Sophie’s Comments (group member since Feb 27, 2008)

Sophie’s comments from the Project Mayhem group.

Bliss wrote: "If I were a waitress, I'd get to work early every day, sneak all the key lime pie(s) out back, and eat them all. Then I'd act like I didn't know who did it."

I wish we could "like" posts on here, lol.

Hi everyone, this is Sophie.

Just a quick note.

I'm still around, just haven't really had the time to devote to posting lately.

I'll be back soon. I'm working on completing my website. It's kind of become a 24/7 thing.

The cool thing is, I'm learning an incredible amount about doing it, so hopefully I can make a new site devoted to the ideals that Project Mayhem represents :-)

Either way, carry on. Please feel free to post new threads as much as you want and thanks for hanging around!

I'll see you guys soon.

-Sophia

Precisely! So why is it so hard for people to just live for today?! I mean man...I really felt sorry for all those brainwashed fools who sacrifice their lives literally and figuratively for the sake of religion, or the religion of their army or war.

I had more to say on that, but I'll stop.

Well, believe it or not, this seems to be just another example of how religion, politics, education and things of that nature have shoved us into yet another black/white position. I mean, if you think about it. Most of us were raised to think that lying is a sin that gives you a first class ticket to hell. In reality. The word "Lie" sounds so bad and is given so many negative connotations that people forget that it's just a word. It's a lot like love. I love cupcakes...I love nature...I love my mom. All 3 different kinds of love...1 word.

That's why they came up with other words and terms like enamor, smitten, puppy love, etc. So in the same respect with lying, you have alternatives to better explain what you mean, like deceive, purger, or white lie, to add varying degrees. But still, notice which words still get used the most. Love and Lie.

So anyway...it's not really always something that should be avoided or frowned upon just because someone chose to say that the act in question was a "Lie" and not, say, a misdirection or an embellishment.

Either way, I think beating around the bush and sugar coating are forms of lying, sure, but they are warranted in cases where one must be diplomatic, courteous, or polite. My point with this post was more so to say that in today's world, regarding religion, medicine, politics, food, our children...I'm glad that I am no longer overly concerned with being diplomatic, courteous, and polite.

I'll pass this on to my mom. She's a writer and she always loves going to poetry slams, so this should be interesting.

Thanks for sharing!

Cool Sue! I'm glad you stuck to your guns, though. It's crazy that they were so insistent on it. I guess it's understandable if you're standing in their shoes, but if you know you've got your immune system together, shouldn't be any worries. Funny thing is, the only thing that can compromise a solid immune system are things that we probably don't have immunizations for anyway.

Yay I just went to B&N and copped a few, including some long overdue Vonnegut!

Thanks for posting, Gus! I'm gonna have to add like, Alllll of these to my list, lol. I've been meaning to get to everything Vonnegut for teh past year! I'll definitely be starting there.

How many have you read?

These are just awesome:

http://think.mtv.com/044FDFFFF00F00DE...

I like that...I think I live by a modified version of that: Let the highs keep you high, so you don't ever have to go too low. ;-)

You sound soooo much like my friend Sha, it's crazy. She's one of those girl's who likes sports like guys do, lol. What do you like best about baseball? Maybe you can inspire me to watch some games.

Thank YOU for joining and can't wait to hear more from you on the various topics on here.

ALSO, NOTE TO EVERYONE:

PLEASE feel free to start new topics. Have at it. This is YOUR avenue for discussion, too. What's on your mind lately? What sorts of things do you wish to see happen in the world around you?

That's an interesting and very valid way to look at it. Nice progression there...I really enjoyed reading that!

Although THAT Charles Bronson is undoubtedly the shit, I think the one in question is a British Psycho, lol.

I'll set an event date for not next Sunday, but the one after for 9 eastern...Lemmek know if that's cool before I do it.

LOL, You're funny.

Congrats on the BAY-BEHH!!!

