Liberals are Bad People (rant)

I don't like liberals. Liberals--aside from being incredibly obnoxious--are destructive to society. When I was younger, I had a few liberal beliefs. Also, I wouldn't consider myself to be a Republican: I don't support outsourcing for example. I suppose what I am referring to are the social liberals (me being a social conservative). To be honest, I'm a cultural Christian. What I mean by this is that I believe in much of the moral teachings of Jesus and enjoy the holidays. Anyways, getting back on topic, liberals fight against the nuclear family, traditional culture (which is very important for social cohesion), and having a strong work-ethic (certain beliefs and social policies discourage work-ethic). Liberals are like a chain smoker getting cancer and patting themselves on the back when the start drinking green tea. Liberalism has caused damage to american society for sure. Liberals are like a brat child that do the opposite of what an authority figure (such as the father) wants them to do.

I strongly dislike liberals and the direction they want this country to go in. Previously this blog went after religious stupidity (I've lightened up on religion, and think it can be a good thing for society), now I'm looking to focus on liberal stupidity (which I believe causes societal chaos).

Daydream Addiction and Derealization/Depersonalization

While daydreaming isn't generally recognized as being something that can be addictive. It certainly can be, and many people are addicted to daydreaming. People daydream for a few reasons...

-To plan (typically a useful application)

-To feel good (a possibly negative application)

-To escape reality (a possibly negative application)

When we daydream, the awareness of our senses becomes greatly diminished. The weird thing about awareness is that we aren't aware of what we aren't aware of. When we lose the awareness of our sight--for example--we aren't aware of it. Fortunately, the brain still stores the information coming into the eyes (in a limited, unfocused way...because the eyes are either focused on physical objects or not, here the brain "fills in" the perceptual gaps). 

The reason reality (the self is part of our reality) doesn't seem real is because it isn't. The senses have gotten into the habit of ignoring (i.e. to escape reality) so much that the brain is in overdrive to "fill in the gaps". On a certain level, the brain is aware of the fact that much of the reality it is attempting to form is imaginary, thus causing the feelings of derealization. Derealization can be a very scary thing, and in order to cope, daydreaming can be used (again, as an escape).

Daydreaming can feel very good, a person can put together a story line that makes them feel a wide variety of emotions and psuedo-perceptions. It is the fact that it can feel very good and be used as an escape that creates the possibility of it being an addictive behavior. 

Daydreaming itself is a cause of derealization. In fact, it is the ultimate state of derealization. The best thing to do if you find yourself here is to stop daydreaming. The next best thing is to reduce it dramatically. Either way, the opposite of daydreaming is mindfulness. Use the search bar on this blog to look up some of my writings about mindfulness or even Google it. 

I like to keep my blogs posts short and sweet, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. 

Love and Reducing Anxiety

It may sound cliche that love can make a person feel content and happy (even though it shouldn't be considered cliche). Love in the american culture is a dying philosophy. What is love? Love is difficult to describe, but most people understand it on some level. I would describe love as being the strongest emotional connection a person can have, and something that roots us in our formation of reality. In other words, without love, we are lost.

Many people dislike love. When they hear about it, they ignore the ideas associated with it or even attack them. I believe one of the reasons this nation (and the world in general) is so psychologically unbalanced is because of the lack of love. Love is an emotional need for sure, and I believe it starts at home, with the self. Sadly, in our culture, we are taught to hate ourselves much more than love.

So how can a person love themselves? It's not something that is instant, it takes time. Loving is an activity. One of the best ways--in my opinion--to love, is positive affirmations. Repeating a positive affirmation over and over, trying to feel the idea, is a great way to create a sense of well-being (people often, unknowingly or not, repeat negative affirmations to themselves on a regular basis).

The affirmations can be something simple like...

"I love myself.."

Repeated with our inner voice. If you notice a bunch of thoughts come up to contradict the idea of self-love, this is normal. In fact, if the affirmation isn't believable, then this is a sure sign that you don't love yourself (making you a perfect candidate for positive affirmations). No matter who you are, or how you perceive yourself, you should always love yourself. Love is unconditional. A mother doesn't love her child because it looks a certain way, gets high enough grades, etc. Love yourself today and make it a habit. Love starts at home.

Another beautiful thing about love is that it allows people to perceive reality in a much clearer way. If you love a person, you see them in much higher detail. If you hate yourself, you will ignore yourself. Awareness is key when it comes to reducing anxiety. Fear is a state of ignoring (desire to 'escape').  

