Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment

Discussion in 'The big picture' started by sushil yadav, Jul 7, 2005.

  1. sushil yadav

    sushil yadav Junior Member

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    The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues.

    The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be peaceful if we destroy Nature.

    Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.

    Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
    Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
    Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the planet.
    Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.


    Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.

    If there are no gaps there is no emotion.

    Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.


    When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go on decreasing.

    There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.

    People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.

    Emotion ends.

    Man becomes machine.


    A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.

    A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.

    A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.


    Fast visuals/ words make slow emotions extinct.

    Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys emotional circuits.

    A fast (large) society cannot feel pain / remorse / empathy.

    A fast (large) society will always be cruel to Animals/ Trees/ Air/ Water/ Land and to Itself.



    I am trying to get the following experiment conducted in a psychophysiology/ bio-chemistry laboratory.

    There is a link between visual / verbal speed ( in perception, memory,
    imagery ) and the bio-chemical state of the brain and the body.

    Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual and verbal processing
    associated with the emotion slows down ( stops / freezes ).

    The degree of difficulty of an emotion depends upon the degree of
    freezing (of visuals and words ) required to intensify and sustain that
    particular emotion.


    Experiment:

    Subjects (preferably actors specialising in tragedy / tragic roles )
    will be asked to watch a silent video film showing any of the
    following:-

    (1) Human suffering.
    (2) Animal suffering.
    (3) Suffering ( Destruction ) of Air / Water / Land / Trees.

    Subjects will be asked to intensify and sustain the subjective feeling of pain/ grief for the sufferer.

    The chemical changes associated with the emotion in the body(blood) would be measured by appropriate methods.

    The silent video film will be shown at different speeds :
    (1) 125% of actual speed.
    (2) Actual/real speed.
    (3) 75% of actual speed.
    (4) 50% of actual speed.
    (5) 25% of actual speed.


    Results :

    (1) Intensity of emotion increases with the decrease in visual speed.
    (2) Intensity of emotion is maximum when visual speed is minimum (25%
    of actual speed)
    (3) The amount of chemical change associated with the emotion in the
    body(blood) will be found to increase with the decrease in visual speed.
    (4) The chemical change is maximum when visual speed is minimum.
    (5) The amount of chemical change will increase with the decrease in
    breathing rate. Breathing becomes so slow and non-rhythmic that it stops
    for some time at the inhalation/ exhalation stages.

    The above co-relations will be valid for all subjects -even for those who cannot feel pain/ grief. Such subjects will experience emotion associated with boredom/ discomfort/ restlessness/ irritability/ uneasiness. The chemicals released will be different but the co-relation between visual speed and amount of chemical will be same( the breathing rates will be different/ fast). All subjects will experience some kind of emotion.

    [If scientists can discover 4000 different chemicals in cigarette-smoke then they can certainly detect the few chemicals released in blood when weexperience higher-level emotions like pain, empathy, compassion, remorse etc… ]

    In the 2nd stage of experiment we shall replace the silent video film with a Narrator ( Audio only ) and repeat the procedure thereby establishing the link between intensity of emotion and verbal speed. The narrator will slow down verbal speed by-- speaking slowly, stretching words, repetition of words/ sentences & making use of
    pause/ silence between words.

    Please note:
    (1) A thinking mind cannot intensify / sustain any emotion.
    While this statement is generally true for all emotions, it is particularly true for all painful emotions.

    (2) Pain / remorse / empathy cannot be experienced in a society in which visual (verbal) speed and breathing- rates are fast . It is impossible.


    PROOF.
    Proof of the link between pain and slow visuals / words :-

    In the last century man has made thousands of movies / films on various
    themes / subjects. Whenever pain / tragedy is shown in any film the
    visuals ( scenes ) and words ( dialogues ) are always slowed down. In
    many films tragedy is shown in slow motion. At the most intense moment
    of pain the films almost become static / stationary.

    Tragedy-films provide direct proof / evidence of the link between pain
    and slowness.

    Pain can intensify / sustain only when visual ( and verbal ) speed slows
    down( stops/ freezes).


    Change in visual speed over the years.

    One thousand years ago visuals would change only when man physically
    moved himself to a new place or when other people ( animals / birds )
    and objects ( clouds / water ) physically moved themselves before him.

    Today man sits in front of TV / Computer and watches the rapidly
    changing visuals / audio.

    He sits in a vehicle ( car / train / bus ) and as it moves he watches
    the rapidly changing visuals.

    He turns the pages of a book / newspaper / magazine and sees many
    visuals / text in a short span.


    Change in verbal speed over the years.

    In ancient times verbal processing was “live” in nature—ie it happened when people actually spoke.
    Today there is non-stop verbal processing inside the mind through print and electronic media ( newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, computer etc…) as a result of which the verbal content & speed has increased thousands of times.


    The speed of visuals ( and words ) has increased so much during the last
    one hundred years that today the human brain has become incapable of
    focussing on slow visuals /words through perception, memory, imagery.

    If we cannot focus on slow visuals / words we cannot experience emotions associated with slow visuals /words.



    Before the advent of Industrial Revolution Man's thinking was primarily
    limited to :

    (a) visual processing ( slow visuals )
    (b) verbal / language processing ( slow words )

    Today there are many kinds of fast thinking :

    (1) visual processing ( fast visuals )
    (2) verbal / language processing ( fast words )
    (3) Scientific / Technical thinking ( fast )
    (4) Industrial thinking ( fast )
    (5) Business thinking ( fast )

    (3), (4) & (5) are associated with Numbers / Symbols / Equations /
    Graphs /Circuits / Diagrams / Money / Accounting etc…

    As long as the mind is doing this kind of thinking it cannot feel any
    emotion - not an iota of emotion.

    In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
    In a thinking ( scientific / industrial ) society emotion itself becomes extinct.

    Emotion is what remains in the mind when visual/ verbal processing slows down (stops/ freezes)


    There are certain categories of people who feel more emotion (subjective experience ) than others.

    If we attempt to understand why (and how ) they feel more emotion we can learn a lot about emotion.

    Writers, poets, actors, painters ( and other artists )

    Writers
    Writers do verbal ( and associated visual) processing whole day- every day.
    They do slow verbal ( and associated visual) processing every day.
    (A novel that we read in 2 hours might have taken 2 years to write. This is also the reason why the reader can never feel the intensity & duration of emotion experienced by the writer )

    Poets
    Poets do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every day. There is more emotion in poetry than in prose. This happens because there are very few words ( and associated visuals ) in poetry than in any other kind of writing. There is a very high degree of freezing / slowing down of visuals & words in poetry.

    Actors
    Actors do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every day. During shooting / rehearsal they repeat the dialogues ( words ) again and again ( the associated visuals / scenes also get repeated along with the dialogues )

    Painters
    Painters do visual ( and associated verbal ) processing whole day- every day. They do extremely slow visual processing - The visual on the canvas changes only when the painter adds to what already exists on the canvas.


    There are some important points to be noted :

    All these people do visual & verbal processing - whole day - every day.
    They do slow visual & verbal processing.
    They do not do scientific / industrial / business processing whole day - every day.

    Most of the city people doing mental work either do this kind of mental processing which is associated with Numbers / Symbols/ Equations / Graphs / Circuits / Diagrams / Money / Accounting etc… or they do fast visual ( verbal ) processing whole day - every day.

    This kind of thinking ( processing ) has come into existence only during the last 200 years and has destroyed our emotional ability ( circuits ).


    Once we speed up our minds we become incapable of slowing down [it would take years of effort to slow down]. One can understand it this way - A supercomputer cannot process at the rate of an ordinary computer. Once we speed up [and we have been speeding up for several generations now] we cannot slow down because the neural circuits get altered - the bio-chemistry of the brain and its anatomy changes.



