Post: #1

I had this feeling that what ever I read, watched or viewed or researched, almost everyone my age did as well.

Wrong again.

I assumed that at this age (twenty eight), a young man, like myself, would naturally want to learn WHY his brain is having certain thoughts, certain feelings and creating certain behaviours.

Around the age of twenty five I became heavily interested in the brain. Or more specifically, The Unconscious Mind.

Very few of my friends and zero co-workers want to discuss such topics.

With the growth of the internet and the ease of access to which you can find any subject matter (legal or not) it helped me incredibly with my ability to take in knowledge and information.

There is a growing consensus on how the brain actually works and how we make decisions (an example, there are many - http://bigthink.com/users/davideagleman).

We are in control and we are not. You can decide what to put in your head but you can’t control how it is used, well, kind of.

It is all quite fascinating and also difficult to understand for someone who never took a psychology class or physics class in university, like me.

That never stopped me from soaking up as much as possible when it came to human behaviour, especially mine.

Books like, “The Good Book” by A.C. Grayling, “How The Mind Works” and “The Blank Slate” by Steven Pinker, “A Universe From Nothing” by Lawrence Krauss, “Autism” by Dr. Robert Melillo, “Lying”, “Free Will”, and “The Moral Landscape” by Sam Harris and “Incognito” by David Eagleman.

Also some of the wonderful books in the series by John Brockman from Edge.org, “This Will Make You Smarter”, “This Explains Everything” and “Thinking”. Some of these books I have finished, others I pick up from time to time to get a boost of insight whenever I am feeling up to it. Having a personal library can be very uplifting and hugely beneficial to your day to day well being.

Videos like:

The Great Courses – Effective Communication Skills - http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/cours...x?cid=9331

Dr. John Searle Part 3 – Consciousness: In the Beginning was the Word - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdzLseJ4...52532C4398

David Eagleman on Possibilianism - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS0b4QCp...52532C4398

Some wise words from Terence Mckenna - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE5khMZC...w&index=20

The Primacy of Consciousness – Peter Russell - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d4ugppc...w&index=29

Steven Pinker on Free Will - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQxJi0CO...w&index=31

Sam Harris on Free Will -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCofmZlC72g&list=FLUk8Kg53mMKtZta3Ay98H1w&index=32

Present! By Amit Goswami (Part One) a Quantum View of God - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V6SaBfl...w&index=55

The Pleasure Of Finding Things Out – Richard Feynman Interview (1981) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXiOg5-l...w&index=63

Those are just a few of the things I enjoy reading and learning about. As I have developed preferences and taken on beliefs to create who I am, at the same time I am still able to have my mine changed or swayed, if the science is there of course. A willingness to learn new things is exactly the attitude one must cultivate, among others, in order to excel at self-improvement.

———

The stigmas and social expectations that were drilled into our neural circuitry can be very hard to alleviate or completely rearrange, but it is not impossible.

The amount of information the brain takes in is insanely high, and how much we are actually focused on is not as much as you would think. After all, we can only observe a very small part, visible light, of the electromagnetic spectrum.

There is so much other brain activity going on without you “knowing” that it kind of shatters our subjective, solipsistic view on things. It’s becoming ever increasingly clear that we are not the ‘center of the universe’ or the ‘authors of our thoughts’ and every year as there are advances in neuroscience, psychology, biology and physics (just to name a few) it will only emphasize that actuality.

We are not blank slates.

Life experience and genetics create who you are.

At any given moment the ‘you’ you are experiencing is actually the sum totals of our chemicals, neurotransmitters, viruses, hormones and genes.

Understanding how the brain works has greatly improved my ability to take in knowledge about red pill concepts and game and then implement them in my life through the ancient trilogy of thinking, feeling and doing. -dcl

Post: #2

Good post...many people are very unaware about what is causing their thoughts and emotions.

If you want to understand your brain at the experiential level and not just read about it then I would recommend that you learn about the psychological skill of mindfulness and start developing it.

Post: #3

Quote:We are not blank slates.

Life experience and genetics create who you are.

Ok, what did you find out which we do not already know?

Post: #4

The fact that very few of your friends and none of your co-workers want to discuss this subject matter with you is indicative of your needing a broader / more diverse social circle.

Post: #5

(04-25-2014 10:41 AM)Marmite Wrote:  The fact that very few of your friends and none of your co-workers want to discuss this subject matter with you is indicative of your needing a broader / more diverse social circle.

I don´t see the point of this thread. Every body has different topics of interest. For example some like to know how a motor works and some don´t. But knowing much about a motor doesn´t make you a better driver.

Now if you would have found something special that would be a different matter.

Post: #6

(04-25-2014 11:33 AM)Bill Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 10:41 AM)Marmite Wrote:  The fact that very few of your friends and none of your co-workers want to discuss this subject matter with you is indicative of your needing a broader / more diverse social circle.

I don´t see the point of this thread. Every body has different topics of interest. For example some like to know how a motor works and some don´t. But knowing much about a motor doesn´t make you a better driver.

Now if you would have found something special that would be a different matter.

Having an interest in the mind and the motives and mechanics behind why we do what we do seems like something anyone with an inkling of philosophical perspective would wonder about at some point.

Post: #7

(04-25-2014 10:41 AM)Marmite Wrote:  The fact that very few of your friends and none of your co-workers want to discuss this subject matter with you is indicative of your needing a broader / more diverse social circle.

That is true.
Working on it : )

Post: #8

(04-25-2014 11:33 AM)Bill Wrote:  

(04-25-2014 10:41 AM)Marmite Wrote:  The fact that very few of your friends and none of your co-workers want to discuss this subject matter with you is indicative of your needing a broader / more diverse social circle.

I don´t see the point of this thread. Every body has different topics of interest. For example some like to know how a motor works and some don´t. But knowing much about a motor doesn´t make you a better driver.

Now if you would have found something special that would be a different matter.

Just getting some thoughts out and sharing my interests. That’s the point : )