Why I left Atheism

Caution, the following may seem a little disorganized. It was written in a state of flow, and not thought out and organized beforehand (I hate writing like that, blah). 

It is in my opinion that atheists are wrong in their certainty of an unknown. I used to be an atheist, but I found the position ironically requires faith to maintain (and a belief in an all-knowing, all-aware self). It's without question that this universe is a complex thing, and to make matters worse the ability to be aware of the self is another one of those big unknowns. It's a shame that atheists close themselves off to certain spiritual experiences. It's fairly easy to experience the presence with an open heart (love being what opens it). The reason I consider myself to be an 'agnostic' is because I am ignorant of the underlying source of it. Of course I have no way of knowing that such a thing is capable of creating a universe and/or able listen to and answer prayers. But I definitely see how the "higher power" can be a source of strength for people, regardless of what it is. Without a doubt it does exist on some level (even if it is only in the mind). So yeah, atheism is not a good position to take. I find that most atheists (especially the outspoken ones) are those that have felt pain as a result of religion (obviously not from God, which is not a painful experience). It's easy to attack religion (which I have done a lot of in the past), but when it comes to God, it's one of those things that need to be experienced. It's outside of our external senses, so we have a tough time describing it. In fact, the only word that comes even close to describing it is 'love'. Many people in today's society are afraid of love, and this is why they have trouble with relationships in general, it is why the rate of depression and other mental disorders are on the rise (depression is a spiritual illness because its source is the core of our being in the same way that love is). The word 'love' has been labeled as being cliche and corny in society, and we wonder why society is suffering today.

1 John 4:8 is a bible verse that, I believe, gets at the heart of all of this.

"Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love"


If God is love, then it's hard to deny that God cannot be experienced. So essentially atheists don't believe love exists. 

Thoughts cause Anxiety (and can help relieve it)

People that have anxiety issues typically have constant brain chatter that is so pervasive that it eventually becomes ignored.

slightly off-topic:
This doesn't have anything to do with the anxiety per se, but when a person is exposed to a stimuli enough, the brain stops to consciously recognize it. 

But just because a suffer of anxiety isn't aware of a worrying thought/s, doesn't stop the thought's influence over a person. As a person who had serious anxiety in the past (and mild anxiety today), one of my best tips is to merely bring awareness to the thought-process. The majority of the time, the thoughts that stress us out are irrational, but they can torment a person that ignores them. Never ignore a worrying thought, instead try to see the big picture, put it into perspective, think about the worry out-loud (forces the idea to be subject to higher reasoning). Going back to the thesis of this blog post, it is the worries that are repeated over and over again that allow anxiety to build up and stick around in a person's life (like constantly scratching at a scap, it is made worse and worse overtime). The important thing to do....

By the way, I tend to write as the thoughts flow out of me, so this post might be a bit rambley

..is to, when you notice negative thoughts come in, replace them with positive thoughts. This will help balance the worldview. It's not a bad thing to have negative thoughts, but just be balanced. Consciously try to think of positive thoughts and at least be 50/50 (I prefer to be 20/80 with negative to positive thoughts, respectively). In other words, when you notice negative thoughts, go through a cognitive exercise of forcing yourself to think of positive things (can be anything optimistic).  

Talking to God vs. Talking to Yourself.

I'll admit it, I talk to myself all the time. Sometimes I even talk to the internet (which is what blogging is, and people are allowed to watch). But why is it so weird for people to talk to a "higher power"? During my more close-minded days, I used to make fun of people that would pray to God. Regardless if God exists or not (I have no way of knowing if such a being exists), is it any less rational to talk to yourself as oppose to what many atheists refer to as an "imaginary friend"? When you talk to yourself, you're really talking to an imaginary self. Sometimes we just need someone to talk with. It's not like anyone can be totally free of delusion anyways. Nearly everyone's (other than maybe some Buddhists monks) perceptions have inaccuracies, but there's such a thing as "useful delusions". At the end of the day being happy is what's important, and if praying to God or talking to yourself helps fulfill a psychological need, I say go for it. 

The Benefit of Mitt Romney's "Prank" on Gay Kids

Mitt Romney cut a gay kid's (who was closeted at the time) hair in high school (physically held him down and cut his bangs). Mittens knew that the kid could have gotten a lazy eye. The man has a  heart of gold (maybe platinum?)