Prospective Approach to Things: Relating to Dream achieving and a Great Life

[Apollo]

We make our own way and find peace with that. The main premise, and idea, behind obtaining both of these things we desperately strive for; it is the best wisdom and direction if your ever looking out to achieving desires. Many of the ways we are driven are from personal experiences (In a broad sense) or from fearful reasons. Whatever will push us 'over the edge' to get to where we want to go. My approach will consist of things that are universal to all of us, and if your desperate to reach for the unreachable, give these a try.

I'll give you the common courtesy to know what your reading before you absorb yourself in this essay:
~Human beings always don't listen to themselves, that should change.
~A cause above us should drive us, even if it is fictional character your playing.
~Building the strength of belief can change your life forever.

As of late, I have been in a bucket-full of doubt and curiosity. It all comes from the shift in school to the form of summer break. I am without things to do other than the occasional labor activities that sustain me. My regular schedule of studying three times a day, homework, and the actual trip of getting to campus was all stripped away from me. I resorted to games and movies to kill the time, and I felt it necessary to fix some insecurities of my own to help improve myself, most of which involving the tolerances to pain and method acting to express my body language better. The first game I played was Just Cause 2, than Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2. Plus I watched all of the first season of Battlestar Galactica in Blu-Ray. I must say, I have found something here.

We are uncomfortable with our selves, in the most meager of ways.. if these little problems could go away, it would make life and my goals much easier to obtain without the distraction.

The following is a proven-effective theory on fixing our personalities, AKA The Ego:
Our minds are wandering travelers, but they need to be contained once in a while if you ever want any kind of order in your life. We wonder, and sometimes those thoughts stick in our heads longer than they should. Sometimes, those thoughts leave something temporarily scarred, a particular emotion or relatable memory that links to this thought will be left behind. Our personality will reflect this new change through your daily life, mostly in your mind than through your social habits (like hesitations, new-found insecurities, etc.). But what is the ego scarring? What is it leaving it's mark on? In our inner peace; this the reason why relaxing feels so good. Everything seems to make sense; no speculation, no thought, nothing second guessing happens here. Think of it as the essence of relaxation.

(The Perfect Ego)
Our personality looks like this over our Ego.

All of these circles are your hatreds, likes, dislikes, and loves; the things that make you 'you'. Why our circle is so filled up and colored instead of a single blue is because life happened. We adapted, changed, and developed knowledge about our surrounding environment. Our skills, knowledge, and emotional attachment has masked our ego, peace feels hard to come by in a busy world, Savy? Aie a familiar tone we all heard of. Is there a way to obtain a measure of peace? Is it possible to live every other day like those moments were we don't have a care in the world? Is it possible to get rid of the unnecessary adaptations we developed through our life? Yes we can, and it can be a doozy I won't lie. It all begins with our thoughts.
(Black dot - Thought)

It begins outside our heads, than through our filtered ego.

For reference: If you've ever wondered why you can't seem to get a hold or control of thoughts, it's probably because you haven't come to terms with the nature of thoughts. Thoughts occur because our brain is active, and you have absolutely no control over it. This is a fact you must accept, the sooner the better. This is a fact and please try not to prove it wrong, you'll find out by the end of the week that you'll need a Lobotomy from over-active thinking. K, now the thoughts get magnified when we decide to take interest in them (or at least pay attention to them, in the slightest of degrees).

And this is what happens if we think about a thought long enough (which doesn't take long, if you felt an impact from it, it effected you).
(Thought is enlarged)

(Thought is now a scar)

If you are planning on fixing these circles, that you don't want any more 'unnecessary' problems, this is what you do. You simply ignore those thoughts. Thoughts pass through our head at a very fast rate, and if one of those thoughts enter your head that concerns you, you should really should try your best to ignore it so it'll just be inside and out of your head before you even know it. Like this:


