irrepressible wrote:


I think you are supposed to say "I salute you Mr Magpie, how is your wife today".

If people are around I pretend to scratch my forehead, whilst really saluting the magpie.. I then say.(in my head) 3 times..."Hello Mr Magpie, may all your sorrow go away with you".

pheony wrote:


Pretending to scratch your forehead, that's priceless!

We're actually bang on topic I think. Why do we do these little rituals? Conditioning. An ingrained fear that something bad might happen if we don't salute the magpie.

It's very strange and interesting

irrepressible wrote: A very good point.
+1

irrepressible wrote:
@pheony ... class

Conditioning is what I'd say it was and on the whole I find these things very amusing when people do them. My best mate almost loses the plot EVERY single time I refuse to do them. She's quite remarkable to watch and trys to counter the 'effects' and get's even more pissed off as I laugh even more.

It's all odd to me

My sister brought down a book of superstitions
I thought "oh no! don't. open. the. book.!" There's probably a lifetimes worth of OCD in there

Aside from those moments of genuine peril,which many in a comfy western society don't run into that often (thankfully),I guess most fear,or dread,is formed from expectation. People say "You fear what you do not know". But how can you fear something which is unknown to you? You can only fear your expectation of it. Of course,this goes hand in hand with human intelligence,so it's probably unavoidable for the most part. And the fact that we live in a synthetic habitat; primal instinct versus our evolution.

Great topic, Phem!

I can really identify. I suffered from fear almost my entire life and I honestly don't know exactly where it came from. It started in my childhood and plagued me through my early adulthood. I guess part of it would be from trauma, part of it from "programming" and, yeah...I'm diggin' the Archon theory. Fear can be paralyzing, limiting...it's one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced. I won't say I've conquered all fear but I'm in a much better place than I was 10 years ago. I never would have thought I could live alone in a creepy looking cabin in the woods and now I am and feel much more peaceful for it!

Of course, there are those times I get a wee bit creeped out when the dog starts barking and my imagination goes wild( )...
but then I just pretend I'm a bad ass and it really helps me kinda believe it.

I'd like to delve more into this topic but right now I'm divided between "work" & "fucking off @ work".

Hmmm its specific fears that are bad I suppose.
Social fears, monetary fear that kind of thing.

There's sense in being afraid of big hairy spiders though, especially if you're in Australia

To pheony: I hope you get settled wherever it is you feel is best for you and start to feel more secure/safe in those surroundings!!

Moving is such a huge pain in the ass and so much hassle, so it's even worse when compounded by other aspects like you've mentioned. I know it'll all work out just great though, so here's to your new digs!!

K-Bone wrote:
Haha, yeah, the "fake it til you make it" approach, I like it!! I've used that before and as crazy as it sounds, it seemed to work! I guess as long as we input certain data (whether positive or negative) our subconscious/unconscious mind only reads it as data (and takes it as truth/reality) and goes from there.

Currently held belief systems both affect and are built/strengthened by this type of thing. So it's imperative to be very careful what it is that we input! Also, it's very important to be in as much control as possible over what we expose ourselves to. Movies, TV shows, music, people, environments, everything has an impact just like how everything has its' own vibe and energy. We have to remain ever-watchful over what seeps into our awareness and impacts our consciousness. Not always easy, but totally necessary!!

phemohilia wrote:
I've been meaning to get back to this and the David Lynch thread has me thinking "fear".

Fear is kind of parasitic. It's like it burrows down into your very being, sometimes laying dormant until triggered. There is such a big market for it, too. Why the hell do we pay money to be freaked out? Fear is an awful feeling and somehow we've been tricked into considering it entertaining! Even not-so-scary shit scared me as a child. Now I look at what the youth of today is exposed to. Torture porn and dark subject matter permeates the entertainment industry. Now the special effects are so realistic and gorey...*shudder*...I can't imagine the impact that it is having on young minds! Or are they desensitized?

Computer games allow one to live and fight another day, this breeds complacency into a developing mind, so no matter how hard life is they will put up and shut up and carry on doing what the game reflects.

This creates the perfect mouldable warrior when the time is right to destroy the stability of a population which looks like it is starting to breal away from the silent controlling factors hidden.from view.
K-Bone wrote: