Rick Perry: Economic Crisis Is God's Way Of Bringing Us Back To Biblical...

Hopefully this guy doesn't become president, Jesus (pun intended). He is like Super Bush! Didn't we get our share with a fundamentalist Christian over the last decade? We don't need this nut-job having the ability to launch nukes.

Atheists that mock God are "double-damned"

If this is true, then I should be worried. This video is a satire, and Edward Current is an atheist pretending to be a Christian (obviously). But, many Christians actually believe that those that commit blasphemy are pissing off God. Why does God have such a low self-esteem that he can't take criticism? If God is all-powerful, why would He have made atheists? Is God a sadomasochist? Probably. That or atheists are right, and there is no God (sorry Christians). 

Children's Book 'Maggie Goes on a Diet' is disgusting.

I recently watched a video (click me for link) that discribes a book written by Paul Kramer. Basically it's about this young girl (14 if I remember right) that is bullied at school because she is "fat". She is unpopular, and feels depressed--which causes her to eat more food. Maggie ends up becoming motivated to lose weight, and after she loses the weight she becomes popular...and everyone loves her.

Do I even need to explain why this book is just awful? Oh, and before I go any further, Paul Kramer is not exactly slim or even a "little over weight" (to put it nicely). All this book does is perpetuate children's obsession with looks and popularity--neither of which are conductive of good mental health. It's sad to think that many many children will be influenced by this piece of garbage. Paul Kramer should be ashamed of himself. All this book will do is make overweight children even more depressed about their situation. He claims that his book will empower overweight children because they will see that "they are no alone" (which is complete BS). A person's weight is a personal issue--it surely isn't a concern for others (except for maybe a doctor or parent). Weight should only be considered a health issue, it never should be considered a social issue. The bullying nature of this book and of literal bullies is a very harmful force. The logical method is to utilize productive encouragement, not attacking the self-esteem of a child.

Sadly to say, this world is not a good environment to be raising children. I'm hoping that people start to wake up, but as they say: it will get worse before it gets better. 

Mother uses hot sauce, cold showers to discipline 7-year-old

Using fear as a method of teaching is very counterproductive. During fight-or-flight mode there tends to be a numbing effect on learning. This mother is just taking out her anger on the child--she doesn't care about actually helping his behavioral issues (which probably aren't that abnormal). This kind of parenting teachings kids to behave well out of the fear of getting caught, not for the sake of being good (this can cause serious behavioral problems down the road).

Prisons are filled with people that are only worried about getting into trouble. It is important to teach children why they should behave well. This "parent" is using this child as a proverbial punching bag to vent her frustrations (frustrations caused by not knowing how to parent).

Mother uses hot sauce, cold showers to discipline 7-year-old

Using fear as a method of teaching is very counterproductive. During fight-or-flight mode there tends to be a numbing effect on learning. This mother is just taking out her anger on the child--she doesn't care about actually helping his behavioral issues (which probably aren't that abnormal).This kind of parenting teachings kids to behave well out of the fear of getting caught, not for the sake of being good (this can cause serious behavioral problems down the road).

NH Sponsor Of Minimum Wage Restriction Law: Young People Are ‘Not Worth The Minimum’

NH Sponsor Of Minimum Wage Restriction Law: Young People Are ‘Not Worth The Minimum’: pThis year, newly-elected Republicans in the New Hampshire legislature pushed a bill to restrict the state’s minimum wage law to the lowest federally mandated amount. The bill, backed by GOP leadership, was vetoed by Gov. John Lynch (D-NH), but still passed by an override vote in both chambers. New Hampshire will continue to have the [...]/p

Just amazing how insensitive and unintelligent (both go hand-in-hand) some people are. What a piss-poor economic philosophy: lower taxes for the rich, lower wages for the poor. How did this moron get elected into office? The minimum wage affects so many people (not just 'young people'). The reason our economy is in the state it is now is because our industry is competing with 3rd world nations. Companies can pay the workers virtually nothing there, and sell the products for much cheaper here. We need to stop trading with countries that don't have a minimum wage similar to ours. The system at the moment only works for the rich, it harms everyone else. It is because the rich have so much influence over policy that the poor are suffering. When it all boils down to it, the United States economy is dying because of its lack of industry. The United States cannot compete with 3rd world nations that have no minimum wage. We will continue on our down-spiral until this problem is remedied. A nation that doesn't produce things has a tough time making money. I know I'm rambling now, but we need our factories back. The best thing people can do is stop purchasing things that are MADE IN CHINA. Whenever you purchase something MADE IN CHINA, you are merely reinforcing the very thing that is harming our economy.