Now, if you want to get rid of some of the existing circles in your personality/ego, your going to have to sustain a consistent effort in ignoring certain common thoughts relating to the thing you want to forget. Any circle in our ego cannot survive without thoughts. Thoughts are the fuel that drive our good and bad attributes that are located here. It varies from person to person, but its commonly said that after two-three weeks of doing this, that existing circle will be gone. I struggled with the idea that if I get rid of too many of these 'circles' I would be more like a robot than a human being. If you are having similar thoughts, please listen to this caption:
~A robot is a working entity that does not feel the impacts of the soul. A human being has feelings, and that they will always feel them even if they were to work much like a robot. The soul within us will deliver peace and greater imagination in places that are not clouded from personal anguish. As a robot will feel nothing once they get rid of a problem, only seeing it as one less maintenance issue to deal with. A robot is expendable and unspecial, you are a human being, a unique entity whos life span will be filled with emotion. You will always have a soul.
My summarization reflects the full article of my source. Click here if you want to read it entirely. It works.

[Apollo]

We are the stars of our own epic. We get ourselves into situations, but it's up to us to decide how they'll turn out.

Mass Effect 2 hit me with this the hardest. Avatar did the same, but it's message and meaning is smurred by time and age. I got to be close friends with Tali vas Normandy, a female Quarian (a Species) who you bump into from time in and out. I became attached to her so much that Tali and Neytiri are almost identical to me; it feels so heavy on my mind to not draw her. I want her with me. Anyways, Shepard (you) goes through hell and back through armies of evil corporations and races who only want harm done in the galaxy. I went full Paragon and wanted to see if being nice to everyone I met would have favorable repercussions. After a long time playing it, and noticing the decisions Shepard had to make in the first and now the second game, I feel the impact of them. Shepard believes in something higher than himself, the good of others and the world he knows. He wants the world to be a better place, and the cost of making it so isn't important. We can all learn something from Commander Shepard, we can be agents of change ourselves. Our knowledge on what this world is like, and how it is twisted has curved our minds into believing that the end is near for planet Earth and the Human Species. Since the world is owned, ruled, and governed by means of money, that idea of changing the world has knocked out more than +90% people worldwide who eagerly try change. Since the true control is in the politican's hands instead of ours, we need to not hassle ourselfs with global affairs and rely on our own. Our life, or at least in our imagination, is the world that needs changing. The cost? Breaking down impossible barriers of your own, and embracing changes for the greater good (for your life).
*sigh*, I wish Quarians existed. <3 Tali


Bioshock 2 gave me the same satisfaction in respects to helping others. It might just be me, who came from a long line of Stone Masons who date back to John Quincy Adams and further, but compassion and love can go along way. If you word it right, you can get places in this world and you might not need any kind of money or currency to get change. To not give too many spoilers, my heart melted when a little sister dropped a Big Daddy into the very large pond. I literally cried. When the first tear hit my jeans, I knew I just witnessed something that was worth fighting for. We all need to fight the good fight, if it can't be for the world, it needs to be for yourself. Recognize the fight and engage, and avoid all unnecessary fighting since giving a problem a fight will only make it strike back at you (harder, in most cases).Good hunting.

Go and do it, and believe in it.

I feel very fortunate to have friends who have gone through alot (many here and other places). The advice from my other close family tell me the most brief and helpful hints anyone can ask for. They motivated me even more to lose my excess weight. How he did all of this was off of the premise of 'belief'. When it comes to things that are commonly shoved to the corner, or are forgotten, belief is the only thing holding those kind of things together (commitments, promises, etc.). The strength and power of 'belief' is weak to start out with, much like everything else, but it can be so powerful that it can drive you into doing anything. My friend mislabels it with 'commitment' but I know it's belief that drives goals/decisions. Strong beliefs in yourself will bare great food if practiced in the long run. It is common that after about 3-4 months of believing in yourself, with thoughts relying on it, you can convince yourself into doing anything without any second guessing. A glimpse at a perfect example would be to look at Battlestar Galactica.

