tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post3364580730728641749..comments2023-09-11T19:56:03.229-07:00Comments on Think Or Be Eaten: Thoughts Are ThingsAnghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02385030071978985956noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post-16794168169546895842009-02-27T03:32:00.000-08:002009-02-27T03:32:00.000-08:00I had it in mind to leave a comment, but when I sa...I had it in mind to leave a comment, but when I saw your response to Leaf's comment, I forgot all about what I was going to say.<BR/><BR/>I've had similar experiences, yet not nearly as defined as yours. Like sometimes when I'm at work, I'll feel a strange pressure in my inner ear seconds before I actually hear somebody walking down the tiled hallway floor, and sometimes be left with a headache after being near a certain person for too long. I do have a problem focusing, but your comment in response to Leaf's question is very helpful. I thank you both, I thought I was the only one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post-35258289308039292402008-12-17T20:53:00.000-08:002008-12-17T20:53:00.000-08:00Hi Know Nothing,Thanks for posting your comment. D...Hi Know Nothing,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting your comment. Don't feel alone about finding some of my posts too negative, I often feel the same way. I think that's important feedback because I am interested in writing about other things that speak to realities that are not depressing, such as this post. I'm glad you got a different feel from the audio stuff, it makes a difference how things are said, I think, and a lot can be conveyed with voice that can't be gotten across with written words. Thanks for mentioning that, the feedback is good to hear. I'm glad you came back for another try.<BR/><BR/>AngAnghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02385030071978985956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post-18888664602748123252008-12-17T18:26:00.000-08:002008-12-17T18:26:00.000-08:00Hi Ang,Thanks for this post. I used to read your b...Hi Ang,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this post. I used to read your blog from time to time, but started to feel like it was too negative, so I took a break from it. Recently I came across your podcast link on www.pbsblog.com.<BR/><BR/>I listened to it, and was immediately drawn in. I have read your last five posts today.<BR/><BR/>I heard the other day that sometimes when you have a hard time reading something, it has more to do with you not being ready for it, than the actual writing. <BR/><BR/>I thank you for this.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post-40789196632381873122008-12-12T17:23:00.000-08:002008-12-12T17:23:00.000-08:00Hi Leaf,Those are great questions, they're making ...Hi Leaf,<BR/><BR/>Those are great questions, they're making me look at something I've never thought about.<BR/><BR/>Let me try the second question first. Exercises or methods. The only method I ever used was at the start when I began testing myself. What it boils down to is being able to trust what you feel. In the very beginning I decided to just trust myself, knowing I would have to prove myself wrong at least some of the time. And if I was all wrong about all of this, I would prove that and answer the question once and for all. I knew it was real some of the time and went in expecting to be wrong some of the time too, that was the point of doing it in the first place, to tell what was what. I didn't think of it as a lack of capability, but a part of the process of learning how to tell the real experiences from something self generating. I just decided that since I kept having this experience, I wanted to know once and for all if it was the real thing or just my imagination. I was either going to respect it and use it in my life as a valid form of information receiving, or let it go and forget about it.<BR/><BR/>To trust yourself you have to extend the trust. Then be conscious about it. The hardest part is realizing that this isn't hard. We never learn how to filter out the signals so we're virtually unaware of what's coming through. It never occurs to us that not every single thing we're sensing is self generated. It just requires paying attention and noticing what's coming through your own body and giving the process a chance to become something you can recognize. Accept whatever comes, don't judge it or fire up logical thinking to talk yourself out of it. Just acknowledge it and let it come and go. It pans out over time, sometimes immediately. I think the method of testing what you sense in order to realize just how valid it is, is absolutely necessary. In the beginning, you're not sure if what you're feeling is real or true because the feelings at that stage feel so subtle. They're there but they feel like everything else you feel in a day. The trick is in discerning them from your own feelings. <BR/><BR/>I could suggest something to try. Take a half an hour or so when you can be alone before heading out somewhere that people will be. You can do this before going to the grocery store, or before a class, or to a restaurant, it doesn't really matter where you're headed as long as it's a calm enough place that you're not likely to be distracted or where you can't hear yourself think, or that you'll necessarily be engaging in conversation. Before heading out, take some time to become fully conscious of your own state of being. Get clear how you feel, what you feel like, what feels like