(If anyone has a single solitary moment of their life to devote to one of those stupid judge shows that come on network TV...please watch an episode of Divorce Court. The announcer pronounces the last 2 syllables of every sentence with so much force and fervency, it's hilarious! Then you too will hear the word BAY-BEH pronounced in your head the way I mean for it to come across in the sentence above. Thank you.)

And thank you, Gus :-)

Your subconscious must have known I was gonna say that then!!

LOL, so when's a good day for you? Let's get a discussion going around that movie. It's so great!

Stephen, that was lovely. Thanks for posting that.

I agree...everything can only be seen and understood from personal experience, but something I learned watching that Dennett religious debate that Slugs posted...even though we can only experience things for ourselves, we can come together to share those experiences to better understand our own.

To say that differently, it's cool to see such different opinions about addiction. I agree with Stephen, it's not a matter of the external crutch, it's an inner-voice or a personal demon that needs to be addressed. What I DO believe is that you can overcome addiction by rerouting it or by realizing and harnessing that you are a powerful being.

My dad was/is an addict and I think that some of the things that helped him are:
1) Knowing you'll always have an addictive personality...most people do. That doesn't just mean you get addicted to stuff fast, but it means other things that people don't usually put together. For instance, these are people who always think they are right or know more than others. People who want to be impressive to others, or who need validation in some way. People who are competitive. People who don't practice delayed gratification. Even people who are religious, military, and stuff like that are really prone to these behaviors because they put a lot of the responsibility for themselves on another entity.

2) Know that it's not just a mental or an emotional need, but addiction (of any sort) is physical. It's not just junkies who go through withdrawals, stop eating sugar right now and you'll be surprised at yourself. Even on Oprah the other day this mom took her child's video games away and he literally had the mood swings, spaciness and drone-like behavior that drug addicts portray in rehab.

The physical part is really broken down in the What the Bleep Movie. I'm telling ya'll...watch it!

3) Get a change of scenery: Hanging around the same people and places and being in the same relationships (marital, friendships, employment, etc.) may not steer people to get into negative lifestyles, per se, but it can keep them in it.

Funny thing is, my Dad got a divorce, got fired, filed bankruptcy, foreclosed, and got swindled by people he trusted...best things that coulda happened to him. Really forced us to start fresh. Now he's got an awesome wife, is drug and alcohol free, owns 3 businesses and is generally just plain happy.

So I guess for me, the question is, if it's genetic or due to peer pressure or even if it was juuusst an addictive personality getting in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why have I never smoked cigarettes or weed a day in my life? All of these things should result in me being at Betty Ford right now, but I'm not.

I think this is mainly because we have to redefine "Addiction" and not limit it to hard substances. Also we should look at just why our government thinks it's OK to be addicted to sugar, tobacco, alcohol, MSGs, etc. but not weed or other things that they can't monopolize?

That kind of makes me think of something I saw about being thankful for everything...even the bad stuff. Like, especially for religious people...you can thank God for your raise, but not when you got fired... Even without God in the picture, I find that I try to be thankful (generally and sincerely thankful, not thankful "to" anyone) even when bad things happen. Bad things are only bad because we put a label on them. Bad for me may be good for you. Bad today may be good tomorrow.

not really...it's funny that they're getting so much from these experiments. They don't particularly prove that there is no free will, just that we're conditioned and hardwired to make a lot of presuppositions and unconscious choices.

For instance...If someone asks me what kind of sandwich I want, they can give me plenty of choices but I'll usually know which one I want before they even say it. So, once they say PB&J I can select that one. This isn't lack of free will, it's just my mind subconsciously validating which one I usually get or am most prone to selecting.

I bet if they did a similar experiment with children, especially babies...they would get a totally different view. And not just because their brain isn't fully developed.

You should really watch the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know?" It really gets into this topic way more indepthly. The main jist of it is that our brain hardwires itself, but is totally reprogrammable. I think this capability to reprogram is definitely free will. The movie gets into how your hypothalymus releases chemicals that match your emotional state and that these chemicals bind with your cells in the same manor that heroine or sugar does. This make you almost physically addicted to different emotional states. That's why mean people usually stay mean, or people who like to feel sorry for themselves do things to keep promoting pity, etc.