    Self-Assessment of ( subjective ) intensity of emotion is almost always wrong.

    Suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of a particular emotion that
    can be experienced by any human being is 100 units.

    Let us suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of that particular emotion ever
    experienced by two people A & B in their entire life is :
    A - 100units
    B - 20 units

    Now suppose A & B are made subjects on a particular day and are asked
    to feel that particular emotion under experimental conditions ( or
    outside the laboratory ) and the intensity &duration they actually experience is :

    A - 90 units
    B - 18 units

    If A & B are then asked to indicate the intensity &duration of emotion on a scale
    of 0 -10 their response is likely to be ;

    A - 9
    B - 9

    Who is right and who is wrong ?
    A is right.
    B is wrong - B is wrong by a wide margin - B has experienced an
    intensity(and duration) of 18 units out of a maximum of 100 units and his correct / actual score should be 1.8

    Self- assessment ( self rating ) can be accurate only if people have
    the capacity to experience the highest intensity &duration ( units ) of the
    particular emotion under study.



    In small(slow)agriculture-based societies the mind used to experience a state of emotion all the time because of physical work and slow visual/verbal processing . People who do physical work experience the same good subjective-feeling which is experienced by people who do physical excercise. [People who do physical work also sleep much better than people who do mental work - the quality of sleep is much better]. If we read one thousand-year-old literature we will not come across the term "boredom" - the concept of boredom did not exist in slow societies. There were long gaps between different visuals and between words/ sentences - and people had the ability to experience/ tolerate the gaps - it was normal for them.

    Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual / verbal processing slows down ( stops / freezes ). In an Industrial (thinking) society people experience very little emotion because of fast ( visual / verbal / scientific / industrial / business ) thinking.

    Suppose the maximum intensity and duration of a particular emotion ( for most people ) in a fast society has reduced to 5 units ( from 100 units that people used to experience in earlier /slower societies ).

    If such people experience 4 units of emotion they will give themselves a
    rating /score of 8 on a scale of 0-10 whereas their actual score should
    be 0.4


    [Please note :
    Fast emotions =emotions associated with fast visuals/fast words/fast breathing/fast heart-rate.
    Slow emotions=emotions associated with slow visuals/slow words/slow breathing/slow heart-rate.
    Rate of thinking=number of visuals/words processed per minute.
    Gaps between thinking =gaps between visuals/ words/ sentences.]


    Thoughts and Emotions are interlinked - but different things - totally/ completly different.

    Words can be spoken - words can be read - words can be heard.

    Emotion is a subjective-experience. Other examples of subjective experience are taste, smell, touch, headache, stomach pain.

    One can understand the difference this way :

    When we eat an apple we can feel the taste of apple. Apple can give us the taste of apple - but apple is not taste.

    If we pour apple juice into a glass - the glass will not feel the taste - it does not have the ability to feel taste.

    If a person eats an apple he will feel the taste - because he has the ability to generate taste from apple.

    Words/ Visuals can evoke, intensify and sustain emotions - but words/ visuals are not emotions.



    In every field there is easy work/activity and difficult work/activity.

    In mathematics there is easy mathematics and difficult mathematics. Everyone can add 2+4 within microseconds. A PhD level problem of mathematics would take hours [or more] to solve - and that too only by someone who has spent 20 - 25 years learning mathematics upto PhD level.

    Same way in the field of emotions there are easy emotions and difficult emotions. Easy emotions are evoked within nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds - anger, lust, fear, pleasure, entertainment and excitement are some examples. These emotions are associated with fast breathing and heart-rate. These emotions don"t require gaps between thinking to evoke, intensify and sustain. These are the emotions that can be found everywhere in today's fast society.

    Then there are difficult emotions - which require ability and years of effort to develop - emotions associated with pain, compassion and peaceful states of mind are some examples. These emotions are associated with slow breathing and heart-rate. These emotions require freezing of thought - freezing of visuals and words - huge amounts of gaps between thinking - to evoke, intensify and sustain.


    The experiments I have proposed are primarily meant for those people who understand only the language of science. We don't need experiments to understand that our present lifestyle is destroying our Minds and Environment - the evidence is everywhere - left, right and center. The craze and fetish for science and scientific proof has mainly existed for the last 50 - 100 years. People have lived on this planet for thousands of years without needing scientific proof to understand something. It is Science and Technology that created the consumerist Industrial Society which has led to the destruction of Mind and Nature/ Environment. Who needs more science or more scientific proof. Science is not the solution - Science is the problem.

    Some people demand proof of everything. They won't accept anything without proof. How do people accept their father as their father? Where is the proof?
    Scientific proof comes from DNA testing. How many people have got the DNA test conducted?

    Two things that have destroyed Environment are - Overpopulation and Overconsumerism. Science and Technology is responsible for both these problems. World population was less than 1 billion in the year 1800. Nature had its way of controlling population through disease and death caused by bacteria and virus. When man made medicines/ antibiotics he created disaster - population increased very rapidly. In the absence of "Industrial Agriculture" the feeding capacity of soil would have kept population under control. If Industrial Revolution had not happened, environmental destruction due to production of consumer goods would not exist. In the absence of Science, Technology and "Industrial Revolution" we would not be facing the two problems that have caused destruction of ecosystems - overpopulation and overconsumerism.

    Humans are incapable of making solutions. Humans have always created problems. All solutions of Man have actually been problems in disguise - they have led to bigger and greater problems. The quest for a solution is the biggest problem in itself.


    IQ Vs EQ

    IQ always has an element of change in it – IQ is about trying to make/ discover/ invent something new all the time.
    Change is an inherent feature of IQ.
    IQ is also about thinking more in less time—it involves speeding up of mind. Someone who does more mathematics in less time is considered more intelligent in mathematics. IQ is about change and speed.

    EQ is about sustainment of the same feeling/experience over a period of time. When we experience any higher-level emotion for 10 minutes we experience the same feeling( subjective experience) over and over again for 10 minutes.
    The( same) feeling can sustain only if there is Repetition.
    EQ involves Repetition—Constancy—Sameness.

    IQ and EQ are contradictory.
    IQ and EQ are opposites.
    IQ and EQ are inversely proportional.



    (1) A thinking species destroys the planet.
    (2) Animals lived on earth for billions of years (in very large numbers)
    without destroying nature.
    (3) They did not destroy nature because their thinking / activity was
    limited to searching for food for one time only.
    (4) Man has existed on earth in large numbers for only a few thousand
    years / a few hundred years.
    (5) Within this short period Man has destroyed the environment.
    (6) This destruction took place because of Man's thinking.
    (7) When man thinks he makes things.
    (8) When he makes things he kills animals / trees / air / water / land.
    ( Nothing can be made without killing these five elements of nature ).

    (9) A thinking species destroys the planet.



    Intelligence Is A Curse.

    This planet is on the verge of total destruction.

    The cause of destruction is – overactivity.
    [Out of millions of species in this world the human-species is the only one that has indulged in overactivity]

    The cause of overactivity is – Intelligence.
    [The environment would never have got destroyed if Man had been only as intelligent as animals]

    Intelligence is a curse - a disease - a disability - an abnormality.

    Intelligence is the biggest cause/ source of destruction in this world.

    [In fact Intelligence is the only cause of destruction in this world other than natural causes]



    Mental work is injurious to the mind and planet.

    Life was never good in the past.

    Life will never be good in future.

    Life can never be good.


    Suffering is a part of life - an inherent feature of life. Suffering can never be eliminated.

    There is Physical suffering - There is Mental suffering.

