tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36660783.post5447223120204511452..comments2023-02-07T11:43:21.759-05:00Comments on I will rush no more!: I Resolve...Tim Hodgenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15237942768894057727noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36660783.post-17048919728731220942009-02-02T13:31:00.000-05:002009-02-02T13:31:00.000-05:00Very well put. What I like about your blog most i...Very well put. What I like about your blog most is the self discovery and what unfolds from that. Which is not something that I am accustomed to doing myself, nor am I accustomed to seeing it...Thanks for your response, and I hope you keep up the blogging!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36660783.post-41903302491588500502009-01-28T20:23:00.000-05:002009-01-28T20:23:00.000-05:00Hey Jason,How are you doing in your studies?Re you...Hey Jason,<BR/><BR/>How are you doing in your studies?<BR/><BR/>Re you question: "have we been conditioned to accept without question a specific conception of counterculture or alternative culture?"<BR/><BR/>If I understand your question, my thought and opinion is basically - yes.<BR/><BR/>I think we have all been conditioned in our perceptions and our thinking patterns. This is not a new development and my guess is that it has been that way back to the beginning.<BR/><BR/>Each society, even though there is diversity within it, favors certain ways of looking at ourselves and the rest of the world. In a totalitarian state, e.g., North Korea, I expect there would be crystal clear examples of group think with respect to the United States government. <BR/><BR/>Is that the case in the privacy of the minds of individual North Korean people? Do they have, or entertain, thoughts that their thinking has been massively shaped, their attitudes essentially pounded into them through continuous repetition? <BR/><BR/>Perhaps, perhaps not. My guess is that they accept it without question. To not do so may also not be healthy for their life expectancy. <BR/><BR/>To follow this line of reasoning further, I have to add a disclaimer that I have no first hand experience of North Korea. And therein lies a problem. How much have I been conditioned to accept the broad strokes which we have been exposed to and which have in turn conditioned our pathways?<BR/><BR/>Conditioning is how the pathways are established and how the "system" is maintained. It is the easiest way to maintain continuity. The more people buy into it, the stronger the pressure is.<BR/><BR/>When a new system is introduced by whatever means, the process begins all over again with a new or mutated collection of beliefs and expectations. And over time, the old adage that history belongs to the victor is reaffirmed once again.<BR/><BR/>The hard part about all this is that we often don't know that our thoughts and behaviors have been conditioned. But eventually, by staying open to questioning and testing beliefs and using simple questions like: "is that true?" "am I sure of that?" we begin to open new pathways.<BR/><BR/>Eventually we all have to do our own work. We have to be our own student and teacher. In doing that we begin to see the conditioning which has been imposed on us from an early age but also we can discern how we have conditioned ourselves. <BR/><BR/>These are not hard things. They are not easy. We get there by setting the intent and then staying the course. <BR/><BR/>You also commented that some of what I wrote struck you as Thoreau all over again and some of it was really novel. To the extent that I am merely repeating what Thoreau said, I am just a parrot, and giving back second hand experience. To the extent that I have digested his words and experiences I am a perfect example of a person who has been conditioned and not aware of that conditioning. To the extent that I have come to these opinions through my own discovery process, then he and I can both have a conversation based on our own personal experiences, and then that can become spirited and engaging.<BR/><BR/>I am glad that I am not in front of a college or graduate class of students who whould appropriately ask for references to back all of this up. But then again, I might say that the best discovery is self discovery and ask them to write their material. <BR/><BR/>I hope that is helpful.Tim Hodgenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15237942768894057727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36660783.post-22369120792516538552009-01-14T16:00:00.000-05:002009-01-14T16:00:00.000-05:00Bonne soiree, voison!I just wanted to pose this as...Bonne soiree, voison!<BR/><BR/>I just wanted to pose this as an open question: have we been conditioned to accept without question a specific conception of counterculture or alternative culture? It's important to question where all our notions come from. Some of the things on your list struck me as Thoreau all over again, but others struck me as really novel -> thus dangerous -> thus useful.<BR/><BR/>Glad to read some new stuff on the blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36660783.post-72319428420990380332009-01-02T09:02:00.000-05:002009-01-02T09:02:00.000-05:00Tim, I look forward to your posts and this one was...Tim, I look forward to your posts and this one was worth the wait! <BR/><BR/>News (aka marketing media), television, consumption, money, speed, medical industry, financial investing, impotence and dependence -- a fine list.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03536102483146881252noreply@blogger.com