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All My Journal Packets (Files)

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
File #1: Writing Skill

Note to Reader: So many people complain over every little thing, and lack appreciation. That even includes my writing. I think my writing is good enough, and some people out there can't appreciate it, due to their unreasonably high standards. Having such a high standard is unfair, and I ask others to lower it. This is what I discuss in this packet.

There are also other important things you need to know about my writing. Also, if people can't read my material because they just don't have the time, I can understand that. But, if they're not reading it because they think it's poorly written, then they're just being plain unfair. One more thing. I don't care if this writing skill notice turns readers away, and makes them not want to read any more of my material, due to me putting blame on the reader.

If you're the type of reader with a high writing standard, then you'll be turned away by my level of writing skill anyway, which doesn't meet your standard. So, I might as well give you this notice before you leave. As for the types of people who'd accept my writing, they shouldn't be turned away by this writing skill notice. Instead, they'd read it, sympathize with me, and agree with it.

Writing Skill Note: Other people would complain that my writing is very poor and not worth reading. But, I don't want to be a skilled writer, since that's not my goal in life. I just want to share my worldview to mental health professionals, my family, and other people, since it's important they understand why my positive emotions are the only things that can make my life good, beautiful, and worth living.

I'm sharing my own personal arguments and my own personal life experience here, and I think that's important. Also, my spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. is fine for the most part. So, I think other people would be having too high of a writing standard if they refuse to read my packets. I mean, I could understand it if my packets were so horribly written that nobody could understand them. But, that's clearly not the case.

I shouldn't be treated as a student in an English class, handing in a poorly written essay, and scoffed at for my lack of 100% skill in writing. This is me as a struggling individual, sharing and expressing his personal views, and I should be treated as such. Other people should have the compassion and concern to read through my packets. If they can't, and said reason is justified, then I have no issue.

But, if they treat me as a student in an English class to be scoffed at, whose essays are not worth reading, then they're not being compassionate towards me and my predicament. Thus, they'd be a waste of time talking to. I clearly told these people I don't want to be a skilled writer, and they should understand that. So, rather than me meeting their high standards and expectations, they should instead lower their standards.

If I was a student in an English class, then, yes, I'd be expected to meet that teacher's standard of writing. I would not dare tell that teacher to lower his standards, to just accept my writing, and read through it all anyway. But, this is a different situation here, and that's why I expect other people to lower their writing standards and read through my packets.

Some people actually understood my writing quite well, and they said it was really good. They even said I'm a talented writer. So, I think it all depends on who you are, what standards you have, and what experience you've had. If you're someone who's read professionally written material his whole life, then you're very likely to have a higher standard.

You might find my writing very painful and incoherent to read. But, for someone who's used to reading average, everyday material written by family, friends, and people struggling, such as myself, your standards will be set lower. This will allow you to understand my writing much better, and my writing will appear above the average skill level.

Think of someone who's used to sleeping on the best beds, eating the best foods, and living in 1st class homes. This person will find it very unpleasant to sleep on an average bed, to eat average food, and to live in a low class home. But, for someone who's lived a low class life, he'll find the average lifestyle to be suitable or even better than he expected.

Here's one more example. If there was a son who played basketball and shot some hoops like an average player, that son might be a skilled player, according to the father's standard. But, according to the standard of a professional NBA player, that son would suck. I will say one last thing here to conclude this.

I have obsessive compulsive disorder, which means I might repeat things in my writing, drag things on much longer than they need to be, explain too much, say unnecessary things, etc. There are other flaws with my writing, too. Even though I've asked others to lower their standards and just accept my writing as it is, I'm willing to improve my writing.

If someone, who's a skilled writer, helps me revise my writing to make it better, I'm willing to do that. I know I've written a ton of material, and many people would ask me who's willing to sit down and read through all of this. My mother and therapist have read through all of this, since they're concerned for me, and are very interested in my personal views/personal experience.

Therefore, maybe there will be other people in this world who would bother fully reading through all my packets as well. Perhaps not too many people. But, at least some. I'd also like others to read through the Discussion Sections of these packets as well, since they address any objections people have to my personal views on life, music, etc. The Discussion Sections also talk more about my views, and these sections take up virtually the entire document files/packets.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
File #2: My Philosophy Of Emotions

A Life Without Positive Emotions Is No Way To Live Or Be An Artist


Note to Reader: This is my philosophy I'd like to share to others. These are my personal views and others don't have to agree with them. I've had many miserable, devastating struggles throughout my life, and this is everything I've learned from these struggles.

What I've learned is different than most people because my personal experience has taught me that living such a miserable life is no way to live or be an artist, even if you were a miserable, genius artist who was motivated by his misery to create masterpieces throughout his life. I think life's all about being happy and enjoying things.

If you're someone who's miserable, unhappy, or even apathetic, then that's no way to live or be an artist, an athlete, a boxer, a parent, etc. As long as you don't have your positive feelings, then you can't live a good, valuable, precious, worthwhile, or beautiful life. So, with that being said, I'd like to begin explaining my philosophy:

So many people talk about thinking positive and avoiding negative thinking. But, we should actually strive for positive emotions (the pleasant emotions), and avoid negative emotions (the unpleasant emotions). We should also avoid apathy (no emotions). My personal experience has led me to the conclusion that feeling positive emotions is the only way we can see goodness, beauty, and worth in anything. So, positive emotions are the only things that make life, and any artistic endeavor, good, beautiful, and worth living for.

Sure, thinking is necessary to make us feel emotions, since positive thinking causes us to feel positive emotions. But, I think it can only be the positive emotions that allow us to experience life, and everything else, as amazing, good, beautiful, magnificent, wonderful, and worthwhile. In other words, positive emotions are the only things that give us a positive experience, and not our positive thoughts and beliefs alone. That doesn't mean I’d make reckless decisions that would be harmful if they made me feel joy.

I'm not a dumb person, which means I'd still choose to not do drugs, and I'd still make choices that would promote my own happiness in the long term. So, it's not like I completely leave out and dismiss the thinking aspect of our human existence. But, our thinking alone doesn't allow us to see goodness, badness, beauty, tragedy, horror, and worth in things. Only our emotions do that. An example of some emotions would be a feeling of panic from being in a dangerous situation, a feeling of misery, a feeling of excitement, a feeling of rage, a feeling of sexual arousal, etc.

Positive emotions would be feelings of love, joy, beauty, magnificence, peace, amazement, excitement, etc., and negative emotions would be feelings of misery, tragedy, rage, hate, disgust, horror, etc. So, like I said, positive emotions are the pleasant emotions, and negative emotions are the unpleasant emotions. But, they're more than just pleasant and unpleasant emotions. They're what give us positive and negative perspectives. That's why we should seek positive emotions, since they're the positive perspectives we need.

We need to have a positive perspective in life, which means we must see goodness, beauty, magnificence, worth, etc. in things, and avoid a negative perspective, where we see things as bad, horrible, disgusting, tragic, etc. So, our goal in life should be the positive emotions, since they're the only positive perspectives, which means they're what are important. So many people say that we should have a positive perspective in life, and avoid a negative perspective, since having a negative perspective is no way to live or be an artist.

Well then, we need positive emotions, and we should avoid negative emotions, since feeling negative emotions is no way to live or be an artist. A life without emotions (apathy) is also no way to live or be an artist. If you wish to know how our emotions are the only positive and negative perspectives, then I'll explain. If you have a loving thought, then that thought would make you feel love (a positive emotion). If you have the thought that something's beautiful (such as life itself), then that thought would make you feel that life's beautiful, and that feeling of beauty would be a positive emotion. If you have the thought that something's disgusting, then that thought would make you feel disgust in regards to that thing, and that feeling would be a negative emotion.

We experience things through our feelings. For example, feeling hungry is how we experience hunger, feeling thirsty is how we experience thirst, feeling sleepy is how we experience sleepiness, feeling pain and pleasure is how we experience them, feeling love (a positive emotion) is how we experience love, feeling pride and happiness (positive emotions) is how we experience pride and happiness, and feeling that life's beautiful is how we experience life as beautiful. In addition, if you feel disgust (a negative emotion) in regards to something, then you're experiencing that thing as disgusting.

Perception and experience are the same thing. For example, if you're seeing (perceiving) the color red, then you're experiencing red, and vice versa. If you're feeling that life's beautiful, then you're experiencing life as beautiful, which is the same thing as saying you're seeing (perceiving) beauty in life. In addition, if you feel love, you're experiencing love, which means you're loving someone or something, and that's the same thing as having a loving perspective/perception towards that person or thing.

So, that's why we need positive emotions to see goodness, beauty, and worth in things, and to have a happy, proud, or loving perspective. Again, a life without a positive perspective/outlook is no way to live or be an artist, and that's why a life without positive emotions is no way to live or be an artist. If you lose your positive emotions, then you lose your ability to perceive/experience things as good, beautiful, and worth living for, and you'd lose your ability to experience love, pride, and happiness, just as how you'd lose your ability to experience hunger, thirst, and sleepiness if you lost your ability to feel hungry, thirsty, and sleepy.

Philosophy Discussion Section

Other Person’s Response: I realize this philosophy discussion section addresses as many questions and objections as possible that people have in regards to your philosophy.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: I think there are many interesting objections to your philosophy, and I realize you attempt to address as many of these objections as possible in this big document file. But, if there are objections out there you have yet to address, then will you include them in this file?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: When you talk about positive feelings, you're talking about positive emotions, right?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: Emotions are biological impulses/drives, right?

My Reply: Yes. For example, if someone felt the motivation to exercise, then he had the impulse/drive to exercise.

Other Person's Response: Thoughts and feelings aren't the same thing. So, you're right about that. For example, if a person had insomnia, which prevented him from feeling sleepy, then his mindset alone can't make him feel sleepy. No way of thinking could make him feel sleepy.

My Reply: Yes, and that's why thoughts and emotions aren’t the same thing. You can't make yourself feel an emotion if there's something preventing you from feeling it, such as having a mental illness.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that emotions are the only perceptions of good, bad, beauty, horror, magnificence, tragedy, value, worth, preciousness, etc. Do you have any support for this claim?

My Reply: Yes, and it would be in this link below. Some people disagree with this claim. But, I have to agree, based upon my personal experience because I can clearly tell that my emotions are the only perceptions of good, bad, beauty, horror, etc.:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.9284HYPERLINK "http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.9284&rep=rep1&type=pdf"&HYPERLINK "http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.9284&rep=rep1&type=pdf"rep=rep1HYPERLINK "http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.9284&rep=rep1&type=pdf"&HYPERLINK "http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.404.9284&rep=rep1&type=pdf"type=pdf

Other Person’s Response: I don’t have internet access. Even if I did, I’m not allowed to access certain websites. So, could you share that emotion perception theory right here?

My Reply: *****


Are emotions perceptions of value?
Jérôme Dokic &Stéphane Lemaire
Pages 227-247 | Received 13 Mar 2013, Accepted 29 May 2013, Published online: 03 Sep 2013

· 

· 

AbsracAb

A popular idea at present is that emotions are perceptions of values. Most defenders of this idea have interpreted it as the perceptual thesis that emotions present (rather than merely represent) evaluative states of affairs in the way sensory experiences present us with sensible aspects of the world. We argue against the perceptual thesis. We show that the phenomenology of emotions is compatible with the fact that the evaluative aspect of apparent emotional contents has been incorporated from outside. We then deal with the only two views that can make sense of the perceptual thesis.

On the response–dependence view, emotional experiences present evaluative response-dependent properties (being fearsome, being disgusting, etc.) in the way visual experiences present response-dependent properties such as colors. On the response–independence view, emotional experiences present evaluative response-independent properties (being dangerous, being indigestible, etc.), conceived as ‘Gestalten’ independent of emotional feelings themselves. We show that neither view can make plausible the idea that emotions present values as such, i.e., in an open and transparent way. If emotions have apparent evaluative contents, this is in fact due to evaluative enrichments of the non-evaluative presentational contents of emotions.


http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00455091.2013.826057?scroll=topHYPERLINK "http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00455091.2013.826057?scroll=top&needAccess=true"&HYPERLINK "http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00455091.2013.826057?scroll=top&needAccess=true"needAccess=true


*****
 
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The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: Why can’t our mindset alone allow us to see things as good, bad, beautiful, etc.? Why do we need emotions to have such a perception?

My Reply: The color red is a perceptual state (a visual state), and that’s different than just having the thought of red. In other words, just having the thought of red isn’t the same thing as seeing (perceiving) red. When a person just has the thought or belief that something’s horrific or beautiful, that’s not the same thing as him seeing that thing as horrific or beautiful. His thought or belief needs to make him feel horror or beauty in regards to that thing in order for him to see it as horrific or beautiful. Also, this red analogy is something you’ll come across a couple more times throughout this packet.

Other Person’s Response: I understand now. There’s a difference between what we think or believe, and what we perceive.

My Reply: Yes. A thought or belief of red isn’t a perception of red, and a thought or belief that things are good, bad, etc. isn’t a perception of those things being good, bad, etc.

Other Person’s Response: If a person lost his ability to feel emotions, then that means he’d lose his ability to perceive things as good, bad, etc.?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If a person just had a thought or belief of red without seeing red, then he’d be perceiving the idea of red, but not actual red.

My Reply: Correct. The same thing applies to good, bad, etc.

Other Person’s Response: Our thoughts and beliefs alone can’t make us sleepy, they can’t make us hungry or thirsty, they can’t make us emotional, they can’t make us see red, they can’t make us see beauty or horror in things, etc.

My Reply: Correct. They, alone, can only give us intellectual experiences, such as realizing certain truths, having certain ideas, solving puzzles and riddles, rationalizing, etc. But, they can’t give us any of those experiences you’ve mentioned. Another experience they, alone, can’t give us would be being moved by a work of art. It requires emotions to be moved by something, and we can only be apathetic without our emotions.

Other Person’s Response: Our thoughts and beliefs alone can’t give us an emotional experience, given that thoughts and beliefs are different than emotions. Since emotions are perceptions of beauty, horror, etc., then that means our thoughts and beliefs alone also can’t give us a perception of beauty, horror, etc.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person's Response: Our thoughts take on an emotional form when they make us feel emotions? That's why, when a person has the thought that nature's beautiful, that thought makes him feel beauty in regards to nature?

My Reply: Yes. Another way of putting it would be that thoughts become emotions, or "How we think is how we will feel." A thought of dramatic horror will become an emotional experience of dramatic horror, a sad thought will become a sad emotion, etc. But, like I said, there are factors that can prevent thoughts, as well as beliefs, from making us feel emotions, such as having a mental illness, brain damage, etc. because such factors shut off our ability to feel emotions.

Other Person's Response: If I had the thought that something's unpleasant, that thought would cause me to feel an unpleasant emotion? If I had the thought that something's pleasant, that would cause me to feel a pleasant emotion?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: If I had the mindset that someone was horrible or disgusting, but pleasant, would that give me an emotional experience that's pleasantly horrible or disgusting? In other words, would it make me feel a pleasant emotion that's a horrible or disgusting feeling? Likewise, if I had the mindset that someone was beautiful or amazing, but unpleasant, would that give me an emotional experience that's unpleasantly beautiful or amazing?

My Reply: If you had the mindset that someone was horrible or disgusting, then that's the same thing as having the mindset that this person was unpleasant. It would be like how having the mindset of loving someone is the same thing as having the mindset of caring about that person.

But, you could have the mindset that someone was unpleasant, but not horrible or disgusting. In this scenario, having the mindset of someone being unpleasant wouldn't be the same thing as having the mindset of someone being horrible or disgusting. Likewise, you could have the mindset of caring about someone, but not loving that person.

In this scenario, having the mindset of caring about someone wouldn't be the same thing as having the mindset of loving someone. So, in your 1st example, there would have to be 2 mindsets going on. The 1st would be the mindset of that person being horrible or disgusting (unpleasant), and the 2nd would be the mindset of that person being pleasant.

Having these 2 mindsets might cause you to feel mixed emotions about that person, where one emotion would be unpleasantly horrible or disgusting, while the other emotion would be pleasant. In your 2nd example, there are also 2 mindsets going on. The 1st would be the mindset of that person being beautiful or amazing (pleasant), and the 2nd would be the mindset of that person being unpleasant.

Other Person's Response: If I had the mindset of loving someone or something, but not caring about said person or thing, then that means I had 2 mindsets going on: 1.) the mindset of loving that person or thing (caring) 2.) the mindset of not caring.

My Reply: Yes. When you have both mindsets, you'd be having the mindset of loving (caring about) that person or thing for one particular reason, and not caring for another reason. Having these 2 mindsets might give you a loving feeling that wouldn't be as powerful and profound as the loving feeling you'd get by having mindset #1 alone.

Other Person's Response: Have you ever felt emotions that were unpleasantly beautiful or amazing, or pleasantly horrible or disgusting?

My Reply: Never. That's why I'm arguing for the case of beautiful or amazing feelings only being pleasant feelings, and horrible or disgusting feelings only being unpleasant feelings.

Other Person's Response: Our thoughts and beliefs alone can't give us any pleasant or unpleasant experience?

My Reply: Correct. They, alone, can only give us the idea that certain people and things are pleasant or unpleasant.

Other Person's Response: When thoughts make us feel emotions, it's not really accurate though to say that thoughts take on an emotional form. This would mean that the thought stops existing, and is converted into an emotion, which neither seems to be correct, nor plausible.

My Reply: Then maybe I should've said a copy of the thought information takes on an emotional form. I don't know how the brain works. So, maybe there's some other way to work around the problem you posed in order for my philosophy/claim to still hold up.

Other Person’s Response: Since there’s a difference between our thoughts or beliefs, and our perception, then that means a person can’t have a loving perception if he just had a loving thought or belief?

My Reply: Correct. Just having a loving mindset isn’t enough to have a loving perception. In other words, it’s not enough to be in a loving state of mind. A person needs to feel love in order to achieve a loving state. The same idea applies to anger, sadness, happiness, fear, etc.

Other Person’s Response: So, a loving mindset wouldn’t be love, according to your philosophy?

My Reply: Correct. Love can only be a positive emotion.

Other Person’s Response: The color red is a visual state, as mentioned earlier, and just having the thought or belief of red won’t allow a person to achieve that state. Your philosophy says that we can only be in an apathetic state of mind if we were unable to feel any emotions, and that we couldn’t achieve any loving, hateful, sad, angry, etc. state of mind through our mindset alone.

My Reply: Correct. Love, hate, etc. can only be emotional states. Without emotions, we’d be like an empty canvas. Our emotions paint our internal canvas (mental universe) with love, hate, happiness, sorrow, beauty, tragedy, etc.

Other Person’s Response: There are people who are unable to feel any emotions due to a mental illness, damage to the areas of their brains that allow them to feel emotions, etc.

My Reply: Yes. That means their lives (mental universes) would be without any beauty, happiness, etc.

Other Person’s Response: I realize your philosophy reduces love, hate, good, bad, etc. all down to emotions.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: An example of a positive perspective would be: “I know I’m a disabled person. But, I see myself as a beautiful, disabled person, and I see it as a beautiful thing that other disabled people are trying their best in life.” An example of a negative perspective would be: “I see myself as a pitiful, disgusting, puny weakling because I’m a disabled person. I see it as a pathetic thing that there are other disabled people who can hardly function in life, even though they’re trying their best.”

