#groupish

[luxe-pauvre]

Experiments like these do seem to show the ambiguous, pliant nature of what we like to think of as unshakeable, rationally derived political certainties. We are very far from rational or certain when it comes to our political views. Jon describes the image of our rational mind as a rider sat atop an elephant, believing himself to be steering the lumbering beast (which signifies the emotional unconscious). In truth the elephant merely leans one way and the rider is pulled along. Our intellect then engages in a post-hoc rationalisation of our actions, thinking it made a decision. Consider those times you’ve been asked to do something you don’t want to do, and quickly found excuses as to why you can’t, often fooling even yourself that they were genuine reasons. [...] Understanding the differences in these Left and Right moral urges is helpful when trying to convince the other side of a contentious issue. The climate crisis, typically seen as more pressing by those on the Left, is often communicated to all through images of desperate suffering, particularly the plight of those in badly affected countries. But this is a framing born of the Left’s compassionate urge, and again and again it misses its mark, as the Right returns with what appears to be a baffling cynicism and indifference. The vital step, discussed by Haidt and only of late realised by policy makers, is to use language that will press the groupish threat-button of the conservative-minded. Headlines describing flooded coastal regions and decimated wildlife are unlikely to trigger action from the Right. ‘Here is How Climate Change Threatens the American Way of Life’ is more likely to hit the mark in the US.

Derren Brown, A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

#Derren Brown #A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

[fruitcube]

i have to go work but i wanna say queendom final somgs thoughts

hyolyn waka boom: this is kind of a meh song for her and it doesnt showcase her vocal abilities and the rap isnt baaad but doesnt add anything and i am not being a hater hyolyn is my second fave and she obv the most talented person on the show (she kindaaa deserves to win tbh)

wjsn aura: this was also really boring for wjsn and also didnt have strong vocals but thats ok bc when wjsn does ‘high notes’ it sounds like shouting idk its pitchy to me. again not being a hater i like wjsn but all their best songs are the crazy upbeat cute ones and they should have done that i think… also the shady ass opening wtf

kepler the girls: ive only heard a couple of their other songs (2 lmao) but i think this is good for them!! like i like the verses i like the bass synth or whatever. also didnt sing

viviz red sun: um very gfriend its very musical-y but its not baaad. its a little boring and it wont be a good performance song idt but they did actually sing on it. idk its cute. ALSO very shady that bg just did red sun last round and viviz new song is called red sun too???

loona pose: okay again we’re giving versatility its cunty but also boy groupish (which they will get called on by haters 🙄) um the prechorus is delishhh but the chorus is disappointing like pls pls sing i dont think the song showcases their vocal abilities but neither does anyone elses. i like it i think its fun and i KNOW the performance is gonna go crazy

brave girls whistle: I actually like this song the most out of all of them like its fun its a good summer song its not too cute and they sing on it. it sounds very brave girls (nothing new) so it might be boring to some ppl. theyre prob gonna get last place on this show but they reallyyyy deserve better

#hehe i wanna hear your feedback too #tell me your fave in the replies even tho its prob loona bc im only moots with orbits #anyway nothing amazinggg on the list but like its a nice set #not enough singing but that is the trend in kpop rn

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

1.11.24 Thursday

7:35 am

It is a Thursday crime,a lot of ticket boy that passes me by this early am said that there will be no route for today but only "Pittx"...

Hahaha People down here are not real angels...

Thank God, that there is Pasay but.... The ticket boy said probably they will change their route...

Are the down here are INC's groupish? Who are able to control the life movement down here... I feel bitterish... Hahaha Bitterish but I need to work down here...

The down here are mostly fakish....

9:12 am

I still have windblow...

I'm here in Conduent, as usual eating my brunch... Hmm...

How I wish I can meet Daddy to get my car...

The bus dropped us off at the corner of Heritage...

What a truly mortal combat, angels...

9:29 am

It can be like this??? Daddy,where are you... My legs are cramping in the bus....

8:50 pm

Going home, in the Bus now... It is really a murderous day today inside the training room.

The activity is truly a killer... A nerve pain and a truly brain shake for everyone...

Our account is the hardest account,angels... A pain in your brain nerves. There will be probably or what if on the activity today...

Hmm... I wonder if the 2 tomboys, most specially that Jovie the Team Leader if nice or not... I'm not saying it is, it is or for sure.... This is just probably that someone can control again the article number on the system, coz awhile ago I encountered that the article number in the system is changing... I even told this to Sho but he said it is not changing... But it can be or possible...

10:30 pm

I'm in the house now... Feeding Neko... Will eat dinner...

Again, I will not go back to my past, I just wanna say "For Old Time Sake"... Just back me up coz of the windblow but going back together, as friends but more than that, it is not my plan now coz I'm thinking a different penis... It's been 17 or more or 20 years ago ....

Hoping, I can meet Daddy but not an old Daddy but a new positive Daddy.. Handsome, gentle,sweet, loving and super sensitive...

Whew! I still need to keep the job and I badly need money!!! Hmm... It is just sad to be alone but I want someone who will be fitted with my point of view about everything ...

#Youtube

[tenth-sentence]

The second lesson of the Blitz is that we're groupish animals.

"Humankind: A Hopeful History" - Rutger Bregman

#book quote #humankind #rutger bregman #nonfiction #the blitz #ww2 #wwii #world war 2 #world war ii #world war two #second world war #social animals

[13thsinnr]

if you dont have all the stuff by halloween it'll be okay! you can always dress up at a later date, have a late halloween party or something. you could wear the costume during other holidays as well for funsies

yea,.. but i have a sort of groupish cosplay thing so i feel bad not having it and like im defnitely gonna wear it again but. i just. i love halloween and i feel so sad i didnt order sooner just cause i was too afraid to ask

[quadrantpamphlet]

The Nature of Each Quadrant

First Quadrant- Weird, small, non physical, ethereal, mental, mind, wants to belong, feminine, spiritual, scientific, wants to find the self- gullible- naive, smart, uses flowery language, idealistic

Third Quadrant- Cool, bad, physical, action, activity, movement, destruction, violent, aggressive, masculine, artistic, individualistic, ego oriented, solid, realistic, rational, interpersonal

Second Quadrant- Normal, groupish, community, social, homeostasis, maintenance, sustaining, conformity, complacency, belongs, religious, practical, family oriented, grounded

Fourth Quadrant- Transcendent, divine, death, bad, strange, abstract, philosophical, mental and physical, Transcends yet includes the previous three- sometimes seems to not exist/absent- recalcitrant- unacknowledged- nothing- alone

Fifth Quadrant -God- Divine- Excess- Too Much- Questionable- Being- Truth- History

The Four stages of Consciousness

Instinctual, self not yet found

Rational, interpersonal, individualistic, ego oriented

Religious, magical, mythical, group oriented

Trans rational, transpersonal, philosophical, abstract

God Consciousness- Total Consciousness- Truth Consciousness

The Quadrant Model of Consciousness

First Quadrant Sensation

Third Quadrant Response

Ninth Quadrant Thinking

Eleventh Quadrant Doing

Second Quadrant Perception

Fourth Quadrant Awareness

Tenth Quadrant Emotion

Twelfth Quadrant Dreaming

Fifth Quadrant Belief

Seventh Quadrant Behavior

Thirteenth Quadrant Contemplation

Fifteenth Quadrant Flowing

Sixth Quadrant Faith

Eighth Quadrant Belonging

Fourteenth Quadrant Passion

Sixteenth QuadrantKnowing

Being

Non Being

Becoming

The quadrant model pattern is the overarching blueprint of existence. The quadrant pattern resides in all things, in all domains. Existence is centered around the quadrant model. The pattern is dominant in the Universe and pervades everything. The quadrant pattern is the foundation of reality. Every domain and sphere you analyze, you will find this pattern is supreme. Reality is sort of a holo-fractal based around the quadrant model. No matter how far you zoom out, or how much you shrink in, or how wide you extend your perspective, or how much you narrow it, one pattern is dominant and expresses itself absolutely everywhere. The quadrant theory demonstrates that our existence is supernaturally derived, and is oriented around one simple quadrant template. Reality is essentially a quadrant model matrix. The quadrant model validates what the mystics have said for centuries, that everything is one. But the quadrant model also demonstrates simultaneous oneness and differentiation, unity and gradation. The quadrant model shows that behind division is an underlying unity. The quadrant is the form of existence. The quadrant reveals itself in all provinces as preeminent.

