A shift in my worldview

[tweaknmod]

I used to think things were hopeless, and that everyone was just kinda waiting things out until the end. I had no idea how wrong I was.


There are those who are not only keeping hope and culture alive, but they’re actively improving it every single day. If we’re busy scrolling socials and watching the news, we’re not gonna to see it.


I’m a firm believer in the idea of “your focus determines your reality” (Qui Gon Jin), where one pays attention to what they’re paying attention to, to put it simply. There are a thousand things happening around me in each moment, but I only really experience a small few - it’s the same on a larger, life scale, if you make an effort.

Once I stopped watching the news, and started simply staying informed, I started to see a lot of hope and love all around me. Yes, the hate is still there, but I’ve learned to move it to the background of my life - or the periphery, at least.


As I alluded to, I think the same type of argument could be made for reducing social media, which I did over the past good few years. I don’t know think I can consider myself fully out of that world - nor do I advocate for that - but I certainly don’t focus on it as much as I used to.


And all of these shifts in my focus have had major effects on my worldview and mental health. I don’t think I’ve ever bee happier - or more aware of the world around me, in an odd way…

[since I'm not on Reddit anymore, I'm regurgitating this mind junk here, lol]

 

[Apple fanboy]

Reducing social media benefits everyone’s mental health. I never joined FB, Twitter or Reddit.
I don’t watch the news either. I just read some stories online.
But generally I find the whole internet is generally polarised. Most comments are very pro or anti whatever is being discussed. No room for middle ground thinking.

 

[Bodhitree]

It’s absolutely true that there is much more that we do not need to know, than what we do need to know. I ended up distancing myself from news and social media some years ago much to the benefit of my mental health, I read one official news site daily to keep track of the essentials, and for the rest it’s a few carefully chosen forums and a little WhatsApp with friends and loved ones. I recommend this approach thoroughly.

 

[eyoungren]

I left Facebook in January 2017 after I used a browser extension to delete everything I had on my wall. I then found a link to actually delete my account and not just archive it.

I did that because I hold certain beliefs and family members and a lot of people I knew hold certain other beliefs that oppose each other and FB was becoming an echo chamber. Everyone was in their own camps and it was all shouting (I'm right and I'm never wrong!) so I left that. I had never wanted to be there to begin with, a friend asked me to join.

I have always been on specific forums since 2000. These specific forums cover certain interests I have and really MacRumors is just about the only forum where I've tried to expand in to other subforums. I'm on Reddit, generally just one specific subreddit related to my cellphone carrier.

And I am NOT leaving. Since 1984, a modem and a computer has provided this rural kid with no local friends access to the world. I'm Gen-X, a latchkey kid who got my first housekey at 12 and basically fended for myself alone. I WILL find a way to plug in so I am not alone. In the 1980s that was leaving the television news on so at least there was other voices in the house and I could see the world going on outside. In 1984, it was Bulletin Board Systems and in 2000 it became forums.

Today, I work from home, and the TV news is on all day and will continue to be on all day. I will continue to browse Flipboard and Google News and remain connected.

What you are doing, great. We all have different ways to handle things. As a Gen-Xer, I long ago learned how to ignore what I don't want to deal with. So, how I do this is to separate the world at large (what I see and hear on the news) from my local environment. Some people are still jerks, but if you're dealing with each person you come across as a person you'll find that most people are just…people.

The news is the news and that's out there in the world. The people you deal with daily are right there with you.

 

[Huntn]

I used to think things were hopeless, and that everyone was just kinda waiting things out until the end. I had no idea how wrong I was.


There are those who are not only keeping hope and culture alive, but they’re actively improving it every single day. If we’re busy scrolling socials and watching the news, we’re not gonna to see it.


I’m a firm believer in the idea of “your focus determines your reality” (Qui Gon Jin), where one pays attention to what they’re paying attention to, to put it simply. There are a thousand things happening around me in each moment, but I only really experience a small few - it’s the same on a larger, life scale, if you make an effort.

Once I stopped watching the news, and started simply staying informed, I started to see a lot of hope and love all around me. Yes, the hate is still there, but I’ve learned to move it to the background of my life - or the periphery, at least.


As I alluded to, I think the same type of argument could be made for reducing social media, which I did over the past good few years. I don’t know think I can consider myself fully out of that world - nor do I advocate for that - but I certainly don’t focus on it as much as I used to.


And all of these shifts in my focus have had major effects on my worldview and mental health. I don’t think I’ve ever bee happier - or more aware of the world around me, in an odd way…

[since I'm not on Reddit anymore, I'm regurgitating this mind junk here, lol]

Based on the rules of this forum, no debate please…
It‘s great for mental health to have a good world view, but I have to ask not in a critical way, are you better off being happy in your little bubble, oblivious to the bad things coming down the pike for the species, because collectively we cause these bad things in our reality, and for many/most(?), when bad news hits, they tend to discount it, minimize it, or call it a hoax, all designed to fool them or make them unhappy.