An example of an apathetic perspective would be: “I just don’t care that I’m a disabled person, and neither do I care that others are disabled.” According to your philosophy, positive emotions are the only positive perspectives, negative emotions are the only negative perspectives, and having no emotions is the only way a person can have an apathetic perspective. So, if a person had no ability to feel any emotions, then it wouldn’t matter what mindset he had because his mindset alone could never give him a positive or negative perspective.

My Reply: Correct.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: You say that perception and experience are the same thing, since perceiving red is the same thing as experiencing red. So, if you wanted one of your hobbies to be a beautiful, awesome, good, valuable, precious, or worthwhile experience for you, then you can’t just have the thought or belief that said hobby is beautiful, awesome, etc. Only your positive emotions can give you such an experience.

My Reply: Yes, since it’s only through our positive emotions that we can perceive things as beautiful, awesome, etc.

Other Person’s Response: Emotions are transient, fleeting things. Especially positive emotions, since so many people feel depressed, miserable, and unhappy.

My Reply: That’s right. Fortunately, there are people who feel positive emotions throughout their lives with very little misery, apathy, and unhappiness. An example would be rich, happy people. Thus, these types of people have few moments where it’s no way to live or be an artist. But, as for those who are unfortunate, they have few moments where they feel positive emotions, which means it’s mostly no way to live or be an artist for them.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, if a person feels horror, that means he’s perceiving horror, which means he’s experiencing horror, which means he’s having a horrific experience. But, an experience of horror can actually be a beautiful experience because it can be used to inspire others.

My Reply: Experiences of horror are the only horror there is, and experiences of beauty are the only beauty there is. So, an experience of horror can only be a horrific experience. It can never be a beautiful experience, since it’s only experiences of beauty (the positive emotions) that are the beautiful experiences. The same idea applies to good, bad, tragedy, magnificence, etc.

Other Person’s Response: So, what you’re saying is that emotions are the only beauty, horror, etc. there is, since they’re the only perceptions/experiences of beauty, horror, etc.?

My Reply: Yes. Good and bad are also nothing more than emotions.

Other Person’s Response: If beauty could be inspiring others, then an experience of horror could be beautiful if it was used to inspire others. But, your philosophy says that experiences of horror can only be horrific.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Does your philosophy also say that feelings of sadness, anger, happiness, love, etc. are the only sadness, anger, etc. there is?

My Reply: Yes. Sadness, anger, etc. are also nothing more than emotions.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that feeling good is the only good thing in life, feeling bad is the only bad thing in life, feeling horrible is the only horrible thing in life, feeling horror is the only horrific thing in life, etc.?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that the only beauty and horror that exists is the beauty and horror we perceive?

My Reply: Yes. The same thing applies to good, bad, etc.

Other Person’s Response: A value judgment is a judgment that a certain thing, person, work of art, or situation is good, bad, beautiful, disgusting, etc. Good, bad, etc. are nothing more than value judgments. Emotion theorists claim that emotions are value judgments, since emotions tell us that certain things, people, works of art, and situations are good, bad, etc. That means good, bad, etc. are emotions. Since emotions are value judgments, and since emotions are also perceptions of good, bad, etc., then that means a value judgment would have to be a perception of good, bad, etc. Since emotions are the only perceptions of good, bad, etc., then that means emotions are the only value judgments. That means good, bad, etc. can only be emotions.

My Reply: Yes. All things in this world are nothing good, bad, etc. in of themselves. Life just is, and things just are. We require our value judgments (emotions) to give goodness, badness, etc. to things in our lives/mental universes. Without our emotions, then we have nothing good, bad, etc. to live for. So, if I lost my ability to feel positive emotions, then that means there’d be no goodness and beauty in my personal life. It would mean I have nothing good or beautiful to live for. Other people would have good and beautiful things to live for if they had their positive emotions though. So, their personal lives would possess some goodness and beauty.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, we’d also have nothing valuable, precious, or worthwhile to live for if we had no positive emotions.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person's Response: Could you provide links that explain emotions are value judgments?

My Reply: Yes. This is a link that talks about emotions being value judgments. It also explains so much more in regards to emotions:

Emotion (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Other Person's Response: There are 2 types of right and wrong. The 1st type would be a value judgment, and the 2nd type would just be right and wrong. An example of the 1st type would be if someone said that helping another person was the right thing to do. He means it was a good or beautiful thing to do. If he then said it was wrong to torture someone, then he means it was a bad or horrible thing to do so. An example of the 2nd type would be if someone said: "You're performing this technique all wrong. Here's the right way to do it." That would just be right and wrong. According to your philosophy, the 1st type would have to be emotional.

My Reply: Yes. So, when a person (Jake) can't handle life anymore, is suicidal, and another person (Jon) says: "There's something drastically wrong here. Jake needs help!," then Jon would have to be referring to Jake's state of mind, which is an emotional state (a negative emotion). Jake feels something's drastically wrong in his life, and that emotional state is not only a form of immense suffering for him, but is drastically wrong. If Jake gets psychological help to restore his positive feelings, then he'll end up in a situation that's beautifully right.

To say something to Jake, such as: "You don't need help, and you don't need to feel any positive emotions because your suffering can be used for a beautiful purpose. You can use it to inspire others, and you'd be living a beautiful life.," then that would be dismissing his emotional experience, which is drastically wrong. So, the very goodness, badness, horribleness, beauty, etc. that our emotions possess should never be dismissed. We should instead dismiss the false, non-emotional form of goodness, badness, etc. that never existed to begin with. That means we shouldn't say that quote to Jake.

Other Person's Response: If Jake felt that something was drastically wrong in his life, then how would that be a form of suffering for him?

My Reply: Because any unpleasant experience is a form of suffering. For example, physical pain is a form of suffering. An example of physical pain would be if someone got a cut on his arm, or punched in the face. Even though there are people who derive pleasure from their pain, the pain itself is a form of suffering, since pain is unpleasant, while pleasure is pleasant. When a person feels negative emotions, such as feelings of horror, tragedy, misery, etc., then they're also a form of suffering. But, negative emotions are a form of suffering that's horrific, bad, tragic, disturbing, etc., while physical pain is just a form of suffering.

Other Person's Response: Our thoughts and beliefs alone can't make us suffer, right? They can only give us the idea of suffering in our minds?

My Reply: Right.

Other Person's Response: What about Jon's emotional state? If he felt that Jake's situation was drastically wrong, then Jon would also be experiencing a form of suffering that's drastically wrong.

My Reply: Yes. But, Jake's suffering would be worse because his emotional state is more profound. It would be a deeper experience than Jon's. In my example, Jon isn't in a state of profound suffering, where he wishes to end his life like Jake. Jon is simply pointing out that Jake needs help. But, Jon should also get help if he has negative emotions lingering on in his life. So, if he continued to feel that Jake's situation is drastically wrong, and this feeling lingered on, then he'd need to find ways to rid of that feeling, as well as other negative emotions, so he can feel positive emotions more often in his life. There are therapies out there that can help with this, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), which focuses on changing your thinking in order to change how you feel.

Other Person's Response: If someone felt that something was horrific, then not only does that thing become horrific for him, but the emotion itself is horrific?

My Reply: Yes. A feeling of horror is horror, which means it's horrific, and it makes things horrific for us.

Other Person’s Response: If you had no positive emotions, and there were still good, valuable, precious, and beautiful things in this world you could live for, then you wouldn’t be able to perceive any goodness, value, etc. So, it would be futile for someone to come up to you, and say with a cheerful tone of voice: “I know you don’t have your positive emotions. But, look, you can still live for something good and beautiful!”

My Reply: Correct. It would still be no way to live or be an artist for me, even if I did live for something good and beautiful by helping others, seeking knowledge, contributing to the world, etc.

Other Person’s Response: Let’s pretend you felt angry to protect someone. Wouldn’t that feeling of anger be a perception of value, goodness, beauty, etc.?

My Reply: No. We can only have such a perception through our positive emotions. Negative emotions can never be perceptions of goodness, beauty, etc. For example, feeling good is a perception of good, which can only be a pleasant/positive emotion.

Other Person’s Response: So, if someone felt angry to protect someone, then that would give him an angry, motivated perception. But, that wouldn’t make him see the protecting of that individual as good, precious, or beautiful?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says there’s nothing better to live for than feeling positive emotions because there’s nothing better in life than perceiving our goals, dreams, hobbies, etc. as good, beautiful, awesome, valuable, etc.

My Reply: Correct. There’s no more goodness and beauty to life than positive emotions. Life’s all about wallowing away in our positive emotions.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: So, there’s nothing more to live for than feeling positive emotions?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, it would be better for someone to feel positive emotions from doing something he loves than to do something that would save him from a life of misery, just because it would make him feel unhappy to save himself.

My Reply: Actually, it would be better to put himself through that unhappiness to save himself because it’s better to live a life that consists of less misery and more positive emotions. So, my philosophy says that any life that consists of the most positive emotions would be the best life to live. That means a person’s entire lifespan must be taken into consideration. If a person’s lifestyle is going to bring him the most positive emotions throughout his entire life, then he’s living the best life. The profoundness and intensity of positive emotions must also be taken into consideration. If a person is profoundly blissful his entire life, rather than just happy, then that would be the absolute best life to live.

Other Person’s Response: Love is also a positive emotion. So, if we felt profound, intense love throughout our lives, that would also be a better life to live than a life of shallow feelings of happiness at a low intensity level.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: You just said it would be better for that person to put himself through unhappiness to save himself from a life of misery. That means it would be a good thing, even while he’s feeling unhappy.

My Reply: It wouldn’t be a good thing, since he needs to feel good about it. As long as he’s feeling unhappy, then it’s not a good thing for him. So, he just needs to bear through that unhappiness to save himself. Once he has saved himself, and he feels good about it, then that’s the moment it would be a good thing for him because he’d be seeing it as a good thing now.

Other Person’s Response: If other people felt good about that person enduring feelings of happiness to save himself, then it would be a good thing for them, but not for that person.

My Reply: Correct. That’s because they’d be seeing it as a good thing, while that unhappy person wouldn’t.

Other Person's Response: In regards to love, I don't think love is an emotion, since emotions are such fleeting, transient things. Real love is everlasting.

My Reply: A rainbow that only lasts for a short while is still a real rainbow. So, even though feelings of love only last for a short while, they're still real love. Just because something, such as love or a rainbow, is profoundly beautiful for many people, doesn't mean it can only be real if it's everlasting. The precious, beautiful, amazing things are often times the most rare, fleeting things.

Other Person's Response: According to you, positive feelings are the only things that make moments, situations, and works of art precious, beautiful, and amazing in our eyes, and positive feelings are rare, fleeting things for many people.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: I don't think that feelings of love are real love, since they're nothing more than biochemical emotions.

My Reply: If you felt attraction towards a soul mate, wouldn't that be real attraction you're experiencing? If so, then if you felt love towards that soul mate, that would be real love you're experiencing as well.

Other Person’s Response: There are different feelings of beauty and horror. For example, there’s a feeling of tropical beauty, there’s a feeling of aquatic beauty, there’s a feeling of cinematic horror, there’s a feeling of religious horror, etc.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If there was a work of art, then your philosophy would say that this artwork is nothing beautiful or disgusting in of itself, and that people simply have different feelings (value judgments) in regards to that artwork.

My Reply: Correct. So, a work of art is simply a work of art, and nothing more. But, it can become disgusting in one person’s mental universe, it can become beautiful in another person’s mental universe, or it can become sad or annoying in another person’s mental universe. It all depends on how each person feels about the artwork.

Other Person’s Response: If feeling good is the only good thing in life, then what’s the point of all those people having to struggle with lives of unhappiness, misery, clinical depression, and apathy?

My Reply: There is no point. It’s completely unnecessary, no way to live or be an artist, and just a waste of life to have such struggles. That means even the lives of miserable, genius artists have been wasted away, regardless of all their artistic contributions to the world. Their misery has robbed their lives, which means it has taken away the goodness, beauty, value, and worth in their lives, according to my philosophy. When our positive emotions are taken away, that’s taking away the goodness, beauty, etc. in our lives. But, miserable and unhappy struggles exist anyway, and my philosophy says it’s our job to avoid them as much as we can. As for my miserable struggles, they’ve wasted many years of my life, and I wish I never had them.

Other Person’s Response: Those miserable, genius artists wouldn’t be able to perceive their artistic endeavors as good, valuable, precious, or beautiful during their misery, according to your philosophy. That means they’d be making works of art in a miserable pit of darkness and nothingness that’s devoid of any goodness, value, beauty, etc. Basically, they’d just be getting on with life and doing what they got to do, and nothing more.

My Reply: Yes. If those genius artists were still alive today, they might say my philosophy is wrong, and that they were perceiving their artistic endeavors as good, valuable, etc. without their positive emotions. But, I have my own philosophy because I have my own personal experience. When I was composing during my misery, it was clearly no way to live or be an artist for me, and I was unable to perceive my composing as good, valuable, etc. It didn’t matter what mindset I had because no mindset could give me that perception of goodness, value, etc.

Other Person’s Response: So, you think those miserable, genius artists weren’t realizing they weren’t perceiving their artistic endeavors as good, valuable, etc.?

My Reply: Correct. They just thought they were, when they weren’t.

Other Person’s Response: Do you think those miserable, genius artists might as well give up on their artistic endeavors, since they’re in that miserable pit of nothingness while making works of art?

My Reply: Yes. If that’s the experience an artist is going to have when creating works of art, then he might as well give up until he regains his joy. It’s the reason why I’ve given up on my composing dream during my miserable struggles.

Other Person’s Response: I realize your philosophy states that positive emotions are the only good, amazing, and beautiful things in life. This is dumb because that would mean feeling good about doing harmful things would be a good thing.

My Reply: I don’t care how dumb and dysfunctional my philosophy sounds; my personal experience says positive emotions are the only good, beautiful, and amazing things in life, and that it’s no way to live or be an artist without them. They’re the only things that make situations, works of art, moments, and people good, amazing, and beautiful in our eyes, since positive emotions are the only perceptions of goodness, beauty, and amazingness.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that the only way we can value something would be through our feelings of value (positive emotions).

My Reply: Yes. When you feel value in regards to something, you see it as valuable, which means it’s valuable to you, which means you value it.

Other Person’s Response: Have your emotions always been the only perceptions of good, bad, etc. for you?

My Reply: Yes. I don’t recall a single given moment in my life where I was able to perceive good, bad, etc. through my mindset alone.

Other Person’s Response: Perhaps your perception is being dominated by your emotions. So, it could be the case that you just need to develop a stronger mind. That way, you can be the one in charge when it comes to your perception, and not your emotions.

My Reply: I don’t know if that’s what’s going on here.

Other Person’s Response: Different brains are wired differently. So, it could be the case that some brains are wired to perceive good, bad, etc. through thoughts and beliefs alone, while other brains are wired to have such a perception only through emotions.

My Reply: I don’t know if that’s true or not. If that’s true, then it could also be the case that some brains are wired to experience love, pride, happiness, misery, etc. through thoughts and beliefs alone.

Other Person’s Response: During your miserable struggles, you couldn’t help but feel all sorts of negative emotions. That means those negative emotions were automatic for you. So, I think you were having automatic negative thoughts as a result of these miserable struggles, and it’s these thoughts that have been triggering those negative emotions.

My Reply: Yes. It’s something I had no power or control over.

Other Person’s Response: I realize your philosophy says that miserable and unhappy struggles are better off never existing. There’s so much suffering in this world that’s better off not existing. If god’s response to all the suffering in this world is that life’s tough and wasn’t meant to be easy, then he might as well say that to all the suffering animals that are being brutally tortured. He might as well say it to their faces.

My Reply: Yes, and I don’t think that would be an all-loving, all-just god. As a matter of fact, people who go on trips to the afterlife during their near death experience encounter such a god. There are people who commit suicide because of the difficulties in their lives, their souls leave their bodies, and meet god.

God gets stern and tells them that life’s supposed to be tough, and that all the suffering in this world is meant for the evolution of our souls. These souls then return back to their bodies and tell their near death experience stories.

But, I think an all-loving, all-just god would make life easy for us. He’d create a blissful utopia life for us, where we don’t have to suffer, and can feel profound bliss our entire lives. A blissful utopia life would be the best life for all of us, according to my philosophy.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: So, god wants us to suffer then? He wanted you to go through all those miserable struggles, even though they were no way to live, and just a waste of your life?

My Reply: Correct. If god wants me to continue to suffer in misery, he’s not going to get his wish granted now. That means I’ll make sure to ensure my happiness from now on by avoiding worries and negative thinking, since that was the cause of my misery.

Other Person’s Response: God could have you reincarnate into a new body on Earth, where you’ll experience inevitable suffering.

My Reply: That could be. My miserable struggles were inevitable, and I could have such suffering again in another lifetime, since god likes to see me suffer.

Other Person’s Response: If life’s supposed to be tough, then why are there rich, happy people in this world who hardly suffer?

My Reply: I’m not sure.

Other Person’s Response: Wouldn’t it be a good thing to see this god as horrible? So, wouldn’t it be a good thing to feel horrible about this god?

My Reply: No, because feeling horrible is horrible, and feeling good is good. But, let’s pretend I felt good about this god. I could still have the idea in my mind that he’s horrible without feeling horrible about him. That would just give me an idea in my mind without bringing any horribleness into my life. Basically, I’d just have the thought in my head that he’s a horrible god, even though said thought wouldn’t matter to me. But, if that thought made me feel he’s a horrible god, then that thought would bother me now. So, it’s best if I just had the thought without the horrible feeling.

Other Person’s Response: If how a person thinks is how a person feels, then having the thought that god is horrible would have to make you feel horrible. Unless, of course, there’s something preventing that thought from making you feel horrible, such as a mental illness or brain damage.

My Reply: If a person just has the thought that something’s horrible, but doesn't think he sees it as a horrible thing, then that thought wouldn’t make him feel horrible about that thing, even if he had no mental illness, brain damage, etc. It’s when he has the thought that he sees it as a horrible thing that it makes him feel horrible, so he can see that thing as horrible.

Other Person’s Response: So, when a person has the thought that something’s horrible, and he has an apathetic mindset in regards to that thought, then that thought wouldn’t make him feel horrible?

My Reply: Correct. For example, I’m having the thought right now that I’m going to suffer an eternity in hell, since I’m not obeying the Christian god. I’m having the thought that this is a very horrible thing. But, since I don’t believe in Christianity, then that thought can’t devastate me or evoke fear. It can’t make me feel horrible because my mindset is that going to hell doesn’t matter to me, and that I see nothing horrible about it, given that I don’t believe in the doctrine of hell. If I believed, then I would feel horrible right now.

Other Person’s Response: If you believed, and that thought did devastate you or make you feel fear, then that devastation or fear would be a horrible feeling, since you had the thought that going to hell was horrible?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: I heard you had an emotional crisis in the past, which was being devastated over the possibility that this is the one and only life you have. You were devastated because of permanent ego loss. You couldn’t will yourself or talk yourself out of this crisis, which means you had to let it run its course. You must’ve had some level of conviction in this idea that this is the only life you have. Otherwise, you shouldn’t have been devastated.

My Reply: That could be. I know I said I’m undecided in regards to controversial topics (including the notion of this being the only life). But, maybe there was some level of conviction that I wasn’t realizing. So, subconsciously, I might’ve had some level of conviction, while, consciously, I still thought that I’m undecided if there’s an afterlife or not.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, perceptions of good are the only good things in life, which means feeling good is the only good thing in life. If god wanted you to go through all these miserable struggles as a means of soul evolution because he saw that as a good thing, then it would just be a good thing in his eyes, since he felt good about it. But, you couldn’t feel good at all during your miserable struggles. So, all the goodness in your life was taken away, while god had all the goodness in his life.