Aristotle said that reality is made up of four elements

Quadrant 1- Air. The first quadrant is always the most non-physical. It is ethereal. Also the first quadrant tends to be the most mental.

Quadrant 2 is water. Water is a sort of intermediate between the non physical and the physical. The second quadrant is related to homeostasis and structure and order. The second quadrant is associated with organization. The second quadrant also has a quality of being seen as “good”. The first and second quadrants are “good”.

Quadrant 3 is earth. The third quadrant is always the most physical. The third quadrant has the quality of being seen as bad. For instance, many of the world religions denigrate physicality, and they consecrate the “mental/spiritual”. The third quadrant is action oriented. It is activity

Quadrant 4 is fire. Aristotle said that fire is much different than the other three elements. He said the first three elements are almost like one, but fire is like an element unto itself. It doesn’t fit in with the other three. When you get into the fourth quadrant, you are sort of entering into a new dimension. But the fourth quadrant often transcends, yet includes qualities of the previous three elements. Fire is ethereal like air, it flows like water, and it also maintains a form like earth. The fourth quadrant, like the third quadrant, also tends to be seen as sort of negative and “bad”. Fire is pretty destructive.

Quadrant 5 is actually a new quadrant. Once you enter quadrant five you are in a completely new domain. Quadrant five is excess. The Aztecs said that the number five represents excess. Alcohol is a substance that can easily be used to excess, so the Aztecs had five deities connected to alcohol.

Aristotle said that aether is the fifth element. Aristotle described that air is hot and wet, water is cold and wet, earth is cold and dry, and fire is hot and dry. But Aristotle stated that the aether is hot, cold, wet, and dry. The fourth quadrant is always transcendent, but the fifth quadrant is ultra transcendent.

The fifth quadrant is also divine. The fifth quadrant is God. Aristotle said that the stars are made up of aether. Every culture in the world saw the stars as divine. Every culture saw the stars as their main deities.

The fifth quadrant is God, but the fifth quadrant is also questionable. People question if there is a God. In terms of the four forces of physics, the fifth force, quintessential force, is questionable. Physicists are not sure if it exists. Many physicists think it exists, but it is questionable if it does. The fourth quadrant is transcendent. The fifth quadrant is ultra transcendent.

Also, the fourth quadrant always indicates the nature of the fifth quadrant. For instance, fire is similar to Aether. Both are extraordinary and sort of have a divine quality. The fourth quadrant and the fifth quadrant are divine, and represent a sort of transcendence of the first three quadrants which are more normal.

Aristotle’s four elements

Air- hot and wet

Earth- cold and dry

Water- cold and wet

Fire- hot and dry

Aether- hot cold wet and dry

The Hindus worship the AUM. The Mandukya Upanishad says that the AUM is the supreme God. According to the Mandukya Upanishad the AUM is a fourfold sound. The A is the god Brahma and is creation. The first quadrant is characteristically the most non physical. Creation implies the least physicality. A is the first quadrant. The U is the God Vishnu. Vishnu is the “sustainer”. The second quadrant is linked with homeostasis and maintenance. Vishnu is the preserver God. The M is Shiva. Shiva is the destroyer God. The third quadrant has the quality of being “bad”. It is action/doing. A lot of times religions denigrate “activity”, and they uphold “stillness”, and the mental. The third quadrant is always seen as bad. The Mandukya Upanishad also says there is a fourth component of the AUM, a silence that engulfs the first three quadrants. The fourth quadrant is always transcendent, and different than the other three, but also tends to absorb the other three. It often has qualities of the first three quadrants, but goes beyond them in such a way that it is much different from them and does not seem to belong with them.

Hindu Aum

A- Brahma- creator

M- Shiva- destroyer

U- Vishnu- sustainer

Silence

[ohimesama]

10.11.22 Tuesday

12:37 am

Still,having the windblow trap...Weird! I feel super tired probably stress...

