Paying attention to objective reality calmly and efficiently

[Andrey]

Thanks for the replies so far. Just to be clear, when I talked about staying away from certain forms of media, I didn't mean staying away from opposing viewpoints. I welcome opposing viewpoints, but just from more tasteful sources made by more sophisticated, intellectually stimulating people. I just feel like watching clickbait videos or shorts on youtube, is entertainment, and should not be looked at as a medium through which one is being informed about what's really going on. Unfortunately, in this day and age, this is the only way most people are being "informed," and it usually ends up turning into an echo chamber where one is not being challenged enough to build a nuanced perspective. And it's usually a complex process that involves thinking with a hammer.

 

[Evan]

If I may add a personal perspective (feel free to scroll past as it’s a highly individual one), I live in a situation where my health becomes a huge factor. I am disabled (13 spinal fusions, can barely walk, and on top of that, advanced liver disease (cirrhosis, which causes cognitive deficits and memory issues due to elevated ammonia in my blood - encephalopathy. Lactulose helps but it has side effects). I have 5 separate doctors I see every month. I also have a negligible income (SSI is less than $900 a month). So I cannot physically prepare, nor can I build a store or grow a garden or relocate. And I live 35 minutes from Hollywood, and literally within sight of the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach/San Pedro. I can see the giant container ships and the massive cranes from the end of my street. As good a ground zero as any (Beirut explosion anyone?). So I must prepare to accept the worst. Stranded and dependent. So simply running negative outcome exercises is an invitation for falling into negative thought loops. It’s a tough ask.

Long story longer, I must remain a spectator, and simply roll with it, while trying not to get too emotionally invested in any particular thing. That detachment is my survival tool (and a pretty stout sense of humor). Breathing through the looming panic, and reminding myself that I’m here to watch and learn and suffer. I think I’m doing a pretty decent job of all three under the circumstances. I definitely don’t feel sorry for myself. Somewhere along the line I signed up for this. So on with the show.

 

[msasa79]

It just is what is, and in a very important sense, it doesn’t mean anything! The more you lock into “it means Z about me that I feel this way” the more you are hooked into your lower earthly human self.

I might have got an 'incorrect message' from your 'preaching', apologies in advance if that's the case, but it makes very little sense, if any at all, to be endowed with something, like emotions, that means nothing and which kind of only use is to 'overcome' it. In addition to being in sort of contradiction to statements that emotions are necessary for learning in our realm and that all there is is lessons (except if the lesson is to learn that it means nothing and is basically useless).

From my life experiences, emotions that I feel more often than not tell me something about myself, if nothing else than about my lower earthly human nature, which is in fact the very reality where I find myself in this life, and by extension the very thing, or at least one of them, that I'm here for, i.e. to learn about.

 

[Musicinventor]

Long story longer, I must remain a spectator, and simply roll with it, while trying not to get too emotionally invested in any particular thing. That detachment is my survival tool (and a pretty stout sense of humor). Breathing through the looming panic, and reminding myself that I’m here to watch and learn and suffer. I think I’m doing a pretty decent job of all three under the circumstances. I definitely don’t feel sorry for myself. Somewhere along the line I signed up for this. So on with the show.

I can relate! I’m in a similar situation with my cancer and chemotherapy treatments. I’m on SSDI as well; it keeps me above water and I thank the universe daily for my awesome partner, and the forum. Here on the forum I know I’m not alone and can share knowledge with others who are like minded. Watching and reading the Gaza carnage is frustrating, but having read Controversy of Zion, and the sessions I understand better the situation. Also reading SOTT at times is frustrating. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I rely on Gurdjieff’s rule; "Ground your attention upon yourself. At every moment be conscious of what you’re thinking, sensing, feeling, desiring, and doing." I find that this helps to remind me to not identify with the utter chaos we’re experiencing. At some level we did sign up for this tour and all we can do is watch it unfold. So, as you say, on with the show! Btw… I’m sure it’s not easy but I hope you can still rock that guitar of yours!

 

[Evan]

I can relate! I’m in a similar situation with my cancer and chemotherapy treatments. I’m on SSDI as well; it keeps me above water and I thank the universe daily for my awesome partner, and the forum. Here on the forum I know I’m not alone and can share knowledge with others who are like minded. Watching and reading the Gaza carnage is frustrating, but having read Controversy of Zion, and the sessions I understand better the situation. Also reading SOTT at times is frustrating. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I rely on Gurdjieff’s rule; "Ground your attention upon yourself. At every moment be conscious of what you’re thinking, sensing, feeling, desiring, and doing." I find that this helps to remind me to not identify with the utter chaos we’re experiencing. At some level we did sign up for this tour and all we can do is watch it unfold. So, as you say, on with the show! Btw… I’m sure it’s not easy but I hope you can still rock that guitar of yours!