In Battlestar Galactica, the scientific genius, Gaius Baltar, is taken through a ride from the completely logical world to the world of Mysticism thanks to a sexy companion. Since Baltar is a sex fiend (like many men), his mental companion satifies his every need, but there is something about her that is more than just a fantasy. During the show, no one explains anything about Baltar's hallucinations with his companion (not even her), but her purpose for being in Baltar's mind seems to far exceed any kind of mere fantasy wish. Six (the woman) constantly reminds Gaius that 'God has a plan for you Gaius, he has a plan for all of his children'. In the begin of the show, Gaius is completely resistant to this, stating that believing a God would only bring answers that don't need answering when logic could do the same if taking God's place. After a large, unprecedented amount of luck, Baltar does everything right. From picking a random spot of a Cyclon Base that was the most vulnerable target for an assault to rooting out a Cyclon Agent aboard the Galactica by simply 'believing' in god. This convinces Baltar into being a rather faithful man, and is convinced that he is god's advocate. At the end of the season, Baltar is now on Kobol, think of it as the true 'promised land' stated in the bible, and Six shows him what god's plan is.

Baltar is a wavering person, but he converts himself into being a man who is strong in belief. Baltar saw rather extreme cases of his faith being rewarded, but in many small cases, our belief can match the elevation of that of Baltars if practiced long enough. Once you believe in yourself, almost anything in this world isn't out of touch for you to use. This will improve your learning, mental endurance (extremely), and self improvements. Believing can make your life Great, and quite possibly make your Dream a Reality.

Please give a listen, you won't regret it.

[rapunzel77]

Wow Apollo, very good posts. I agree with just about all of it. One of my biggest problems is the silly and stupid thoughts that enter my brain and linger there. I have a hard time getting rid of them. The thoughts are based on certain fears and frustrations that I have. They keep me awake at night. I am told to ignore them just like you have demonstrated in the picture. It is so difficult to do though.

We all need a more disciplined mind if we are going to achieve inner peace. That is becoming more and more difficult to obtain. I want it and at times I have glimpses of it.

Belief has an important part in achieving inner peace. You are correct that when your mind looks outside of ourselves and believes in something greater that you are then capable of doing even greater things. It does start with trying to get rid of the problems in our life/personality, etc that is causing us to not attain inner peace.

[Seshat Tsahìk]

First, from my whole heart, Apollo thank you so much for this incredible insightful teaching. It has been exactly what I needed to hear and find, in regards to how to let go of or not get caught in negative thoughts. I can not express enough how grateful I am!

Originally Posted by rapunzel77

Wow Apollo, very good posts. I agree with just about all of it. One of my biggest problems is the silly and stupid thoughts that enter my brain and linger there. I have a hard time getting rid of them. The thoughts are based on certain fears and frustrations that I have. They keep me awake at night. I am told to ignore them just like you have demonstrated in the picture. It is so difficult to do though.

We all need a more disciplined mind if we are going to achieve inner peace. That is becoming more and more difficult to obtain. I want it and at times I have glimpses of it.

Belief has an important part in achieving inner peace. You are correct that when your mind looks outside of ourselves and believes in something greater that you are then capable of doing even greater things. It does start with trying to get rid of the problems in our life/personality, etc that is causing us to not attain inner peace.

^ This, well said Rapunzel!

Having read this yesterday, when I was having a particularly bad of keeping the 'negative thoughts' away, I ended up starting off with something quite simple to brush those thoughts away, and discovered in its simplicity its helping.

Basically I just started to focus and repeat to myself over and over the word "Happy." More so I focused of the feeling of "Happy" as well as repeating the word in my Mind (particularly in the Hypothalamus, which is an organ that regulates emotions) and Heart. Literally I did the mantra all through the night, even in my sleep. To help I would visualize a Happy face as well. Truly it helped and is helping. And if a 'thought' came through that I didn't want, I would in those moments expand my mantra to other words like content, relaxed, and if needed focus on objects and name them in singular words. What I can say is that this morning I feel much "Happier" and still using this and adding other 'positive' feeling words even now! I am finding it this morning much easier to let those 'negative' thoughts float on away.

Additionally though I made a startling discovery, good really, but surprising. I was eating some grapes, still just saying my Happy mantra, when one of those thoughts came along. So did the naming objects and then all of a sudden I named the taste sensation 'sweet'. That's when it surprised me, I don't have a lot of 'sensory' words in my vocabulary. I don't usually relate to world with 'touch' 'taste' etc words and I realized that might be why I sometimes struggle to be more physically present in my mind, body, here, now, etc. So now I'm experimenting or going to attempt to expand my 'sensory' vocabulary to see what happens.