I wanna leave the hometown....I feel bitter...

12:53 am

Goood Morning & Night...

1:39 am

My favorite pianist these days, "Potsu"...

7:57 am

Uncle Jun is already up,feeding Neko and bathing her today....

9:22 am

Uncle Jun is doing his tik-tokings now and he also showered his dog Lalah...

I still have the windblow trap of Manalo's cultish group... So,thicked face, planning to make and waited for me to be ugly... Even the people on TV...

They hated me!

They hated me if I'm relax and pretty!

4:13 pm

Still,having the windblow trap...I feel bad... But hoping that I sealed a deal... Hmm...Hmm...

Theory:

Why,you didn't you reach me....Coz you just wanna kill me right? Seeing me dead and stuck.... It makes you happy!!!

Family is a family but friends are Friends! It is a good link but sometimes we need to put some boundaries if some situation is blurry...

8:05 pm

I still have the windblow trap... I hate this cultish groupish of Manalo, want them dead,angels plus some mixed people recruited even here in Cavite...

#Youtube

[arasokanbina]

Wow! This was so much better than O.O!

A playful cheeky magical wonderland!

With O.O the sharp mix didn't bother me (yes on first listen I was concerned like everyone lol) as much and I especially like Tank. But what I and mostly everyone disliked was the not cute plagrism. It was TOO on the nose which made it super scummy considering that they can easily get away with them being Big 3 JYPE.

But for me seeing as Tank was alongside O.O it showed me the that they actually did have a plan for nmixx despite the controversial start they really didn't need in any way.

And this plan was important for me to feel confident for the members longevity, especially since they're SO talented I was anxious the girls were put together with a polarising concept just because they are so talented they was using that as a defense against any backlash and because they're JYPE. It's the whole just because you can doesn't mean you should type of situation.

Anyway the plan I mean of nmixx being a mix sound group, kinda like a DJ as a concept. Which can go badly if not done right. It's like so you're being a mix as a concept but kpop does this anyway from innocent inspiration to lazy cheap stealing, so you're being that in our face like that! Kpop fans nowadays will cancel a random person online if they mention one member has a sumualr hair colour lol, not the right environment for play plus it's just not nice. Yes we live in a world that is 'out of originality' (blah blah zzz) but you can 8 times out of 10 tell the intention behind different mediums. Example Red Velvet Feel my Rhythm, unique original but heavily inspired. It's like commentary and parody media, take from something and make it transformative.

Mentioning Red Velvet I can see them as their main similarity here, specifically ZIMZILABIM. But rather than a trippy and whimsical circus funfaire, it's a playful cheeky magical Wonderland which of course is inspired a lot by Alice in Wonderland. Which I absolutely adore! The sound of the song is like a split between TWICE and ITZY, except for the mix part which is my favourite part that sounds a bit more boy groupish, maybe an SM style.

The mix change here was a lot smoother on the ears and I think many will be able to digest it more and see it as a full song. I'm also hoping their B Sides and future title tracks will sound more sturdy since I feel they'll come across as gimmicky, boring (if they keep doing the same formula) and perhaps if they do change concept to a more 'typical' sound that they'll look like flakey attention seekers with no identity except to get attention anyway possible. Which is sad and the girls definitely don't deserve that punishment for lazy management. And even when concepts do change (not overall concept of DJ sound) I hope their direction is strong so they and the music can shine like they deserve!

Speaking of management since this was so much better compared to their debut, I'm thinking the people in charge of that situation where told to rectify it as they didn't get a good reaction, everyone was side eyeing nmixx's debut for one reason or another! And sometimes bad press really does damage! But it seems they (even if preplanned) buckled up, and gave the girls what they deserve for DICE!

Nmixx also give me that feeling Miss A gave me with Breathe before they went sexy sensual route (which was still great) this is what made me fall in love with Miss A. Damn I miss them, they was treated so poorly wah!

I still wish that O.O's splits where made into full songs as bsidds that would be really cool! And what would also be cool is if they mix their own songs in the future! Now that would be exicitng! I also still wish that Tank was a full MV, they gave us those cool shots for nothing dammit! It's a crime!