What is the meaning of life for an atheist?

The beautiful thing about atheism is that it provides freedom to think about questions like the meaning of life. Atheists are not told that they NEED to believe this or that. At the end of the day meaning is what we think it is. And interestingly, I find that many atheists have similar views to the ones expressed in this video.

While all of these atheist speakers are inspiration, Neil deGrasse Tyson's views resonate the strongest with me. I strongly believe that for a person to be aware of life they must think about life and its meaning. Our view of life depends upon the perspective, and the information we know/accept. Many people live day to day getting wrapped up in diversions like sports and/or reality TV shows in order to avoid the elephant in the room: the meaning/purpose of existence. As shown in the video above, the meaning of an atheist's life can be very rich (if cultivated). From what I've seen/experienced (used to be a catholic), the purpose of life for the religious is nothing more than a disposable tool for God--a pawn in "His plan".

Atheism broadens the mind, and the alternative has been shown to do the opposite. To each their own I suppose. But for the sake of accuracy, people should leave the whole "an atheist's life has no meaning" nonsense behind (maybe we should let them focus on learning about evolution first, eh..).

Sex addiction is wide-spread and destructive.

We are a sex addicted culture, and I mean that literally. The brain of a person that is addicted to sex has similarities to a drug addict. Like all addictions, it is caused by a flood of dopamine which activates the reward center of the brain. Unfortunately with sex (including masturbation and porn), so much dopamine gets released that the dopamine receptors get numbed or even worse--destroyed. It has been shown that over-sexual stimulation causes an over-stimulation of the reward center (which has a numbing/destructive effect similar to a drug addict). Symptoms of this are...

-ADHD
-Brain fog
-Anxiety
-Mood swings
-Depression
-Addictions
-Low self-esteem
-Lowered intelligence
-Poor memory

Essentially the brain craves dopamine, but can't get it. Not because there isn't enough in supply (there may be too much) but because it's ability to utilize it gets severely compromised. In reality, people aren't addicted to sex per se, but addicted to the feeling sex provides--the rush. The feelings of sexual arousal, orgasm, etc. are caused by very real chemicals that can (and often do) lead to an addiction and damage to the brain. Addictions are always bad because all addictions are caused by an over-stimulation of the reward center, which causes a numbing/destruction of dopamine receptors. Our brains are built for certain levels of stimulation, but in the area of sex, if one engages in it on a regular basis, there can be problems.

There's a way to test if you are addicted to sex. Abstain from sex for a week or two. Most people have this addiction satisfied by being sexually promiscuous and using porn to masturbate every day (or nearly so).

All of this is very real, and not talked about at all. This is the kind of thing they NEVER talk about in health class. They have no problem describing how to put on a condom or masturbate. The reality is that sex can damage the brain if done in excess, and sex can be very addictive. I believe it's time for real sexual education to be given; our children are suffering because of this pseudo-education that claims that sex--no matter how often engaged--is healthy. At the moment they are subject to the ramblings of a sex addict (which most sex ed. teachers probably are), but from someone who is truly educated on the subject. It's like if we had a person that is addicted to marijuana teaching kids about the health benefits of it.