    In pre-industrial society there were physical diseases caused by virus and bacteria.
    In modern society there are hundreds of lifestyle related physical diseases - Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Obesity, Multiple Organ Failures.


    Mental suffering will always exist. It exists in agrarian society. It exists in industrial society. As soon as we stop working we experience mental suffering.

    We avoid mental suffering by working ceaselessly.

    There is no higher purpose behind work.

    People do not work because they want to work.
    People work because they cannot stop working.

    The energy generated by the food we eat forces us to work ceaselessly.

    Energy = Energy[Physical Work] + Energy[Mental Work] + Energy[Suffering/ Subjective Experience]

    All three energies on the right side are inversely proportional to one another.

    When we do hard physical work or hard mental work or a combination of physical work and mental work almost all energy is used up in doing work.

    When we stop physical work and mental work the unused energy is experienced as suffering/ anxiety/ restlessness/ discomfort. This suffering is so intense - so unbearable - that most people cannot stop physical activity and mental activity simultaneously for even 2 minutes - they can stop work/activity only under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

    People do not work because they want to work.
    People do not work for their family.
    People do not work for their nation.
    People do not work for any reason.

    People work because they cannot stop working.

    It does not matter what kind of work we do - whether it is physical work or any kind of mental work. As soon as we stop working we suffer from restlessness, anxiety, uneasiness and discomfort.

    [ In Yoga and Meditation the goal is to stop Physical Activity and Mental Activity simultaneously - and then transform the subjective-experience of restlessness/ anxiety/ suffering into peace. This requires ability and years of effort ]

    For most people the choice is between physical and mental work.
    The switch-over from physical work to mental work is disastrous for the planet.

    Man can do the same physical work every day.
    Man cannot do the same mental work every day.

    When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities ) he could do the same repetitive work day after day- generation after generation.

    After the Industrial Revolution when man switched-over to mental work he began a never ending process of making new machines / things / products-- a process which can only end with the complete destruction of environment ( planet ).

    When we make consumer goods we kill Animals/ Trees, Air/ Water and Land - directly or indirectly.

    Industrial Society destroys ecosystems - all Industrial Societies destroy ecosystems.

    It hardly matters whether it is "Capitalist Industrial Society" - "Communist Industrial Society" - or "Socialist Industrial Society".

    Industrial Society destroys ecosystems at every stage of its functioning - when consumer goods are produced - when consumer goods are used - when consumer goods are discarded/ recycled.

    Raw material for industry is obtained by cutting up Forests. It is extracted by mining/ digging up the earth. It comes by destroying/ killing Trees, Animals and Land.

    Industries/ Factories use Water. The water that comes out of Factories is contaminated with hundreds of toxic chemicals. Industry kills Water. What to speak of Rivers - entire Oceans have been polluted.

    Industry/ Factories burn millions of tonnes of fuel and when raw material is melted/ heated up, hundreds of toxic chemicals are released into the atmosphere. Industry kills Air.

    Industrial Society has covered millions of square miles of land with cement and concrete. Industry kills Land.

    When consumer goods are discarded/ thrown away in landfills it again leads to destruction of ecosystems.

    When consumer goods are recycled, hundreds of toxic chemicals are released into air, water and land.

    Consumer goods are sold/ marketed through a network of millions of kilometers of rail / road network and shipping routes which causes destruction of all ecosystems that come in the way.


    Today 50% of world population - 3 bilion people are living in cities. The necessary work of growing/producing Food is being done outside cities - in villages and countryside. Most of the people living in cities are engaged in unnecessary work - making things, buying things and selling things. The switch-over from Physical work to Mental work/ Desk job has led to an endless cycle of unnecessary and destructive work.

    When society switches over from physical work to mental work it starts making thousands of consumer goods. People start calling them necessities. They are not necessities at all - 90% of consumer goods that we see today did not exist 50 years ago.

    Food, Water, Air, Little clothing, Little Shelter - these are necessities.

    Close your nose and stop breathing for a few minutes - you will then know what necessity is.

    Stop drinking water for a few days - you will then know what necessity is.

    Stop eating food for a few days - you will then know what necessity is.

    Today people are making thousands of consumer goods - not because they are necessities - but because they cannot stop making them. People cannot stop doing work - After switching over to mental work they will keep on making thousands of unnecessary consumer goods. Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals,Trees,Air,Water and Land] for makng unnecessary things[Consumer Goods]. This is the reason why the switch-over from physical work to mental work is so destructive. This is the point of no-return - once this is crossed the destruction of Environment/ Nature is inevitable.

    If we live a simple life there is individual suffering - but no largescale destruction of Environment.

    If we live a consumerist life there is individual suffering - plus largescale destruction of Environment.


    The nature of mental work is such that man has to do new mental work every day- in fact he has to do new mental work every moment- Man cannot repeat in the next moment the mental work that he has already done in the previous moment.

    A mathematician cannot solve the same problem of mathematics every day- once he has solved it he will be forced to take up a new( unsolved) problem. Even when he is solving one particular problem he has to move from one step to another - there is a continuous change involved -- there is no constancy at any stage.

    An engineer cannot design the same machine again and again –once he has made a machine he will try to make changes/ design a new one.

    A writer cannot write the same article every day- he will be forced to write something new every day/ every moment (This is also the reason behind endless discussions/ debates/ arguments).


    Discussions, Debates and Arguments.

    Let us examine how much discussion we are collectively having in Industrial Society every day.

    Millions of pages in print – newspapers / books / magazines.
    Millions of web-pages on internet every day.

    Now add to this all the conversation (discussion) we are having through radio / television / telephone and several other media every day.

    And add to this all the discussion we are having through face-to-face interaction.

    The volume of discussion per individual in one week is greater than the total discussion someone living in pre-industrial society would have in his entire life.

    There is too much discussion in modern society.
    Discussion is not solving our problems – discussion itself has become a problem – a gigantic problem.


    A society that does mental work will discuss itself to destruction [extinction]

    A society that does mental work will argue itself to destruction [extinction]

    A society that does mental work will debate itself to destruction [extinction]


    A society that does mental work can never stop discussions / debates / arguments – it is impossible. It will discuss / debate / argue till the last moment of it’s existence.

    Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are creations of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.

    Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are diseases of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.


    Discussions / debates / arguments can end only in agriculture-based societies that do physical work.

    We cannot do physical-work and mental-work simultaneously.

    There is an inverse relationship between physical-work and mental-work.
    If one is high [more] the other has got to be low [less]

    If we want to do physical work we have to reduce mental activity by the same proportion.
    If we want to do mental work we have to reduce physical activity by the same proportion.

    There is very little discussion / debate / argument in societies that do physical work - ie, agriculture-based societies - And this is the reason why they are millions of times saner than industrial societies.




    Change is an inherent feature of mental work.

    Since change is an inherent feature of mental work - a society that does mental work can never be at peace with itself – it is impossible.

    A society that does mental work will always be restless.

    Only those societies that do physical work [agriculture and related activities] can find contentment and peace.



    As long as cities exist we can neither save the environment nor the mind.

    To save the [ remaining ] environment from destruction man will have to
    return back to physical work [ smaller communities ].

    To save the mind from mental diseases man will have to return back to physical work [ smaller communities ].



    Criminality and Abnormality.

    Industrial Society has collectively killed billions of Animals and Trees [ Remember - plant and animal species developed over a period of millions ofyears]

    It has also killed most of Water and Air [ Please note - polluting Water and Air is equivalent to killing Water and Air ]

    The soil was not fertile when the earth was created. It became fertile - very slowly - over a period of millions of years. And look what man has done - He has covered millions and millions of hectares of land with cement and concrete. All the land that has been covered with cement and concrete has been killed.