🗒Notes:As usual I might add more later and there is probably some spelling and grammar mistakes. This was a huge ramble but I think it was because I had thoughts I didn't know I had left unsaid before haha!

Anyway DICE is great! It is pretty cheeky with how they rolled the dice with their debut and sound but it's actually cute this time around! I am sad that Lily got like 2 seconds of screen time and once again Jiwoo basically got none. I really hope it improves or that they'll go the ITZY route and focus one member per MV but with more members I want them to space each member out more as it seems more unlikely that they'll stick to fairness.

Their second song COOL (Your Rainbow), is so good! It's not hectic like Tank and shows their girly dreamy side and softer vocals. I also love the gamey type of royalty sounds! It's a super cute, dreamy regal song! I love it! A lighter ballad! I wish I knew Korean just to sing along hehe!

#my comment #Nmixx dice #long post #kpop opinions #Youtube

[neilmach]

Are humans anthropoidal honeybees? Here's why some people are drawn to fringe theories, superstitions, pseudoscience + supernaturalism

Are humans anthropoidal honeybees? Here’s why some people are drawn to fringe theories, superstitions, pseudoscience + supernaturalism

Have you ever seen a swarm? It’s a simple question and I ask it because some people have never seen one. If you have lived your entire life in the city, it is unlikely that you have witnessed this amazing spring phenomenon. When I was a teenager I lived on the North Downs in England and so I have seen quite a few swarms for myself. And they can be very frightening. If you didn’t know, honeybee…

View On WordPress

#are humans bee like? #are humans bees? #author neil mach #beekeeper #ever wanted to fly away? #groupish #Jonathan Haidt #neilmach #Pseudoscience #supernaturalism #swarm mentality #The Righteous Mind #what is a hive mind #what is swarm mentality? #why are people drawn to supernaturalism? #why do people believe fringe theories #why do we swarm

[raredrop]

Cake pops getting ready for their comeback!

#cookie run #i feel like theyre means we're getting a group but we'll see! #i mean the name feels very groupish and most kpop based events in games are groups

[luxe-pauvre]

Take the certainty of our political views. In his earlier book The Righteous Mind, Jonathan Haidt set out a compelling idea that differing moral ‘tastebuds’ correspond with how we identify politically. An increased sensitivity to threat, for example, has been identified as a classic right-wing typifier. If we are part of a group that has that sort of sensitivity, then we are likely to sanctify certain objects or ideas, to grant special status to symbols that might help marshal everyone against outside threat. Such figurative consecrations – such as that of one’s national flag, the monarchy, or a particular religious idea – amount to ways of keeping the group strong. These charged images help everyone call upon a shared fiction when they need to conjure a Herculean, ‘groupish’ mindset in the face of the enemy. Such measures also help preserve the status quo. From such ‘conservation’ we of course draw the word ‘Conservative’. On the other hand, the Left’s own particularly sensitive tastebud – and therefore a powerful trigger point when it comes to liberal rhetoric – is that of compassion for the weak. Traditionally among the Left there is little or no emphasis on symbols of authority and preserving the social order; in fact characteristically there is a progressive urge to overturn such things. Developing this distinction, Haidt demonstrates that our political leanings may well be traceable in large part to a genetic predisposition to seek out or avoid new experiences. This in-built personal proneness then acts like a ‘first draft’, before it meets a world which will encourage or frustrate it in a myriad of ways.

Derren Brown, A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

#Derren Brown #A Book of Secrets: Finding Solace in a Stubborn World

[ghostshaarkmoved]

mutuals as parts/members of a family? (like mom, dad, brother, aunt, etc.)

hmmm idk i deadass didnt have many ideas except for

@jask-jaskier-jaskiest as mom. obviously

thats it thank u for the ask

#sorry im bad with ones that are vague and also more groupish idk why #asks #anon

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

7:52 am Sunday

Uncle Jun is still here... He washed his clothes yesterday, early night... I don't know if he will go to Georgia'Z forest...

Me? Drinking my first cup of coffee and still having windblow trap... I feel frustrated and I feel ugly and fat...