My Reply: Correct. God was getting all the good feelings, while I was getting very little to none. An all-loving, all-just god would instead be seeing it as a good thing that I have my positive emotions intact, and that I never have any miserable struggles.

Other Person’s Response: If god wanted your soul to evolve, then you feeling good while pursuing the endeavor of soul evolution would’ve been the better alternative. There’s no need for you to suffer in order to achieve soul evolution.

My Reply: Correct. If god is going to give us a challenge (such as soul evolution), then it must be a fun, enjoyable challenge that we feel good about. Miserable, unhappy, and apathetic challenges shouldn’t exist. So, if someone was challenging another person in chess or in a video game, then there’s no need for him to feel frustrated, unhappy, apathetic, or miserable from the challenge.

Other Person’s Response: I realize your philosophy says that positive emotions are divine and holy, and that they’re the holy light of god experienced within us. But, if god isn’t loving, and he’s just putting you through all this unnecessary suffering, then how could god have holy light? He wouldn’t be a holy god.

My Reply: Perhaps positive emotions would instead have to be holy light from the heavenly realm experienced within us then, rather than from god himself. It would be our thoughts of love, beauty, joy, etc. that bring that invisible, spiritual, heavenly light down on Earth for us. That light gets received by our brains, since our brains are receivers, according to religious believers. Once received, that creates an experience of love, beauty, joy, etc. for our minds, and that experience would be a positive emotion. But, there are factors that can prevent our brains from receiving the light, which would be mental illnesses, brain damage, etc. It would be like preventing a radio from receiving the signal.

Other Person’s Response: I take it negative emotions are the opposite of the holy light experienced within us.

My Reply: Yes. When we have thoughts of hate, horror, disgust, tragedy, etc., and those thoughts make us feel negative emotions, then our brains have tuned into the lower, hellish, spiritual realm. When we rise above that negativity by changing our thinking, we then reconnect back to the heavenly realm, which would rid of those negative emotions, and restore the positive ones.

Other Person’s Response: So, when you had those miserable struggles, which were caused by worries and negative thinking, that was a matter of your mind being trapped in a hellish realm? Once you changed your thinking, you’ve risen above that realm?

My Reply: Yes. Thus, I’ve regained my joy, and gotten rid of all that misery, as well as all the other negative emotions that came with that misery.

Other Person’s Response: What about those people who automatically feel negative emotions? Their negative emotions aren’t triggered by thoughts or beliefs.

My Reply: Then these people would be stuck in that realm of negativity, even if they’ve changed their way of thinking and believing.

Other Person’s Response: So, positive emotions symbolize heaven, negative emotions symbolize hell, and apathy symbolizes The Void (limbo)?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: Not only does negative thinking cause us to feel negative emotions, but it causes us nightmares. Nightmares are a result of our brains tuning into the lower, hellish, spiritual realm. So, nightmares come from hell, and so do negative emotions.

My Reply: Yes. This is what religious believers would say. Especially the New Age spiritual believers. As for positive emotions, and beautiful, amazing dreams, they come from heaven. Our souls are at a lower frequency when we have negativity, and our souls are at a higher frequency when we have positivity.

Other Person’s Response: You say you have your own personal religion, which says positive emotions are holy and divine. But, if you’re undecided on the existence of god, angels, divinity, psychic abilities, etc., then you shouldn’t have this religion.

My Reply: Just in case we do live in a universe where those mystical things exist, then I’m just putting forth the religious form of my philosophy anyway because I want to share it.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, the only way our minds can be immersed in a realm of beauty, peace, and joy would be through our positive emotions. That means a person who’s watching a movie or playing a video game wouldn’t be able to be immersed in such a realm without his positive emotions.

My Reply: Yes. Without our positive emotions, we can’t have any beautiful, peaceful, or joyful experience, which is why our minds can’t be immersed in such a realm. Emotions are like different realms for our minds. When we feel horror, that creates a horrific realm for our minds. When we feel beauty, that creates a beautiful realm for our minds, etc.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, it would be better to live in a vegetative state of profound bliss than to enjoy pursuing your composing dream and achieving said dream.

My Reply: Yes. That would be the better life to live. I don’t experience profound bliss from pursing my composing dream. Normally, I just experience average positive feelings, which are feelings that aren’t very profound or intense. So, that’s why it would better for me to live in a vegetative state of profound bliss. Still, I’d choose to pursue my composing dream and achieve it, as long as I’m enjoying it, because I’m personally satisfied with the positive feelings I normally get. But, I’d choose to be that blissful vegetable if I could have little to no positive feelings throughout my life.

Other Person’s Response: I heard there are moments where you do feel profound, intense, positive emotions throughout your life. But, that wouldn’t compare to a life of profound bliss.

My Reply: Right. So, being a vegetable in a state of profound bliss would still be the better life.

Other Person's Response: I heard you have a composing dream you wish to achieve, and that you wish to compose some profound, bizarre, unique, otherworldly music that has a heavy, awesome mood/atmosphere to it. If you had the choice to either live your life as a miserable genius who composes amazing masterpieces to share to the world, or instead live your life in a vegetative state of bliss, doing nothing for yourself, or for humanity, which would you choose?
 
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The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
My Reply: I'd choose to be the blissful vegetable. So, it was all about my positive feelings and never about my composing dream in of itself. That's why I must enjoy my composing through my positive feelings, since they're what make my composing positive for me.

For example, if I produced a composition that many people thought was amazing, I'd want to experience that moment as amazing, and I'd want to experience my own composition as amazing upon listening to it. Without my positive feelings, I can't have that amazing experience.

So, without my positive feelings, my entire composing dream is ruined. It can no longer be anything good, beautiful, awesome, valuable, worthwhile, etc. for me, and there’s no other way it can. The only way it can would be if my positive feelings were restored.

Other Person’s Response: If someone perceived a criminal’s deeds as horrible or disgusting, that would be a positive perspective. So, it would be a good or beautiful perspective. If someone perceived it as a good or beautiful thing to torture innocent people, then that would be a negative perspective. So, it would be a horrible or disgusting perspective.

My Reply: Positivity is goodness, beauty, magnificence, etc., and negativity is badness, disgustingness, horribleness, etc. Perceptions of goodness, beauty, etc. are the only positivity there is, according to my philosophy, and perceptions of badness, disgustingness, etc. are the only negativity there is. So, in your criminal example, that person would be having a negative perspective in regards to the criminal’s deeds. In your other example, that person would be having a positive perspective in regards to torturing innocent people.

Other Person’s Response: So, it doesn’t matter what we perceive as good or beautiful because said perception will always be good or beautiful, and it doesn’t matter what we perceive as horrible or disgusting because said perception will always be horrible or disgusting?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: So, according to your philosophy, positive emotions are the only positive things in life, and negative emotions are the only negative things in life?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: When a person perceives beauty or horror, that perception isn’t an emotion.

My Reply: I think it is, and many people don’t realize this.

Other Person's Response: When you say, throughout this packet, that positive emotions are the only way we can see beauty in things, and that positive emotions are the only way our lives can be beautiful, do you mean we can only see beauty in things through our positive emotions, and that our lives can only be beautiful through our positive emotions?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: I find it offensive when you say a life without positive emotions is no way to live or be an artist.

My Reply: Each person is different and has his own views. I bet there are plenty of people in this world with views that would offend you. But, that's just the way it is. That's just life. Also, the views of Christians would sometimes offend atheists, and the views of atheists would sometimes offend Christians. But, that's just the way the world works. When people have different views, said views will conflict. But, that doesn't stop atheists, or Christians, from sharing and expressing their views, just because their views would offend others. So, that doesn't stop me from sharing and expressing my views either.

Other Person's Response: You do realize that many people will be offended when they read your philosophy?

My Reply: I don't care, and I have no fear or shame in expressing and sharing my views. Besides, people need to understand why positive emotions are so important, and why it's no way to live or be an artist without them.

If I ever lose my positive emotions, then people would be baffled and confused as to why I think positive emotions are so vital and precious for my existence, and for the existence of all human beings.

That's why I'd give people everything I've explained in regards to my philosophy, so they can understand why, and so they can stop telling me I don't need positive emotions. I'm not going to bottle my views inside, and leave people without any explanations, just because said explanations would offend people.

Other Person's Response: Your philosophy tells me how to live my life, and I don't like that.

My Reply: I'm not ordering you to live a life of happiness. So, I'm not shoving my views down your throat. I'm just sharing them, and people are free to agree or disagree with them. They're also free to debate them, and I'd address their objections.

Other Person's Response: All the things you've explained in regards to emotions are things people already know. So, they don't need explaining.

My Reply: Many people don't know the things I'm explaining.

Other Person's Response: I think you should be a better writer. That way, you can present and explain your philosophy better.

My Reply: I think my writing is more than good enough, since it's much better than the writing of an average person who spells poorly, has poor grammar, poor punctuation, and presents and explains things poorly. I don't think my writing needs to meet a high standard to be acceptable. People just need to lower their standards, so they can accept and appreciate my writing. Many people have actually told me I'm a talented writer, and that I should write stories. But, I actually wish to pursue composing, even though I'm better than an average writer.

So, why am I spending all this time writing, when composing is what I want to do? Well, it's because people need to know why my positive emotions are so important and necessary. That's why I explain every possible thing that comes to my mind in regards to my philosophy. If people have a difficult time understanding my explanations, and find them incoherent, then perhaps it's their ability to understand that's poor because my writing shouldn't have to meet a high standard in order for people to understand it.

I know plenty of people who are able to understand the writing of those who write poorly, and their writing is much worse than mine. An example would be teenagers who write things to share to their parents and mental health professionals. These parents and mental health professionals are still able to understand their writing, even though it's poor. So, I don't see why people shouldn't be able to understand my writing. Therefore, I don't think I need to dedicate my life to becoming a better writer.

It's not something I want to do, and I think my writing should be more than good enough as it is. When people have conversations, they're able to understand one another. They don't need to dedicate their lives to learning how to converse better. The same idea applies to my writing. I'm explaining things in my writing, and it would be no different than your friend or family member explaining things to you. You'd be able to understand what that friend or family member is saying to you, right? Well, why can't you understand what I'm explaining?

Other Person's Response: So, if some people can't understand your writing, you don't think your writing is poor? You think it's instead their ability to understand that's poor?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: You said your writing is good enough. According to your philosophy, feeling good is the only good thing in life.

My Reply: I’m going outside my emotional definition of good, just for the sake of convenience.

Other Person’s Response: I think your philosophy would be called “hedonism,” which is a philosophy that advocates seeking pleasure (positive emotions) and avoiding painful emotions. Hedonism is very selfish, and I think you need to grow up. You need to live by a better philosophy.

My Reply: Anyone who has this attitude towards me simply doesn’t understand. They jump to the conclusion that I’m just being selfish without understanding my predicament. I’ve written all of this, so that people can gain a full understanding.

Other Person’s Response: What’s there not to understand? You saying a life without positive emotions is no way to live would be no different than a person without sight saying it’s no way to live. Blind people have helped so many people, and you can without your positive emotions.

My Reply: People still don’t understand. They have a limited perspective that’s blinding them to the reality of my predicament.

Other Person’s Response: There were miserable, genius artists who contributed many works of art to humanity, and your philosophy says that’s no way to live or be an artist. I disagree with that. Just because a person is miserable doesn’t mean it’s no way to live or be an artist.

My Reply: Well, my personal experience has me agreeing.

Other Person’s Response: There’s a famous, intelligent atheist known as “Sam Harris.” I think he’s as famous as Richard Dawkins. He says that there’s nothing worse than the worst possible misery for everyone. So, that means there’s nothing better than the best possible bliss for everyone, since the opposite of misery is bliss. Here’s a link to a discussion regarding that quote of Sam Harris:

A critique of Sam Harris' worst possible misery for everyone concept : samharris

My Reply: I have to agree with Sam Harris. There’s nothing better in life than feeling the most profound, intense positive emotions (the bliss). Even though people say that even the worst possible misery is good and beautiful, since it teaches us life lessons and builds our character, life’s not about the lessons or character development. Life’s all about being in a state of mind that’s the opposite of misery, which would be a state of bliss. The more bliss we have throughout our lives, the better of a life we’re living. According to my philosophy, how much life lessons and personal growth we obtain doesn’t determine the quality of our lives.

The only thing that determines the quality of our lives is our emotional state. In other words, if we’re blissful, then we’re living lives that are very good, beautiful, amazing, etc. That means we’d be living very positive lives. If we’re in the worst possible state of misery, then we’re not living good, beautiful, valuable, precious, or worthwhile lives, regardless of how much life lessons and personal growth we’re obtaining, regardless of how much contributions we’re making to humanity, and regardless of how tough and enduring we are of said misery. A life of the worst possible misery is a very horrible life, which means it’s a very negative life. A life of apathy (no emotions) would just be a neutral quality of life.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: So, bliss is good, misery is bad, and apathy is neutral (neither good nor bad)?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: There are people who love and enjoy their misery or pain. These people are known as “masochists.”

My Reply: If a person was miserable, and he loved and enjoyed his misery, then that means he had a feeling of loving and enjoyment (a positive emotion) mixed in with his misery. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to love or enjoy his misery. That positive emotion could either be small or great in intensity. The more profound, intense, and frequent it is, the more he’d be loving and enjoying his misery.

If he didn’t have this positive emotion at all, and he still said he’s loving and enjoying his misery, then he’d be in denial. The only way we can love or enjoy something would be if we had the perspective of loving or enjoying said thing. The only way we can have that perspective would be if we felt love or enjoyment. When we feel certain emotions, those are more than just feelings. They’re perspectives.

Other Person’s Response: So, if you wanted to hate someone, such as a psychopath, you’d have to feel hate towards that person, since that’s the only way you can have a hateful perspective towards him?

My Reply: Yes. Emotions are perceptions, and the only way I can have a hateful perception would be if I felt hate. That’s been my personal experience, and emotion theorists also say that emotions are perceptions. Also, in order for me to even want to hate that psychopath, I’d have to feel wanting, since that’s the only way I can have the perspective of wanting.

Wanting can either be a positive or negative emotion. For example, if you really wanted a new video game that was exciting to you, then that feeling of wanting would be a positive emotion. But, if you were miserable, and wanted to commit suicide, since you can’t handle life anymore, then that wanting would be a negative emotion.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, our emotions are the only things that determine the quality of our lives. That means a person who’s living a life of poverty and starvation wouldn’t be living a bad life, as long as he’s feeling good. As long as he feels good, then he’s living a good life.

My Reply: Correct. Also, feeling good about things is how we perceive those things as good. As long as things are all good and well in our eyes, then life becomes a good place for us. Nothing’s bad, disgusting, tragic, horrific, or disturbing in our eyes, which means those negative qualities aren’t being perceived. Thus, they wouldn’t exist for us.

Of course, if we felt negative emotions, then those negative qualities would exist for us, since negative emotions are negative perceptions. Our emotional state (perception) determines what type of mental atmosphere (life) we’re living. When we feel good, that creates a good mental atmosphere/life for us. When we feel bad and tragic, that creates a bad, tragic mental atmosphere/life for us.

Other Person’s Response: So, our emotional state sets the mood (atmosphere) of our lives, and that determines the quality of our lives? That atmosphere could be good, bad, horrible, precious, valuable, worthwhile, beautiful, tragic, or horrific? If someone felt horror, then that sets a horrific mental atmosphere for him? Thus, he’d be living a horrific life?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If someone only felt bad and tragic in regards to suffering people, and he helped them, then he didn’t live a good or beautiful life? He lived a bad, tragic, altruistic life? In order for him to live a good altruistic life, he needs to feel good when helping others?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Are the moments a person feels good the moments he’s living a good life, and are the moments he feels bad the moments he’s living a bad life?

My Reply: Yes. The goal in life is to have as many moments of feeling goodness, beauty, love, joy, magnificence, amazingness, etc. as possible.

Other Person’s Response: If a mother felt that her child was horrible, then she lived a horrible life in that brief moment she felt horrible?

My Reply: Yes. But, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as horrible as a more profound, intense, horrible feeling, such as the type of feeling an emotionally traumatized person would experience, such as someone with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). So, people with PTSD are living more horrible lives than mothers who feel horrible about the immature acts of their children.

Other Person's Response: A person's quality of life is determined by his quality of experience. Since positive emotions are what allow us to experience things as good, beautiful, and amazing, then they're what make our lives good, beautiful, and amazing. Since negative emotions are what allow us to experience things as horrible, morbid, and tragic, then they make our lives horrible, morbid, and tragic.

My Reply: Yes. A person's quality of life is not determined by his actions and deeds.

Other Person's Response: Since a person's quality of experience determines the quality of his life, then a person who feels a lot of physical pleasure, but never feels goodness or beauty, would be living a physically pleasant life, but wouldn't be living a good or beautiful life.

My Reply: Correct. That's because he wasn't experiencing those feelings of goodness and beauty to make his life good and beautiful.

Other Person's Response: I'm going to quote something you said and respond to it:

As long as things are all good and well in our eyes, then life becomes a good place for us. Nothing’s bad, disgusting, tragic, horrific, or disturbing in our eyes, which means those negative qualities aren’t being perceived. Thus, they wouldn’t exist for us. Of course, if we felt negative emotions, then those negative qualities would exist for us, since negative emotions are negative perceptions.

So, if you weren't feeling any negative emotions, then all the negative qualities, such as horribleness, badness, disgustingness, tragedy, horror, etc. wouldn't exist for you?

My Reply: Correct. They'd be absent in my personal life, and that's what I need. I need an absence of negative qualities, and I need the positive qualities (the positive emotions). My philosophy says this is what we all need.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that you’ve had many miserable struggles throughout your life that were caused by worries and negative thinking, which gave you a perspective of seeing things as morbidly insignificant and meaningless. So, that means you lived a morbidly insignificant, meaningless life.

My Reply: Yes. I also lived a profoundly horrible, miserable life, since my miserable struggles also involved many feelings of misery that were profoundly horrible feelings. During these struggles, anime and video game characters I once perceived as awesome and beautiful became morbidly insignificant, puny, and meaningless in my eyes. Even music became meaningless noise in my eyes. In regards to anime and video game characters, I realized they were just animated drawings that had no inner life/inner experience, since they have no emotions or any conscious experience.

That realization caused me to feel miserable in regards to them, and that miserable feeling was a perception of the characters being morbidly insignificant, meaningless, lifeless vessels. The characters just seemed like nothing more than animated drawings with a voice overlaid on top of them. It was as though the only thing that mattered about these characters was the fact they were these empty vessels, and not the fact they’re awesome characters with amazing personalities and powers. So, all the awesomeness, beauty, and amazingness was shunned out of my perspective during my miserable struggles.

But, it gets restored once I’m happy again, and it’s as though the only thing that matters about these characters now is the fact they’re amazing, beautiful, awesome, etc. The realization that they’re just animated drawings no longer matters to me. That realization no longer makes me see the characters as empty vessels, which means that realization no longer makes me feel miserable. It’s as though the characters are now real, living, breathing, amazing, beautiful beings, and no longer these morbidly insignificant, lifeless, animated drawings with a voice slapped on top of them.