All the happy feelings may keep you happy, but if you're oblivious, you are just along for the ride, and it’s not until ugly reality sticks its nose in your face, and your security is upended, you will become alarmed, and then it could be too late.

But it could also be so what, in the end, who cares? We all end up dead after our short mortal lifespans. And so what if you kids only make it to 50? They are finished by 100 anyway. In the big picture what difference does it make? The actuality is that we are here, and how about not turning the Earth into a hell hole, which won’t be any fun.

I just realized that I might be making your argument, except we really don’t want to trash the Earth, and knowing about and doing somthing about it is in our best interest, yes? You might have to emerge from a happy bubble to deal with some of this?

Or Live your life as long as you can, do what you can in a happy state, and que sera for the rest. When it’s over, it’s over, but is it… over? I personally believe it is unwise and premature to make any judgments about the end as you think you know it, in a very ignorant state of existence. My opinion, observation, not an attack.

Now at this point, I’ll make a proposal, it starts with the term Earth Simulator. This is not something I’m trying to be funny about, but have conidered seriously. Ecen as a simulator, it’s not in our best interest to trash the Earth, because here is where we are stuck for the time being.

BTW, of which, I know I am real, ie experiencing this reality, but I actually don’t know about the rest of you. For all I know you could be little AI bots, everyone in my life could be figments designed to keep me entertained for this personal journey, that I don’t even know if signed up for.

Or we, some, or all of us could a bunch of same status “souls” for lack of a better term, experiencing the same reality as just a very small part of a larger journey. If every one ends up dead in the matter of a human lifetime, and that’s it, my opinion, is that there is no purpose or meaning. For a mili-second in the big time line, you were here, and then you are gone back to your normal state of non-existence. But are you

I say unlikely.
When the grey curtain of this world rolls back and all turns to silver green. And then you see it…
“See what, Gandalf?”
White shores and beyond a far green country under a swift sunrise.

So in summary of today’s non-religious sermon:

• You can choose to believe in Earth to Earth, 100 years if that of life, and then I’m done dust. A belief with zero personal purpose for yourself other than some far flung idea about having helped your species live their 100 years too. Big whoop.
• Or you can belief in the religious promotions surrounding you, but the problem there is that those forces tell you, your destiny has been figure out, here are the rules, threats, follow me, give me power, wealth and control and the good pace is yours. Ok, so there is some purpose being pushed there, but it’s usually based on punishment for not adhering to a single specific path.
• A better choice in my opinion, is you can believe in personal purpose that this mortal life is just a small part of a larger voyage, but you are in no position to determine specifics at this point. However, I’m talking real purpose, not dissimilar to what choice 2 offers, but minus the baggage, no threats, no obligation to adopt a particular dogma, the chance to grow, evolve, and have things in your life actually have lasting meaning to you in a much larger picture.

In the end, which is not the end, if choice 1or 2 is picked, we, at least those of us that are real, will benefit from door number 3 regardless. And thinking about the big journey can easily help you get though The Earth Simulator.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

How do I stay in the present moment when it feels unbearable?

At one point in my life, I was questioning whether or not existence was worth it. I was intensely depressed, anxious, angry and just overall ready to end it all...

With the help of my wife and family, I kept going and forced myself to find meaning for my being here. Then I discovered Alan Watts, Thich Nhat Hanh and Buddhism.

I’m a firm believer in the idea of “your focus determines your reality” (Qui Gon Jin), where one pays attention to what they’re paying attention to, to put it simply. There are a thousand things happening around me in each moment, but I only really experience a small few - it’s the same on a larger, life scale, if you make an effort.

Not only do you get major kudos points for using a Qui-Gon Jin quote but you are incredibly wise to heed his teachings. I too found myself getting wrapped up in the current events and the never ending cycle of "Bad to worse to even worse". It's easy to just get sucked in and go down the never ending rabbit hole.

Focusing on the single, solitary present moment is all any of us can do. We cannot change the past (but we can and SHOULD learn from it if mistakes were made) and tomorrow is never guaranteed for anyone. Buddhism has taught me that trying to control the outcome of tomorrow will make today miserable and while it's still a struggle for me sometimes, I've learned that staying in the moment, relishing and enjoying everything it has to offer can have serene effects on my mental health.

As for staying on top of the news, I treat it like meditation. Read the headline (or article) and move on. It's normal to have positive or negative feelings towards anything you read but the important thing is to let it go and move on with your day instead of letting whatever you read eat at you. Too much of that can have a profound negative impact on you mentally and physically and it's important to take a step (or many steps) back and re-evaluate what is really important in your life.

All the happy feelings may keep you happy, but if you're oblivious, you are just along for the ride, and it’s not until ugly reality sticks its nose in your face, and your security is upended, you will become alarmed, and then it could be too late.

But it could also be so what, in the end, who cares? We all end up dead after our short mortal lifespans. And so what if you kids only make it to 50? They are finished by 100 anyway. In the big picture what difference does it make? The actuality is that we are here, and how about not turning the Earth into a hell hole, which won’t be any fun.