@Musicinventor Honestly, thank you!
As for the guitar, arthritis is a bitch, but there’s always the David Gilmour approach when the shredding days are behind you. I can still play a pretty solid Shine On You Crazy Diamond, if not so much Crazy Train.

 

[lindrie]

Regarding good news sources, I'd recommend searching for Katie Halper, Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, Jimmy Dore, Max Igan, Novara Media, Electronic Intifada, The Grayzone, Redacted, Norman Finkelstein, Richard Dolan, Project Unity

I've been recently diving into The Grayzone and Redacted. I also recommend Whitney Webb and Catherine Austin Fitts. I consider them to be a kind of specialist in terms of information, so it helps to have those kinds of insight

 

[Wandering Star]

Hello.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the following quote from the C's:



I wanted to open up a thread discussing some of the intricacies involved in following the advice given in the above quote in a dynamic, flexible and efficient manner without losing your mind when paying attention to what's going on in the world in this day and age.

How can one go about paying attention to objective reality without feeling too sucked into the drama to the point it causes unnecessary suffering? What would be some ways of cultivating a more or less detached perspective? What sources of information or types of media should one look into for one's daily dose of current events and what sources or types of media should one avoid to prevent negative emotions from running rampant?

Unfortunately, paying attention to objective reality and not shutting oneself off from the world will inevitably lead to some shocks. However, going about it in a chaotic manner can cause extra unnecessary suffering for many or even more insidiously can lead to wrong conclusions or reactionary biases that can prevent oneself from really seeing the full picture. For example, following cultural trends too much like what's happening with the american neoliberal establishment and their followers can lead to extremely negative emotions. While it is certainly important to pay attention to phenomenon like this, I think it is also important to get the information from the right sources rather than chaotically clicking on youtube videos or social media trends that will just ruin your overall psychic hygiene. Unless you have done a good amount of Work on yourself, it's probably a good idea to go nowhere near channels like libs of tik tok or something similar. I've found that even watching videos of people debunking other people under the spell of rotten ideologies can lead to extremely negative emotions. IMO, it's best to avoid getting news about current events of what's going on culturally or politically from all the main social media sites including youtube. The algorithms anyway caters to what you want to see so it's not a good indicator of objective reality. A liberal's youtube feed is different from a conservatives, and I've found that the videos are extremely polarizing and unbalanced most of the time. I think it's a divide and conquer tactic where people aren't getting any nuanced perspectives. If you're not into feminism for example, you will get a bunch of sexist videos of men wanting women to make them sandwiches or something like that. If you ARE a feminist, your youtube feed will be full of videos about "toxic masculinity." This same thing is done politically, and objective reality is denied for the viewer. Even for myself for example, although I found myself agreeing with what was on my youtube feed (for example politically), eventually I realized I'm just seeing what I want to see and much of what I was seeing was an imbalanced non-objective POV bereft of nuance. These algorithms just end up producing echo chambers.

So this is just one example. Personally, I have no social media accounts, have no idea what's "trending," and I only go on youtube once in awhile for educational videos or music or whatever. I never click on any videos about politics or culture, and get my news from certain specific websites (like SOTT) I feel are as unbiased as possible or at least provide objective data. And I DEFINITELY don't ever watch CNN, MSNBC or FOX NEWS, or anything like that.

IMO paying attention to objective reality should be done in a graceful manner, with the least amount of unnecessary suffering. I made this thread because I used to watch all the clickbait videos and read all the comments and all the flame wars, etc., and I used to get worked up until my head exploded.

Also, what exactly does it mean to pay attention to objective reality? While following what's going on currently is an important factor, so is all knowledge; learning about the past and everything that has happened before that has lead up to what is happening currently. So study of history is one important factor, and so is knowledge acquisition in general.

So in closing, I am still working on organizing my knowledge input. I was trying to pay attention to "objective reality," and didn't realize it was far from objective, and after much stress, I shut myself off from everything for awhile. Life was certainly more peaceful. But not completely. Ignorance endangers. So now I'm going about paying attention in a more objective, less stressful manner. Anyways, felt like sharing. What are all of your thoughts on this topic?

Thanks for reading.

P.S.- Please share any good resources, websites, youtube channels and other types of media that cover current events without oversensationalizing, etc.

I know that many of you are people with a high level of education and very erudite, however, for the topic at hand, I believe that once again, the figure of the Yedai from the movies is highly illustrative.

Always calm in any situation, but quick in action, which lasts as long as necessary, never longer.

Where does this come from?

I believe that of knowledge.

Is it good to know what is happening?

I think yes, in fact, it is what makes the difference.

Can you do something?

In general no, however, like in a ball game, if a person does not know where the ball is, when it reaches us we will not be able to help our team.

Be objective, pay attention to the right and left and act when possible.

If a person falls into a river with turbulent waters, the only thing he can do is try to stay afloat, since fighting against the current will only cause him to become exhausted and drown.

Once again the Yedai.

The calm that comes from knowledge.