Other Person’s Response: You talk about the characters being amazing and beautiful. But, they’d just be characters and nothing more, according to your philosophy. It’s your feelings of amazingness and beauty that make them amazing and beautiful in your eyes.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: If a person creates a work of art, such as a character, and his creation inspires many people, then that’s not enough. The artist needs to perceive his creation as beautiful, good, amazing, etc. As long as his creation is morbidly insignificant and meaningless in his eyes, then having such a morbid perception is no way to live or be an artist.

My Reply: Correct, and it’s that perception of beauty, goodness, and amazingness that makes the artist’s life beautiful, good, and amazing. Again, that perception would be a positive emotion.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, it would be worse to be in the worst possible state of misery than to be apathetic because a horrible quality of life is worse than a neutral quality of life.

My Reply: Yes. Being in a horrible, miserable state of mind is worse than being in an apathetic state.

Other Person’s Response: There are many people who say that a life without emotions would be a dull, valueless, worthless existence, and that it’s no way to live or be an artist. Since insects don’t have emotions, then that means they’re living such an existence, regardless of how much they help other insects.

My Reply: Yes. If humans had no emotions, they can still pursue goals and dreams, and help one another. But, it would be no way to live.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: There are articles that make the claim that a life without emotions is no way to live, while there are other articles that claim otherwise. Here’s an article that supports the necessity of emotions:

What if humans had no emotions?

Here’s an article that’s against the need for emotions:

Want to Be Happy? Don't Follow Your Feelings

My Reply: Until I have a new personal experience that changes my philosophy, I’m agreeing with the idea that emotions are a necessity of life. To be more specific, the positive emotions. Also, anyone can search on Google about a life without emotions, and what that would be like. People can also do further online research into emotions if they want.

Other Person’s Response: You define positivity as perceptions of goodness, beauty, magnificence, awesomeness, etc., you say life’s all about the positivity, and that it’s no way to live or be an artist without it. I don’t think life’s all about positivity, and I think there’s more to life. If someone had a delusion, such as believing he was going to win the lottery, and he saw that as a good, beautiful thing, then, yes, he did have a positive perspective, since he perceived goodness and beauty in regards to his delusion of winning the lottery. But, it’s false positivity because it’s not the truth. What really matters in life is the truth, and what that person can do to earn money because he’s not going to be rich by winning the lottery. So, positivity isn’t the goal in life.

My Reply: If that person gave up his delusion and was finding other ways to earn money, then he needs to perceive that endeavor as good, beautiful, or awesome. So, it all still comes down to positivity. Without a positive perspective, then we wouldn’t be able to see anything as good, beautiful, etc., and that’s no way to live or be an artist.

Other Person’s Response: You say our goal in life is positivity. That’s not for you to decide. If a person’s goal is negativity, then that’s his passion/goal.

My Reply: I’ve had many miserable moments in my life, which gave me a very negative perspective (a morbid, hateful, tragic, violent, suicidal, pessimistic perspective of giving up on my life, goals, and dreams). Having such a perspective was no way to live or be an artist. But, I couldn’t have a positive perspective, no matter how hard I tried. I needed to recover from these miserable moments to regain my positive perspective.

People would tell me that I don’t need a positive perspective, that I can still live my life to the fullest, and create musical compositions, even while in that horrible pit of misery and negativity. What these people don’t understand is that I really do need positivity. This entire packet I’ve written explains why I need it, and why every human being needs it. Positive emotions are the positivity we need in our lives, and I explain how positive emotions are perceptions of goodness, beauty, magnificence, etc.

Other Person’s Response: So many people say that having a positive outlook and a positive attitude is important, and that we should avoid having a negative attitude and perspective.

My Reply: Yes. What’s necessary in life is being in a positive state of mind. Since positive emotions are the only positive states of mind, then positive emotions are necessary. Since negative emotions are the only negative states of mind, then we should avoid negative emotions. Since having no emotions is the only way we can be apathetic, then we should also avoid having no emotions. A person could have a positive attitude, even while being in a negative or apathetic state of mind. But, he needs to be in a positive state of mind because being in a negative or apathetic state of mind is no way to live or be an artist.

Other Person’s Response: A person’s state of mind is the same thing as a person’s perspective. So, if a person isn’t in a positive state of mind, then that means he can’t have a positive perspective in regards to anything, which means nothing could be positive in his eyes.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Just to be clear, when you talk about positive emotions, you’re referring to pleasant emotions, right? When you talk about negative emotions, you’re referring to unpleasant emotions, right?

My Reply: Yes, and positive emotions are reward stimulation in our brains. For example, if a drug addict got high, then his high would be a positive emotion, which would be a reward stimulation going on in his brain. So, if I was going to get a new video game, and I exclaimed: “Wow, let’s get this new, awesome video game! I look forward to having it!,” then that would be a reward stimulation to my brain, and that state of exhilaration would be a positive emotion/positive state of mind, which would be a pleasant experience. I’d be in a pleasant state of mind.

Other Person’s Response: I’m just curious. How old are you? Given your philosophy, I’d assume you’re very young.

My Reply: I’m 31 years old, I’ve had this philosophy my entire life, and it’s the year 2020. I was born in September 1st, 1988. As for my philosophy, I knew that a life without positive emotions was no way to live or be an artist, and that positive emotions were the only good and beautiful things in life, based upon my personal experience. But, I just couldn’t find a way to articulate why that is, and I was very poor at explaining things in the past. But, I’ve greatly improved in terms of my writing skill. Hopefully, I’ve presented and explained my philosophy in such a way that people can easily understand it.

Other Person’s Response: If you’ve had this philosophy your entire life, then I think it’s time for a change. In order for you to develop a new, better philosophy, then you must live your life a new, better way.

My Reply: I’m not sure my philosophy can ever change, no matter how hard I try to change it. So, I could live my life a whole new way by helping others, seeking knowledge, and making contributions to the world. But, I’m not sure any of these things would change my philosophy.

Other Person’s Response: You say your philosophy might never change, no matter how hard you try to change it. I think you’re just unwilling to change it.

My Reply: That’s not true. If I ever lose my positive emotions, and can’t seem to sufficiently or fully regain them, that’s when I’ll try to change my philosophy, since that’s my only option of changing my life for the better.

Other Person’s Response: The 1st step in trying to change your philosophy is writing about it and sharing it to a mental health professional. It’s always wise to talk about our philosophies, predicaments, problems, etc.

My Reply: Yes, and I’d share my philosophy to my family as well. But, it doesn’t matter what objections people make to my philosophy in an attempt to change it; I don’t think any of these objections will change it.

Other Person’s Response: If there is a better philosophy you can live and compose by, then that means you’d no longer have this limiting and self-defeating philosophy you currently have. Your philosophy renders you giving up on your composing dream when you don’t feel up to pursuing it, and having such a philosophy won’t get you very far in your composing.

My Reply: Hopefully, I’m capable of upgrading to such a philosophy. Thus, I hope it’s not a futile endeavor to try to upgrade my philosophy.

Other Person’s Response: Some people can never be talented at drawing, no matter how hard they try, since they just don’t have the talent for it. Likewise, it could be the case that you’ll never develop a better philosophy, no matter how hard you try, since you just don’t have what it takes.

My Reply: I hope that’s not the case.

Other Person’s Response: You say you hope that’s not the case. According to your philosophy, hope can only be an emotion.

My Reply: Yes. But, I’m going outside my emotional definition of hope, just for the sake of convenience.

Other Person's Response: I think you should strengthen your intellect through intellectual exercises, such as puzzles, riddles, etc.

My Reply: I don't think that's going to change my philosophy though. Even if I became an intellectual genius, I think I'd still have the same philosophy. Becoming an intellectual genius can never replace the emotional experience of love, happiness, joy, seeing beauty in life, etc. So, becoming an intellectual genius is still no way to live or be an artist without positive emotions.

Other Person's Response: If you were an intellectual genius who helped humanity, contributed to the world, and made new discoveries, I bet you'd be having a better philosophy than the one you have now.

My Reply: I don't know about that. I might still have the same philosophy. In other words, my values might still be the same. That means my positive emotions would still be the only things that would make my intellectual endeavors good and beautiful in my eyes.

Other Person's Response: You don't think it would matter how much power and control you have over your emotions, since positive emotions are still the only way to see goodness and beauty in things?

My Reply: Yes. I don't think any amount of power and control over my emotions would change my philosophy.

Other Person's Response: I heard you have autism, and that you're a special needs person who's a bit mentally disabled. This could explain the weak philosophy you live by. I think you need to develop a stronger mind if you wish to have a better, stronger philosophy.

My Reply: I'm not sure if that would change my philosophy.

Other Person's Response: If there is more positivity to life that you can experience besides your positive emotions, then do you think you're capable of acquiring these new, positive experiences?

My Reply: I hope I am. But, I'm not sure, which means I'm not sure I'm capable of developing a better philosophy. Especially considering I'm mentally disabled.

Other Person's Response: If severely mentally handicapped people are able to develop a better philosophy, then so can you!

My Reply: I hope so.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person's Response: What if people don't understand your philosophy, and misinterpret it?

My Reply: That's fine. I tried my best to explain it, and I just hope people can understand it. That way, they'll understand why I need my positive emotions. Many people think positive emotions are shallow, trivial things, and I'm trying to explain why that's false.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says there’s nothing better to live for than feeling positive emotions. Your personal experience has led you to this conclusion. What will change your philosophy?

My Reply: It’s only through our positive emotions that things become valuable, good, etc. in our eyes. My personal experience had led me to this conclusion. If we had no positive emotions, then there can be nothing better to live for, since saying there’s something better to live for means there’s more value, beauty, goodness, etc. to live for. But, we wouldn’t be able to perceive any of it without our positive emotions.

So, that beauty, goodness, etc. wouldn’t exist in our eyes. Therefore, that means there really is nothing better to live for than feeling positive emotions from our hobbies, goals, dreams, nature, etc. But, if there’s a way to perceive beauty, goodness, etc. through our mindset alone with no need for our positive emotions, then that means there’s something better to live for than feeling positive emotions. Since my mindset alone has never given me this perception, then that’s why I have this emotional based philosophy.

Other Person’s Response: If I was unhappy, apathetic, or miserable, and didn’t have my ability to feel positive emotions, that doesn’t mean I see no goodness, value, beauty, or worth in things. So, my personal experience has led me to the conclusion that our mindset alone does allow us to see things as good, valuable, etc.

My Reply: I think you’re in denial because my personal experience has led me to conclude otherwise.

Other Person’s Response: Actually, according to your philosophy, there is something better to live for than feeling positive emotions, and that would be feeling positive emotions that are very profound and intense.

My Reply: Yes. Profound bliss is better to live for than just positive emotions. If someone got high off of drugs while pursuing a goal or dream, then that would give him a much more profound, intense, positive experience. In other words, it would give him a much more profound, intense perception of value, goodness, etc. in regards to pursuing his goal or dream. So, taking drugs would definitely enhance the quality of our lives and endeavors.

But, taking drugs is harmful, and they’ve been known to cause negative emotions, such as feelings of misery and unhappiness, which means there’s definitely a risk involved. I don’t take drugs because of that risk. They also damage the reward system of our brains, which means we’d eventually be left without the ability to feel positive emotions through extensive drug use. I’m not going to give myself some short term bliss, just so that I’ll be miserable, unhappy, and apathetic later on.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, if someone was unhappy, miserable, or apathetic, and he made many contributions to humanity his entire life, then he lived an inferior existence compared to someone who’s blissful his entire life, and does nothing for humanity.

My Reply: Correct. That blissful individual lived the better life, and that’s why his existence is superior.

Other Person’s Response: Many people would say that you’re very unenlightened, given your philosophy.

My Reply: I think it’s those people who think positive emotions are unnecessary, trivial things who are the unenlightened ones. So, anyone who lives by my philosophy is the enlightened one, and anyone who doesn’t is the unenlightened one.

Other Person’s Response: The very fact you have this philosophy makes you weak as an individual. Strong people would never allow their emotions to determine the beauty, magnificence, horror, goodness, badness, etc. in their lives. For example, a strong person would never need to feel beauty in regards to a certain moment in order for said moment to be beautiful for him.

My Reply: I think many people have stigma against emotions because they’d say that those people who live by an emotional-based philosophy, such as my philosophy, are weak people. Since people have this stigma, that renders them in denial of the beauty, magnificence, goodness, and necessity of positive emotions. They’d dismiss positive emotions as unnecessary, trivial things, and they’d say that only the weak need them.

Other Person’s Response: I realize your philosophy takes on a religious form because you say that positive emotions are divine and holy, and that negative emotions are unholy, such as those horrible, suicidal, miserable feelings you’ve had during your struggles.

My Reply: Yes. This is my own personal religion, which is a religion that’s emotional-based. That means I’m not a Christian, a Buddhist, etc.

Other Person's Response: You say that we can only see (perceive) things as beautiful, valuable, etc. through our positive emotions. That means you’re saying things only become beautiful, valuable, etc. for us through our positive emotions. I don't agree with this. It just sounds like nonsense to me.

My Reply: Think of it this way then. If there was an animal (such as a mouse), then the mouse would have the thought that a certain mate is beautiful and attractive. Once that thought sends a signal to the mouse's reward system, that would spark a reward response within the mouse, which would be a positive emotion. That reward response would be an exclamatory experience/mental state, where the mate becomes beautiful and attractive to the mouse.

So, it's only through having the reward response that things, moments, situations, and mates become beautiful, attractive, awesome, worthwhile, precious, and valuable to us. The reward response is not only meant to motivate animals, including human beings, but to make things valuable and beautiful to us. So, no reward response means nothing can be valuable or beautiful to an individual, and there are plenty of things that can disable the reward response, since positive emotions are very fleeting things.

Other Person's Response: So, when the mouse just has the thought that a mate is beautiful and attractive, that's just a thought, or idea, going through the mouse's mind, and nothing more. The mouse doesn't care about the mate yet, and neither is the mate beautiful or attractive to the mouse. But, once that thought makes the mouse feel beauty and attraction, that's the moment the mouse is like: "Wow, you're so hot, beautiful, and attractive!"

My Reply: Yes. Positive emotions are, therefore, like a divine life force, breathed into our very being. They literally make life awesome, beautiful, and amazing.

Other Person’s Response: A mouse can’t have the thought: “This mate is beautiful and attractive” because it doesn’t know the English language.

My Reply: It can still have that thought, even though said thought consists of no words.

Other Person's Response: I find it ironic how the only way to have amazing, magnificent experiences is through something as meaningless, trivial, and primitive as the reward response.

My Reply: Well, that's just the way it works, regardless of how absurd or ironic you think it is.

Other Person’s Response: Based upon your personal experience, you conclude that the only way things can become beautiful, amazing, etc. for us is through our positive emotions? From there, you say that anyone who claims otherwise would be in denial?

My Reply: Yes. That’s been my personal experience, and I’m applying my personal experience to everyone else.

Other Person’s Response: According to your religion/philosophy, positivity is holy and divine, and negativity is unholy. Positive emotions are a divine, holy life force. When a person, for example, feels a rush of awesomeness from listening to a song he thinks is awesome, that rush of awesomeness is a divine, holy life force flowing through his mind.

My Reply: Yes. Positive emotions are a divine, holy life force that pumps us up. They motivate us in positive ways. Even if positive emotions motivated someone to do reckless, harmful things, that would still be a positive motivation, since positive emotions are the only positive things in life. I’m not implying that I’d do reckless, harmful things if I felt the positive drive to do those things. I’m just saying that positive emotions are the only positivity there is in life.

Other Person’s Response: Many people would say that suffering is necessary, and that positive emotions are unnecessary. But, you’re saying that suffering is unnecessary, and that positive emotions are necessary.

My Reply: Yes. So, I think all my miserable struggles were unnecessary. They were forms of immense suffering for me, and I would’ve been much better off without them.

Other Person’s Response: You say throughout this packet that emotions are perspectives/states of mind. For example, if a person feels frightened, then that means he’s frightened, which means he’s in a frightened state of mind, which means he has a frightened perspective. So, feeling frightened (an emotion) is a frightened perspective/frightened state of mind.

According to your philosophy, if a person feels many different emotions, then that means he has many different perspectives. But, if a person feels frightened, happy, or angry, that doesn’t mean he’s frightened, happy, or angry. Thus, that doesn’t mean he has a frightened, happy, or angry perspective. So, this disproves your claim that emotions are perspectives/states of mind.

My Reply: If a person feels frightened, happy, or angry, then that means he’s frightened, happy, or angry. People can deny this all they want. But, I think it’s the truth, based upon my personal experience. Many people make the mistake of treating emotions as nothing more than feelings, when they’re really perspectives/states of mind/states of being. Emotions can be considered as alter egos. So, if a person felt happy one moment and then miserable the next, then that means he’s happy one moment and miserable the next moment.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: If a person feels fear, that means he’s experiencing fear, which means he’s afraid, which means he’s in a fearful state of mind.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: When a person has a phobia, such as a fear of spiders, spiders become very frightening in his eyes, since he feels frightened by them. But, if he overcomes his phobia, then he no longer feels afraid of spiders. Thus, he no longer perceives them as frightening. This indicates that we perceive things as frightening through our feelings of fear. No fear means no frightened perspective. So, if a person couldn’t feel fear in a dangerous situation, then that situation couldn’t be frightening for him.

My Reply: Correct. The Joker (from Batman) doesn’t feel fear in dangerous situations, which is why these situations aren’t frightening for him. He instead has fun and games during danger.

Other Person’s Response: If a person was in a dangerous situation and couldn’t feel fear, but he had the thought or belief that said situation was frightening, then that means he’s perceiving the situation as frightening. So, things can be frightening for us, which means we can be frightened by things, even without feeling fear.

My Reply: Just having the thought or belief that something’s frightening isn’t the same thing as perceiving said thing as frightening. So, we need to feel frightened about that thing in order to perceive it as frightening. It would be like how having the thought of red isn’t the same thing as seeing (perceiving) red. Without perceiving red, then we can only perceive the idea of red in our minds. Likewise, without feeling fear, then we can only perceive the idea that a certain thing or situation is frightening. But, we wouldn’t be able to see that thing or situation as frightening.

Other Person’s Response: Someone could acknowledge that a work of art is frightening or beautiful. But, that’s not the same thing as seeing that work of art as frightening or beautiful. For example, someone could acknowledge that a certain song is beautiful, but hate that song, and see nothing beautiful about it.

My Reply: That’s right. Our mindset alone just allows us to acknowledge that things are beautiful, frightening, etc. But, it’s our emotions that allow us to actually see those things as beautiful, frightening, etc. So, in that example you gave of the person who didn’t see the song as beautiful, he didn’t have a feeling of beauty (a positive emotion) in regards to the song. He instead felt negative emotions about the song, which would be a feeling of hate, and a feeling that the song was just plain awful.

Other Person’s Response: Since that person didn’t see the song as beautiful, then that means it was nothing beautiful for him, even though he acknowledged it as beautiful.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Another example would be if there was a painting that costs a lot of money, and was valuable in the eyes of many people. One person could look at the painting and say to himself: “I know this is a valuable painting. But, personally, it’s valueless trash in my eyes. I wouldn’t want that piece of garbage hanging on my wall!”

My Reply: Yes. That means the painting was nothing valuable for that person, which means he didn’t have a feeling of value (a positive emotion) in regards to the painting.

Other Person’s Response: What if there was a person who thought that the painting was valuable for him, even though he didn’t have a feeling of value in regards to the painting?