If anyone that is reading this is addicted to sex, feel free to leave a comment. If you want to debate me on this subject (it's really silly, considering the evidence backing my side), feel free to do so. At the end of the day, sex addiction is very destructive and very widespread in the United States (among most places in the world). Pornography is probably the biggest culprit for getting people hooked-on-sex in modern times. In fact, pornography itself--just by looking at it--causes over-stimulation of the reward center. Chances are, if something feels REALLY GOOD, it is probably overstimulating the reward center and leaves a person at risk for addiction (which causes an overflow of dopamine that numbs the receptors).

http://virginpride.blogspot.com/

Preacher rapes woman behind church

Okay, so apparently a preacher named Dale Richardson is being accused of raping 3 woman behind a church at gun point. I bet this guy was a fundamentalist too. It's always the super-godly that are super-f@cked up. Most people are surprised by this, being under the assumption that a preacher (i.e. "man of God") is more moral than most--I hope this helps people avoid false assumptions and blind trust. I read the story here (click me). I think it's good to spread stories like this around, so feel free to post a link of this page or of the linked story. Rape is obviously one of the worst crimes a person can commit, and sadly people blindly trust "men" like Dale Richardson because they are "godly". I wonder why it is that religious people like this guy are so unable to keep their sexual urges in check (suppression and idolization of sex may be the culprits).

Oh, and by the way, the name of the church is Freedom Free Will Baptist Church (it's located in Ladson, S.C.)

Again, here is a link to the story..

Atheists can't live without God?

While surfing around on YouTube, I found this gem. Apparently atheists can't live without God. I've managed to do pretty well over the last 6 years. His first argument against atheism is that the earth/universe "must have had a cause". Of course there are other, more scientific explanations, but those aren't based in the "God did it" logic--so we should just ignore those.

Sarcasm aside, just because we (a group of mammals) don't fully understand how the universe was created/functions, doesn't mean anything (including that there must be a God). Do Christians actually buy such an argument? Do they actually believe that such an argument is effective against debating atheism?

This guy also claims that the universe must have had a "supernatural cause". Why supernatural? And what does 'supernatural' actually mean? Is it just a fancy word to describe a lack of understanding?  In my opinion, this guy (and people like him) is afraid of reality, and would rather live in an imaginary world. The real universe is very mysterious, and the vast majority of it not understood (we live in almost complete darkness). This ignorance can give birth to curiosity or fear. A person that is afraid of not knowing will pretend to know--but this is only for their sake. If we blindly explain everything as being caused by God, then the mind is no longer bothered by ignorance--it falsely believes that it has an understanding where no understanding actually exists. The mind can't tell the difference between fiction and fact--such things are labels.

This video is fairly long, but I expect the best arguments against atheism are at the beginning, so I didn't bother watching the whole thing. The reality is that atheists do not need God (obviously). God is an idea, and we attach ideas to that idea. It is humans that create ideas about morality, and ideas that are conductive of good mental health--not God. I believe freedom is something we all need on some level, and atheists are much more free than theists. 

Atheists for Ron Paul?

I'm a big Ron Paul supporter, and was during his last run at the White House. This time around I believe he has a much better shot at it. I know that many rational individuals support the guy due to his responsible and rational platform. I'm curious how many atheists out there support him. Obviously I (admin of this blog) am an atheist that supports him. Anyways, I'm rambling. For anyone reading this, leave a comment if you support Ron Paul. Also post links to his site, donate--you know the drill.

Ron Paul 2012!

http://www.ronpaul.com/

TheAmazinglyImmoralAtheist talks about Ron Paul's stance on abortion.

Yes, because mothers should have the right to kill their own offspring...give me a break. Roe v. Wade has had terrible consequences for society, and we need to wake up. The ruling has fundamentally changed the way we perceive human life. It has changed our perception of human life from being something of immeasurable worth to a "piece of flesh" (some pro-abortionists refer to human life as a 'parasite'), not worthy of life. This has made it "okay" to destroy human life because it is perceived as an inconvenience (typically financial or emotional). Abortion is just a disgusting practice from top to bottom, and it's affects on society are wholly negative. For example, allowing abortion to be socially acceptable has spiked the occurrence of sexually immoral behaviors--which has caused our society so many consequential problems (high divorce rate, crime, abortion, psychopathy, etc.).

TheAmazingAtheist is both ignorant and immoral (both are reliant upon the other); he is a hate-filled individual with very little or no compassion for human life. What a poor representation of the atheist community. Any rational being opposes the killing of human life, period.