    Man has stockpiled thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear material and nuclear waste which is going to remain highly radioactive and carcinogenic for the next thousands of years - and which has already leaked into the environment hundreds of times.

    There is an arsenal of 50,000 nuclear missiles that can destroy the planet several times over.

    What could be more criminal than this.
    What could be more abnormal than this.

    Lawyers and Judges are trying to catch a few criminals.
    They don’t realize the entire Industrial Society is criminal.

    Psychologists and Psychiatrists are trying to classify a few people as abnormal.
    They don’t realize the entire Industrial Society is abnormal.


    The claim of "science and technology" of curing cancer is a joke. "Science and Technology" can never cure cancer - it is impossible. "Science and Technology" is the cause of cancer. Most of cancer is caused by toxic chemicals - carcinogens. Industrial Society has flooded the ecosystems with toxic chemicals. Most of the Farm Land has been poisoned with pesticides due to Industrial Agriculture. The Land - The Air - The Water - the entire food chain is contaminated with thousands of man-made toxic chemicals which did not exist before industrialiation. There are hundreds of man-made, toxic chemicals in the blood, bones and tissue of humans. There are toxic, man-made chemicals in the placenta of new born babies. Industrial Society is causing millions of cancer every year. Out of these millions of cases, "science and technology" is able to treat a small percentage - a few thousand cases - through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy etc...And these treatments can hardly be called real treatments because the toxic chemicals which are the root cause of cancer still exist in the environment. This is also the reason why there is a high rate of relapse/ recurrence after cancer treatment. An Industrial Society can never prevent high incidence of cancer, because it is flooding the environment with chemicals all the time.


    Industrial Society is collectively making millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives [of all kinds] every year – and then it wonders why there is so much violence in this world.

    Big Mystery.

    If you make millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives on earth they are going to be used on earth – they are not going to be used on Mars.


    The entire Industrial Society is a terrorist.
    The Military-Industrial-Complex is the real terrorist.
    Science and Technology is the terrorist.



    Make things
    Buy things
    Sell things

    This is not the purpose of life.

    Destroy Shopping Culture.

    No one deserves more.
    Everyone deserves less.
    Life can sustain on earth only when everyone has less.




    There was a time when Man knew nothing about the number of species and millions of species existed.
    Today Man knows the names of millions of species and nothing is left of the species.



    It took millions of years for millions of species to slowly come into existence on earth - and man has decimated all other species.

    After destroying millions of highly-developed species on earth Man is today searching for a few molecules of life in outer-space.

    If a few microbes, a few molecules of methane / water are found on Mars - it becomes the newspaper headline.

    They call it progress.



    The following is about to come true.

    Nature can exist

    (1) before man.
    (2) after man.
    (3) not with man.



    Destruction of environment can be divided into two parts - destruction of environment for producing food - and destruction of environment for making thousands of consumer goods. In pre-Industrial Society people destroyed environment primarily for food. In Industrial Society people are destroying environment for food and consumer goods. If we want to save environment we will have to bring down the second to the minimum level by not making all unnecessary consumer goods.

    Environment can be saved only if we stop production of most [ more than 99% ] of the consumer goods we are making today.

    Environment cannot be saved by recycling.

    The attempt of an industrial society to save the environment by recycling is like shooting someone 10,000 times and then trying to save him by taking out one bullet.



    Time is running out for this planet.



    Regarding Industrialization there is an important point to be noted. Modern Industrial Society has existed for 100 years - 200 years - 300 years. When we compare this period with the total duration for which human society has existed on earth this period is so short - so small that it almost does'nt exist. It is almost zero.

    Humans have spent more than 99% of their time on earth in non-industrial societies.

    Non-industrial societies have sustained on earth for thousands of years.
    Industrial society has destroyed all ecosystems within 200 - 250 years.

    Material things don't bring peace and happiness. Today billions of people have got things which even Kings did not have in the past. Car, computer, television, fridge, telephone - no King ever had these things. But people are still restless and unhappy.

    Industrial Society is consuming psychiatric drugs/ sleeping pills by tonnes and tonnes.

    A very large percentage of the population is surviving on precription drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

    One-third of the population has become fat like elephants.

    People talk about increase in lifespan. What is the use of increased lifespan if people have to resort to Drugs, Alcohol and Cigarettes to pull through life. And just wait a few more years - the average lifespan will soon become zero - human life will cease to exist on earth.

    Consumerist-Lifestyle is just not sustainable. If we do not immediately return to living a very simple and frugal life then very soon there will be no human life on earth. We would need several planets[earths] to sustain the present lifestyle.


    The Military-Industrial Complex is all set to destroy whatever life and environment that remains on earth. There is a reason why the two World Wars happened in the recent past and not 1000 years ago.

    It was not possible to have world wars 1000 years ago. World Wars became possible only when Science and Technology developed aeroplanes, ships and other carriers which could transport millions of troops and millions of tonnes of weapons[once again a creation of science and technology] from one corner of the globe to another.

    And today one does'nt even need all these to fight a war. One just needs to move finger-tips to launch missiles that can destroy the planet several times over.

    Right at this moment there are several countries fighting wars with one another. There is internal war going on in almost half of the the countries of the world. All these wars are being fuelled and sustained by billions of tonnes of weapons produced by the Military-Industrial Complex every year.

    And it is going to get worse and worse every day.

    If you kill one person they call it murder.
    If you kill a few hundred they call it terrorism.
    If you kill a few million they call it war.

    Science and Technology has made this world [millions of times] more violent and unsafe than before.

    Science and Technology has produced billions of tonnes of weapons and explosives - chemical, biological and nuclear weapons - millions of tonnes of Radioactive material [ which will soon be used to make dirty radioactive bombs - which are going to contaminate the environment for hundreds and thousands of years]. Science and Technology is the real terrorist.


    Governments and Law Enforcement Agencies have labelled a few Environmentalists as EcoTerrorists.

    What are the charges against Environmental Activists? - Destruction of property? - endangering human life?

    The Military Industrial Complex is doing much more damage to property - it is going around carpet bombing entire countries - flattening entire countries. The Military Industrial Complex is endangering much more human life - it is actually killing - killing millions in War/ Violence - directly or indirectly.

    Who is the real Terrorist? - Environmentalists or Industrial Society?

    The human race has been destroying/ killing animals, trees, air, water, land and people from the very beginning of civilization. Science and Technology has increased this destructive capacity millions of times.

    Every citizen of Industrial Society is using hundreds/ thousands of consumer goods.

    Every consumer good is made by killing animals, trees, air, water and land - directly or indirectly. [ more killing of nature takes place when consumer goods are used and discarded]

    The per capita killing of animals, trees, air, water and land in Industrial Society is hundreds of times/ thousands of times greater than that of pre-industrial society.

    Every citizen of Industrial Society is a serial killer - serial killer of animals, trees, air, water and land.

    Those who produce consumer goods are killers.
    Those who sell consumer goods are killers.
    Those who buy consumer goods are killers.



    Before Industrialization humans killed Environment primarily for Food, Clothing & Shelter. After industrialization humans are killing environment for Food, Clothing & Shelter plus [thousands of unnecessary]Consumer Goods.

    Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land] for making unnecessary things[Consumer Goods].

    The Military Industrial Complex has killed millions of people in War/ Violence. It has decimated all plant and animal species. It has destroyed all ecosystems. It has polluted and poisioned the Sky, Land and Oceans. It has raped and plundered "Mother Earth" in the name of Progress and Development.

    The crimes of "Military Industrial Complex"are millions of times greater than the crimes of Environmentalists.

    Comparing the crimes of Environmentalists with the crimes of "Military Industrial Complex" is like comparing the Lamp with the Sun.