My Reply: Then he’d be in denial. There’s no way it can be valuable in his eyes if he didn’t have a feeling of value.

Other Person’s Response: So, if a person couldn’t feel fear, and just had the thought or belief that a situation was frightening for him, or that he was frightened by a situation, then that’s not the same thing as said situation being frightening for him, or him being frightened by that situation?

My Reply: Correct. In order to be frightened by something, you need to perceive it as frightening, and thoughts or beliefs alone don’t allow us to perceive things as frightening.

Other Person’s Response: So, emotions are the only things that make moments, people, situations, and works of art frightening, horrible, beautiful, amazing, adorable, good, bad, valuable, precious, worthwhile, magnificent, horrific, disgusting, morbid, tragic, etc. for us?

My Reply: Correct. Again, going back to the phobia example, when a person overcomes his phobia, he no longer feels afraid of the stimulus, which is why that stimulus is no longer frightening for him. I could give another example, which would be feeling erotic. If a person couldn’t feel that way, then that means he couldn’t perceive anything as erotic, which means nothing could be erotic for him. So, if a person felt depressed, and couldn’t feel erotic from pornographic images, then those images couldn’t be erotic for him. Since he can’t feel erotic, then he can’t have an erotic experience, which is why he can’t experience those images as erotic.

Other Person’s Response: Frightening, erotic, sad, etc. are value judgments (emotions).

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Based upon your personal experience, do you agree that emotions are the only things that make people, moments, situations, and works of art frightening, beautiful, etc. for us?

My Reply: Yes. For example, I know that when I don’t feel afraid about something, that this thing can’t be frightening for me. When I don’t feel beauty or horror in regards to something, this thing can’t be beautiful or horrific for me.

Other Person’s Response: Having the thought of a certain scent, such as the scent of a rose, isn’t the same thing as smelling that scent. So, there’s a difference between what we think and what we see, smell, taste, hear, etc. Your philosophy applies the same analogy to emotions because you say that having the thought that something’s frightening for you, or having the thought that something’s precious for you, isn’t the same thing as that thing being frightening or precious for you.

My Reply: Yes. Thoughts and emotions aren’t the same thing, and a person can only see something as frightening or precious through his emotions.

Other Person’s Response: So, we can only value things as precious, beautiful, good, amazing, etc. through our positive emotions?

My Reply: Yes, and people would be in denial to believe otherwise.

Other Person’s Response: Many people in this world are ignorant. So, many people would be ignorant of the fact that emotions are perceptions of good, bad, beauty, horror, etc.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: I have a quote that supports your philosophy, and it's a famous quote by Hume: "Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them." When Hume talks about passions, he’s referring to emotions. Here’s the definition of passion online:

“In philosophy and religion, the passions are the instinctive, emotional, primitive drives in a human being (including, for example, lust, anger, aggression and jealousy) which a human being must restrain, channel, develop, and sublimate in order to be possessed of wisdom.”

My Reply: Without emotions, we’d have no motivation, passion, and we wouldn’t be able to see anything as good, bad, beautiful, frightening, etc. We’d be apathetic, which means we’d have an apathetic perspective. So, without emotions, we wouldn’t have that life force of passion, motivation, etc. Even though we could think and act through reason alone, just as how a robot can still think and act without emotions, living a life of reason alone is no way to live or be an artist.

Emotions are like a life force. Without them, then we’re like machines that are stripped of the ultimate life forces in this universe, which would be the positive/holy/divine life force (positive emotions), and the negative/unholy life force (negative emotions). But, we should avoid those negative emotions, which means we don’t need that unholy life force of hate, badness, disgust, horror, etc. We need that holy life force of love, goodness, beauty, joy, etc.

Other Person’s Response: So, love, happiness, fear, passion, good, bad, horror, etc. are actual things? They’re a life force?

My Reply: Yes. They’re emotions, and they can only be emotions, regardless if a person defined them as something else.

Other Person's Response: Here's another thing I’d like to share:

"Therefore, moral good and evil are not discovered by reason alone. ... The second and more famous argument makes use of the conclusion defended earlier that reason alone cannot move us to act. As we have seen, reason alone “can never immediately prevent or produce any action by contradicting or approving of it” (T 458)."

My Reply: Thanks for sharing!

Other Person’s Response: Since we’re apathetic without our emotions, then the only way to admire someone is through our feelings of admiration (positive emotions) because admiring someone means that we’re not apathetic in regards to that person.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Positive emotions can be unholy if they’re used to harm others, commit crimes, etc., and negative emotions can be holy if they’re used for righteous deeds.

My Reply: According to my philosophy, that wouldn’t be so. Since positive emotions are the only good, beautiful, amazing, etc. things in life, then that means they’re the only holy, divine things in life. Also, feelings of righteousness (positive emotions) are the only righteousness there is in life. Since negative emotions are the only bad, disgusting, horrific, etc. things in life, then that means they’re the only unholy things in life.

Other Person’s Response: Since the worst possible misery would be the worst thing, according to your philosophy, and according to Sam Harris, then that means it would be the most unholy thing? Since the best possible bliss would be the best thing, then that means it would be the most holy thing?

My Reply: Yes.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person's Response: If you think that good, bad, etc. is purely emotional based, then you lack empathy. An empathetic individual would be living by a much better definition of good, bad, etc.

My Reply: Well, empathy can't exist without emotions because empathy is where you care about someone, and you can't care about anyone or anything if you had no emotions. Love, hate, sorrow, good, bad, etc. can't exist either without emotions.

Other Person’s Response: You say there were moments where you were miserable and apathetic. You had no feelings of goodness or beauty whatsoever, which means, according to your philosophy, you couldn’t perceive any goodness or beauty whatsoever. Yet, you were still able to determine that certain things were good and beautiful.

Such a determination means that you were perceiving some goodness and beauty. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to make such a determination. So, I think you’re wrong when you say that emotions are the only perceptions of goodness, beauty, horror, etc. We make non-emotional assessments all the time, and such assessments presuppose that reason alone allows us to perceive good, bad, etc.

My Reply: I can still make such determinations, even without perceiving any goodness or beauty. If I was completely apathetic, where I had no emotions whatsoever, I can still make moral assessments, which means I could still determine that certain deeds and situations are good, bad, horrible, beautiful, etc., even without perceiving anything as good, bad, etc.

For example, if someone said he was going to give money to the poor, I already know that’s considered to be a good deed. So, I can still have the thought that it’s good, even without perceiving it as good. Another example would be that I know what’s considered to be amazing, beautiful, or horrible sound quality.

I could listen to some sound samples, compare them, and determine which sounds are beautiful and amazing, and which ones are horrible, even without perceiving them as beautiful, amazing, or horrible. All that’s needed for me to make such a determination would be listening to the samples. The samples that have poor sound quality would be the horrible ones, since I already know that poor sound quality is considered to be horrible.

The samples that have high sound quality would be the beautiful and amazing ones, since I know that’s what’s considered to be beautiful and amazing sound. One last example would be people coming up with dumb or intelligent arguments to support their position. I already know that dumb arguments are considered to be bad ones, while the intelligent arguments are considered to be the good and better ones.

Other Person’s Response: Basically, you’re saying you already have knowledge that allows you to make such determinations, which means you don’t require perceptions of good, bad, etc. to make such determinations.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: In regards to emotions, they’re sometimes not triggered by thoughts or beliefs. They can be triggered automatically. For example, if a person had a phobia of spiders, then he’d automatically feel fear when he encounters them.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, there’s no good, bad, etc. that’s non-emotional. So, if all people had no emotions, then that means nothing in this world could be good, bad, etc.

My Reply: Correct. If, for example, I was apathetic, and I determined that something was good, then there’d be no goodness in my personal life. Feeling good is what brings goodness to our lives, feeling horror is what brings horror to our lives, etc. Emotions are the only things that give goodness, badness, horror, etc. to things in our lives.

Other Person’s Response: I realized you still did certain things with your life during your misery, such as pursuing your composing dream. But, that doesn’t mean you were perceiving your composing dream as good, beautiful, precious, or worthwhile. Even a robot could take up certain tasks without such a perception. A robot is just a machine, which means it can’t perceive anything as good, bad, precious, worthwhile, etc.

My Reply: Correct. Robots don’t have emotions, which means they can’t have that perception. But, they don’t require this perception to get things done.

Other Person’s Response: If your composing dream had no value or worth in your eyes during your misery, then you wouldn’t have pursued it. That shows your composing did have value and worth to you, even without your positive emotions. So, you don’t need your positive emotions to see your composing as valuable, good, or worthwhile. Therefore, there’s no need to give up on your composing when you’re miserable, unhappy, or apathetic.

My Reply: A person’s acts, expressions, and tones don’t have to match up with his inner experience. So, I can still act like I see value in my composing, and pursue it, even though it really has no value, worth, or goodness in my eyes. Here are some other examples. If a person was sad or angry, he could still act like he’s happy, and jump around with a joyful tone of voice.

If a person was completely apathetic in regards to a show or movie, he could still act like he’s interested in it, and watch it. If a person wasn’t hungry or thirsty, he could still act like he’s hungry or thirsty, and get something to eat or drink. Lastly, a cruel, nasty person, who has nothing but hate for humanity, could still act like he’s nice, and do kind deeds, just to fool people.

Other Person’s Response: So, people shouldn’t jump to any conclusions based upon your acts, tones, or expressions? They need to realize what you’re actually experiencing on the inside?

My Reply: Yes. So, when I’m miserable, people need to realize that I’m not having any valuable, happy, beautiful, or worthwhile experience, regardless of how much my acts, tones, or expressions convey otherwise.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that people would be apathetic without their emotions. There were moments in my life where I was unable to feel any emotions. But, things and situations still mattered to me, which means I wasn’t apathetic.

My Reply: You just think they mattered to you, when they didn’t. So, you really were apathetic, which means you’re in denial. People are in denial in regards to emotions because they think they don’t need them to make things matter to them. Also, even if you pursued goals and dreams without your emotions, that doesn’t mean you weren’t apathetic because a person can act like goals and dreams matter to him, and pursue them, even though they don’t matter to him.

Other Person’s Response: I take it there were moments in your life where you were unable to feel any emotions. You still did things anyway, such as brushing your teeth, taking a shower, etc. But, you realized you were apathetic. So, that leads you to the conclusion that people are apathetic without their emotions, regardless of their acts, tones, words, and expressions.

My Reply: Yes. People may claim they’re not apathetic without their emotions. But, I think they’re in denial. They’d also be in denial if they think they’re able to love, have compassion towards others, or perceive anything as good, beautiful, etc. without their emotions.

Other Person’s Response: People can still do things in life, even when they’re apathetic. It’s called “Going through the motions of life” or “Dragging oneself along through life.” It would also be like playing out a movie that’s dull and gray.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: There’s a difference between will and motivation. A person can have no motivation to do something, but still do it anyway through sheer will power. For example, people with clinical depression complain of a lack of sex drive. But, a person without any sex drive can still engage in sex through sheer will alone.

My Reply: Yes. But, that’s no way to have sex. He needs that positive drive (emotion) to have sex in order for it to be an amazing, beautiful, and erotic endeavor for him.

Other Person’s Response: So, you’re basically saying that a life of sheer will alone, without any emotion, is no way to live, be an artist, or have sex?

My Reply: Correct. Also, emotions are more than just motivation. For example, without emotions, we’d just be apathetic beings. But, we wouldn’t be happy, sad, angry, frightened, erotic, etc. beings. So, emotions are aspects of our very being. Many people say that relying on emotions is a character weakness, and that a person just needs to rely on will power alone to get through life. But, people who say this are dismissing emotions as trivial, unnecessary things, when they’re not. They treat will power and character as being superior to emotions, when it’s the other way around.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that you’re in a chronically miserable state of mind right now, due to some worry that has devastated you. It’s a worry your subconscious mind is constantly stuck on, and you’re having a difficult time recovering from it. You are recovering. But, you’re trying methods that will speed up your recovery, so that you can return back to your happy, positively motivated state of mind faster. You’re trying certain therapies, meditation, exercise, etc. Out of all these methods, you notice that intense exercise has the most benefit for you, which means it’s significantly accelerating your recovery. Exercise has many benefits for the brain and body, and I’m glad you’re doing it. Especially intense exercise.

My Reply: Yes. As for meditation, you’re supposed to close your eyes, focus on your breathing, and let your troubles, worries, and negative thoughts melt away. I tried that for quite some time, and it just doesn’t seem to speed up my recovery. Perhaps I’m not doing meditation correctly.

Other Person’s Response: So, are you going to do some intense exercise through sheer will alone, even though you’re miserable, and have no motivation to do it?

My Reply: As of now, I’m almost fully recovered, and I do have a little bit of positive motivation to exercise. So, I will run some more on the track or treadmill. I’ve been mostly doing brisk walking. But, I’ll do some more running.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person's Response: I heard that you feel many negative emotions during this crisis. If you continue to expose yourself to these emotions, I think that will speed up your recovery. So, I think exposure therapy is the answer for you. An example of exposure therapy would be someone overcoming his phobia by facing it. By exposing himself to his feeling of fear, it fades away.

I realize you give up watching anime and playing video games because of those miserable feelings that make you perceive the characters, and their worlds, as morbidly insignificant and meaningless. But, I don't think you should give up. By continuing to experience those miserable feelings, rather than running away from them, that will allow you to enjoy anime and video games sooner. Sure, you'd have to bear through a miserable life for a while. But, you'd eventually get back to a place of joy.

My Reply: I'm not sure if that will speed up my recovery or not. Also, I am already allowing and facing all those negative emotions that naturally occur on their own as a result of this crisis. But, I'm not sure if taking things a step further by continually exposing myself will speed up my recovery. I'll try it though.

Other Person's Response: I think you have to expose yourself to the very source of all those negative emotions (which would be the worry itself) in order for your recovery to speed up. That means you must constantly think about the worry, and imagine it coming true, since that's how you'd continually expose yourself to it. If you just expose yourself to those negative emotions, then I don't think that's going to speed up your recovery from this worry.

My Reply: You might be wrong. So, if I continue to expose myself to that feeling of misery that keeps on popping up whenever I watch anime or video games, then that really might speed up my recovery from the worry itself.

Other Person's Response: If you all of a sudden believed that this misery-inducing worry of yours wouldn't come true, would you be fully recovered right now?

My Reply: Yes. I think I'd be fully recovered instantly. So, my chronically miserable state could be instantly healed if I had that belief. If this miserable state was a mental illness, then having that belief wouldn't help it at all. In other words, my brain would still remain stuck in that miserable state, just as how a clinically depressed person's brain would remain stuck in a depressed state.

Other Person's Response: If a person was miserable, due to the loss of his loved one, then his misery would vanish if his loved one was brought back to life.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If a person feels sleepy, then that means he’s sleepy, which means he’s in a sleepy state of mind, which means he has a sleepy perspective.

My Reply: Yes. The same idea applies to emotions. So, if you wish to be in an awesome or magnificent state of mind, then you must feel awesomeness or magnificence (which are positive emotions). Such states of mind are divine and holy, unlike a sleepy state of mind (which is just sleepiness, and nothing more). So, if a person felt sleepy, then he’s just sleepy. But, if he felt awesomeness or magnificence, then it’s as though he has entered into a divine, holy, god-like state of mind.

Other Person’s Response: Just to be clear, when you talk about feelings of awesomeness and magnificence, you’re talking about feelings a person has in regards to a work of art, situation, moment, etc.?

My Reply: Yes. So, if a person felt that a certain work of art was awesome or magnificent, that feeling would allow him to perceive the work of art as awesome or magnificent, and that feeling/perception would be putting him in an awesome or magnificent state of mind.

Other Person’s Response: In a movie, the mood is the atmosphere, and moods are emotions. So, if a character felt miserable in a movie, then that feeling is an emotion, which would be a miserable mood/atmosphere in the movie. The same idea applies to life itself. If a person were to feel miserable, then that creates a miserable mental atmosphere for him. So, I think you’re right when you say that emotions are perspectives/states of mind.

My Reply: Yes. So, if a person wishes to create a beautiful mental atmosphere for himself, then he must feel beauty in regards to something or someone. If a person wishes to create a horrific mental atmosphere for himself, then he must feel horror in regards to something or someone. Our minds need to be in a beautiful, amazing, magnificent, etc. atmosphere, and that’s why we need those positive emotions.

Other Person’s Response: You talked about the emotion perception theory that’s been put forth by emotion theorists earlier. It’s a theory that states that emotions are perceptions of horror, beauty, awesomeness, magnificence, etc. Such perceptions are mental atmospheres. If emotions were nothing more than feelings, and not perceptions, then they’d just be feelings, and not mental atmospheres.

My Reply: Yes. Emotions are perspectives, and perspectives are states of mind, which are mental atmospheres. For example, when you perceive something as disgusting, that’s your perspective, which is an emotion, which is a disgusting, mental atmosphere. Being unable to feel emotions means no beautiful, horrific, disgusting, miserable, happy, etc. mental atmosphere for you.

Other Person’s Response: The opposite of mental turmoil and misery would be joy and peace. I completely understand why you’d want your mind to be in a joyful, peaceful, beautiful place because not too many people want their minds to be in a place of turmoil and misery. So, I understand why you wish to only feel positive emotions, and not those negative emotions you felt during your struggles, such as turmoil, misery, disgust, etc.

My Reply: Yes. I think I would’ve been much better off never having these struggles.

Other Person’s Response: If positive emotions are so necessary, holy, and divine as you say they are, then why does the opposite exist (negative emotions)? Why is there so much suffering and misery in this world?

My Reply: Spiritual believers say this Earthly existence is a realm of duality, where there’s happiness and unhappiness, love and hate, etc.

Other Person’s Response: You define happiness as an emotion. But, it’s up to the individual how he wishes to define happiness.

My Reply: If I was frustrated, and I defined that frustration as happiness, then that wouldn’t change the fact that I was still frustrated. If I hated someone, and I defined that hate as love, then that wouldn’t change the fact that I still hated that person. Frustration and hate are states of mind, and defining them as happiness and love won’t change the fact that they’re still frustration and hate. It won’t transform them into happiness and love. So, our definitions don’t change anything.

Other Person’s Response: So, if a person felt frustrated, that means he’s frustrated. If he defined that frustration as happiness, then he’d still be frustrated.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If nothing mattered to someone, and he defined those things as mattering to him anyway, then those things still wouldn’t matter to him.

My Reply: Correct. When something matters to you, that’s a state of mind, and such a state can’t magically pop into existence through definitions alone.

Other Person’s Response: If a person was in a frustrated state of mind while trying to learn something, and he defined his learning efforts as happiness, then his definition of happiness would be disregarding his frustrated state of mind. If a person was in a miserable, suicidal state of mind, and he defined the enduring of his suffering as happiness, then his definition of happiness would be disregarding his miserable, suicidal state of mind.

My Reply: Yes. There were times where I was miserable and suicidal, and I defined the enduring of this misery as happiness. But, that didn’t work for me. It did nothing for me, which means it didn’t change my life for the better. I was still trapped in that horrible, miserable, suicidal pit. So, definitions won’t get me out of that pit. The only thing that would get me out of that pit and, thus, change my life for the better, would be a change in my state of mind. I’d have to change from a miserable, suicidal state of mind back to a positive state of mind. I make that change naturally on my own as my psyche slowly and gradually recovers on its own from these miserable, suicidal moments.

Other Person’s Response: So, the only way you can be happy would be if you recovered from your misery, and felt happy?