you. What is your energy level. Are you in a good mood, a calm mood, are you irritable, are you feeling kind of goofy and light inside? Notice how you feel physically. Do you feel well? Do you feel tired? Is any part of your body sore? Do you have a headache? Are you hungry? When you know what you feel like, what feels like you, you've got something to compare it to. You'll be more able to notice then when all of a sudden you're thinking something that was not on your mind or feeling something that is not how you feel at that particular moment. <BR/><BR/>When I'm doing something as ordinary as standing in line at the store, I can usually feel the people standing next to me at some level. Sometimes it's quite weak and other times intense. This speaks more to your first question as to what I feel. I pretty much feel anything anyone else can feel. I can feel someone's tiredness, their sadness, their relationship troubles. I pick up anxiety, tension, immaturity and self-centeredness. I can sense ego. Intention in a general sense like not okay or okay. A strong sense of an overall person is what I get most of all, but it can be something specific too. I can feel other people's fear and grief. Something I feel all the time is genuine warmth and kindness in people. I feel emptiness and disappointment too. <BR/><BR/>If you do this with perfect strangers it might surprise you what kinds of feelings and thoughts are just inside your head all of a sudden and if you're paying attention you'll notice when it's something that isn't yours. It can sometimes help to look at the eyes, it's not necessary though. I can feel the inner thug of some people, mostly guys, but women can have some pretty nasty games running too. Sharper egos come through very clearly.<BR/><BR/>The negative things, not sadness but failings, arrogance, dishonesty, evil intent, just a nasty coldness or maybe it's psychopathy, those kinds of things make me feel ill. As in turning my stomach. It's pretty hard to miss that, nausea is physical. But so is a sudden burst of energy and balance from someone having a wonderful life. If we could see thoughts and feelings I bet we'd be blown away realizing how we're emanating everything inside us, all along thinking it was hidden and private. Most of us aren't any good at hiding anything.<BR/><BR/>The spectrum of what I pick up is too big to list but the important thing is, to just start doing it by letting yourself notice it. You're already doing it. The excerise isn't in developing it, but in recognizing it. It has to be conscious in the beginning because you don't know what it is yet, then after a while you don't have to think about it anymore. You just know. Further on down the road it does get stronger. <BR/><BR/>I have even experienced other people's hunger pangs, and even specific cravings. I remember once just getting back from lunch at work and as I sat down I got this overwhelming urge for Cheetos. And I thought, what the heck? I just ate. I didn't want any Cheetos. The feeling was so strong I was almost ready to go get some when this lady sitting behind me stood up and put on her jacket and said she wanted some Cheetos so bad she would kill to get them. She had to get some right then, she couldn't wait anymore. Boy was I relieved, but it also was a confirmation that what I was feeling didn't fit what I was feeling. It was something from somebody else. And I didn't know that woman, she was visiting from another location. I was lucky she spoke up otherwise I'd never have known what was really happening.<BR/><BR/>In essence, thought objects feel exactly like my own feelings. They're not any different quality than my own feelings or thoughts. but they are distinct from my own. <BR/><BR/>The only thing I should add is that your own intent and frame of mind and your general attitude towards all kinds of people has to be - geez this sounds cliched but it's true - it has to be a loving attitude. You have to love and respect people and not want anything from them. I naturally care about people, a lot, I like people. I wish them all well. I want them to live happy lives and have all of their needs met. I think if I went in with an agenda of any kind, especially a selfish or bigoted one, if my intent was to hurt someone's feelings or cause them any kind of pain, I'm not sure if it would work. I'm glad to say I don't know. Maybe it's still possible but I can't help suspecting that someone's own darkness would make it hard if not impossible to sense anything from anyone. Maybe that's why I immediately sense salesmen, the ones that look at people like someone to victimize. That comes through so intensely it's not pretty. I don't like predators and I'm not shy about telling them where to go.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if that helped explain it very well or not, I hope so. Thanks for being interested and for the questions.Anghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02385030071978985956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35215770.post-87095272956803033272008-12-12T15:05:00.000-08:002008-12-12T15:05:00.000-08:00I'd be really interested in a description or examp...I'd be really interested in a description or example of how thought objects feel to you - or maybe how strong and weak signals differ. Also, are there any exercises or methods that have helped you to more clearly interpret the signals?<BR/><BR/>Very interesting post as always.l e a fhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14180825639493562884noreply@blogger.com