Pondering the Benefits of Boredom

{Thoughts triggered while sitting in Calculus...daydreaming about Newton and all of his downtime--I mean, who has time anymore to watch apples fall from trees long enough to come up with a whole new mathematics? Unfortunately, spare time like that isn't heard of enough anymore}

                  If people had more time to be bored, or were not as busy as we are--would there be more discoveries--uncontaminated theories, fresh methods of how things work, more answers to 'why?'...

I do not believe we have 'discovered' all that is to be found out about life on earth....whoa no. Not by a long shot. The rate at which revolutionary ideas has slowed too much since Newton, Einstien, Descartes....The world is far from solved.

I Hope You Will Read This

I will admit, this is more of a psychological topic than philosophical, and no, I am no shrink.  







How do I say this without sounding like I will accomplish more than you hope?


I see this person walking towards me. We nearly make love with our eyes as they meet. We continue to pass by each other, what seems ever so slowly, only allowing our contact to resume half a second longer than it normally would have...I blush and resist the temptation to look back.


How awkward would it be if he saw me do that?! I imagine how he might see things through those big brown eyes of his…


He must see a beautiful world.


He appeared so serene- he must have a good hold on reality.


The determination in his walk- he doesn’t let others get in the way of his goals.


All this and more I attained within seconds about somebody I have never known and will never know.


I am not alone in my actions.


‘Assuming’, in this case and many others, is the same as hoping.


Hoping I am accurate about all the superb aspects of this man who walked by, and kept walking…just as I did.


Was he presumptuous about me? Most likely.


This thought process is one way people get by on a daily basis, by tricking ourselves to believe people and events are better than they actually are.


That sandwich will fulfill those specific cravings in just the right way. But it won’t


That shirt will make me content with my appearance. Far from it


Today will be a great day! Maybe only parts of it will be
We, as humans are SO presumptuous that we don’t even recognize we are acting that way half of the time. We fantasize all the way to the depths of predicting, and/or acting out in our thoughts how internally we will feel or react in a situation, that either has not happened yet , or we are certain will never happen…we take it so far as to assume how others in our fantasies will feel and react as well.


Even when we are so off, so incorrect, to reconize how much so might disappoint, however, the fortune-telling never stops.


Why do we do this? Why do we presuppose behaviors and anticipate events even though we know we are inaccurate predictors of the future (palm readers aside;) ) and have no right to think we know exactly how somebody else will act?!


We are creatures of habit, we are also creatures of hope. What power does hope have that people feel the need to use it so compulsively and with rapid fire? Hope places one’s mind, or outlook, in the state most desired to see itself in. To hope like this distances the body

From reality and takes it somewhere better. Wouldn’t you always want to have things go your way?—they do, in your mind.


Be you a damsel in distress, your knight in shining armor ( or whatever you want him to wear) will come to your rescue—and he will smile just that way, and say exactly what makes you swoon….


He better…


You created him.


It doesn’t matter if he exists in reality, or how well you think you ’know him’ and what he “would” say
—Face it


This knight exists only in your mind, and only there also will you be rescued.




That stinks huh?


 However, this seeming insignificant fantasy DOES affect your reality—even if just a little bit.


Thinking about the agony dissipating as the knight enters the scene—your breathing slows—endorphins are released as he tells you just what you were hoping to hear him say—frown lines are no more.


Even though—as we awake from our ‘Fantasy Land’, we begin to realize-- this will most likely never happen to me; internally, physically, in reality, your mind has successfully made you feel a little bit better than before. After all, this fantasizing did not come out of thin air ( even though it sometimes seems that way) Something in the real world sparked it.


Is it the internal human need to feel at ease—a basic want, so easily fulfilled by thinking of something pleasing? Is that the only reason behind why we hope so constantly, to the point we sometimes rely on our thought exercises to make us smile when reality is a bit more dim?—the reason we see what isn’t actually there? Could it be the mind and the body (oh man, I know those words set off fireworks somewhere) trying to attain a sense of well-being for themselves—is it a reflex to stressful situations? After all, stress kills, and instincts are embedded in each and every living being to aide in survival. I do not have those answers, but I hope I will someday have a more clear understanding.


Wish things will go just how you want—this will never happen if other individuals are involved, because they all want something different


Wish that person is as genuine as they seem, as funny, as caring and understanding, you think you have finally found someone worth your time, better than the rest even—they will disappoint you


Hope that in 5 years from now you will be just where you want to be, finally more successful and not dealing with the same problems you have in the present—you are only partially in control of this, unpredictable outside forces will forever be present in your life—even 5 years from now






Hoping is healthy. It detracts from the ugly truths which dictate our lives. Without hope—what is there?


Despair. No Hope.


People who are without hope usually don’t fare so well in the end.


In a way, your fantasies DO come true, in the sense that just by mentally conjuring them up—your outlook is brighter and your thoughts are at the very least directed in the direction you want to be headed. Just the adventure aspect in a good fantasy is enough to more positively fill up time. Hell, you can even function fairly well, have real life conversations while, in your mind, thoughts run wild and free. The mind is a vast and exciting place, please visit often.