Ron Paul is a moral and intelligent individual, and hopefully he does well in the primaries. Even if he doesn't win, his ideas hopefully will. 

Changing my view towards religion...

I've written a little bit about my "belief in belief". In other words, that I believed that some people are better off with religion due to their intellectual deficits (being unable to think for themselves). While the "belief in belief" stance does have its arguments, I now (after some reflection) believe that in reality this stance only exasperates the problem--ignorance. It is both ignorance and distorted thinking that underlies immorality. While religion can distort thinking in a way that causes people to behave well, this is a pseudo-morality. When it comes to morality, motivation is everything, and obviously the motivations underlying religiously-based morality is self-preservation and longing for reward (a mouse's brain works in the same way). This is why the religious are not known for being rational on the subject of morality. A morality that is based in logical thinking is in all of our best interests. This isn't to say the atheist community is perfect. I've seen many atheists utilize the pleasure vs. reward system of morality, and it's quite easy to see their short-comings. Obviously there is a difference between non-belief and rationality. Let's just say that while rationality can bring a person to atheism, it is not the only thing that can...many atheists are as irrational as they come. This is why labeling groups as being this or that is oftentimes, while easier to cognitively organize, not accurate.

Anyways, I'm rambling now. My stance is that religion is not a good thing, even if it does create a society filled with docile sheeple. Even though it doesn't. In reality it typically turns people into paranoid "sheep" due to the methods of the herders. How can a society move in the right direction if it is filled with a delusional population (just look at our economy, politics, and negatively-influential entertainment)? A delusional people often have backwards priorities, which causes them to move in the wrong direction.

Prayer is a selfish act.

The title of this blog post pretty much says it all. But who is to say an act that is selfish is bad? The reason people pray is because it makes them feel better. A person that is worried about something can often diffuse that worry if they feel as if they can do something about it. The brain of a believer believes that by engaging in the activity of praying has an impact. Oftentimes the brain is fooled into believing things are real when they are not—even atheists have this problem from time to time (but in smaller ways).

The reality is that prayer is popular because it makes the person praying feel better. We have the false-belief that if something feels good it must be both true and healthy (thanks to our primitive brain). The problem with prayer is that it accomplishes nothing, while at the same time making the worrier feel as if something has been done (thus diffusing any motivation to act). This is believe is why I believe nations that are heavily religious and pray a lot accomplish the least (they have no motivation to solve problems because they falsely believe that prayer has done something, which demotivates them).

One of the biggest problems I see with praying is that it perpetuates a delusional worldview. The majority of the world has a heavily distorted worldview, and this is why the world has so many problems. Many people are unable to see the source of our insanity (all the wars, violence, political conflict, economic problems, etc.)—it falls back to distorted thinking—much of which comes from religion. Prayer is literally imaginary. A person that is truly rational can distinguish the difference between reality and imaginary thinking...sadly there is a blurring of the lines for the majority. 

Girl beaten to death in the name of God

Such a sad story. Using pain to teach a child how to behave is disgusting. Christians claim that humans are special, yet many of them treat their own children like animals. If there was a God (there isn't), why would people believe that he would want children to be beaten? Where do such f@%ked up ideas come from? Thinking about all of this hurts my brain. The Christian worldview (I know not all Christians abuse their children) is not easy to comprehend—due to all the warped aspects of it. What is it about religion that makes people want to hurt other people? Is it the paranoia caused by a judgmental, psychopathic god along with the fear of demons and hell? Probably. 

Ron Paul 2012!!

It's a shame common sense is far from common in government—especially when it comes to spending habits (i.e. don't spend more than you take in). Any rational person would support Ron Paul. We need a president that is actually serious about cutting government spending. Like he said, the problem is not that Americans have too much money, the problem is the federal government's spending.

Don't be a democrat or a republican—be rational. Please show your support by donating to his campaign @ http://www.ronpaul.com/

Atheist pride rallies?