My Reply: Correct. As long as I’m in that miserable, suicidal state of mind, then I can’t be happy by defining happiness however I want.

Other Person’s Response: When a person has a change in his perspective/state of mind, that will change his life for the better or for the worse. So, I agree that definitions alone won’t change one’s life for the better or for the worse.

My Reply: Correct. I could endure my misery all I wanted to, and I could define that endurance as happiness as much as I wanted to. But, again, that wouldn’t change my life for the better.

Other Person’s Response: So, when you were in that suicidal, miserable pit, and you defined the enduring of this misery as happiness, then that definition of happiness was completely hollow, and didn’t work at all for you?

My Reply: Correct. I also defined that misery as good and beautiful. But, that didn’t work at all for me either. So, definitions aren’t going to work, since they’re hollow. They’re nothing more than hollow sentences going through my mind, such as: “This misery is what I call happiness, good, and beautiful.” Such definitions are nothing more than words being uttered in a dark, suicidal, miserable void. Thus, the only thing that can bring me happiness, and bring my life goodness and beauty, would be my positive emotions.

Other Person’s Response: You say these definitions are nothing more than words in a dark void. That means they’re not the actual light you need in your life. Your positive emotions are the light that would illuminate that dark void.

My Reply: Correct. That means my positive emotions are the actual happiness, goodness, beauty, magnificence, etc. I need in my life. Just having certain thoughts (such as definitions) won’t help me at all when I’m miserable.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: It seems to me there’s a difference between one’s personal experience and one’s personal definitions because defining the enduring of your misery as happiness did nothing to change your personal experience. Your personal experience was like being in a dark, suicidal, miserable void of nothingness. Your life’s experience was completely hollow, and definitions did absolutely nothing to change that.

My Reply: Correct. Also, imagine a scenario where someone was miserable due to the loss of his loved one, and everything in his life became morbidly insignificant and meaningless in his eyes. If he defined the enduring of his miserable, hollow experience as good, beautiful, or happiness, that would do nothing for him. So, one’s personal experience is 1st priority. Not one’s definitions, actions, or deeds.

Other Person’s Response: So, it’s one’s state of mind that’s 1st priority?

My Reply: Yes, and we need to be in a positive state of mind.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that, during your miserable moments, things became morbidly insignificant and meaningless in your eyes, and that this morbid perception was something you couldn’t just will away. Defining the enduring of this morbid perception as happiness did nothing to change this perception.

My Reply: Correct. It didn’t transform this morbid perception into a happy perception, and it didn’t make things in my life perceived as beautiful, awesome, good, etc. Only my positive emotions can give me such a perception. So, I think you can see why a life without positive emotions is no way to live or be an artist.

Other Person’s Response: During your miserable moments, it didn’t matter what thought you had because no thought could change this morbid perception?

My Reply: Correct. I had the mindset of helping others, contributing to the world, pursuing my composing dream, etc. in an attempt to change this morbid perception. But, it didn’t help at all. Many things also became morbidly disturbing and tragic in my eyes, and having such a perception was also no way to live or be an artist.

Again, I couldn’t change that perception either, no matter how hard I tried. I had so many negative emotions (perceptions) during my miserable moments, such as the enraged desire to give up on my composing dream, the enraged desire to end my life, harm myself and others, etc., and I couldn’t change them. I had to recover from these miserable moments in order for all those negative emotions to pass, and for my positive emotions to return.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that all your miserable struggles were chronic, and that they took a long time to recover from. But, your recent miserable struggle took the longest to recover from, since it was the worst of all your struggles. Why didn’t god, or his angels, bestow upon you the ability to fully recover instantly? That way, you wouldn’t have suffered for so long, and you would’ve been back to your normal, happy self in a few seconds.

My Reply: Why even bestow upon me the ability to be miserable in the first place?

Other Person’s Response: If god and his angels exist, then it seems they don’t care about your feelings. If they cared, they wouldn’t have allowed you to be miserable. They would’ve ensured your happiness.

My Reply: It seems they don’t care about my state of mind. If I’m in a miserable, suicidal state of mind, then they’ll just allow me to remain in that horrible state.

Other Person’s Response: You said you were suicidal during these miserable struggles. It’s selfish to be suicidal!

My Reply: I couldn’t help but be suicidal, since I couldn’t help but feel suicidal. Feeling certain emotions isn’t always under our control, and feeling suicidal is one of these emotions. Emotions are states of mind, as I said earlier. So, if a person feels suicidal, that means he’s in a suicidal state of mind, which means he’s suicidal, which means he has a suicidal perspective.

Other Person’s Response: In regards to suicide, there are laws in the spirit realm, and suicide is spiritually unlawful. People who commit suicide won’t escape their suffering. They’ll bring their suffering with them, and they’ll remain in a dark, morbid place in the afterlife, where they’ll continue to suffer in misery. That’s their penalty. If they then try to communicate to people on Earth through a medium, they’ll cease to exist. Such communication is also spiritually unlawful, and they’ll be penalized with permanent soul annihilation.

My Reply: Whoever made such laws and punishments wouldn’t be an all-loving god or being. If there are other spiritual beings, then they wouldn’t be all-loving either, since they’re not rescuing these souls from the darkness, and not saving them from permanent destruction.

Other Person’s Response: There are people who continue to remain suicidal, no matter what help they get. So, why should they be punished if they commit suicide?

My Reply: Exactly.

Other Person’s Response: Your philosophy says that suffering is unnecessary. But, it’s necessary because it has to do with karma. We need to pay off karmic debt, and suffering is how it gets paid off.

My Reply: I think that whole spiritual journey of suffering to pay off karmic debt is unnecessary. It’s also unnecessary for souls to remain in a dark, miserable afterlife after they’ve committed suicide, and it’s unnecessary for them to be permanently destroyed for making contact to people on Earth through a medium. What’s necessary is living an eternally blissful life. If we are eternal spiritual beings, and there’s a blissful heaven, then heaven would be an eternally blissful life that’s free of misery, illness, pain, etc.

Other Person’s Response: Many people would prefer an eternally blissful life, where they can feel all the positive emotions they want, such as sexual ecstasy.

My Reply: Yes. Not too many people would prefer to suffer a life of negative emotions, such as feelings of misery and agony. I think such negative emotions are unnecessary.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, emotions are states of mind and states of being. So, if a person felt sexually aroused, that means he’s in a sexually erotic state of mind, which means he becomes a sexually erotic person.

My Reply: Yes. So, if a person prefers to live a blissful life where he gets to feel sexually erotic all he wants to, then that means he wishes to be in an erotic state of mind all he wants to, and it means he wishes to be an erotic person all he wants to. I’ll admit, many people prefer to have an erotic experience, and they say it’s a beautiful, amazing experience.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, life isn’t about our actions, deeds, etc. It’s all about the experience. So, we need to have as much profound, intense, positive experiences (positive emotions) as we can throughout our lives.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: So, you think life’s all about our personal fun, entertainment, and enjoyment? You think there’s no need to suffer?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Many religious doctrines teach the value and necessity of suffering. But, your doctrine opposes them.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If suffering is so divine and necessary, as many religious believers claim, then why are there psychic healers who’ve been bestowed with the divine gift of healing the minds and bodies of suffering people? It makes suffering seem unnecessary because if a person was in a state of mental grief and turmoil, then the very existence of these psychic healers implies that this person doesn’t need to be in such a state of suffering, and he can have his mind healed if he chooses. The same idea applies to physical illnesses. It makes them seem unnecessary as well.

My Reply: You’re right. It would be like if god and his angels said that having car problems is divine and necessary, but divinely inspired people to fix cars. It seems like a contradiction. Psychic healers say their healing powers came from God (aka Source) and his angels, and that contradicts the religious notion that suffering is divine and necessary.

Other Person’s Response: There are people who have near death experiences, go on heavenly trips to the afterlife, and report that god and his angels said that suffering is divine and necessary. But, that’s a contradiction, given the existence of psychic healers.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Since having car problems is unnecessary, then it would be best if we lived in a world where cars have no problems. Likewise, if suffering is unnecessary, then it would be best if we lived in a world where there’s no suffering. There are people who have their lives and talents robbed by physical illnesses, and if their struggles are unnecessary, then it would be best if they never had them to begin with. An example would be someone who has to live his life with cancer on a hospital bed, and can never pursue his talents, goals, and passions. If his cancer was unnecessary, then why didn’t god and his angels just heal his cancer directly? Better yet, why didn’t they just create him as a being who’s incapable of having cancer and other illnesses?

My Reply: You’re right. If people could have these illnesses healed by psychic healers, then there was never any point in having these illnesses to begin with. So, it would be best if god and his angles created us as beings who are incapable of having such illnesses in the first place.

Other Person’s Response: In heaven, we have perfect bodies that are incapable of illnesses. There’s no suffering of any kind in heaven.

My Reply: But, our Earthly bodies are imperfect, and we could’ve had perfect Earthly bodies if god and his angles made this decision. They could’ve created us as Earthly beings who are incapable of having any kind of suffering or illness.

Other Person’s Response: If suffering and illness is so divine and necessary, then why are there scientists trying to find cures, and create a utopia life for us in the future? Why are they being inspired by god and his angels to invent cures? In addition, why does someone as loving and compassionate as Michael Jackson talk about healing the world, and making it a better place? One of his songs is titled “Heal the World.”

My Reply: I don’t know. In the distant future, there may be no more suffering or illness, which would make all the suffering and illness we had in the past seem unnecessary.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: Having suffering and illness is necessary for scientists to learn things to invent cures. It’s a beautiful learning experience for them, which means they benefit.

My Reply: A person’s life shouldn’t be robbed by suffering and illness, just so scientists can have this beautiful learning experience. Besides, scientists can learn other things, which means they can have other beautiful learning experiences. So, even if we lived in a world where there was never any suffering or illness to begin with, scientists can still learn other things.

Other Person’s Response: So, you don’t think a person should suffer for the benefit of others?

My Reply: Correct. For example, I never needed to suffer from all these miserable struggles, just so that my family and therapist can gain more sympathy and compassion. I need my positive emotions, which means I don’t need to suffer for any given reason.

Other Person’s Response: So, if you had the choice to put yourself through much misery to help others, you wouldn’t?

My Reply: I wouldn’t. I have my own life of joy to live, and I won’t accept such a life being denied to me.

Other Person’s Response: Many people talk about self-sacrifice, such as giving up a life of happiness and self-centered passions. But, your lifestyle is one of self-preservation rather than self-sacrifice, since you wish to live the longest, happiest life you can live, you wish to pursue your own interests and passions, such as composing, you prefer a life of no illness, etc.

My Reply: Yes. As for living a long life, I heard there might be a cure for illness and aging 10 years from now. If that cure is found by then, I’m purchasing that cure and taking it. If I don’t have the money for it, then I’ll find a way to make money.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that you’ve recently had an emotional crisis, and you were in much mental turmoil and misery. This was the absolute worst crisis than all the other ones you’ve had because the recent thought that devastated you was far more troubling than all the other thoughts that have devastated you. Thus, it took you much longer to recover from this crisis than all your other ones. So far, it’s been over 3 years, and you’re still not fully recovered. But, you’re getting very close to a full recovery, where you’ll be able to feel positive emotions, such as the joy to compose. You could’ve had your mental suffering healed by a psychic healer. That way, you wouldn’t have suffered for so long, and you would’ve had your joy back to you within a short time. So, why didn’t you visit one of these healers?

My Reply: Well, first of all, the idea never popped into my mind until now. Secondly, I don’t think there’s any psychic healing center where I live. Even if there was, I don’t think my mother has the money to afford a healing session, which might cost a lot of money. I’m not sure how much a healing session would cost though. Also, I’m not sure if psychic healing is even real or not because we might live in a universe where supernatural things, such as psychic powers, ghosts, telepathy, etc. aren’t real phenomena. Even if psychic healing was real, there are many frauds out there who make claims of healing, but don’t heal.

Other Person’s Response: If someone was living his life on a hospital bed with cancer, then his family or friends could contact a psychic healer who could heal his cancer from a distance. So, psychic healers don’t need to be there in person. But, many people are unaware of psychic healers. Thus, many people endure their suffering and illnesses without realizing that they can have them healed. I personally think there’s plenty of evidence for psychic healers. As a matter of fact, I think there’s plenty of evidence that we have the power to heal ourselves, and that we just need to tap into this innate healing ability. We have the ability to instantly heal ourselves of suffering and illness through the power of our minds, and many people are unaware of this as well.

My Reply: Well, like I said, I don’t know if any of this is true or not.

Other Person’s Response: If we do have the innate ability to heal ourselves through the power of our minds, then why must it be a hidden ability that people are unaware of, and must learn how to tap into? Why can’t it just automatically be triggered when a person has some form of suffering or illness, and wishes he didn’t have said suffering or illness? That way, people wouldn’t have to suffer while being unaware of some hidden healing ability, and they could heal themselves through the sheer will alone of wanting their suffering eliminated.

My Reply: I don’t understand this either. If sheer will alone could heal our suffering and illnesses, then I think that would be wonderful. I’ve had many miserable struggles throughout my life, and I had the will to eliminate my suffering. But, that will didn’t heal my suffering one bit. However, if I do have an innate healing ability, I was aware of it while I was suffering, and I found a way to tap into it, then I would’ve healed my misery right then and there.

Other Person’s Response: Are you fully recovered from all the other devastating moments you’ve had in the past?

My Reply: Yes. But, I’m still recovering from this recent crisis. There are actually moments now where I’m able to feel certain positive emotions, such as certain positive drives. But, I don’t have my full capacity to feel positive emotions yet. That should be restored once I’m fully recovered. I don’t have my emotional drive to pursue my composing dream yet, and I’m still waiting for that drive to return. Once it does, I’m going back to composing again.

Other Person’s Response: Waiting for your composing drive to return before going back to composing would be no different than a person waiting for his sex drive to return before engaging in sex again. It would also be like a person waiting for his drive to lift weights to return before going back to the gym to lift weights.

My Reply: Yes. Also, since I have no drive to pursue my composing, then that means the pursuit of my composing can’t be valuable, precious, worthwhile, good, etc. in my eyes. It means I’m currently apathetic in regards to pursuing my composing dream.

Other Person’s Response: During your miserable struggles, were there moments of normalcy, where you were happy? I ask this because there are people who are miserable one moment, and happy the next.

My Reply: No. I was trapped in a horrible, miserable, unhealthy state of mind 24/7, and it took a long time for my brain to restore itself back to its normal, happy, healthy state. Sometimes, the brain can get stuck like this, and it takes a while for it to restore itself back to normal. An example would be people who have chronic, clinical depression. Their brains are stuck in this chronically depressed state. If they do recover, then it takes a long time, even with many treatments. Sometimes, it can take a short time.

Other Person’s Response: Since all your miserable struggles were caused by worries and negative thoughts, and since it took a long time to recover from them, then that means your psyche was troubled for quite some time.

My Reply: Yes. I’ve also had profoundly horrible, horrific, and disturbing nightmares virtually every day during these miserable struggles. The negative emotions I’ve felt during these nightmares were much more profound and horrible than the ones I’ve felt during my waking life.

Other Person’s Response: You say you’ve had many miserable struggles throughout your life, and it was a cycle you were caught in. That means you had one miserable moment, fully recovered from it, had another miserable moment immediately afterwards, fully recovered from it, etc.

My Reply: Yes. Religious believers do talk about a cycle of bad karma and suffering that people can get caught in. Perhaps I was caught in one of these cycles. But, I think I’ve broken this cycle, which means I don’t think I’m going to have any more of these miserable moments.

Other Person’s Response: In regards to this recent worry you’re having, is there any pep talk that would help you?

My Reply: No. I also tried telling myself as many things as possible, and nothing helped either.

Other Person’s Response: Do you struggle with clinical depression?

My Reply: No. Clinical depression is a form of depression that’s not caused by thoughts or worries, and I don’t have that form of depression.

Other Person’s Response: If god wanted you to go through all these miserable struggles, so that you could learn the life lesson of having a healthy mindset (i.e. having no negative thoughts or worries) in order to prevent bringing anymore misery upon yourself, then you’ve already learned this life lesson. You’ve already learned it the exact moment you’ve had this recent emotional crisis, which was triggered by a devastating worry. But, you’re unable to will this worry away, despite having learned this life lesson. So, that means you continue to suffer until, one day, the worry resolves on its own, and you’re happy again. Since you’ve already learned your life lesson, then there’s no need to suffer like this. I don’t understand why god, or his angels, don’t just heal your mind of all this suffering.

My Reply: I don’t understand either. This is a worry my subconscious mind is constantly fixated on. Thus, I continue to suffer in misery, even though I’m consciously not worried, and fixated on other things, such as my daily tasks. So, my subconscious is constantly troubled, while my conscious isn’t troubled. As of now, I’m mostly apathetic, and I’m no longer in that horrible, unhealthy, miserable state of mind. But, I do continue to feel negative emotions, such as brief moments of misery, rage, despair, etc. Once I’m fully recovered from this crisis, I shouldn’t feel any of those negative emotions anymore. I should now be happy and able to enjoy my life and hobbies again. Positive emotions shut off during an emotional crisis because that’s a part of the recovery process. But, they get restored once a person fully recovers from his crisis.

Other Person’s Response: You’re still having nightmares to this very day, right?

My Reply: Yes. This shows that my mind is still troubled because I normally don’t have nightmares at all. Especially the types of nightmares I’m having, which consist of profound negative emotions.

Other Person’s Response: Having an emotional crisis can cause a person to develop a mental illness known as “anhedonia,” where the person is unable to feel positive emotions, even after having fully recovered from his crisis.

My Reply: I hope that doesn’t happen to me then. But, I do notice that my positive emotions are starting to return. I still don’t have my drive to pursue my hobbies though.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: I’ve heard that having this recent crisis has caused symptoms of a potential heart attack, due to all that chronic stress/worry. You say your heart rate is chronically higher than normal, and that you sometimes feel mild stabbing in your heart. Do you think these symptoms will go away once you’re fully recovered from this crisis?

My Reply: Yes, since all that stress/worry would be gone. Also, I’m not obese. I’m quite thin. I live a healthy lifestyle of eating right, walking on the treadmill, getting enough sleep, not doing drugs or alcohol, etc. So, maybe my risk of getting a heart attack or stroke from this chronic worry is small. As for my heart rate, it’s just a bit faster than normal. If these symptoms persist, even after I’m fully recovered from this crisis, then perhaps I should get myself checked in to the doctors. After all, I want to live in order to achieve my composing dream of sharing awesome, profound, otherworldly music to the world.

Other Person's Response: Can't you just will yourself out of this emotional crisis by telling yourself certain things, such as that there's no reason to be troubled because it's pointless to worry? If the situation you’re worried about is going to happen, then worrying won’t prevent it.

My Reply: I told myself that, and none of it helps. Nothing I tell myself helps one bit. It would be like telling someone that it’s pointless to grieve over the loss of his loved one, since grief won’t bring that loved one back. That won’t help his grief. He needs to instead get psychological help, such as seeing a therapist. I already have a therapist. But, his advice doesn’t help me.

Other Person’s Response: You said these miserable struggles were caused by devastating moments you’ve had in your life. When a person has a devastating moment in his life, such as the loss of his loved one, that will certainly alter his perspective. Things that were once beautiful and amazing in his eyes will become morbidly insignificant and meaningless. In addition, he might have a new perspective in regards to people he once loved and admired. For example, he could perceive them as disgusting people he wishes to harm.

