You gotta love Bob's optimism...do you know the story of his life? why it is so strange he is so happy?
Did you actually see that movie? They showed it here at the local university last semester and my wife and I checked it out. It was the second most crowded showing all semester--the first being the collection of early short porn films.
It is pretty good as far as it goes, actually, but I really wish I could see a few more hours of the footage the director shot! I'm told he shot a lot more than you see.
no,i don't know the story of his life...do you? i don't think it's strange that he's happy,but i do think it's notable. he's ahead of his time...happiness is the 'next big thing'! well,that would be cool,wouldn't it?
no,i didn't see that movie. i didn't even know it was a movie. perhaps it will be put out on dvd,so i can see it.
I don't think that it is strange that an arbitrary person should be happy, but I do find Bob in particular to be an interesting case. (For me happiness is not the normal state of affairs but I am working to change that!)
I don't have a complete biography of him, but I know the following: He has been unemployed a lot over his life; he has a debilitating illness (post-polio syndrome); now that hs is older he has quite a bit of trouble getting around; his wife has passed away (recently I believe); he isn't exactly rich and medical and other expenses can take a serious bite out of his resources; and, many years ago, his daughter was raped and killed. (He's written about a lot of this stuff in his various books.)
That would have destroyed me, I think, but hs remains insanely optimistic. It is almost enough to make me think that it must be genetic...
Maybe Logic is available on DVD. It is VERY weird but also a cool film to watch. A cross between psychedelic physics and the usual documentary interview format. :-)
wow.that's a lot to deal with and yet he seems happy.it's not necessarily genetic...i think that one's thinking habits change your brain chemistry (you've heard of the lab tests on tibetan monks,haven't you? they've had some good thinking training!) well,that may or may not be it,who knows?
i've been playing with 'law of attraction' ideas gleaned from ken maclean and mostly from esther and jerry hicks' abraham teachings,since last august and it has made a difference that even an antidepressant didn't. right now i'm in a bit of a slump,but i think this is only the second time in six months i've been in a 'slump' and i used to be amazed when i had a good day and now it's not normal for me to feel cranky,so things have definitely improved.
it appears that 'maybe logic' is only available through paying through paypal,and i don't like paypal. perhaps an alternative will come up at some point. i may even email them and see if i can send a check. anyhow,thanks for letting me know. oh,i did want to ask if you had seen 'what the bleep?' because it sounds kind of similar. 'what the bleep' really annoyed me. it was a disappointment. so many people looove it,which probably annoys me even more! partly it's because i don't like ramtha/jzknight. i think they put me off 'channelers' for a long time until i started absorbing the abraham material and i did always think jane roberts' channeled 'seth' material was good and not hokey. also,the movie was so disjointed. i guess i'm not a fan of modern or postmodern or postpostmodern art etc. i like ORDER and even in magazine layouts of magazines,especially about electronic music,it's chaotic and bothers me. i'm aware there is value in chaos,but only so it can swing back to order and then to chaos and keep the world moving...i'll bet as a scientist you may have some comment on that...
anything particular you've been doing to change your 'state of happiness'? the abraham teachings has this neat list of moods and i've learned to work my way up the scale. it works better than just trying to be all happy when you're really not...it's more gradual and works better. if you're interested,i'll type up the list for you. it's an 'emotional scale' of 22 levels and is not the 'be all end all' of moods,but i have found it helpful. for instance,one notch up from boredom is contentment,so when i'm bored (and i used to plummet DOWN when i was bored),i can often make it up to contentment at least,which is an improvement. anyway,blah blah blah...
You know what a flying roll is? No matter--just an obscure reference that serves no purpose...
Well, I hate anti-depressants...I've tried like two or three and gotten terrible side-effects. So I'm looking for any way to get more up on the ole tone scale without drugs. :-)
Maybe Logic is available from Amazon, if you are looking to avoid paypal. (I don't like paypal, either!) It lists for $29.95 which I think is a bit steep! I'm not sure how many times I'd watch it if I bought it. I wonder if it is possible to rent it somewhere?
