #[Evil_Genius] @ irc.irchighway.net

You should see the usual suspects there. If you mean some magical java widget, well, I've been busy lately you know having been out of work for the past 3 months and trying to pay the mortgage and getting a new job, it has kinda put a damper on me doing work around here, let alone flaming newbs.

So please, help a brotha out and let the newbies know this is your house.

[Buzkashi]

Dont trip mayn. More of playful request than a demand.

I feel you, we all got shit going on in real life, you got wife to take care of.

I'll take care of the n00bs.

Rolos: You hear that, you definitely mah bitch now!

[psi29a]

Things are stabilizing a bit, I have new job now. I haven't said anything till now because I wanted to wait till after the 2 week period and a paycheck.

[Femto]

The two comic strips that have been posted in this thread are absolutely terrible.

Let me rectify that:

[Rolos]

Why is it that any time I try to make a joke I end up with Buzkashi flaming me and someone telling me my joke was either plainly bad or totally out of context?

And just when I thought I had finally made a good joke, I mean, I even added a fucking comic !!!

But no, the spelling is wrong, the comic sucks and, once again, Buzkashi is telling me I am a dumbass......


Never mind me, I will go to the stupid theory post to practice a little, so the next time I say something you wont have anything to complain about...


....you know.....I am starting to think may be all those hours praying may have something to do with how incongruent my posts are.....

[psi29a]

....you know.....I am starting to think may be all those hours praying may have something to do with how incongruent my posts are.....

Why would you think that your posts where incongruent? (not a trick question)

[Femto]

Hahaha.

That shit's fucking hilarious.

Gets me every time.