    The entire Industrial Society is a Terrorist.
    Science and Technology is the Terrorist.
    Military Industrial Complex is the Terrorist.
    Culture of Consumerism - culture of making, buying and selling is the Terrorist. Consumerism kills ecosystems - Consumerism is the biggest act of violence against nature.




    Think Positive.

    Psychologists say -- Think Positive.
    Politicians say – Think Positive.
    Economists say – Think Positive.
    Scientists say – Think Positive.
    Everyone says – Think Positive.

    Arctic ice is melting – Glaciers are melting – Rivers are drying up.
    Think Positive.

    Fish population in Oceans is down to 1/3 of what it was 100 years ago.
    Think Positive.

    Pollution levels are going sky-high and valley-deep.
    Think Positive.

    There used to be millions of members in most species of Animals and Birds. Now they are down to thousands and hundreds.
    Think Positive.

    Weather is getting more and more irregular and unpredictable.
    Think Positive.

    Metal everywhere - Concrete everywhere - Plastic everywhere.
    Think Positive.

    All local cultures have been destroyed in the name of consumerism and globalization.
    Think Positive.

    Thinking positive is the height of insanity.
    Thinking positive is the height of abnormality.

    This is a world that has become completely incapable of feeling Pain, Compassion, Remorse and Guilt.
    The planet is getting destroyed moment by moment – and people are thinking positive.


    Very soon there will be 1 Animal and 1 Tree left in this world – and people will still be thinking positive.

    They will be holding Seminars, Conferences and Global-Summits to save the Environment.




    There is an important point which the human-species needs to understand. People think they can save the Environment by doing something.

    We can never save the environment by doing something.

    It is overactivity that has destroyed environment in the first place.

    Human-species is the only one out of millions of species that has indulged in overactivity on this planet [ And for this very reason the human speciesis going to exist on earth for the least amount of time]

    And it is not Mild Overactivity – It is Excessive Overactivity – Exponential Overactivity.

    We cannot save the environment by doing something.

    We can only save it by doing less of what we have been doing - much less of what we have been doing.

    If we want to save environment we will have to reduce human activity [overactivity] by 99%.



    A person is being stabbed repeatedly at regular intervals - every hour.

    Some people are trying to save the victim.

    The sane way to save is - you first stop the attack – you prevent the attack.

    What these insane people do - they allow the attack to be continued. They don’t stop it -- they don’t prevent it.

    Instead, what they do - They say we are going to save the victim by using technology - the best technology - the best medical care.

    Bring this technology - Bring that technology.

    Bring this technology - Bring that technology.


    They give the victim the best technology - the best medical care.
    In the meantime the stabbing continues – every hour – even while the best medical care is being given.

    One can imagine the fate of the victim.


    Ecosystems are getting destroyed due to production of consumer goods.

    Every consumer good is made by killing animals, trees, air, water and land - directly or indirectly. [ more killing of nature takes place when consumer goods are used and discarded]

    Industrial society is destroying necessary things - animals, trees, air, water and land for making unnecessary things - consumer goods.

    The sane way of saving ecosystems is - you stop production of consumer goods - you reduce production of consumer goods to the minimum level.

    But the insane Industrial Society continues producing consumer goods [ in fact production is being increased every day]

    The insane response of Industrial Society is - We will save the environment with technology - the best technology.

    Bring this technology - Bring that technology.

    Bring this technology - Bring that technology.


    In the meantime production of consumer goods continues - 3 billion people living in cities are continuously engaged in - making , buying and selling of consumer goods - killing the ecosystems moment by moment.

    One can imagine the fate of environment.

    Height of Insanity.......Height of Abnormality.

    Destroy consumerism..... before it is too late



    The Illogical Logic of Man.

    A few birds have got infected with bird-flu and Man has started killing millions of birds.
    They say birds are a threat to humans.

    Sometime ago there was Mad Cow disease and Man started killing hundreds of thousands of cows.
    They said cows are a threat to humans.


    Ever since Man came into existence - millions of humans with infectious diseases have transferred such diseases to millions of other people - and will continue to infect millions more in future.
    Such people are a threat to rest of the people.
    Man should follow the same logic here and kill all infected people.

    It is Man who has killed millions of people in Wars and other forms of Violence – and can kill millions more any time in future.
    Man should follow the same logic here and kill all people.


    It is the human species which is the greatest threat to humans and all other life on this planet - In fact the human species is the only species which is a threat to all life on Earth.

    Man has decimated all Animal and Plant species – polluted the Sky and Oceans - and poisioned every square inch of earth.

    In a mere 200 - 300 years Industrial Society has destroyed all that Nature laboriously created over a period of millions of years.


    Humans pose the greatest threat to other humans.
    Humans pose the greatest threat to all other life on earth.

    The so-called Rational and Civilized Man should follow the same logic here - and destroy the entire human race.

    Please note :

    If you indulge in Factory Farming – If you torture the birds – confine millions of them in prison like conditions – depriving them of Sunlight and the freedom to walk and fly – you are creating an environment for the spread of virus and disease.



    Lifestyle of Mass Destruction.

    Destruction is an inherent feature of Development.

    Progress = Destruction of Nature.
    Development = Destruction of Nature.

    We can have Sustainable Lifestyle.
    We cannot have Sustainable Development.

    Development can never be sustainable.
    Sustainability and Development cannot exist together.

    Development and Sustainability are opposites.
    Development and Sustainability are contradictory.

    Sustainable Living is associated with consuming less – being satisfied with a simple and frugal life.
    Development is associated with never ending desires – always wanting more.

    Sustainable lifestyle requires Constancy.
    Sustainable lifestyle requires Sameness.
    Sustainable lifestyle requires Repetition.

    Development is associated with Change.
    Development is associated with New.
    Development is associated with Transience.

    Industrial Societies can never be sustainable – When you make thousands of consumer goods you kill Nature - you kill Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land.

    "Growth Rate" - "Economy Rate" - "GDP"
    These are figures of "Ecocide".
    These are figures of "crimes against Nature".
    These are figures of "destruction of Ecosystems".
    These are figures of "Insanity, Abnormality and Criminality".


    A Society that does mental work [city based] can never be sustainable - it will keep on making consumer goods - destroying the environment moment by moment.

    Only agriculture-based societies that do physical work can be sustainable.

    The term Sustainable Development is like the terms

    Stationary Walk.
    Silent Talk.
    Wakeful Sleep.
    Dark Sun
    Gentle Torture.
    Dry Rain.
    Peaceful War.

    Infinite growth and development on a tiny planet that is just 40,000 km in circumference? - Industrial Society is insane.



    Man can repair and restore things that have been made by man himself. Car, Computer, Aeroplane, Rocket - if anything goes wrong with these things man can repair and restore.

    Man cannot repair and restore Nature/ Environment - because man did not make Nature/ Environment. Once a Forest is destroyed - it is gone for millions of years. One cannot create a Forest in 5 or 50 years - it takes millions of years to make a forest - containing millions of species of animals, insects, birds, plants and trees. Man can create a plantation in 5 or 50 years - not a forest.

    The only way to save Environment is by not destroying it - leave it alone - leave it undisturbed. If you destroy Environment you cannot repair and restore it.

    No Multi National Company can manufacture the Amazon Rainforests.
    No MNC can manufacture Rivers and Oceans.
    No MNC can manufacture Mountains and Deserts.
    No MNC can manufacture milions of species and fertile soil.
    No MNC can manufacture the Sun.

    The glaciers have melted. Arctic Ice has melted. Man can use all his Technology - all the Refrigeration and AirConditioning Technology but he will not be able to recreate the glaciers and Arctic Ice.