As for What the Bleep I am unimpressed with the level of stuff that I have seen that is just plain wrong. And that is just from clips and previews. So I haven't seen it and really can't comment beyond that! Visually Maybe Logic is probably similar to what you describe, in terms of disorder, so if you decide to see it be prepared to not like some of the visuals. But it really is more like a documentary than anything else. Just all goofy looking. I have no problem with such visuals, I like electronic music, but I can totally understand how that could bother someone if they did not like it to begin with...
As for my efforts to change my state I have been studying the vast literature on self-help/self-improvement. I've been reading about 30 books on the subject and looking for any common underlying structure. I may post on it if i find any...maybe a flying roll even. :-)
you've piqued my curiousity...what 'wrong stuff' did you pick out in 'bleep'?
are you familiar with new thought? it's spiritual metaphysics,and my favorite book in that vein is 'the game of life and how to play it' by florence scovel shinn. i like it because it's very simple. perhaps you're going more of the psychological route,although these things can overlap. my main inspiration these days is from a group of channeled beings,and it turns out it's great cognitive therapy and i can motivate myself to do it because it's fun!
it would be interesting to hear about your impressions of all the self-help books you've been absorbing.
A critic of the film (a physicist) has pointed out that some of the weirder experiments are described incorrectly and depicted differently than they happened, but it was a while ago and I no longer recall the details. See:
But I don't recall the original materials that I read. Neither of these are the things I was referring to above--the source that got me started.
As for "the new thought" or "new thought" it is more or less just a repackaging of what used to be called metaphysics before that name got targeted. It is not a consistent movement and there are a number of threads not completely in agreement. Like most things, bits of it seem good to me and other bits seem bad. I think I have heard of the book you mentioned but have never read it. As for channeling I am not that impressed by it, as I feel the results are, er, questionable. All channeled sources I have personally investigated have generated at least some bad data (not that I have investigated all of the channels). I prefer to get metaphysical insight from the actual person I am talking to and to whom I can assign responsibility. Of course, your mileage may vary. :-)
I'm currently up to about 63 self-help/self-improvement books (with perhaps a loose definition of the category) that I am working with so far. The Ur texts of the current generation seem to be Maxwell Maltz and Albert Ellis. So I am trying to clarify my thinking there. If I get enough put together I'll publish my own book! :-)
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Did you actually see that movie? They showed it here at the local university last semester and my wife and I checked it out. It was the second most crowded showing all semester--the first being the collection of early short porn films.
It is pretty good as far as it goes, actually, but I really wish I could see a few more hours of the footage the director shot! I'm told he shot a lot more than you see.
no subject
no,i didn't see that movie. i didn't even know it was a movie. perhaps it will be put out on dvd,so i can see it.
happy happy joy joy ...
I don't have a complete biography of him, but I know the following: He has been unemployed a lot over his life; he has a debilitating illness (post-polio syndrome); now that hs is older he has quite a bit of trouble getting around; his wife has passed away (recently I believe); he isn't exactly rich and medical and other expenses can take a serious bite out of his resources; and, many years ago, his daughter was raped and killed. (He's written about a lot of this stuff in his various books.)
That would have destroyed me, I think, but hs remains insanely optimistic. It is almost enough to make me think that it must be genetic...
Maybe Logic is available on DVD. It is VERY weird but also a cool film to watch. A cross between psychedelic physics and the usual documentary interview format. :-)
Re: happy happy joy joy ...
i've been playing with 'law of attraction' ideas gleaned from ken maclean and mostly from esther and jerry hicks' abraham teachings,since last august and it has made a difference that even an antidepressant didn't. right now i'm in a bit of a slump,but i think this is only the second time in six months i've been in a 'slump' and i used to be amazed when i had a good day and now it's not normal for me to feel cranky,so things have definitely improved.