I wanted to leave the hometown and I wanna have some new added friends (men most specially) I wanna have aliens friends who looks like Ken the barbie doll... I miss being with my some of my good old friends, I miss being in the center...

I still wanna see donkey and camel.... I wanna leave the hometown...

I have pelvic pain and more pain coz I can't poops and waiting for it... Oh! Need to drink laxative tea or whatever...

9:04 am

I still have the windblow trap... I feel like I have soul interference now and that soul is sleepy head... Strange feeling, I feel like a teenager but I'm already on my 40's.... But I want to be young and I feel hopeless coz I wanted to be center of my friends and some alien friends... But I know I have sanity compared to biological mother and GeorgiaZ crazy groupish here in Cavitish...

I feel bad having "deep smile lines"...

I hate ugly friends and I want to do my collagen shots... Will explain those ugly people later, angels...

I feel bitterish... I miss being carried by my friends like my exes... But I want some aliens now... I miss having attention....I feel bitterish...

Getting older for nothing? Bullshit! People who damaged my image shouldn't stop carrying the heavy loads,angels...

9:32 am

Just got free rice from 12R for now... But will be paying it...Coz Uncle DD is handling the fundings not yet answering....

It is so good to gain new friends who can assist you in times of emergency case....

I still wanna leave the hometown and I need a job and I still wanna buy starbucks everyday... Don't wanna commute that far here, angels...

10:53 am

What about my "deep smile lines"...

In the Nutshell:

Define ugly friends? Back-stabbing of words behind you....Some are ugly face but even pretty if they back-stabbed you or doing a "consipiracy plan", it is so UGLY!.

One phrase of saying negative things about a friend or a kind of being judgemental is UGLY!

Over-protecting a friend to the point that you sleep on my bf or men that I like or stepping-on on your friend's she-ego is super dooper UGLY!

2:11 pm

I feel bitter and self-pity...I want to remove this "deep smile lines" and I need a collagen shots, angels...

I feel hurt for 16 years and be older for nothing... I need money and job but I don't wanna commute that far...I wanna be with Ken the barbie man...

7:44 pm

Uncle Jun is already here around 7:35 pm...

Still, have the windblow trap and these some bad monkeyaZ who interfered on me since 2007, I don't know what are they thinking? They just damaged me angels... I'm stuck for nothing...I feel fat and ugly...

Done,stretching my sciatica/ priformis and I execrised my legs today... I feel so frustrated here in my family and here in this demonic Cavite coz I can't have a good life since some bad FilipiNOSE are observing me and judging me and worst trapping me unfairly....

This Uncle DD will not react on our text here if we don't have any ugly situation here... I wonder why... That was and probably his pattern....Coz he is handling the fundings for here basically food and bills, that suppossed to be including my body shops toiletries and other stuff that originally I had... My memory came back and they just aborted me for nth times...

You can't blame me angels, I wanted to leave the hometown...I wanna have money and wanna buy starbucks everyday...Things that I wanna do like seeing donkey and camels or go to the dream land... My deep smile lines are here for nothing..

Totally unfair they stole my 16 years and for nothing... Whoever alien that will save me it will be a blessing for me, hoping for a barbie and wonderful soul...

9:51 pm

Done, eating dinner with John... Done, brushing his teeth using his "SPLAT ICE CREAM" toothpaste and his breath really smells like a candy ice cream...

Relax and a lil while will take my shower...

Oh! I need collagen shots on my feet and vagina'Z... I'm not kidding....Plus, I have deep smile lines... I want someone supportive...

I feel self-pity... Will be 42 in a lil while.. I need a job and money and brand new life...

10:14 pm

Will drink my laxative tea... I feel fat and ugly....I feel irritated,I have windblow trap and I want a collagen shots ....ARGH!!! I feel irritated! You feel like kicking someone on the face coz I lost my beauty now... I have insecurities now on my feet, my deep smile lines, my 41 years old vagina... NO AC! Skin mapping on the butt... Grrr!

10:56 pm

Finishing my tea and irritating windblow trap...

I'm self-pitying.... I want a barbie guy who can lift and fix me...

I feel bitterish... Aging for nothing... Sleeping for aging and no future...