    Many species of wild animals used to have hundreds of thousands/ millions of members. Now it is down to a few hundred/ a few thousand. Which MNC is going to restore the animal population to its original level?

    The Oceans have almost been emptied of all large Fish. Which MNC is going to bring the Fish back in the Ocean?

    Man has hunted down several species to extinction after Industrial Revolution. Which MNC is going to make them reappear?



    There was a time when Man used to say –

    I work in order to feed my family.
    I work in order to put Food on the Table.

    Today man is putting a lot more than Food on the Table.

    Cars, Computers, ipods, Aeroplanes, 200 TV Channels, Luxury Yatchs, Caribbean Vacations, Palatial Homes, Video Phones, Designer Clothes, Designer Drugs, Cosmetic Surgery …………… The list is endless.


    Man is putting thousands of consumer goods and services on the Table.
    There is too much weight on the Table.
    And the Table has begun to creak.


    The more you put on your table the more you take out from the mouths of Animals and Birds.

    The more you put on your table the more you kill Animals and Trees.

    The more you put on your table the more you kill Water, Air and Land.

    The more you put on your table the more you kill Mountains and Valleys.

    The more you put on your table the more you kill the Sky and Oceans - the Rivers and Lakes.


    There are so many things on the Table that one can barely see the Food.

    We need just a few things to live.
    And we are making thousands of things.

    Billions of people are engaged in making, buying and selling of thousands of consumer goods.

    Destroy Shopping Culture.

    Go back to Simple Living.
    Go back to putting just Food on the Table.


    sushil_yadav

    [I am seeking help from volunteers in spreading this message far and wide]

    [I want to inform the Moderators of "Permaculture Forums" that I have also posted my article in other forums and blogs relevant to the article/ related to keywords in the article]
     
  2. sushil yadav

    sushil yadav Junior Member

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    Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment

    Dear friends - I want to thank you for reading the article. I would like to add some more points to the topic.


    Intelligence Is A Curse.

    This planet is on the verge of total destruction.

    The cause of destruction is – overactivity.
    [Out of millions of species in this world the human-species is the only one that has indulged in overactivity]

    The cause of overactivity is – Intelligence.
    [The environment would never have got destroyed if Man had been only as intelligent as animals]

    Intelligence is the biggest cause/ source of destruction in this world.

    [In fact Intelligence is the only cause of destruction in this world other than natural causes]



    Discussions, Debates and Arguments.

    Let us examine how much discussion we are collectively having in Industrial Society every day.

    Millions of pages in print – newspapers / books / magazines.
    Millions of web-pages on internet every day.

    Now add to this all the conversation (discussion) we are having through radio / television / telephone and several other media every day.

    And add to this all the discussion we are having through face-to-face interaction.

    The volume of discussion per individual in one week is greater than the total discussion someone living in pre-industrial society would have in his entire life.

    There is too much discussion in modern society. Discussion is not solving our problems – discussion itself has become a problem – a gigantic problem.


    A society that does mental work will discuss itself to destruction [extinction]

    A society that does mental work will argue itself to destruction [extinction]

    A society that does mental work will debate itself to destruction [extinction]


    A society that does mental work can never stop discussions / debates / arguments – it is impossible. It will discuss / debate / argue till the last moment of it’s existence.


    Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are creations of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.

    Discussions / Debates / Arguments – these are diseases of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.

    Discussions / debates / arguments can end only in agriculture-based societies that do physical work.

    We cannot do physical-work and mental-work simultaneously.

    There is an inverse relationship between physical-work and mental-work.
    If one is high [more] the other has got to be low [less]

    If we want to do physical work we have to reduce mental activity by the same proportion.
    If we want to do mental work we have to reduce physical activity by the same proportion.

    There is very little discussion / debate / argument in societies that do physical work - ie, agriculture-based societies - And this is the reason why they are millions of times saner than industrial societies.



    Criminality and Abnormality.

    Industrial Society has collectively killed billions of Animals and Trees [ Remember -plant and animal species developed over a period of millions of years]

    It has also killed most of Water and Air [ Please note - polluting Water and Air is equivalent to killing Water and Air ]

    The soil was not fertile when the earth was created. It became fertile - very slowly - over a period of millions of years. And look what man has done - He has covered millions and millions of hectares of land with cement and concrete. All the land that has been covered with cement and concrete has been killed.

    Man has stockpiled thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear material and nuclear waste which is going to remain highly radioactive and carcinogenic for the next thousands of years - and which has already leaked into the environment hundreds of times.

    What could be more criminal than this.
    What could be more abnormal than this.

    Lawyers and Judges are trying to catch a few criminals.
    They don’t realize the entire Industrial Society is criminal.

    Psychologists and Psychiatrists are trying to classify a few people as abnormal.
    They don’t realize the entire Industrial Society is abnormal.




    Industrial Society is collectively making millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives [of all kinds] every year – and then it wonders why there is so much violence in this world.

    Big Mystery.

    If you make millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives on earth they are going to be used on earth – they are not going to be used on Mars.




    Make things
    Buy things
    Sell things

    This is not the purpose of life.

    Destroy Shopping Culture.
    Destroy Industrial Society.

    No one deserves more.
    Everyone deserves less.



    Regarding Industrialization there is an important point to be noted. Modern Industrial Society has existed for 100 years - 200 years - 300 years. When we compare this period with the total duration for which human society has existed on earth this period is so short - so small that it almost does'nt exist. It is almost zero.

    Material things don't bring peace and happiness. Today billions of people have got things which even Kings did not have in the past. Car, computer, television, fridge, telephone - no King ever had these things. But people are still restless and unhappy. The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems - besides destroying the environment. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful if we destroy Nature.

    Consumerist-Lifestyle is just not sustainable. If we do not immediately return to living a very simple and frugal life then very soon there will be no human life on earth.



    Think Positive.

    Psychologists say -- Think Positive.
    Politicians say – Think Positive.
    Economists say – Think Positive.
    Scientists say – Think Positive.
    Everyone says – Think Positive.

    Arctic ice is melting – Glaciers are melting – Rivers are drying up.
    Think Positive.

    Fish population in Oceans is down to 1/3 of what it was 100 years ago.
    Think Positive.

    Pollution levels are going sky-high and valley-deep.
    Think Positive.

    There used to be millions of members in most species of Animals and Birds. Now they are down to thousands and hundreds.
    Think Positive.

    Weather is getting more and more irregular and unpredictable.
    Think Positive.


    Thinking positive is the height of insanity.
    Thinking positive is the height of abnormality.

    This is a world that has become completely incapable of feeling Pain, Compassion, Remorse and Guilt.
    The planet is getting destroyed moment by moment – and people are thinking positive.

    Very soon there will be 1 Animal and 1 Tree left in this world – and people will still be thinking positive.

    They will be holding Seminars, Conferences and Global-Summits to save the Environment.




    There is an important point which the human-species needs to understand. People think they can save the Environment by doing something.

    We can never save the environment by doing something.

    It is overactivity that has destroyed environment in the first place.

    Human-species is the only one out of millions of species that has indulged in overactivity on this planet [ And for this very reason the human species is going to exist on earth for the least amount of time]

    And it is not Mild Overactivity – It is Excessive Overactivity – Exponential Overactivity.

    We cannot save the environment by doing something.

    We can only save it by doing less of what we have been doing - much less of what we have been doing.

    If we want to save environment we will have to reduce human activity [overactivity] by 99%.



    The Illogical Logic of Man.

    A few birds have got infected with bird-flu and Man has started killing millions of birds.
    They say birds are a threat to humans.

    Sometime ago there was Mad Cow disease and Man started killing hundreds of thousands of cows.
    They said cows are a threat to humans.