it appears that 'maybe logic' is only available through paying through paypal,and i don't like paypal. perhaps an alternative will come up at some point. i may even email them and see if i can send a check. anyhow,thanks for letting me know. oh,i did want to ask if you had seen 'what the bleep?' because it sounds kind of similar. 'what the bleep' really annoyed me. it was a disappointment. so many people looove it,which probably annoys me even more! partly it's because i don't like ramtha/jzknight. i think they put me off 'channelers' for a long time until i started absorbing the abraham material and i did always think jane roberts' channeled 'seth' material was good and not hokey. also,the movie was so disjointed. i guess i'm not a fan of modern or postmodern or postpostmodern art etc. i like ORDER and even in magazine layouts of magazines,especially about electronic music,it's chaotic and bothers me. i'm aware there is value in chaos,but only so it can swing back to order and then to chaos and keep the world moving...i'll bet as a scientist you may have some comment on that...
anything particular you've been doing to change your 'state of happiness'? the abraham teachings has this neat list of moods and i've learned to work my way up the scale. it works better than just trying to be all happy when you're really not...it's more gradual and works better. if you're interested,i'll type up the list for you. it's an 'emotional scale' of 22 levels and is not the 'be all end all' of moods,but i have found it helpful. for instance,one notch up from boredom is contentment,so when i'm bored (and i used to plummet DOWN when i was bored),i can often make it up to contentment at least,which is an improvement. anyway,blah blah blah...
You know what a flying roll is? No matter--just an obscure reference that serves no purpose...
Maybe Logic is available from Amazon, if you are looking to avoid paypal. (I don't like paypal, either!) It lists for $29.95 which I think is a bit steep! I'm not sure how many times I'd watch it if I bought it. I wonder if it is possible to rent it somewhere?
As for What the Bleep I am unimpressed with the level of stuff that I have seen that is just plain wrong. And that is just from clips and previews. So I haven't seen it and really can't comment beyond that! Visually Maybe Logic is probably similar to what you describe, in terms of disorder, so if you decide to see it be prepared to not like some of the visuals. But it really is more like a documentary than anything else. Just all goofy looking. I have no problem with such visuals, I like electronic music, but I can totally understand how that could bother someone if they did not like it to begin with...
As for my efforts to change my state I have been studying the vast literature on self-help/self-improvement. I've been reading about 30 books on the subject and looking for any common underlying structure. I may post on it if i find any...maybe a flying roll even. :-)
an aerodynamic biscuit?
are you familiar with new thought? it's spiritual metaphysics,and my favorite book in that vein is 'the game of life and how to play it' by florence scovel shinn. i like it because it's very simple. perhaps you're going more of the psychological route,although these things can overlap. my main inspiration these days is from a group of channeled beings,and it turns out it's great cognitive therapy and i can motivate myself to do it because it's fun!
it would be interesting to hear about your impressions of all the self-help books you've been absorbing.
Re: an aerodynamic biscuit?
http://www.aimoo.com/forum/postview.cfm?id=418550&CategoryID=296116&ThreadID=1770187
I also think that the very last paragraph of this is revealing:
http://www.whatthebleep.com/scientists/
But I don't recall the original materials that I read. Neither of these are the things I was referring to above--the source that got me started.
As for "the new thought" or "new thought" it is more or less just a repackaging of what used to be called metaphysics before that name got targeted. It is not a consistent movement and there are a number of threads not completely in agreement. Like most things, bits of it seem good to me and other bits seem bad. I think I have heard of the book you mentioned but have never read it. As for channeling I am not that impressed by it, as I feel the results are, er, questionable. All channeled sources I have personally investigated have generated at least some bad data (not that I have investigated all of the channels). I prefer to get metaphysical insight from the actual person I am talking to and to whom I can assign responsibility. Of course, your mileage may vary. :-)
I'm currently up to about 63 self-help/self-improvement books (with perhaps a loose definition of the category) that I am working with so far. The Ur texts of the current generation seem to be Maxwell Maltz and Albert Ellis. So I am trying to clarify my thinking there. If I get enough put together I'll publish my own book! :-)