My Reply: Yes, and that’s what happened to me. I perceived my mother as a disgusting person during my miserable struggles, and I couldn’t help this perception. I was also very enraged and had the desire to harm myself and my mother. Normally, I don’t have such a perspective at all. But, I never acted out on those negative perceptions (emotions), which means I never harmed myself or my mother.

Other Person’s Response: What triggered your misery?

My Reply: There were certain thoughts and worries that made me miserable, and I couldn’t help but be miserable from these thoughts and worries. Neither could I will myself into a state of full recovery from these miserable moments, which means I had to be patient and wait for each one to run its course.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that your mother sometimes complains about you “spazzing out” (being upset and frustrated) when you have a difficult time doing a certain task she tells you to do. Such frustration only happens when you’re having a miserable moment in your life, right?

My Reply: Right. Normally, I wouldn’t be upset or frustrated at all.

Other Person’s Response: You said that you’ve pursued your composing dream during these miserable struggles for quite some time, and that this didn’t work at all for you. It did nothing to rid of the morbid perception you’ve had during your struggles.

My Reply: Correct. Being miserable like this was no way to live or be a composer. That’s why I just gave up on my composing dream until I was happy again.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, what determines whether a certain lifestyle is no way to live or not is the person’s perspective. As long as a person perceives beauty and goodness, then he lived a beautiful, good life, regardless of his actions, words, and deeds. That means a person, who’s a lazy slob who does absolutely nothing for himself or for humanity, would be living a beautiful, good life, as long as he’s perceiving beauty and goodness. So, as long as he’s perceiving beauty and goodness, then his lazy lifestyle wasn’t no way to live. But, if a person had a morbid perception (such as the morbid perception you’ve had during your struggles), and he made many contributions to humanity, then his lifestyle was no way to live, since he didn’t perceive anything as beautiful, awesome, magnificent, good, precious, etc.

My Reply: Correct. Life’s all about our perspective (emotional state). When I had a morbid perspective during my miserable struggles, that was no way to live, regardless of what I did with my life, and regardless of how much I pursued my composing dream. So, that means it has to be our perspective that determines whether our lives are no way to live or not, and not our actions, words, deeds, etc.

Other Person's Response: I heard you started to have this composing dream when you were 19 or 20 years old, which is also the time you were having these miserable struggles. You say your entire struggle has lasted for many years, since it was an ongoing cycle of misery you were caught in, and you say these struggles have wasted your life, goals, and dreams away. Actually, they never did waste your life, goals, and dreams away. What I consider to be the wasted life is you giving up on your composing during these miserable struggles. You could've gotten very far in your composing, and produced some great music in all those years you've had these miserable struggles. Yet, you've just let all those years waste away.

My Reply: Like I said, persevering in my composing during times of misery didn't work out for me. So, I had to let all those years waste away. Even if I've chosen to persevere in my composing, despite all those miserable struggles, it would still be a wasted life, since it would still be no way to live or be an artist without my positive feelings. Also remember that I couldn't have any drive to pursue my composing during these miserable struggles.

Other Person's Response: When you say persevering in your composing during your misery didn't work out for you, are you saying it was no way to live or be an artist for you?

My Reply: Yes. Even though I persevered for a while, my personal experience never changed. In other words, being in that horrible, miserable state was still no way to live or be an artist.

Other Person's Response: You've had these miserable struggles for many years, and you've never developed a better philosophy. I find this rather unusual because our brains are supposed to adapt. For example, if someone became blind, it might be no way to live or be an artist for him at first. But, eventually, he gets used to living with his blindness. In other words, he adapts. Thus, his perspective changes, and he no longer thinks that living with blindness is no way to live or be an artist. I see such a change has never happened to you, for whatever reason.

My Reply: I think such a change has never happened for me because positive emotions really are the only good and beautiful things in life, and it really is no way to live or be an artist without them. With the example you gave of the blind person, his personal experience was able to change, and that's how he had a better perspective. But, if my philosophy was right all along, then my personal experience can never change, since it was right all along.

Other Person's Response: So, if your philosophy was right all along, then it will always be no way to live or be an artist for you without your positive emotions, and nothing can change that.

My Reply: That's correct. The truth is the truth, and it can never change. But, there are many people in this world who are in denial of the truth, and I think many people deny the fact that my philosophy is true.

Other Person's Response: I heard you downloaded 3 music books for free from a website known as "PDF Drive." The 1st book is titled "Music Theory for Dummies," the 2nd one is titled "Music Composition for Dummies," and the 3rd one is titled "Song Writing for Dummies." These 3 books have over 300 pages, and the 1st book teaches people what they need to know about music theory, the 2nd book teaches people what they need to know to compose good music, and the 3rd book talks about how to make your music popular.

My Reply: Yes. If I decided to read all these books now, I'd be missing out on the goodness, beauty, value, and joy of learning. So, that's why I have to wait for my positive emotions to return before reading these books. I'm apathetic right now, due to this emotional crisis I've recently had, and reading these books now would be nothing more than an apathetic endeavor for me. Imagine a situation like this.

If there was a grand moment that I could choose to experience now, or wait to experience later when I have my positive emotions, then I'd choose to wait because that grand moment could be nothing good, beautiful, amazing, precious, or special for me without my positive emotions. Learning how to compose, and the composing process itself, is like a grand moment that I have to postpone until I regain my positive emotions.

Other Person's Response: Since you're 31 years old now, then these miserable struggles must've lasted 11 or 12 years.

My Reply: Actually, I think my miserable struggles might've started a bit earlier. So, I think they lasted a little more than 11 or 12 years.

Other Person's Response: I know many people who get caught in a cycle of anxiety, fear, or depression that lasts for many years, and they need to talk to a mental health professional to help get them out of that cycle.

My Reply: Yes. I had a therapist. But, his advice didn't help me. So, I had to find my own way out of this miserable cycle, and it took a very long time.

Other Person's Response: People can call you weak, worthless, and pathetic all they want to. But, it's not going to help you one bit.

My Reply: That's right.

Other Person's Response: When people call you weak and cowardly for giving up on your composing during your miserable struggles, do you think they just don't understand your suffering?

My Reply: That's correct. They just don't understand that being in such a miserable state is no way to live or be an artist.

Other Person's Response: Some people would say you're just trying to have an excuse for giving up on your composing during your miserable struggles.

My Reply: I think it's a valid excuse. Why persevere in my composing when I'm miserable like this?
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person's Response: If you're an eternal, spiritual being whose physical body dies, but whose soul never dies, then even if your entire lifespan here on Earth was wasted by a lifelong struggle of misery, and you never got the chance to pursue your composing dream, 80-100 years wasted would be nothing compared to an eternity. So, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. You'd have another chance to reincarnate into another body, and start a whole new life on Earth again. Hopefully, this new life would be a happy existence for you, and you'd get to fully pursue your composing dream.

My Reply: Since heaven is a blissful place that has no pain, misery, or suffering, then that's the best place for me to pursue my composing dream. There's simply no need for me to be here on Earth. I can even wish for a physical body in heaven, and have that wish granted to me. It would be the perfect body that can never have any physical or mental illnesses.

Other Person's Response: I bet, even if you never had these miserable struggles, and the entirety of your life was a happy existence, you still wouldn't have the will and determination to dedicate your life to composing. I bet you'd just dedicate a little bit of time here and there, and that's it.

My Reply: False. I'd dedicate all my time to composing. That means I'd dedicate many hours each day. When I used to play video games, I'd dedicate many hours each day to playing them until I felt the need to sit back, relax, and take a break for a little while. I was able to enjoy my video games in the past, and that's why I dedicated my life to playing them. But, now that I no longer have my positive feelings, I've given up on both my video game hobby and my composing. When I regain my positive feelings, I'm dedicating all my time to composing, since I've switched over from playing video games to composing. I think composing is the greater hobby to dedicate my life to than playing video games, since I get to express powerful and profound emotion through compositions, as opposed to just living my life as a basic gamer.

Other Person's Response: You have the thought that composing is something greater than playing video games. But, it's nothing great in your eyes, since you can't feel great about it.

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person's Response: What if this is the only life you have, and you never get to reincarnate into a new body here on Earth, or pursue your composing in heaven? That means this is your one and only shot to compose some awesome music to share to the world. By postponing your composing, you're just wasting this one and only opportunity you have, and I'd hate to see the bizarre, unique style of music you wish to compose to never be created, and to never be known.

My Reply: Then let it waste away! That's what I say! I refuse to pursue my composing when I don't feel up to it!

Other Person's Response: I don't think this life was meant for us as human beings. People have talents, goals, and dreams, only for them to be wasted away. For example, a talented singer, who permanently loses her singing voice, would no longer be able to pursue her amazing talent. A person, who has to live his life in a hospital bed with cancer, would no longer get to pursue his talent, whether it be playing basketball, doing performances, etc. So, his talent and dream would be wasted away. The same idea applies to those people who lose their emotional drive to pursue their goals, dreams, and talents, due to a mental illness, or, in your case, a devastating, emotional crisis. Such people might as well let their goals, talents, and dreams waste away, since none of these things can matter without the emotional drive.

My Reply: I agree, and having cures would solve that. If there was a cure for a lost voice, a cure for cancer, a cure for mental illnesses, misery, and emotional traumas, then that would make this world a place more suitable for us. With cures, people would get to live long lives, so they can pursue their talents, goals, and dreams, and there'd be no illnesses stopping them, killing them off before they get to achieve their goals, and there'd be nothing that would take away our emotional drive to pursue our goals. Even aging would be cured.

Other Person's Response: I believe god exists, and I don't think he wants you to give up on your composing. I don't think living a life of happiness, fun, thrills, and enjoyment is our divine purpose. I think our divine purpose is persevering, and never giving up, even in the face of misery, unhappiness, and apathy.

My Reply: I disagree that's our divine purpose. Humanity would be better off living in a vegetative state of bliss than persevering in a life of misery, unhappiness, and apathy. I think that would be our holy, divine purpose. Remember, positivity is divine, and living a life of positivity is our divine purpose. So, even if it means living in a vegetative state to achieve much positivity, then that would be a divine purpose.

Other Person's Response: Some spiritual believers say we suffer on Earth because, without suffering, we wouldn't know joy.

My Reply: I've had almost no suffering in my life for many years when I was younger, since I was happy and healthy back then. I lived a casual life of playing video games. I still had joyful, beautiful, amazing, etc. experiences, despite this absence of suffering. So, I don't need any suffering to have such experiences, or to know such experiences. Later on in my life, I was no longer happy, and had miserable struggles for many years.

Other Person's Response: I heard that souls have lived in heaven since the very beginning, where there was pure joy, and no pain or suffering. Heaven is the true home for our souls, and souls have lived happily in heaven for a very long time. They've had the most profound, powerful, positive experiences, such as love, beauty, etc. in heaven, and such experiences were far more profound and powerful than anything they could ever experience on Earth.

My Reply: Like I said, heaven is where we need to be then, and we don't need to go through all this misery, suffering, and unhappiness. Here on Earth, souls are just missing out on all the positivity, since positive emotions are very fleeting in this Earthly existence.

Other Person’s Response: You treat thoughts and emotions as different things. I agree thoughts and emotions aren’t the same thing. For example, a feeling of panic isn’t the same thing as a thought of panic. A panic attack is an emotional state, isn’t everlasting, and is very brief. Once it wears off, a person could have a frightening thought. But, that thought wouldn’t make him feel panic, since his feeling of panic has already worn off. This shows there’s a difference between thoughts and emotions.

My Reply: Yes. Feelings of love and happiness are also things that wear off. Especially when they’re very intense feelings, since intense feelings wear out quickly. But, thoughts can make people feel those emotions again, once the ability to feel said emotions returns.

Other Person’s Response: Emotions that are less intense can last for quite a while. For example, a feeling of anxiety could last for a long time. But, a panic attack only lasts for a short time.

My Reply: Yes. I’m able to continually enjoy my life and hobbies throughout the day (providing I have feelings of enjoyment) because that feeling isn’t intense. If it was intense, then it would only last for a short time.

Other Person's Response: In regards to your miserable struggles, do you think they'll always be pointless and unnecessary, regardless of what anyone says to you? Some people would say your miserable struggles were actually necessary, and I'm wondering if people can change your views.

My Reply: I'll always think they're pointless and unnecessary. I have my views and other people have theirs. People can't expect me to convert to their views, just as how I can't expect them to convert to my views.

Other Person’s Response: You said there were moments where you were apathetic (emotionless). Did definitions work for you then?

My Reply: No. My life’s experience was still devoid of any happiness, beauty, love, etc. Also, defining my apathy as happiness or love did nothing to give me a happy or loving perspective. In other words, I was still apathetic, and didn’t care about anything or anyone.

Other Person’s Response: There were moments in my life where I was miserable. Definitions worked for me. Defining my acts of contribution to humanity as happiness made me happy, even though I didn’t have my ability to feel any positive emotions. So, happiness doesn’t have to be a positive emotion, which means a person can still be happy, even during much misery, turmoil, and suffering.

My Reply: I don’t think that definition of happiness worked for you at all, and you’re just in denial. I also think being in that state of misery was no way to live or be an artist for you, and you’d be in denial to believe otherwise.

Other Person’s Response: So, you think I really wasn’t happy, and I was just in denial because I believed I was happy?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: Well, I contributed to humanity during my miserable moments. So, that means my definition of happiness worked for me. That means I really was happy, and it means I was living a beautiful life. Otherwise, if my definition of happiness and beauty wasn’t working for me, I would’ve done nothing with my life. I would’ve just wallowed in misery.

My Reply: During my miserable moments, I helped my family, pursued my composing dream, etc. Yet, that didn’t work for me at all. In other words, it brought me no happiness, and it was no way to live or be an artist for me. So, just because you’ve made contributions to humanity doesn’t mean you were happy, and neither does it mean it was a good or beautiful way to live for you. It doesn’t mean your definition of happiness and beauty actually worked for you.

Other Person’s Response: What you’re doing here is projecting your personal experience upon everyone else. Just because definitions didn’t work for you during your miserable moments doesn’t mean they don’t work for anyone else. Just because your positive emotions are the only happiness, goodness, beauty, and love in your life doesn’t mean that applies to everyone else. Lastly, just because a life without positive emotions is no way to live or be an artist for you doesn’t mean that applies to everyone else, and neither does it mean that people who live by a different philosophy than yours are in denial.

My Reply: There are certain things that apply to all human beings, such as that we all have a heart that keeps us alive, we all grow old and die, etc. Perhaps my philosophy is also something that applies to all human beings, and people are in denial to believe otherwise.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: I heard you say there were certain emotions you’ve felt that were much more profound feelings than other emotions you’ve felt. But, profoundness is something defined by the individual.

My Reply: Emotions are perceptions of beauty, horror, etc., which means emotions possess inherent qualities of beauty, horror, etc. Some emotions are profound perceptions of beauty, horror, etc., which means some emotions possess an inherent quality of profoundness. So, good, bad, love, etc. aren’t defined by the individual. They’re inherent qualities, and our emotions possess those qualities. That’s the reason why defining the enduring of my misery as good, beautiful, and happiness did nothing for me, since my positive emotions possess the inherent qualities of goodness, beauty, and happiness that I need.

Other Person’s Response: So, if someone felt horror (an emotion), then that emotion possesses the inherent quality of horror, and that emotion is horror. If someone felt good or bad, then that emotion possesses the inherent quality of good or bad, and that emotion is good or bad.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: When you say emotions possess inherent qualities of good, bad, beauty, horror, etc., do you mean good, bad, etc. are integrated into our emotions?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: So, emotions are intrinsically good, bad, beautiful, horrific, etc.?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: If someone had the thought that something was horrific, then his thought would possess the inherent quality of horror, and his thought would be horror. So, horror is a thought.

My Reply: Actually, horror is an emotion because emotions are the only perceptions of horror, beauty, etc.

Other Person’s Response: If emotions were intrinsically good, bad, etc., people would always treat them as such.

My Reply: Not true. Many people live in denial of their emotions. They deny the fact that their emotions are intrinsically good, bad, etc.

Other Person’s Response: There are profound value judgments. An example would be: “Nature is profoundly beautiful.” Since emotions are value judgments, then that means there are profound emotions. So, someone could feel profound beauty from nature, and that would be a profound emotion/profound value judgment. It would also be a perception of profound beauty in regards to nature, since a feeling of profound beauty is a perception of profound beauty.

My Reply: Yes. Also, the more profound horror or beauty one feels, then the more profoundly horrific or beautiful of a life he’s living, since emotions are the only beautiful and horrific things. Emotions give beautiful and horrific power to moments, situations, etc. in our minds. Without that power, then there’s no beauty or horror.

Other Person’s Response: Good, bad, etc. come from within, since they’re our personal judgments in regards to things. That says good, bad, etc. are within. They’re value judgments/perceptions/states of mind. The same idea applies to love, hate, sorrow, anger, etc. All things in this world aren’t love, hate, etc. Love, hate, etc. are states of mind.

My Reply: Yes, and they’re emotional states. There’s no love, hate, good, bad, etc. that exists outside of our minds. So, if a person defined something as good, then that goodness wouldn’t exist within that thing, or on top of that thing. Neither would it be engulfing that thing. If a person defined something as love, such as certain acts he performed, then love wouldn’t exist there either. But, when that person perceives something as good, and when he has a loving perspective, then that goodness and love exists. It exists as his own perception, which means it exists in his own mind.

Other Person’s Response: If that person defined something as good without perceiving it as good, and if he defined his acts as love without being in a loving state of mind, then there’d be no goodness or love. So, definitions don’t make goodness and love pop into existence for us.

My Reply: Correct. Happiness, good, bad, love, etc. are all emotions, and we can’t make them magically pop into existence if we’re not feeling any emotions.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, positivity and negativity are states of mind. They’re emotions. Feeling positive is the only positive thing in life, and feeling negative is the only negative thing in life.

My Reply: Yes. So, if someone was feeling a negative emotion, such as misery, and he defined something as positive, then that thing wouldn’t be positive.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, positive emotions are the only positive things in life. So, we wouldn’t refer to anything as being positive in the absence of positive emotions.

My Reply: Correct. Positive emotions are the very things that give positivity to our lives. They create a positive, mental atmosphere for us, since they’re positive states of mind. So, a person wouldn’t be having a positive attitude if nobody, including himself, could feel positive about his attitude.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, emotions are the only things that can make dreams and nightmares beautiful, amazing, horrific, or disturbing. So, if someone had a nightmare of a spider, and he felt horror during that nightmare, then that feeling of horror creates a horrific mood (atmosphere) in the nightmare, which is what makes the nightmare horrific. But, if he then had a nightmare where he slaughtered his family, and he felt no horror whatsoever during the nightmare, then that nightmare wouldn’t have been horrific, since that nightmare didn’t have any horrific atmosphere to it.

My Reply: Correct. Nightmares only become horrific for us when we experience horror in regards to them. Since feelings of horror are the only experiences of horror, then that means the only way nightmares can be horrific for us would be if we felt horror in regards to them. Again, defining a nightmare as horrific wouldn’t make it horrific for you, as long as you didn’t feel horror in regards to it.

Other Person’s Response: According to that emotion perception theory, we see nightmares as horrific through our feelings of horror. How could a nightmare be horrific for someone if he didn’t see it as horrific?

My Reply: Exactly. We can only see nightmares as horrific through our feelings of horror, which is why nightmares only become horrific for us when we feel horror in regards to them.