    Ever since Man came into existence - millions of humans with infectious diseases have transferred such diseases to millions of other people - and will continue to infect millions more in future.
    Such people are a threat to rest of the people.
    Man should follow the same logic here and kill all infected people.

    It is Man who has killed millions of people in Wars and other forms of Violence – and can kill millions more any time in future.
    Man should follow the same logic here and kill all people.

    It is the human species which is the greatest threat to humans and all other life on this planet - In fact the human species is the only species which is a threat to all life on Earth.

    Man has decimated all Animal and Plant species – polluted the Sky and Oceans - and poisioned every square inch of earth.

    In a mere 200 - 300 years Industrial Society has destroyed all that Nature laboriously created over a period of millions of years.

    Humans pose the greatest threat to other humans.
    Humans pose the greatest threat to all other life on earth.

    The so-called Rational and Civilized Man should follow the same logic here - and destroy the entire human race.

    sushil yadav

    Please note :

    If you indulge in Factory Farming – If you torture the birds – confine millions of them in prison like conditions – depriving them of Sunlight and the freedom to walk and fly – you are creating an environment for the spread of virus and disease.
     
  3. Guest

    Some things are just meant to be sung...
     
  4. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Gee I thought chris wrote long posts follwed by me....

    Theyve left Me behind

    Tezza
     
  5. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Yashil,

    I read what you wrote and I agree on many of the concepts here. Thank you for sharing that, and please share more.

    We are increasingly disconnected from our planet, and I do think that many people are so deep in denial about where they are, and need to find meaning or happiness in consumption.

    I have scarcely thought much about the psychology of man in a time like ours, but there must be an evolving sense of helplessness and also a larger denial/defence mechanism set up to avoid seeing the things you are talking about.

    I like that you address the costs of the "benefits" of "civilization" (my quotes), the damage to soil, radioactive waste, the destructive relationship to our planet and the other animals here, the quality of mind/mental health issues/quality of life, etc.

    Our water and air, our psychological wellness, our life support system, this planet, are being destroyed, and true cost, adressed by you as criminality is so high that noone adresses it, and those that do are "crazy", and people are trained to comsume, buy, spend, eat, shit, aquire, use up, dispose of, and this is what most people think of as life.

    This was discussed in a round about way in another thread, about a Mr Meato and Ms Products, who went to an ecovillage and were exposed to some really interesting and, on a human scale, satisfying activities, making a car run on biodiesel, vegetable gardening, etc (I didn't see it, myself), and were unhappy because they were unable to consume products, meat, etc.

    Thinking positively, without aknowledging the state we are in, IS insane. I do, however, try to think positive about my own and other peoples endeavours on the planets behalf....

    And, yes, we are being bombarded with messages on a regular basis. Buy, buy, buy! Consume, NOW! Buy one, get one free! Sale ends Friday! At prices like these, you can't afford NOT to buy it! (etc, etc, etc) and this only touches on the bombardment of commercial concerns, working to convince us to give them our cash.... There is also the news, disasters and doom, which creates paranoia, news of "celebrities", meaningless drivel, inane TV shows meant to entertain, music with nonsensical lyrics, (ooh, baby, i wanna, yeah, wear your paaa-a-a-a-ants...) etc, etc, and many peole are so plugged in to external stimuli that removal from all of that is disorienting.

    (I'm from NYC, and my first night out in the woods was wierd, no trains, buses, garbage trucks, fire engines, ambulances, police sirens, drunken arguments.... oooooh, quiet... just me and the owls....)

    I especially like your assertion that we cannot save the environment by doing something. I don't entirely agree with you there, but I really, really like the paradigm shift it caused when I read it, and I agree that sometimes, doing something makes things worse...

    Parts of what we can "do" is stop doing things that ARE harmful (an active non-action...), including reducing our consumption, reducing our unintended costs, long shipping distances, being satisfied to exist without "activity" that invoves consumption, etc.

    There is a movement called "Slow Foods" that I am following, at a distance, because it dtresses slowing down and valuing food. Some of what you touch on lies close to what they are thinking and discussing.

    I like them because our relationship with food is often a very good indication of our relationship to the planet itself, and not just through our direct consumption of food. Look it up because I think you will like what they are about. https://www.slowfood.com

    I saw a bumper sticker once, for a swami/toga teacher/guru and it said. DON'T JUST DO SOMETHING, SIT THERE! and I liked that, too (I also liked the bumper sticker WORLD PEACE THROUGH ESCAPIST PHILOSOPHIES )

    However, I do think that some of what we can do, planting trees, growing vegetables, slowing down (and for some people, adapting to slowing will be an activity), slowing down, slowing down, slowing down, making sustainable systems, consolidating relationships, making aquaponics systems :wav: (theres lots of good information about this very resource efficient system and modality of food production at https://www.backyardaquaponics.com and this is my favorite good idea! It offers many advantages to urban or semi urban environments, as well as to water poor locations) and you talk about physical work. Some physical work is made more effective by protracted thought... or mental work.

    I need to read what you have given us again, because I have been hit by a cascade of thoughts. You have bombarded me with information... :lol: I wanted to thank you for opening up another realm of discussion.

    Please write more and offer more thoughts, or expand on these!

    Thank you very much for sharing,

    Christopher
     
  6. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    I think I understand what your saying. just not totally.....my eyes dont focus that good on that much writing :(

    But i do understand about our feelings/our depressions,or helplessness etc etc..

    Is it a bit like The Quickining that some talk about..
    A sort of stage that humans have never been placed before,something our genetic heratige hasnt prepared us for??


    Tezza
     
  7. Jez

    Jez Junior Member

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    I agree with many things in here Yashil, but I feel it is a very dangerous position to consider intelligence a curse and to teach that...perhaps even a little hypocritical some might say considering you're using the internet to communicate your ideas (I have no opinion on that personally).

    To me, intelligence is not the cause of problems on this planet - it is greed. Greed would exist without intelligence...ask a member of the thousands of other species that were hunted to extinction by what you might term as pre-intelligent (certainly pre-industrialisation) humans.

    Were we just acting like any other species of animal at this point? I think we were...we were also causing a lot of problems with our greed IMO...which is a natural instinct all animals possess as a means of survival.

    I can't see how we will or would ever separate ourselves from our disposition toward greed, without using intelligence to temper it.

    Intelligence allows us to see the big picture and do something about it.

    Cheers,
    Jez
     
  8. Guest

    Quite honestly folks - this proposed experiment/article/adventure into outer space is 90% nonsense.

    Please do not be fooled by the presentation. There are no results as suggested, merely an unsupported string of hypotheses and opinions that cannot be substantiated by science. To be considered academically, this post is never going to make it.

    The suggestion that thought and emotion exist separately...please consider this. Do we become angry, sad, or triumphant when we are asleep? Conscious thought precedes all emotion, but to suggest we stop thinking or our thoughts freeze during the experience is niave...if that was the case there would be very long recovery pauses between each thought/action and the next one.

    Emotion is not measured by chemical changes in blood. It is measured by heart rate, skin temps, facial changes, self reporting and more recently synaptic uptake.

    EQ stands for Emotional Quotient - a number defined that describes the average of a groups emotional state

    IQ is the same - in terms of intelligence.

    EQ and IQ serve only as a comparative number on which individuals can compare themselves to the larger group and find their derived position, if they so choose.

    THIS POST (clearly not an article or research proposal), is filled with unfounded and more importantly unsupported statements. To hypothesise constructively we need to draw from current findings and build on with realistic and relevant steps. The suggestions in this post do not provide that.