I want an alien group who will make me feel special and be the Queenish! I feel bitter....They took away my life here since 2007!

[yieldfruit]

Be Gentle So That God May Grant Repentance

Paul writes to Timothy, encouraging him and explaining how Timothy ought to defend his flock against false teachers (2 Tim 2:14–19). Two particularly troublesome men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, had wrongly claimed that the resurrection already happened (2 Tim 2:18).

His advice to Timothy, however, is somewhat counter-cultural for us today. Paul tells Timothy to pursue virtue, gentleness, and patience so that God may grant Timothy’s opponents repentance.

Here is what Paul says:

“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will” (2 Tim 2:22–26).

One reason why we correct our opponents with gentleness is so that God may grant them repentance. The converse, treating our opponents un-gently, may rob someone of the opportunity for repentance.

And that’s not the mind of Christ: “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?” (Ezek 18:23)

And

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet 3:9).

And

“God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Rom 2:4).

And

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).

God desires all people to come to repentance. Since he loves all people, he came into the world to save all of us (John 3:16). And he showed his blessed kindness to all so that we might repent and believe in him. Instead of fighting back, he allowed himself to be led like a lamb to the slaughter. He died for sinners because he loved us even in our weak and sinful state.

That’s what love looks like.

God’s Countercultural Command: Gentleness

In our contemporary world, Political discourse and cultural norms have created an atmosphere where vicious, groupish attacks are the norm. Some Christians have adopted this pagan mindset, assuming that the meaner and stronger they are, the more orthodox they are—the more faithful.

Sometimes we call this cage-stage Calvinism, and it represents one rung on the ladder of our ascent to holiness. And while the problem seems domesticated because we have named it and collectively eye roll when we see it, it nevertheless represents a morally evil, pagan philosophy that may prevent someone the opportunity for repentance.

So while we ought to be patient with our cage-stage friends (I was there too, mea culpa!), we should also be clear that mean-spirited, ungentle behaviour does not match the biblical idiom for how we ought to treat our opponents.

Certainly, Paul warns his congregations with strong words. Yet as a general pattern, when he advised direct interaction with opponents, he instructs us to be gentle. The reason for our strong language against opponents seems mainly for the benefit of the flock who need the warning. But the kind of speech we use in direct conversation with opponents seems to be gentleness.

Even if that particular argument is not convincing, Paul does tell Timothy to be gentle in the context of unfaithful teachers who have claimed the resurrection did not happen (2 Tim 2). So something is happening here!

Besides, it’s much easier to mimic the anger of the world than it is of God. Hence, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). So the clap-back culture of today’s groupish and debased political discourse should never infest the minds of Christians.

Instead, we need the mind of Christ, that gentle desire for the repentance of all. May it lay seed in our minds by the Holy Spirit and flourish into a flower of love. - Wyatt Graham

#gentleness #repentance

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I am alone again and I want to be so; alone with the pure sky and open sea.

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Humans have long stigmatised solitude. It has been considered an inconvenience, something to avoid, a punishment, a realm of loners. Science has often aligned it with negative outcomes. Freud, who linked solitude with anxiety, noted that, “in children the first phobias relating to situations are those of darkness and solitude.” Some modern social neuroscientists who have studied loneliness have contended that, beyond damaging our thinking powers, isolation can even harm our physical health. But increasingly scientists and philosophers are approaching solitude as something that, when pursued by choice, can prove therapeutic.

This is especially true in times of personal turbulence, when the instinct is often for people to reach outside of themselves for support. Sociological research has shown that when people are experiencing crisis it’s not always just about them: It’s about how they are in society. When people take these moments to explore their solitude, not only will they be forced to confront who they are, they just might learn a little bit about how to out-maneuver some of the toxicity that surrounds them in a social setting.

In other words, when people remove themselves from the social context of their lives, they are better able to see how they’re shaped by that context. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and writer who spent years alone, held a similar notion. “We cannot see things in perspective until we cease to hug them to our bosom,” he writes in Thoughts in Solitude.