Ugly reality is still a part of life regardless of our view or perspective on things. The key is to remain happy in the moment and not let past mistakes or anxieties about the future sour our current mood. The idea of having security or "control" over certain aspects of life is the root of why we suffer in the first place. We believe in the delusion that we have control over anything in life when in reality, things will happen regardless if we want them to or not. But it's the idea of "I want <thing> to remain the same and never change because it brings me happiness" that causes us to get stressed out, nervous, depressed and anxious.

The thing to remember is that we, as individuals, are really only in control of one thing in life. Us. Ourselves. How we conduct ourselves in life. How we choose to view certain events in our lives. The entity which is "Me". Anything beyond that is for the universe to decide.

All that being said though, you hit the nail on the head Huntn. We all have an expiration date. Some of us exit this life sooner than others but all of us will leave this earth at one point or another. The method of our exit is also up for grabs as well. Car accident. Disease. Global Plague. Starvation. World ending asteroid. None of that is in our control and we kid ourselves into thinking that we are impervious from such things because the video games we play give us extra lives. Real life does not.

In short, enjoy life. Enjoy this very moment with every fiber of your being. Watch the sunrise. Take your dog for a walk in a park. Laugh with friends and family. Walk away from the toxic noise of the world and enjoy the good things that life can offer.

 

[sim667]

My view of the world vastly improved since I left reddit, and since the PRSI forum closed down here 😂

 

[rhett7660]

My view of the world vastly improved since I left reddit, and since the PRSI forum closed down here 😂

Agreed. So did mine.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Agreed. So did mine.

My view of the world is poorer than ever and I used to avoid PRSI and I’ve never used Reddit.
I think it’s just a reflection of the times!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I have worked in some of the most dysfunctional places on the planet, and one of the things I have learned (and this was a something I only learned from the experience of working in such dysfunctional and destroyed worlds) is not to take the small pleasures - not the big pleasures, but, the small pleasures - of my world for granted, but instead, to take the time - to actively take the time, to actively make the time - to appreciate and enjoy them, to revel in them. To savour them. To relish them. To take pleasure in them and from them.

That is, to take the time to appreciate, to make the time to appreciate, to enjoy, to relish, the small, everyday things in our own world - the fact that you can sip and savour a coffee in a café, you can go to a pub, or a theatre, a library, a restaurant, a bistro, a wine bar, a cinema, a shop, a museum, and you can stroll the streets, - and to take pleasure from the fact that these places exist and that you can enjoy them, appreciate them, in safety.

There are large parts of the world where you cannot enjoy such services at all, - for they do not exist - let alone enjoy them safely. A safe public space does not usually exist in war zones.

 

[tweaknmod]

I have worked in some of the most dysfunctional places on the planet, and one of the things I have learned (and this was a something I only learned from the experience of working in such dysfunctional and destroyed worlds) is not to take the small pleasures - not the big pleasures, but, the small pleasures - of my world for granted, but instead, to take the time - to actively take the time, to actively make the time - to appreciate and enjoy them, to revel in them. To savour them. To relish them. To take pleasure in them and from them.

That is, to take the time to appreciate, to make the time to appreciate, to enjoy, to relish, the small, everyday things in our own world - the fact that you can sip and savour a coffee in a café, you can go to a pub, or a theatre, a library, a restaurant, a bistro, a wine bar, a cinema, a shop, and you can stroll the streets, - and that these places exist and that you can do this in safety.

There are large parts of the world where you cannot enjoy such services at all, - for they do not exist - let alone enjoy them safely. A safe public space is not something that it is possible, or usual, to be able to enjoy in war zones.

That was honestly beautiful.

 

[Bodhitree]

Small pleasures, agreed. One of the things I enjoyed about living and working in England was Waterstones. Browsing bookshops has always been a pleasure of mine, and here in the Netherlands they are sporadically dotted over the landscape but there isn’t a large chain which is everywhere and has a reliably good selection. Where I live now there is just one bookshop, and it has very few books and lots of magazines.

I’ve had my brushes with depression in the past, but I found it has a lot to do with your view of the future. Most people don’t pay enough attention to their mental health, and don’t make changes to their lives for the sake of better living. They would rather take anti-depressant pills and continue with a lifestyle that is making them sick.

I was talking to a friend about his recent Ayahuasca experience, and he said it had shown him in no uncertain terms that his concerns, even the concerns of the human species and the planet Earth, were vanishingly small items in the vast canvas that was life in the universe. I take some comfort in that, that whatever we do here, life carries on, while I try to live a good life on a small scale.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

I was talking to a friend about his recent Ayahuasca experience, and he said it had shown him in no uncertain terms that his concerns, even the concerns of the human species and the planet Earth, were vanishingly small items in the vast canvas that was life in the universe. I take some comfort in that, that whatever we do here, life carries on, while I try to live a good life on a small scale.

A few months ago, I watched this video about this very topic and it really helped me with putting things into perspective of how seriously we take everything in life but yet, we are but a microscopic speck when compared to the rest of the universe. I often go back and watch it to remind myself of things when I'm depressed or anxious about things.