It also occurs to me that these are the same 'senses' that I don't experience when I'm attempting lucid dreaming. I only 'see' and sometimes sense, in my dreams but not hear, taste, smell, touch. So I'm wondering if its connected. So that too I'll have to see if my new experimentation will work.

The first sensory word, "sweet", LOL!

[Human No More]

It's weird, I think I understand your theory, but I'm not so sure if I follow it. I get the bit about thoughts and how they occur because of brain activity, but I'm not so sure if I think the rest or not.

Also, sorry, but your second post, the bit about Battlestar Galactica kind of ruined it for me... I've never had the interest to watch it, and I am actually glad now, if it means the entire thing is actually just a religious metaphor.

[Apollo]

Originally Posted by Human No More

It's weird, I think I understand your theory, but I'm not so sure if I follow it. I get the bit about thoughts and how they occur because of brain activity, but I'm not so sure if I think the rest or not.

Also, sorry, but your second post, the bit about Battlestar Galactica kind of ruined it for me... I've never had the interest to watch it, and I am actually glad now, if it means the entire thing is actually just a religious metaphor.

Battlestar Galactica isn't a metaphor based on religion. It's a show that tests the relationships of others, and morals we all want to aspire to when in the face of the ultimate sacrifice. I'm curious as to know why you don't want to watch this show, I believe it's the greatest one that's ever been on television. I won't argue perspective but I think the show offers a lot of personal insight, either if your a religious man or not. When I say belief, I mean belief in the self more than a belief into a god or a religion. The blind, ignorant belief of believing something without any proof can be more powerful than a true statement with facts. You simply accept it and use it as an outlet. That's pretty much Baltar right there, he just placed the belief in God instead of himself. It's something you have to look over of course, if you find it uncomfortable.

[Aquaplant]

Originally Posted by Apollo

Battlestar Galactica isn't a metaphor based on religion. It's a show that tests the relationships of others, and morals we all want to aspire to when in the face of the ultimate sacrifice. I'm curious as to know why you don't want to watch this show, I believe it's the greatest one that's ever been on television. I won't argue perspective but I think the show offers a lot of personal insight, either if your a religious man or not. When I say belief, I mean belief in the self more than a belief into a god or a religion. The blind, ignorant belief of believing something without any proof can be more powerful than a true statement with facts. You simply accept it and use it as an outlet. That's pretty much Baltar right there, he just placed the belief in God instead of himself. It's something you have to look over of course, if you find it uncomfortable.

I have absolutely no idea what makes the show good? It's mediocre at best really, at least for anyone paying attention to stuff that's actually happening. Suffice to say to each of his own, but I really fail to see the brilliance that people keep talking about. The show claims to be about drama, but you can't have drama without any actual consequences that are derived from those dramatic actions, or the reason they do them in the first place.

And Human No More, even though the series is heavily influenced by all this religious stuff, I don't know you well enough to say you would or wouldn't like the show. Suffice to say that me and my brother both suffered some serious stupidity induced headaches while trying to force ourselves watch two seasons of that stuff. I guess we just are the kind of people who pay attention to details, but that's enhanced by the fact that the show is kind of tedious in the first place.

I've tried to understand the praise that this series is given, but based on the two seasons I've already seen, I don't think I can stomach any more of it. Can someone seriously explain to me what is so great about the show that justifies all the stupidities it has to do in order to create "drama".

I'm actually rather intrigued by it, since it's a challenge of sorts to understand what people see in the show that makes them praise it so much.

Sorry if I derail the thread with this, but I always cling to things that happen to catch my interest.

[Spock]

Fascinating really. Although there are some thoughts that would do more damage than good to ignore.

[Helicoradian]

I don't really know how to respond, but here it goes...

I can say that without a doubt that my thoughts, mostly good and a few that are negative provide me with inner peace. When I have nothing to think about the peace goes away IMO "thought" is probably the most precious thing that we as individuals have...

[Tsyal Makto]

Good post! So basically in a word, existentialism?