Wouldn't an atheist pride rally be fun? I was thinking that we could get a bunch of chimpanzees and serve spaghetti. Seriously though, if it worked for the gay community, I bet it would work for the atheist community. While many atheists don't realize it, we are one of the most hated groups in america (even more hated than gay people, well at least polls would suggest this). Fortunately the atheist movement has come along way, I just believe that atheists organizing and holding events to celebrate atheism (the liberation from religion) would ultimately be a good thing for our cause. I'm sure there has to have been an atheist pride rally by now (would be very surprised if their wasn't), I'm talking more on a widespread scale. 

atheist's morality vs. believer's morality

I've written blog posts that entertained the idea that atheists are more immoral, along with blog posts that entertain the opposite. Besides being a person that often changes their mind, I see valid arguments on both sides. From one perspective, atheists are harder to control. I don't believe many atheists would argue that point. But on the other, atheists base their moral decisions on reason, not fear (which isn't really morality, but self-preservation). If I was a dictator, let's just say I would have a much easier time controlling the population's behavior utilizing religion than rationality. And that isn't to say that religion is totally irrational, but those are the best words to label (at least in my opinion) the difference between atheistic morality vs. religious morality (atheism being based, hopefully, in reason).

Ignoring the illogical stance of moral-relativity (sadly many atheists possess this delusional belief), atheists, when confronted with a moral dilemma, will use their capacity for empathy along with logical thinking to come up with an answer. A believer in God will defer to the bible or their religious leaders—in other words, no thinking required on their end. In general this is the problem with Christianity (and other similar religions) is that there is no critical thinking required—in fact it is often frowned upon.

The only argument against atheist's morality is that some people can use reason to justify horrible behaviors. But, as we all know, religious people do this as well, the only difference is the use God as a scapegoat. In general I've found that most atheists are good people, no one is perfect, but understanding why moral behavior is good is much more useful than blindly following orders. 

Atheism is more consoling

An atheist's worldview compared to a Christian's (or any other believer in a god) is much different. This is obvious, but which is easier? In other words, which worldview makes life easier? It's an interesting question. Does believing that loved-ones are in heaven make religion more consoling than atheism? Believing that a "someone" is responsible for the death of a loved-one (assuming the death is actually brought on by natural causes) can cause a lot of anger and frustration as oppose to believing that unconscious forces are responsible (no one is out to 'get you'). This is really applicable to all hardships. A person that believes in God must also believe that this being is responsible for all hardships (or at least for letting them happen). An atheist doesn't believe some being in the clouds is screwing with them from time-to-time. And as we know, believers in God aren't exactly known for their lack of paranoia (Fox News has already profited off this knowledge). We are wired to become much more upset when we believe a conscious being is responsible for harming us as oppose to unconscious forces that do no intend to harm anything. It's as simple as that. And I believe this is a consolation argument in favor of atheism (as oppose to the alternative).

The point of all this is that it seems very reasonable to assume that a person with true hardship will have an easier time coping as an atheist. In fact, if I believed my loved-ones were in heaven with that guy, it wouldn't be consoling at all. As long as a loved-one isn't forgotten, they are never lost—at least from our perspective. 

Stay rational. 

I don't understand people like this. What do you think? - Imgur

I don't understand people like this. What do you think? - Imgur

Racists are precious. Imgur doesn't understand it, but it's easy to understand this mentality. It's the "I fear everyone that is different than me" coupled with the "things are different than when I was a child, therefore it is BAD!"

LatumWay on Heterosexual Pride Day

This reminds me of the KKK's version of "pride". 

Electronic entertainment and mental disorders.

Electronic entertainment is a huge industry in modern-times. Unfortunately, I don't believe we even come close to understanding the negative psychological affects of electronic entertainment. Many people write it off as ...

"it's just television.."
"it's just music.."
"it's just the internet.."
"it's just video games.."


All of these things, I believe, cause an over-stimulation of the brain. Our brains are simply not intended for these sorts of sensory stimulation. As far as mental health is concerned, we have seen a rise in..

-Anxiety disorders
-ADD/ADHD
-Depression
-Lack of motivation

...to name a few.

