Posted by lil' jimi on September 6, 2003, at 5:54:12
In reply to Re: H.H. the Dalai Lama » lil' jimi, posted by Tabitha on September 5, 2003, at 15:18:07
hi Tabitha,
> Another interesting article. Thanks Jimi. >
my pleasure ... glad you enjoyed it.
> That stuff about the 'emotional set point', does that mean us anxious/depressive types can just give up trying to be happier? You know, like folks with a little weight problem can just stop dieting and accept their natural state? Ahh, wouldn't that be a relief. >
my interpretation, and i have only seen what you have seen in this article about this research, is that davidson's work suggests we each would have a setting or a point to which our emotional balance is set, perhaps analogously to the way an air conditioning system has a control thermosat which can be set to particular temperature settings ... as if some of us are set too hot and some set to cool ...
... (no mention was suggested of adversity from being too far to the left ... interesting) ...i would interpret this set point as a predilection of our biology, which does not change itself from major trauma(s), apparently ...
... but davidson tells us that it can be adjusted with meditative efforts... ... one wants to see double-blind clinical trails of randomly selected individuals from a group of depressed patients comparing davidson's mindfulness traing meditators to non-meditators who are encouraged to just quietly sit and think about adjusting one's emotional set point
... ... ... "To the left!
... ... ... To the left!
... ... ... to the LEFT!!
.... to THE LEFT !!
.... .... LEFT !!!! ... LLEEFFFTT!!!!" ...... (sorry 'bout that )
... ( ... oh, not really ... ... !)> But then... that stuff about mindfulness training makes me think.. just a little more work, keep working, work, work, work, happiness is out there... work work work. Ugh. >
well, i'm up for the mindfulness training, work or no work, but that's me ... and i'm a buddhist ...
... (for our friends out there ... who have heard me making much of me and this buddhism i'm into ... ... don't take me too seriously, please ... ... i'm at least twice (?) as into buddhism since i've been on lexapro, than i was before i started lexapro ... ... that's _my_ "neurotheology" for you .... .... draw your own conclusions and please? ... share them with us ... would you?)
okay, i'm trying to be a buddhist ... and mindfulness is one of the Folds of the Eightfold Path ... ... so that's an instant sell to every buddhist because each of the Folds of the 8fold Path are ...
... they're like merit badges where you collect all eight of them and you get enlightened ...
... HA!
... (since we're at Social, i can be trivializing the sacred insights without being sacrilegious ... well, i am being sacrilegious, but in a good way ! ... maybe) ... where was i ?Mindfulness
... oh, yeah ... mindfulness ... yeah
... so, davidson's selling tickets to one eighth of the way to NIRVANA !!!
... <calm down! chant that buddhist thing, man!>
... i'm calm ... i'm calm!... sorry, sorry ... i get ... carried away ... sometimes ... ... it's the lex talking .... sorry there ... ... HA!
anyway, i figure i can't really go into the Eightfold Path without schooching us back on over to Faith ... ... or dare to bring on the Wrath of the really-not-so-wrathful Powers of ReDirection ...
... but your comment did make me recall Warren Zevon's ol' chestnut, (which you may not treasure from your childhood as i do ... you may!) which goes:
"Sweat and Muscle and Jungle Work !"
"Sweat and Muscle and Jungle Work !"
"Sweat and Muscle and Jungle Work !"
... then there's something about "battle in hell ... " ? ... ... but i digress... anyway, if i going to have to meditate ...
(Oh, Yeah! ... _Meditation_ is another of the sacred Folds! ... maybe we get to get a FOURTH of the Way to nirvana! ... WahROOOOOOOO !<uh, "werewolves of london"?>)
... anyway! ... if i have to meditate some AND i get to get off med (i only take lex) and be kinda sorta pretty like happy-ish ... ... sounds like a bargain to me!
... which in no way, except directly, brings me to my next point:
What IS this deal with ekman's research into these "micro facial expressions" ??
is this spooky to anybody else beside me ?
and
we are supposed to learn to see these and control them ??
did i get _that_ right?is ekman just trying to freak me out here? ... c'mon!
anybody got a line on this one ... please, let me hear from you ...bliss,
~ jimp.s.
uh, the other 6 folds? (they're like 'aspects')
besides mindfulness and
meditation (aka "concentration") are
views
intentions
speech
action
livelihood
effort
...
you just put the word "Right" in front of each one ... that's the 8fold Path... ~ j
poster:lil' jimi
thread:256893
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030829/msgs/257528.html