Is it normal for us to feel bad, in the face of the enormous stupidity, lack of love and other people's suffering that we are seeing every day?

Yeah.

Although maybe, just maybe, you may have some insight into "why" these things happen.

With that, hopefully you can balance those feelings and achieve a calm state, in which you can act as necessary.

Free will..., good, evil and the situation that defines it.

My grain of sand for this topic.

 

[Mark7]

With that, hopefully you can balance those feelings and achieve a calm state, in which you can act as necessary.

Here's a favorite passage from the Tao that sort of goes with your post I think, I've posted this before on certain threads, but here
it is again anyway...

“The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.

They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.

Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment..
Not seeking, not expecting,
He is present, and can welcome all things.”

 

[Menna]

Hello.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the following quote from the C's:



I wanted to open up a thread discussing some of the intricacies involved in following the advice given in the above quote in a dynamic, flexible and efficient manner without losing your mind when paying attention to what's going on in the world in this day and age.

How can one go about paying attention to objective reality without feeling too sucked into the drama to the point it causes unnecessary suffering? What would be some ways of cultivating a more or less detached perspective? What sources of information or types of media should one look into for one's daily dose of current events and what sources or types of media should one avoid to prevent negative emotions from running rampant?

Unfortunately, paying attention to objective reality and not shutting oneself off from the world will inevitably lead to some shocks. However, going about it in a chaotic manner can cause extra unnecessary suffering for many or even more insidiously can lead to wrong conclusions or reactionary biases that can prevent oneself from really seeing the full picture. For example, following cultural trends too much like what's happening with the american neoliberal establishment and their followers can lead to extremely negative emotions. While it is certainly important to pay attention to phenomenon like this, I think it is also important to get the information from the right sources rather than chaotically clicking on youtube videos or social media trends that will just ruin your overall psychic hygiene. Unless you have done a good amount of Work on yourself, it's probably a good idea to go nowhere near channels like libs of tik tok or something similar. I've found that even watching videos of people debunking other people under the spell of rotten ideologies can lead to extremely negative emotions. IMO, it's best to avoid getting news about current events of what's going on culturally or politically from all the main social media sites including youtube. The algorithms anyway caters to what you want to see so it's not a good indicator of objective reality. A liberal's youtube feed is different from a conservatives, and I've found that the videos are extremely polarizing and unbalanced most of the time. I think it's a divide and conquer tactic where people aren't getting any nuanced perspectives. If you're not into feminism for example, you will get a bunch of sexist videos of men wanting women to make them sandwiches or something like that. If you ARE a feminist, your youtube feed will be full of videos about "toxic masculinity." This same thing is done politically, and objective reality is denied for the viewer. Even for myself for example, although I found myself agreeing with what was on my youtube feed (for example politically), eventually I realized I'm just seeing what I want to see and much of what I was seeing was an imbalanced non-objective POV bereft of nuance. These algorithms just end up producing echo chambers.

So this is just one example. Personally, I have no social media accounts, have no idea what's "trending," and I only go on youtube once in awhile for educational videos or music or whatever. I never click on any videos about politics or culture, and get my news from certain specific websites (like SOTT) I feel are as unbiased as possible or at least provide objective data. And I DEFINITELY don't ever watch CNN, MSNBC or FOX NEWS, or anything like that.

IMO paying attention to objective reality should be done in a graceful manner, with the least amount of unnecessary suffering. I made this thread because I used to watch all the clickbait videos and read all the comments and all the flame wars, etc., and I used to get worked up until my head exploded.

Also, what exactly does it mean to pay attention to objective reality? While following what's going on currently is an important factor, so is all knowledge; learning about the past and everything that has happened before that has lead up to what is happening currently. So study of history is one important factor, and so is knowledge acquisition in general.

So in closing, I am still working on organizing my knowledge input. I was trying to pay attention to "objective reality," and didn't realize it was far from objective, and after much stress, I shut myself off from everything for awhile. Life was certainly more peaceful. But not completely. Ignorance endangers. So now I'm going about paying attention in a more objective, less stressful manner. Anyways, felt like sharing. What are all of your thoughts on this topic?

Thanks for reading.

P.S.- Please share any good resources, websites, youtube channels and other types of media that cover current events without oversensationalizing, etc.

I could write twelve books on this topic and all of its subsets. So I will comment on One thing that tripped me up. We think reality is just out there and to be objective we have to focus on what happened outside of us. However, humans have programs and believes and blind spots. When we view reality we view it from our emotion and intellectual centers and how the outside interacts with our inside (impressions). Also, we need experience/wisdom to understand the nuances of life and this 3D experience.

Thus seeing objective reality or reality objectively is a multi pronged dynamic of knowledge, experience/wisdom, and clearing out our programs inside us and doing “Work” to improve our being.

Two people can see the same event be the same gender, height, age, race and so on and view an event/what happens in reality totally different.