One other example I think you should have mentioned was the Matrix, it's full of belief/existential philosophy. Everybody told Neo that he couldn't save Trinity, the Matrix, and Zion, he had to choose one, even the supposedly all-knowing Oracle said the same thing. Though in the end, he managed to save Trinity's life, reload the Matrix, and end the war, how? He simply believed. He shut out all the negativity and doubt from everyone else, and believed in his own ability. The last lines of Revolutions say it all.

Seraph: Did you always know?
Oracle (now revealing her true feelings): No, no I didn't, but I believed.

Same with me. I believe that Pandora awaits me in the afterlife. Do I know? No, but I believe, and that brings me peace.

[Spock]

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

Good post! So basically in a word, existentialism?

One other example I think you should have mentioned was the Matrix, it's full of belief/existential philosophy. Everybody told Neo that he couldn't save Trinity, the Matrix, and Zion, he had to choose one, even the supposedly all-knowing Oracle said the same thing. Though in the end, he managed to save Trinity's life, reload the Matrix, and end the war, how? He simply believed. He shut out all the negativity and doubt from everyone else, and believed in his own ability. The last lines of Revolutions say it all.

Seraph: Did you always know?
Oracle (now revealing her true feelings): No, no I didn't, but I believed.

Same with me. I believe that Pandora awaits me in the afterlife. Do I know? No, but I believe, and that brings me peace.

Ah, this brings me a little bit more peace too.

[Helicoradian]

Originally Posted by Tsyal Makto

...I believe that Pandora awaits me in the afterlife. Do I know? No, but I believe, and that brings me peace.

I'm a bit taken back by what you've just said Tsyal Makto, That's exactly how I feel, but have never been able to put it into words...

[Apollo]

I think Galactica is such a good show because it puts you into their shoes. Describing how that happens I can't say. I never read into things unless if I need to. Steven Spielberg said it best about movies,"Today's movies and the future of film-making is starting to get so demanding of the independent film maker. Reading into movies destroys their fun factor, movies based around the Great Adventure still please audiences. Taking the audience for a ride should be the goal of the director, he doesn't need the extra hassle over details the audience will overlook."

Take the new Prince of Persia movie. That movie was grand! I simply enjoyed it too much, especially the Parkour.

[Aquaplant]

Originally Posted by Apollo

I think Galactica is such a good show because it puts you into their shoes. Describing how that happens I can't say. I never read into things unless if I need to. Steven Spielberg said it best about movies,"Today's movies and the future of film-making is starting to get so demanding of the independent film maker. Reading into movies destroys their fun factor, movies based around the Great Adventure still please audiences. Taking the audience for a ride should be the goal of the director, he doesn't need the extra hassle over details the audience will overlook."

Well I guess it's up to the details what can be considered essential. But it annoys me that so much is just plain wrong or irrational, when it comes to the advancement of the story and things that are used to create the drama, that is so much praised in this series.

Immersion for me is always broken by the fact that something is too stupid to be true, like it is countless of times in BSG. I think that any movie or series delivers it's content in such a manner, that the viewer should not pay attention to the less important details. But in BSG, they build all the drama and the plot around things that are impossible to overlook.

Take space battles for instance, they are running away from the cylons, and yet every time they fight, they become invincible despite the odds that are always against them. How is this supposed to create drama, when it really doesn't matter how strong or numerous the enemy is, when the good guys always win in the end?

But I don't have anything against people who enjoy the show, I just don't see what the fuss is all about. My friends recommended the series to me, and I had high expectations, seeing as it was compared to being the next great sci-fi since Babylon 5. All I see is smoke and mirrors, nothing more.

[Apollo]

You make a very good point, but its something that escaped my mind when Apollo had to destroy the Olympic Carrier. It actually showed me that sacrifice is a main asset in this show. What that next sacrifice is going to be kind of creates that sense of drama with me. Plus, whos going to be making it? Col. Tigh? Adama? Roslin? Kara? No idea! Even though I've seen the entire show, I keep coming back because the mystery of the entire show starts to reveal itself. Like, lets take the elections of the Vice President of the Fleet. The mystery of that episode was surrounded by the mystery of the killing of Valence, a hitman who was suspected at taking a chance at assassinating Roslin. As I see this episode again, I noticed there is something peculiar about Tigh's wife and Tom Zarick, mostly Tigh's wife.