But, when you recognize a better avenue, you can consciously will your subconscious out of that shit. The more you do, the less cell receptors your body will produce to accommodate those emotions, so you don't get the same "high" from them, and even the synapses in your brain that cause you to be prone to negative emotions and things you don't want, begin to unhinge and create new paths that promote whatever new thoughts you want to elicit.

OK..it's official...that's the next HW assignment, you guys! Watch that movie!

Also, you know I have to go there....but, I really like that they said "It is still completely unknown how 3lb of wet jelly, plus tiny electrical currents powered by the energy we release from our food, can give rise to consciousness. But it does." Because that's a huuuuge part of it. Most people consume sugar, white flour, alcohol, MSG, meat, soda, etc... All of these products are stimulants, depressants, constipators, exitotoxins, and drugs that tend to put your mind in submission. Anyone who's ever done a fast, eaten raw, or cut these things out of their diet for ANY length of time can attest to the huge difference they noticed in their clarity and self awareness.

That's why I tout raw even to happy healthy people because even they are usually shocked at the differences in mind frame that they attain. I'm sorry for getting back to the raw thing you ugys....I promise, I'm not trying to sell you a book or anything, LOL.

Whoa...that's really profound.

Slugs and I were just talking about death in a sad sense, this is lovely because even though I could never be in your shoes with what you experienced exactly, I still wholly understand what you mean. It's nice to think of your life as being purposeful and worthy instead of a countdown or something like that. I agree....You are here! Deserve! Act!!


Beautiful.

That was pretty good. I see what you mean about her explanation, it was kind of round about, but overall I liked that article. I'm a HUGE believer in LOA and I think that's why my favorite motto on here is....say it with me:

"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT!"

lol....I love knowing that, as she puts it, "I am the organization". That is so true and yes, is definitely applicable in all aspects of life. I am my industry, I am my government, I am my family, I am THE WORLD!

In fact, everything around us could be imaginary and our sensory organs are just telling our brains to decipher what it thinks is going on...so on that note, YOU create everything that happens around you...literally.

It's also true on all other planes. All of the experiences, emotions, people, and events that I encounter are all products of what I've attracted to myself. I love that. (I hate it sometimes, too) but overall, even if it is phooey, it empowers me to BE the change I want to see and know that I am in control of my own destiny and surroundings.

And yuh...I'm rambling, but it's nice to see others presenting this theory in other genres.

Exactly, Father, but wow, Stephen...that's the wroooong way to go in my opinion. Blame and fault are the children of self-ignorance.

By that I mean, absolutely any and everything is a two way street. Yes, the government is facilitating these things, but it took people who believed their government gave a rat's ass about them to institute them. Even now, after this foreclosure mess, I still see people buying homes interest only, or 80/20 or whatever. In other words, I like to look at it like a chart:

 | /
 | /
 | O -B
 | /
T | /
I | /
M | /
E | /
 | /
 | /
 | /
 | /
 | O -A
 |/__________________
 DENIAL & BLAME

Sure when anything bad first begins, it's the ignorant untested masses who fall prey to the scheme, but as time goes by people (B) should be able to discern from their fellow man's experiences, yet they STILL endure the folly of their ordeals.

But even given this, the pie in the sky doe eyed pavers of the way (A) still hold part of the blame for not doing their homework, not looking at reality, and not listening to their parents when they say "if it's too good to be true, it probably is".

I'm not unsympathetic. I just feel that if I fucked up somewhere in my life, it's my fault. Point blank. I mean, look at it this way...so what if it IS solely the government's fault? How is that in any way going to empower me? My only recourse is to BMW (bitch moan and whine) and push against a brick wall of a system. Now once I realize that I am also culpable, to any degree, I begin to ask what changes I can make and THAT's when real progress occurs.