Much of this self-reconfiguring happens through “existentialising moments,” mental flickers of clarity which can occur during inward-focused solitude. One sociologist, Jack Fong, developed this idea from the late German-American sociologist Kurt Wolff’s “surrender and catch” theory of personal epiphany. “When you have these moments, don't fight it. Accept it for what it is. Let it emerge calmly and truthfully and don't resist it,” Fong says. “Your alone time should not be something that you're afraid of.”

Yet, at the same time, it is not only about being alone. It’s a deeper internal process. Productive solitude requires internal exploration, a kind of labour which can be uncomfortable, even excruciating. It might take a little bit of work before it turns into a pleasant experience. But once it does it becomes maybe the most important relationship anybody ever has, the relationship you have with oneself.

Yet today, in our hyper-connected society, solitude is more devalued than it has been in a long time.

A recent study at the University of Virginia in which several participants - a quarter of the women and two-thirds of the men - chose to subject themselves to electric shock rather than be alone with their thoughts.

And even though many great thinkers have championed the intellectual and spiritual benefits of solitude - Lao Tzu, Moses, Nietzsche, Emerson, Woolf (“How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table”) -  many modern humans seem determined on avoiding it. Every time we have a chance to go running we plug in our headphones to stave off boredom.

This is not to say that true solitude necessarily requires an absence of stimuli. Rather, the value of solitude depends on whether an individual can find an interior solitude within themselves. Everyone is different in that regard of course. Some people can go for a walk or listen to music and feel that they are deeply in touch with themselves. Others cannot.

Generally our mistrust of solitude has consequences. For one, we’ve become a more groupish society,”

In their book, A Dangerous Place to Be: Identity, Conflict, and Trauma in Higher Education, psychoanalysts Matthew Bowker and David Levine trace a line between the devaluing of solitude and the ongoing ideological conflicts afflicting college campuses. They write, “We’re drawn to identity-markers and to groups that help us define [ourselves]. In the simplest terms, this means using others to fill out our identities, rather than relying on something internal, something that comes from within,” They go on to say. “Separating from the group, we would argue, is one thing that universities should be facilitating more.”

That is where solitude comes in. Such a separation requires the capacity to be alone. This is key to Bowker and Levine’s idea of solitude as self-strengthening. They argue that a person who can find a rich self-experience in a solitary state is far less likely to feel lonely when alone.

There is a catch to all of this: For solitude to be beneficial, certain preconditions must be met. Solitude can be productive only: if it is voluntary, if one can regulate one’s emotions “effectively,” if one can join a social group when desired, and if one can maintain positive relationships outside of it.

When such conditions aren’t met, yes, solitude can be harmful.

Consider the hikikomori phenomenon in Japan, where hundreds of thousands of depressed or troubled young people quarter themselves away, sometimes for years, often requiring extensive reintegration therapy to move on. The difference between solitude as rejuvenation and solitude as suffering is the quality of self-reflection that one can generate while in it, and the ability to come back to social groups when one wants to.

When preconditions are met, solitude can be restorative. For a few Japanese friends, who meditate 15 minutes a day and take monthly solo camping trips, it is at least as essential as exercise or healthy eating. Possibly, they say, it is necessary for a truly healthy mind. One said, “It really lifts you out of problems. It really, really has a powerful function for making you understand your predicament in this universe.”

Yet, because the study of solitude as a positive force is new, it’s hard to speak in precise scientific terms about it: We don’t know what the ideal amount is, for instance, or even if there is one. Most likely, such measures are different for everybody. But researchers recommended taking it where you can get it, by meditating, taking solo walks or going on camping trips alone, driving in silence. The point is to be away from social interaction and looking inward.

#nietzsche #quote #philosophy #solitude #life #alone #nature #outdoors #icon #psychoanalysis #freud

[vorthosjay]

Given Magic's modern development of the color pie as well as good storytelling devices for a conflict, would a retelling of the Brother's War of Urza vs. Mishra (think like a reboot for the movies) make more sense if the two brothers had Blue in them for Artifacts, but represented a Black vs. White, Selfish vs. Groupish, showdown, so Urza as Bant and Mishra as Grixis. But you'd have to make Urza less of a jerk.

I can’t see Urza as Bant. I genuinely dislike that Urza is considered part green later in life.

Note: Urza was described as mono-white in the early Magic novels.