I believe the overstimulating affects of electronic entertainment can cause all of those problems. Young children's brains are especially vulnerable to the affects of electronic entertainment (their brains are still developing). Essentially, our brains wire to accommodate the things we experience (what we sense, and how we react). And the type of sensory stimulation we seek out from electronic entertainment is not necessarily conductive of good mental health, but rather for the type of feeling we desire to experience. Many people blame electronic entertainment (like those listed above) for having a bad influence, but it is them who is reacting to the consumer's desires. Fox News, for example, tries to promote the most worry-producing stories they can. Why? Because the consumers of Fox News are more interested in viewing those types of stories because they are EXCITING!!

At the end of the day, the type of electronic entertainment we consume depends on the way we want to feel. The most popular feelings that people want to experience today are the "adrenaline rush" and "sexual arousal". Both of these desired feelings, when experienced on a constant basis, are not healthy for an individual or society. Just because a food taste good doesn't mean it is good for you, and the same goes for electronic entertainment.

Source: From my Thinking Psychology blog

I put this up here because I believe that not only is electronic entertainment a psychological issue, but a major social issue as well (both go hand-in-hand). Feel free to leave any thoughts you have about this post below in the comment section, thanks for reading :) 

Electronic entertainment and mental disorders.

Electronic entertainment is a huge industry in modern-times. Unfortunately, I don't believe we even come close to understanding the negative psychological affects of electronic entertainment. Many people write it off as ...

"it's just television.."
"it's just music.." 
"it's just the internet.."
"it's just video games.."


All of these things, I believe, cause an over-stimulation of the brain. Our brains are simply not intended for these sorts of sensory stimulation. As far as mental health is concerned, we have seen a rise in..

-Anxiety disorders
-ADD/ADHD
-Depression
-Lack of motivation

...to name a few.

I believe the overstimulating affects of electronic entertainment can cause all of those problems. Young children's brains are especially vulnerable to the affects of electronic entertainment (their brains are still developing). Essentially, our brains wire to accommodate the things we experience (what we sense, and how we react).  And the type of sensory stimulation we seek out from electronic entertainment is not necessarily conductive of good mental health, but rather for the type of feeling we desire to experience. Many people blame electronic entertainment (like those listed above) for having a bad influence, but it is them who is reacting to the consumer's desires. Fox News, for example, tries to promote the most worry-producing stories they can. Why? Because the consumers of Fox News are more interested in viewing those types of stories because they are EXCITING!!

At the end of the day, the type of electronic entertainment we consume depends on the way we want to feel. The most popular feelings that people want to experience today are the "adrenaline rush" and "sexual arousal". Both of these desired feelings, when experienced on a constant basis, are not healthy for an individual or society. Just because a food taste good doesn't mean it is good for  you, and the same goes for electronic entertainment. 

Muslim Football Player can't drink water during practice!?

Ahmed Elshaer is his name, and apparently the reason he can't drink water is because of Ramadan. In other words, Ahmed doesn't want to risk losing his 72 virgins over a little dehydration—what a champ. The football team probably should have a doctor on standby. Here is the source of the story <click me>

This is why I believe more people should be atheists. Atheists don't have to torture themselves to make a "loving god" happy. Atheists can drink all the water they want. In fact, I'm going to grab a nice cold glass of water right now ☺

Are atheists going to hell?

Someone recently told me that I'm going to hell because I'm an atheist. I find this idea to be fascinating. If you don't believe in such and such a god (how do you believe in a void?), you will spend an eternity getting tortured. While this all sounds funny to most atheists, any Christian with half a brain believes it's true. And some Christians believe atheists will go to limbo...or is it purgatory? (I think I'm already at one of the two). The title is in the form of a question, the answer is "no". Atheists are going to heaven because we weren't fooled to believe in talking snakes and fossil factories...you know, devil's work (yes, I'm being facetious). 

Video games caused my anxiety?