In Reguard to Many Worlds

We live with and amidst many worlds- so many different brains being held safely in the bodies of countless species- to each its own established ideas of how a life should function, both on its own and with others.
Take ANY species- humans, animals, insects, microbial parasites… if a brain exists within it- it is included. In each species there are individuals that, without them, the species would not exist.
Each species creates more or less which is referred to as a society- a general expectation or rules about how the individuals should act in order to have a functioning group- a functioning species.
These actions revolve ultimately around survival.
Within each individual perception of how a functional species should function- involving the varied beliefs about how to act differ. They differ because although the individual is part of a society-that niche-that species; individually it belongs to another world as well.
The World of the Individual Mind
Disregarding skepticism entirely, I feel safe to say and join hands with the majority of my supporters in claiming that we are not a brain in a vat being controlled by someone else in a laboratory through a computer. At least it is not a healthy habit to believe so. As an individual we control our own mind to the extent in which we are capable. Each mind is the individuals own, and dictates every action- be it a blink of an eye or the flapping of wings.
This world- the individual mind, at least for humans, and most likely for all creatures who have a brain- unless programmed by some higher being to be the same exact mind within a species of individuals- is hugely diverse. Diverse in perception and belief of how to act, what something looks like, difference between right and wrong—in nearly every way the individual mind is unique to that individual. This is what separated the world of the mind from the species’ society.
Realistically, both are needed to function with much purpose and intent. If each mind were allowed to do things all their own way all the time from the get go- no species would still be alive today because individual minds rely on the functionality of the species and how successful that species is at surviving as a group.
Sure, a single mind who never been part of  a species- say some never before existing individual with a brain- could live out its life just as chipper and functioning as can be- if it does not reproduce, or leave some standing influence on anyone or anything else’s life…it is even a vegan, that way it does not disrupt the food chain ( although to some extent it still might- so... maybe it doesn't need to eat?O.o) - for this one of a kind individual not to stumble upon another individual with a brain seems utterly impossible- but let’s say it really never does.
I am tempted to name this individual, but I will not since it would not have a name-
those are for social groups.
What use is this creature?
It has no impact on society, no impact on any other individual- how does anything or anyone –even itself- benefit from it being alive???
Is it clear now that this individual would be useless?

Now imagine if every individual of every species acted merely by what was in its own mind- all the time- without conforming or listening to other minds, just went about its own business.
What a terrible catastrophe we would have on our hands.
This is why it is so important that for any species to survive for longer than the life term of its individuals that the individuals- be they flies, dogs, birds, humans, platypi…
The individuals mind must be able to coexist with the other minds in that species- at least obviously it is more beneficial the more species who manage to live in and about each other - that they support each other. The degree in which different species can coexist in harmony is a direct reflection of the success each world has.
Deeper than the individuals mind- inside of it (or so we assume) is the World of Dreams.
Does the individual control its dreams? We do not know
Do dreams control the mind? This is more likely. It is difficult to wake up from a profound dream and not be changed- consciously either/or subconsciously. Does this world have impact on other dreams in other minds?

We cannot be certain if it does

or not,
However, the world of dreams is clearly distinct from the world of a society of a species, and the individual mind although they are all connected & thrive off eachother.

An Ounce of Truth...or not?

I do not know what will come of this……
What meaning, what truth will show its face, if any…
Maybe it’s all fake, maybe every word, every pen stroke is a lie, a lie from me to you. What if the only thing that is true is that you know only lies, and if you knew the truth, that too would then be false- simply because you discovered it.

A righteous claim-
The only truths are acts of unintention. Acts of impulse, birthed without any premeditation.
How often are you truthful?
How frequently fake?
Does this bring new meaning to the phrase, “Think before you act.” ?

If this is the case, then we may only know our own truths. It would be absurd to assume an individual could come close to predicting those truths of others.
By now, you are so honest- who knows what you will do next! Be the act noble or harsh- what is true is all they care about anyway.
Why is it so difficult to decipher the unintentional from intention? We wish ( this is true) that each act carried through be interpreted how we see ourselves- who we dream to be should be conveyed with each action. Each turn of the lips, word which escapes, step in each stride-carried out with pride. Everyone is watching.
But are they really?
This too, my friend is an illusion.
They appear to stare-look deep into your soul, focusing all attention on you- as if for those few minutes they BECAME you. Oh, this is so far from the truth. You can RELAX…Each eye on you sees only a reflection of themselves.
They see how THEY could be,
plan to be,
hope they aren’t ,
long to see themselves next to…
What they see – their reflection does not even include you. It includes no truth about you. Just as only you can conceive of your truths, only they can conceive of theirs. You are a mere daydream in their presence, as they are in yours. Only when interaction happens may judgments’ be made- still unwholesome- however, you must create SOMETHING to wrap your head around since realistically you cannot, and never will see, the world through anyone else’s eyes, filtered through anyone else’s brain but your own.