Other Person’s Response: If a person was getting some work done, he had a very negative perspective in regards to his job, such as hating his job, and seeing nothing good, amazing, or beautiful about it, then he could define the perception of goodness, amazingness, and beauty as simply getting his job done. He could define that as a positive perspective, and he could define that as loving his job.

My Reply: But, again, as long as he’s in a state of mind where he hates his job, and has a very negative perspective in regards to it, then that’s no way to live. Life’s not about just getting work done, what deeds we’ve done, or what mark we’ve made upon this world. It’s all about our perspective (state of mind). Like I said, we need to have a positive perspective, such as a happy perspective of seeing deeds as good, amazing, and beautiful when doing these deeds.

Other Person’s Response: You say life’s all about our perspective (state of mind), and you say that emotions are perspectives/states of mind, which is why you disagree with any definition of love, hate, good, bad, etc. that’s outside of our minds (non-emotional). So, if a person defined his actions, rather than his emotions, as good, bad, love, or happiness, then you’d disagree with that definition.

My Reply: Correct. If a hateful father did a helpful deed for his child, but he did it in a very hateful manner, and he defined his act as love, then that wouldn’t be love. He wouldn’t be loving his child, since he was in a hateful state of mind. In order for the father to love his child, he needs to be in a loving state of mind. He needs to feel love, which would be a positive emotion.

Other Person’s Response: Going by your definition of love, a father, who’s in a loving state of mind, and performs acts that don’t express his inner love, such as harmful acts towards his child, would still be loving his child.

My Reply: Yes. Those acts were just acts. They’re not hate, love, good, bad, etc. So, it’s not the father’s actions, words, expressions, or deeds that determine whether he was a loving or hateful father. It’s the father’s state of mind that determines this. As long as the father feels love, then that means he’s in a loving state of mind, which means he loves his child, regardless of his actions.

Other Person’s Response: You said there were times in your life where you were unable to feel any emotions. That means, according to your philosophy, you were apathetic. But, you could define your mindset of just getting things done as an emotion, which means you’d no longer be apathetic.

My Reply: I did that, and this definition did nothing for me. It gave me no real emotions, which means it gave me no real motivation to get things done. So, I require my real emotions to have motivation. Definitions don’t somehow magically make emotions, motivation, love, happiness, etc. pop into existence for us. Definitions are just words, and nothing more.

Other Person’s Response: If a person was very lethargic, he was dragging himself along through life, and he defined his mindset of just getting things done as motivation, then that definition wouldn’t give him any real motivation. He’d still be lethargic, and dragging himself along.

My Reply: Yes. He’d require an energy drink or something to give him real motivation. He’d require something to give him an emotional high.

Other Person’s Response: When you refer to motivation as either real or not real, do you mean that real motivation is motivation that’s there, and motivation that’s not real is motivation that’s not there?

My Reply: Yes. So, when I say that a person defining his mindset as motivation doesn’t give him real motivation, I mean it gives him no motivation at all.

Other Person’s Response: If that lethargic person was getting things done, then that means he had some motivation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have done those things at all.

My Reply: False. That lethargic person would just be choosing to get things done. But, that’s not the same thing as being motivated to get things done. For example, if there was battery power that was animating a certain toy, then that toy wouldn’t be motivated. The toy would just be performing certain acts, gestures, and expressions. In order for the toy to be motivated, it needs to feel the emotional drive to perform those acts, gestures, and expressions. But, it can’t feel any emotions, since it’s just a toy.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: So, if an emotionless person has chosen to get work done, then he’d just be having the intention to get work done? But, he’d have no motivation to get work done?

My Reply: Correct.

Other Person’s Response: It seems to me you’re making a distinction between one’s personal definitions and one’s personal experience. For example, you say that a person could define his mindset of getting things done as motivation. But, that wouldn’t be the actual experience of motivation. The experience of motivation is a state of mind, and such a state of mind can’t magically pop into existence if a person says it’s there.

My Reply: Correct. One’s personal definition can’t make it magically pop into existence.

Other Person’s Response: Thoughts and emotions aren’t the same thing. If a person defined a thought he had as being an emotion, then it wouldn’t be an emotion. It would still just be a thought.

My Reply: Yes. That’s why a person can’t be in an emotional state through his mindset alone. He needs to feel an emotion in order to be in an emotional state.

Other Person’s Response: If a person’s emotions have complete power and control (dominance) over his mind, then it wouldn’t matter how he defines happiness, love, good, bad, etc.; his emotions will always be the only happiness, love, etc. in his life. So, I think you’re just allowing your emotions to have dominance over your mind.

My Reply: I’m not sure that’s what’s going on. Based upon my personal experience, I think emotions really are the only happiness, love, etc.

Other Person’s Response: I heard from spiritual, religious believers that we undergo suffering here on Earth to learn and grow. So, all the horrible, negative experiences we have serve a beautiful purpose.

My Reply: But, without a positive state of mind, then all life lessons and forms of growth we acquire can be nothing positive for us, since they wouldn’t be perceived as anything positive. So, acquiring knowledge, life lessons, and personal growth isn’t our goal. Our goal in life is to be in the most profound, intense, positive states of mind, and to have as much of these positive experiences as we can throughout our lives. The more positivity we experience, the better. By having negative experiences throughout our lives, then that’s just denying us the positivity we need.

Other Person’s Response: Actually, according to your philosophy, acquiring knowledge, life lessons, and personal growth can be our goal in life. But, we need to be in a positive state of mind when acquiring them. If we’re acquiring them while in a negative state of mind, such as a state of frustration, hurt, or suicidal misery, then that’s no way to live or be an artist.

My Reply: Correct. Life’s not about the knowledge, life lessons, and personal growth alone. It’s all about the positivity (the positive emotions).

Other Person’s Response: If someone was in a positive state of mind, but he was in such a state of mind in regards to something else besides acquiring knowledge, then that means acquiring knowledge would be nothing positive for him, since he needs to feel positive in regards to acquiring knowledge.

My Reply: Yes. He needs to feel positively motivated to acquire knowledge. When pursuing any given endeavor, a person must feel positively motivated to pursue it.

Other Person’s Response: I heard that you feel positively motivated to pursue your composing dream, since you wish to share bizarre, unique, otherworldly music to the audience.

My Reply: Yes, and that feeling would be an impulse. Without that impulse, then I have no positive motivation to pursue my composing dream.

Other Person’s Response: You said you’ve learned a life lesson from all your miserable struggles, which would be to keep a healthy mindset, since it was having an unhealthy mindset that caused all your mental turmoil and misery. According to you, having acquired this life lesson/personal growth wasn’t the ultimate thing for your soul. Spiritual believers say that the life lessons we learn and forms of personal growth we obtain are the ultimate, divine things our souls obtain. But, you disagree.

My Reply: Yes. Having learned this life lesson merely puts me in a position where I no longer bring anymore misery upon myself. But, the ultimate, divine thing for my soul to obtain would be the most profound, intense, everlasting, positive emotions, and I didn’t obtain that.

Other Person’s Response: Having learned your life lesson was necessary though, since it prevents further misery.

My Reply: But, if I was created as a blissful being who could only experience the most profound, intense bliss, and could never experience unhappiness and misery, then I would’ve never had these miserable struggles in the first place. So, I wouldn’t have to suffer to learn some life lesson.

Other Person’s Response: All your suffering has given you understanding of the suffering of others, and just how horrible such suffering can be.

My Reply: Like I said, I never needed to obtain this understanding because what I need is my positive emotions. I don’t need to suffer in order to acquire knowledge and understanding.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, love can only be a fleeting emotion. That’s not true because there’s a form of love that’s everlasting, and much more profound than any emotional form of love. It’s called Divine Love or Grace, it’s unconditional love, and it’s the love of god. A person doesn’t need to suffer in order to obtain Grace. He just needs to somehow develop as an individual by helping others, contributing to the world, etc. Once he obtains it, he’ll be able to love others like he never could before.

My Reply: First of all, I don’t know if Grace even exists. Secondly, many people say that we need to suffer in order to become more loving, compassionate people. But, if Grace exists, it’s the most profound, powerful love and compassion there is, and we don’t need to suffer in order to obtain it, then suffering is unnecessary. But, suffering does teach us things. Still, life’s all about the positive experiences, such as love, joy, beauty, etc., and not about the life lessons themselves. So, again, I never needed to suffer a life of misery, just to learn some life lesson.

Other Person’s Response: If a person has Grace, then he can never become more loving and compassionate, no matter how much suffering he undergoes, since Grace is already the greatest love and compassion there is.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: Suffering is necessary to get us to a place of helping others, contributing to the world, etc., so that we can obtain Grace. Without suffering, then there’d be no incentive for doing so.

My Reply: Not true. There are other ways to get to that place. For example, if a person lived with a family that expected him to be of service to others, then that would’ve been his incentive. Another example would be a person who’s living a dull, shallow existence, and wishes to make a change in his life. That would be his incentive.

Other Person’s Response: If god wanted you to grow as an individual by developing a better philosophy, then you don’t need to suffer to achieve this goal. You could just be rendered without your positive emotions due to brain damage, a mental illness, etc., which would make your life valueless and worthless. From there, you could try to change your philosophy somehow to change your life for the better.

My Reply: Yes. Also, if I was apathetic, then I could still try to change, since I can still do things while apathetic. It’s not like I need suffering as a form of motivation. So, that means I don’t need to be in a miserable, suicidal state of mind where I’m begging for help, and desperately trying to change my life for the better. That’s a horrible way to live and better my life. It’s also a horrible way to be an artist. Therefore, I see no need for me to have suffered through all these miserable, suicidal struggles.

Other Person’s Response: During your miserable struggles, you were trying to find ways to help you recover from them faster, so you could regain your positive emotions. That’s the reason why you still exercised and did relaxation techniques, even though you were miserable. But, I think it’s time you tried to change your philosophy.

My Reply: I have doubts my philosophy can ever change. Also, during my miserable struggles, I had no motivation to change my philosophy. I actually felt like giving up on trying to change, and that feeling was a negative emotion (a feeling of rage). So, that means I was motivated to give up. Remember, during my miserable struggles, I feel all sorts of negative emotions.

Other Person’s Response: If you were trying to regain your positive emotions, even though you were miserable, that must mean your positive emotions were valuable to you, which means you saw them as valuable, even during much misery. That means you don’t need your positive emotions to see anything as valuable, good, beautiful, etc.

My Reply: False. I still couldn’t see the regaining of my positive emotions as valuable, good, etc., since I couldn’t feel positive emotions during these miserable struggles. But, I still tried to regain them anyway because I knew in my mind I needed them.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, it would be better for a person to not feel frustrated when experiencing a difficult learning curve, and to instead feel positive.

My Reply: Yes. He needs to have fun and enjoy the whole learning process.

Other Person’s Response: Many people tend to idolize the image of a suffering, miserable person who does his best in life, and acquires knowledge, life lessons, and personal growth, despite his despair, misery, and unhappiness. But, you’re saying this image isn’t to be idolized or honored, and that we should instead idolize the image of a blissful person who has fun?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person’s Response: According to your philosophy, a person needs to be in a positive state of mind when giving to others, and bringing them positivity.

My Reply: Yes. Life’s not about acts of aid and self-sacrifice alone. It’s all about being in a positive state of mind when performing these acts of aid and self-sacrifice. So, if a person put himself in danger to protect someone, and he was about to die from protecting that individual, then he needs to feel a positive emotion before he dies, such as a feeling of profound, beautiful peace.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Other Person’s Response: It would be better for that person to not feel any panic when putting himself in danger, right?

My Reply: Right. It would be better if he felt joy when protecting that person. But, fear isn’t something we can help. If we’re put in a dangerous situation, then we can’t help but feel fear.

Other Person’s Response: Since you were in very horrible, negative states of mind due to your miserable struggles, then you think all your miserable struggles were unnecessary, and that you were just being denied the positivity you need? I personally don’t believe in this whole idea of unnecessary suffering. If you think your struggles were unnecessary, then you’re just having a victim mentality because you think you were a victim of unnecessary suffering, and that god, and his angels, were just allowing you to go through it.

My Reply: I personally think my struggles were unnecessary.

Other Person’s Response: If a person was miserable and suicidal, and someone told that person his struggle was beautiful and necessary, then what would it matter to that suicidal, miserable person? He’s unable to have a positive perspective in regards to his struggle. So, telling this suicidal person that he’s a beautiful person, or that his struggle is beautiful and necessary, won’t prevent him from being suicidal and miserable. It just won’t get him out of that dark, hellish pit he’s in.

My Reply: Yes, and that’s why this suicidal person needs to get the help he needs to restore his positive emotions. That way, he can have a positive perspective again in regards to himself, as well as other things in life. During my miserable struggles, I perceived myself as a disgusting person, I felt suicidal, and other people telling me that I’m still a beautiful person, or that my struggles were beautiful and necessary, did nothing for me.

Other Person’s Response: Since you perceived yourself as a disgusting person during your miserable struggles, then that means you felt that you were a disgusting person, since how a person feels is how a person perceives.

My Reply: Yes, and I couldn’t help but constantly feel this way about myself, which means I had no control over this.

Other Person’s Response: I heard you had a composing dream, and that you wish to astonish your audience with awesome compositions. According to your philosophy, composing for its own sake wouldn’t be your goal. You need to be in a positive state of mind when composing. That means you need to enjoy your composing.

My Reply: Yes. I need to have a good, beautiful, awesome time when composing, and I require my feelings of goodness, beauty, and awesomeness to have such an experience. Those feelings would be positive emotions.

Other Person’s Response: Another reason why you wish to avoid negative emotions is because feeling upset, hurt, or bothered by the mistreatment and name calling of others means that their mistreatment and name calling has negative power over you. But, it wouldn’t have such power over you if you didn’t feel that way.

My Reply: Correct. So, by not feeling that way, that makes me superior to their mistreatment and name calling. I don’t wish to feel negative emotions in regards to any given thing, moment, person, or situation, since negative power would be dominating over me. Fortunately, when I’m not having an emotional crisis (a miserable moment), then people, moments, situations, etc. don’t bother me.

Other Person's Response: When you say loving or proud thoughts make us feel love or pride (which are positive emotions), is it as though our thoughts take on an emotional form when they make us feel emotions?

My Reply: Yes, and it's this emotional form which is the experience of love and pride. I could say the same thing about being sexually aroused. An erotic thought alone can't give you an erotic experience. But, once that thought makes you feel erotic, that's when you have an erotic experience. There are clinically depressed people who complain of a lack of sex drive. No sexual thought can make them feel sexually aroused, due to their depressive illness. Antidepressants are also known to cause a lack of sex drive.

Other Person's Response: There are people who treat love as something special. They think it can be everlasting, and that it can never be taken away by brain damage, antidepressants, or a mental illness (such as clinical depression). But, love is a feeling like any other. It can be taken away from us, just as how our sex drive can be taken away.

My Reply: Yes. Feelings are transient things, and aren't everlasting. All feelings, whether they be hunger, thirst, sleepiness, sex drive, love, sadness, etc. can be taken away from us. The same idea applies to pride and happiness, since they're also feelings that can be taken away. Attraction towards a soul mate is also a feeling that can be taken away from us. Thus, a person could no longer be attracted to his soul mate once that feeling is gone.

Other Person's Response: According to you, seeing beauty in life is also a feeling that can be taken away from us.

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: Having an emotional crisis is also something that can take away our feelings of love, pride, joy, sex drive, etc.

My Reply: Yes. I've had many miserable moments in my life, which were triggered by negative thoughts and worries. These moments have taken away my positive emotions. I couldn't love or experience joy at all. I could only feel negative emotions, such as rage, hate, misery, etc.

Other Person's Response: Feeling sad is how a person experiences sadness, which is how a person becomes sad. Likewise, feeling attracted towards a soul mate is how the person experiences attraction, which is how the person becomes attracted to his soul mate.

My Reply: Yes. That's why, if a person loses his feeling of attraction, he can no longer be attracted to his soul mate. He could still act like he's attracted towards his soul mate without any feeling of attraction, and he could still perform deeds that make him appear as though he's attracted to his soul mate. But, he wouldn't be attracted. So, you shouldn't be deceived by his actions, deeds, and expressions. The same idea applies to love. A person could still perform loving acts, deeds, and expressions without feeling love. But, again, don't let that deceive you.

Other Person's Response: There are clinically depressed soul mates who can't feel love or attraction towards one another, but still perform loving deeds, such as helping each other, being there for each other, etc. They also still display acts, tones, and expressions of attraction towards one another.

My Reply: Well, without the ability to love and be attracted, those are really just empty expressions, acts, and tones. Life's not about our actions, tones, gestures, and deeds. It's all about our inner experience, and, if there's no inner experience of love and attraction within yourself, then there's no love or attraction there, which would make you an empty vessel, regardless of your actions, tones, gestures, and deeds.

Other Person's Response: I take it there are many clinically depressed soul mates who live by the delusion that they can still love one another without their feelings of love.

My Reply: Yes. They think love is everlasting, and that it can never be taken away. But, our personal experience isn't something to overlook and dismiss, which means, if these clinically depressed soul mates paid more attention to their personal experience, they should come to realize they can't love one another without their feelings of love.

I've come to realize, based upon my personal experience, that I can't love anyone or anything without my feelings of love, and I can only hope other people come to this realization as well. I think I have a better sense of introspection than many people, and this introspection has taught me just how vital and precious positive emotions are, including the positive emotion known as "love." Such positive emotions should never be overlooked and dismissed as shallow, trivial, unnecessary things.

Other Person's Response: Introspection simply means insight into one's own personal experience, right?

My Reply: Yes.

Other Person's Response: Could you provide evidence that people think love isn't a feeling, and that they think it's everlasting?

My Reply: If you google "Love is not a feeling," then you'll come across all sorts of articles that claim love isn't a feeling, and that it's everlasting. I personally think love can only be a fleeting feeling. I'd, for example, know if I was sad or not. If I wasn't feeling sad, then it would be quite obvious to me that I'm not sad. The same idea applies to love. When I can't feel love, it's quite obvious to me that I'm unable to love anybody or anything. This leads me to the conclusion that love can only be a feeling. To say that love isn't a feeling, and that it's the choice of doing kind, helpful deeds for your soul mate, would be no different than saying that sadness isn't a feeling, and that it's the choice of going to your soul mate's funeral.

Other Person's Response: Love isn't a choice, which means it's not our acts of aid and kindness. Love is the ultimate experience one can have. So, whether a person is loving someone or not is all determined by his personal experience, rather than his actions. If he's not experiencing love, then no amount of loving actions can be considered love on his part.

My Reply: Exactly. There are acts of love and sadness, and then there's actual love and sadness. Actual love and sadness are feelings. If a person doesn't have these feelings, then it doesn't matter what actions, expressions, or deeds he performs because none of it would be love or sadness.

Other Person's Response: Yes, there are people who think love isn't a feeling, and these people are in denial. Who knows, your entire philosophy that you're writing about might be true, and people are in denial of it as well.

My Reply: I think you're right.

Other Person's Response: Love is a mindset. For example, if a serial killer performed loving acts to deceive and lure in unsuspecting victims, then that's not love because the serial killer's mindset wasn't a loving one.

My Reply: Well, having a loving mindset alone isn't enough to love someone or something, just as how having a sad or angry mindset alone isn't enough to be sad or angry. A loving mindset needs to take on an emotional form (i.e. needs to make you feel love), so that you can love someone or something.
 
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