I believe that video games caused my anxiety disorder. In my household as a child, there was a lot of yelling, and perhaps that fueled it, but I believe when push comes to shove, it was the video games. How can this be? Well, it doesn't have to do so much with the video games themselves, but the adrenaline's domino effect on my psychology (and I believe the psychology of many other people). Adrenaline (and other fight-or-flight hormones) makes people fearful by nature, and with constant exposure (all I did was play video games, and I got very intense with them), this can seriously alter perceptions would ultimately affect cognitive behaviors in a huge way. For me it seems that my constant anxious state is both caused by cognition and causes cognition (thus creating a cycle to perpetuate the 'disorder'). The vast majority of video games are addictive because people love the feeling of an adrenaline rush, but the long-term affects of constant fight-or-flight mode isn't healthy. In our society I believe we need to take adrenaline-producing stimuli much more seriously (TV, internet, music, video games and so on). From what I've observed, a lot of anxious people have an adrenaline fix of some sort. It's important to identify your adrenaline fix if you have one, and find a way to get rid of it. If you need that adrenaline, exercise is much more productive (increased metabolism of stress hormones plus the adrenaline fix is satisfied...plus exercise is good for the brain).

Well I'm rambling now, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to leave a comment☺ 

Irrational Past/Future thinking underlies anxiety and depression.

The title of this post says it all. Essentially, especially for anxiety, the sensations come about when worrying about the past or future. Our imaginations are so damn powerful that when we imagine either (past or future), they seem real, and our body reacts accordingly. All that exists is the present moment, and typically the present moment isn't very threatening. But for someone with anxiety (like myself), it takes thinking about the past or future to generate the response. Now this is all well and good, and perhaps obvious in hindsight—but it can make for a useful technique to disable anxiety/depression-provoking cognition. All you must do is be aware of the thoughts that are flowing in the mind at the present moment, and for each you notice, make sure to tell yourself that "it is just a thought, and nothing more". The reality is that a thought is just a thought. People with anxiety and depression (and probably 99% of all people) are affected by stressful thoughts because they believe those thoughts to be MORE than thoughts. If I was to imagine an serial killer was trying to kill me now, it may cause a small stressful reaction if I was aware that it was my imagination (i.e. that I correctly label the experience as 'imaginary'). But if I believe such an occurrence (me getting attacked) is really about to happen, I would have a panic attack. We have panic attacks (and anxiety/depression) because we believe that our thoughts are true. I know this seems obvious, but the devil is in the details. A person that struggles with these problems needs to slow things down, and look closely at the thoughts (i.e. cognition) that is causes their symptoms.

This is all just food for thought, and is not a substitute for proffesional treatment. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment☺

Awareness is key for overcoming anxiety and depression.

Many people are anxious and/or depressed, yet they don't understand why. I am a person that is currently working towards overcoming anxiety (and occasional mild-depression). I've found that with awareness (i.e. mindfulness of thought) a lot of cognition was going on "behind the scenes" that I was unaware of. Not only did I notice a lot of worrying going on, but the worrying is just plain irrational. This is the key, I believe, to overcoming problematic thinking (which is the typical cause of anxiety and depression). In other words, the problem is the habitual fear-based thinking that is typically irrational. Irrational thoughts based on reality can be indistinguishable from reality without awareness and logical breaking-down of the thoughts. The key is to just listen to your thoughts. When a worrying thought passes by your awareness, proverbially grab onto it and observe it through the lens of logical thinking. I've also found it helpful to write down my thoughts to organize them, and then take those thoughts and break down why those thoughts are fictitious. Reality doesn't cause anxiety disorders and depression, thoughts do. It's as simple as getting your thoughts together, but just because something is simple, doesn't make it easy. I know very well that overcoming irrational thinking isn't easy, but it's certainly a worthy endeavour. 

This is all food for thought, it's not intended to substitute professional help. But when it comes to overcoming anxiety and depression, knowing is half the battle. 

Why people hate atheists..