    To seriously follow this line of thinking...would lead to a slow suicide. The underpinning statements lead to a total lack of active living and the demise of life or 'living' as we understand it. It brings to mind, pictures of bodies suspended in fluid in clear plastic tubes lined up against the wall for 50 years, waiting for someone to think...."Hey this is dumb, let's go play cricket!"

    When we stop thinking positively and constructively, we become depressed. Simple as that.

    The exception, is when we deny the undercurrent of negativity or harm and look for goodness in something that is intentionally harmful, selfish or diminishing - and try to find goodness in something that offers none.

    The effects of those attempts can be disastrous, personally, within our families, communities and globally.

    I am only grateful that within science there exists a code of ethical conduct, and a series of scientific steps that this post would never meet, that will ensure this kind of 'psychology' never advances.
     
  9. forest

    forest Junior Member

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    I totally agree, Rainbow. I go to another site where this person, or someone very similar, posts the same kind of article. They are usually removed from the forum.
     
  10. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    The value of what he is saying is that it challenges us to see something from a different view point. I don't agree %100 with what he is saying, but some of it is worth considering, and I support his right to say whatever he wants to say.

    Some of what he says is off on a spiritual plain, and some may be nonsense as RF suggested, however, some of it is worth considering and alot of it is not entirely subjective.

    Noone should feel threatened if they don't understand or agree with him. Ignore the posts if you thinks its gibberish, but be aware that there may be a gem in there, even if you don't agree with it. I liked it, myself, because it made me lok at things differently than I would otherwise.

    I'd rather hear from him about this, even if it only makes %10 sense to you, RF, than about the benefits of Round Up, which makes %0 sense to me :lol: (if true cost accounting, boring, long winded, etc, blah, blah, woof, woof).

    I don't think he should be censored. This may be the spiritual equivalent of fluff, but it isn't bothering anyone, and if is, they shouldn't read it. Just my opinion.
     
  11. forest

    forest Junior Member

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    I don't think it should be censored either. I didn't suggest that. I am totally against censorship. I do think we should read critically though and not accept everything that is posted here as valid and worthy.
     
  12. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Good point!
     
  13. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    gee cant anyone post something anymore without getting stick..

    If all those who didnt understand,said ah Stuff it, where would we be..

    pity we have so many expert experts.and people who beleive what experts say,,,,are we all experts or are we all idiots,or expert idiots.or expert geniuses..

    Dont ask me Im no expert either

    Tezza
     
  14. Guest

    Tez - no doubt about it... we all expert idiots!

    If I knew what I was doing, it wouldn't be called research. :lol:
     
  15. Caite

    Caite Junior Member

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    i reckon that something that everyone has said is valid in some way. lets keep in mind, though, that scientific research and exploratory hypothesis are simply theoretical. i think that our society places too much emphasis on scientific validation of theories as proof of their substantiability. like heisenberg said: what we perceieev is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning. there simply is no such thing as a single 'reality'.

    does it really matter whether or not this proposed research will go ahead, or produce any substansive results?

    maybe i missed something in the chatting and finger-waggling, but what say you to the idea that there isnt simply one type of intelligence, buyt many: intellectual intelleigence, emotional intelligence, creative intelligence, social intelligence etc...

    maybe the 'problems' that we encounter on a global social level are not in fact due solely to an excess of intellectual intelligence but to an inherent lack of emotional intelligence...this is not something that we seem to foster socially in the west with much objective enthusiasm...and then theres the lack of integration between the two...

    there are many things that were said in the original post that DO resound with a little truth...as we think more and more we fail to have a clarity of mind that allows us to experience things as they are, or be. we collectively and individually fail to distinguish emtion from thought, experiencing emotion as thought and thought as emotion. i see anger not so much as a though pattern, but as a reaction to emotion, which is a physical/ spiritual experience. im sure that many of you will agree that when you feel pain you experience it cognitively. that is to say, you might become stressed, worried, become overwhelmed in your mind by the information being sent to your brain *alarmalarmalarm*...

    mayhap it is the thoughts that we plaster over the physical pain that are the issue, and not the actual physical pain itself. the aversion to suffering, and the craving for an end to the suffering.

    if the mind were clear, equanimous, then perhaps the pain itself would be experienced as it was in its own light. the mind would be still and not tormented by the experience, but objectively experiencing it. i guess im trying unsuccessfully to say that ultimately many of the emotions and thoughts that we register are connected by conditioning. emotions are not necessarily things that are limited to the mind or to the brain (which are distinct things in themselves). thought and emotion ARE connected, but produce, feed and nourish one another. the chicken or the egg syndrome.

    and the post about not experiencing fear, pain, emotion in sleep. huh? do you never have nightmares, delicious dreams that you dont want to wake from? do you sleep like a fridge that is unplugged? emotion is something that is infused not only into the conscious mind. and the conscious mind...for that matter, why is so much emphasis put on the power or importance3 of the conscious mind? we humans are far more driven by the subconscious mind...

    the conscious mind is like the tip of an iceberg...

    the original post was a bit flimsy in terms of scientific experimentation, but the theory behind it, given a moments thought, might ring true for some of you....

    look at the teachings of all the prophets reverred by many societies...gotthama, muhammad, jesus, confuscious, the daoists, the asthetics...they all speak of the same things...still the mind, understand emotion, understand thought, understamd that this experience is not defined by these things, they serve simply as lenses through which we gaze...what colour do you see?
     
  16. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Thank you for that.

    Where are you in China?
     
  17. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Try This on for size.



    If something happened to humans and the only survivers were Permie type people......We would survive, because we are too busy for anything else.
    As Swami says.being intellegent is creating our "NOW"(war,crime,greed,etc)

    I think we got it all wrong back a few thousand years ago when everyone was a Permaculturist..........

    I blame the first Permaculturist for all this crap. Why?..He was the person
    who, had a few more brain cells then the other persons.
    He was probly the first Person to put a sign at his front gate saying
    "For Sale Fruit n Vegies.."

    So when Someone else took over the role of food provider that freed up a person to sit down and star thinking......The Rest as they Say Is History

    Tezza
     
  18. earthbound

    earthbound Junior Member

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    Interesting thoughts Caite..

    I don't think that concious thought always precedes emotions, not when taking into account the whole range of different emotions. Fear is an emotion that requires no concious thought. In fact fear doesn't follow any thought patern when you take into account some obsesive compulsive disorders.. They conciously know that they have no reason to fear, it can be conciously worked through that there is no reason for fear at all, yet the fear is still there... Like the flight reaction, when faced with a threat there isn't any concious thought before we flee in fear.

    An open mind is essential.. The world was always flat, untill some crackpot went and proved differently... And Aren't they just realising that maybe quantum mechanics has some flaws?

    When we think we have all the answers, then we're really in trouble......
     
  19. christopher

    christopher Junior Member

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    Joel,

    We just saw the Shining last week. Its a movie, right? Stanley Kubrick directed it, Jack Nicholson, etc, good movie.

    Now, I know its not a movie, but when I went outside to drain my dragon (my homeboy, JC used that phrase, long ago and its probably hopelessly outdated...), and I had to control the fear mechanism, even though I KNOW the movie is a movie.....

    So fear is often outside of rational thought, though, in the case of seeing a fer de lance (extremely poisonous snake) I am afraid right away, and I still carry fear after I have killed it.....

    Funny like that....

    C
     
  20. Guest

    Fear is processed thought.

    Fight and flight responses can and do change in relation to the stimuli.

    Therefore, it would be safe to say, that it is during or as a result of discrimination of the stimuli, that someone acts (or responds) to the stimuli with thought, followed by action.

    Repeated flight (or fight) behaviours have been seen to lead to a habitual tendency to respond in such a way. However habit, is not instinct.
     

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