Discussion Board What is solidarity without the exchange, affirmation and exploration of ideas? The challenging, the inspiring, the puzzling, disgruntling, transforming, enlightening, catalyzing, comforting whirlwind... that we can plant and tend in the nurturing safety of a central locale such as this. I will write discussion prompts time to time. Please let me know if you have topics you'd like to bring attention to, favorite quotes, etc. Email responses to partingthecurtain@gmail.com One requirement: Postings must contain content that keeps this a safe space. Remember to refer to the Find Support tab above for more information ...Welcome to Our Minds... |
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"My own brain to me is the most unnaccountable of machinery- always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?" ~ Virginia Woolf What purpose can these dancing thoughts of ours hold? Do they even need to have a purpose? Please share your thoughts on our thoughts. These thoughts that race through our heads have the same purpose as the animals and plants, evolutionarily speaking. They give rise to intelligence through the chaotic process of trial and natural selection. We have thoughts from our creative mind that don't always peek our conscious minds interest. When we latch onto a thought it becomes what we normally call a conscious thought. But they are still thoughts themselves, just subconscious ones that come bubbling to the surface. In A.I. this is called a genetic algorithm. These half thoughts are a necessary part or conscious thoughts; without them we would have no thoughts. Passions arise from our needs. The systems that regulate passion are tied into our needs for social acceptance through dopamine that also acts as a hormone that regulates oxycontin which is released when we fall in love, our need for rest and food through serotonin that is synthesized in our stomach from tryptophan in our food, and the need to fight or flee from adrenalin and norepinephrine that regulate heart function. Not to be too technical, but we can see through the movements of these molecules that our passions arise from our most basic needs. As they move to reach equilibrium or homeostatic balance they extract information from structures of neurons that produce thoughts like water flowing down a river cut into the land by the water that had come before. Some times they overflow when there is too much rain when our passions have too much to say to us. But they are just part of the process of motivation. Without passion we would not be motivated to do anything. ~ Michael Lidman, Nashua, NH jacksmernov@yahoo.com |
 If you could reduce everything down, go past the social artifacts, go
past any and all attachments for that matter, I feel that you would find
that nothing has any inherent purpose. I agree with Camus that life is a
Sisyphean struggle. It is absolutely absurd. But we can make the
absurdity tolerable, we can weather the chaos a little better, when we
give our actions purpose. Anonymous, KS |
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