I get a general feeling that many people (i.e. believers) hate atheists. In fact, atheists are the most hated group in america, and atheists are probably one of the most open-minded and accepting groups in america (ironic, I know). I'm a strong believer that anger is a response born out of fear. And it's no mystery as to why believers would be afraid of atheists. The fear is caused by the already existing doubt in the minds of believers. Believers fear that there is no god, and consequently, that atheists are right about their assessment of reality. Atheists often are unable to wrap their heads around this. We don't have any beliefs that we need to protect. In fact, I would say the vast majority (probably all) atheists would change their stance (on anything) if evidence is made available. Not to stray off too far, but it seems that the beliefs atheists hold are much more flexible than that of a religious believer. A lot of lines could be drawn to reflect the underlying psychological effects of religion...effects that harden a person's worldview, and generate a paranoia against all others. I remember when I was a catholic, I used to have very negative views towards believers of other religions. This paranoia was spoon fed to me in Sunday school and church. A worldview based in fear isn't open to new information, and this is why I believe atheists are hated and feared like they are. I could ramble on all day about this, but I'll leave this post with the following thought....

If fear and irrationality were people they would be more than JUST friends.

Facebook messenger down for maintenance July 11 2011

This site is awful. It's been down for about 2 hours so far, and in the error pop-up window it says "it will be back shortly" or some nonsense like that. This isn't the first problem I've had with messenger, it always seems buggy to me, and it's no where near Yahoo Messenger for reliability. I'm seriously thinking about checking out Google +. 

Texas will be drinking their own piss/shit soon.

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-plant-turn-sewage-drinking-water-205103974.html

Isn't this hilarious? The irony, while perhaps only existing in my head, is terribly ironic. 

so the stockmarket is crashing....

And a lot of rich people are losing their "hard" earned money :(

Mindfulness is essential for good mental health.

Mindfulness is an incredible tool that the vast majority don't utilize. I believe we, as a society, are addicted to a reliance on autopilot—mindfulness is the enemy of autopilot (and vice versa). Mindfulness cannot be done automatically. In other words, our autopilot cannot learn mindfulness, but it can learn to remind us to engage in mindful behavior. Before I go any further, let me explain what mindfulness is. 

Mindfulness is an intentional focus on being aware of the present moment. A good way of doing this is to just step back, appreciate the moment with the senses (listen, see, taste, touch, smell), and also be aware of the thoughts that pass through awareness without pushing them away or encouraging them (just let them flow by). Play around with mindfulness, perhaps do some research on it if you don't feel that you have a good bead on it. 

When a person is mindful the brain correctly labels thoughts as being thoughts, and doesn't get all tangled up in them (a person that is aware of the present moment is able to easily see that a thought is just a thought, and not a threat). 

The ability to be aware is like a muscle, use it or lose it. And if you want to overcome things like depression and anxiety, awareness is literally the key (autopilot programming is by far the biggest cause of stress, anxiety, and depression).

If you have any questions about mindfulness, feel free to ask. Poor cognitive behavior is at the root of so many psychological problems, and mindfulness is amazing at getting people back on track (even though it takes a ton of discipline, it is very effective). I believe mindfulness is the kind of behavior that we are suppose to be engaged in—but in the age of information, we are overwhelmed with worry-provoking stimuli. The body in its natural state wants to relax, it takes worrying with a lack of awareness of the present moment (both go hand-in-hand) to stoke the proverbial fire. 

Atheists have the best beards?

http://www.facebook.com/atheistshavethebestbeards

I thought this Facebook page was funny. And yes, atheists do have the best beards (sorry Muslims). 

"Atheists Cannot Account For Emotional Feelings Brought On By Creation"

"Atheists Cannot Account For Emotional Feelings Brought On By Creation"

Not all people feel pleasant emotions while in the woods (I do, but some people hate being in the woods). Emotions come from within, they are not proof of anything other than the self. You (whitedragonawa) find the woods to be relaxing, therefore being in the woods will create a relaxing sensation in your body. It's not the woods itself that is doing anything, it is your body's reaction that is creating the effect. Some people are afraid of the woods, and if they were to go into it they would probably feel terrible. In other words, the woods does not have magical properties that make people feel good, it's all psychological. I don't believe it is important to believe that a god created everything with magic to be able to appreciate wildlife. For me, believing that all of the lifeforms in the woods are a product of billions of years of evolution is even more inspirational (more than some being just *poofing* it into existence). Anyways, it's just ridiculous to claim that atheists cannot account for your "feelings" (remember, 'feelings' come from within).