> On Sep 9, 1:19 pm, "Tom"
comcast.net> wrote:>>
>> You couldn't stop thinking about solipsism because you can't stop
>> thinking
>> about yourself. You're completely self-absorbed, which is one reason why
>> solipsism is a practical dead-end.
>
> yes that's a part of it. part of it is self attention,
> interest in the self, and isolation. and that does
> not have to mean self love but i won't deny that.
> what it means can equally be loneliness and a
> wish that there is more than the self and sense
> nothing can be grasped in any certainty outside
> of the self i think it can become very painful.
Self-hate is no different. Both self-love and self-hate focus on the self.
The biggest problem with self-obsession is the loneliness of it. There's
simply no room in your head for anything or anyone but you. Your ego has
become so bloated and demanding that nothing else can get in. You want to
own everything, control everything, consume everything, but you're not
capable of it. When you grasp at it, it slips away. So you burn with a
desire you can never satisfy, an itch you can't ever scratch.
Of course that's painful. There is no certainty to be had. There is no way
to devour the universe. It's the everlasting hell of the Hungry Ghost of
Buddhist mythology. Ther image of a hungry ghost is a creature with an
enormous belly, signifying its huge desire, and a tiny mouth which is wholly
inadequate to feed that belly.
It represents a feeling of impoverishment and a hunger for relief. You feel
a hunger for more pleasureable and spacious conditions and you fantasize
different ways you can satisfy yourself. You imagine an open space, but
when you approach it, its very openness terrifies you. When you reach for
the ripe fruit, it withers at your touch, becoming nothing, containing no
nourishment. In your fantasies, you're able to see the possibility of
satisfaction but are disappointed every time. There's a sort of love-hate
relationship between you and your dreams. You're fascinated by them but
repelled by them at the same time.
The problem here is that you're more interested in being hungry than it
satisfying it. When presented with satisfaction, you immediately want to be
hungry again so that you can achieve satisfaction again. It's never enough
to be satisfied. Your hunger is the confirmation you seek to assure
yourself that you truly exist. This is very frustrating.
The solution is to simply relax. Stop all this talking and thinking. Stop
trying to own everything, possess everything. Stop discounting the present
just because it isn't guaranteed to remain the same enternally. You don't
stop existing simply because you're not hungry.
>> I don't know where you got the idea that I was "about to steam at the
>> ears".
>> I'm just laughing mildly at your antics. However, you seem to resent
>> that.
>> Could it be that the steam you see is your own, my solipsistic little
>> friend?
>
> im not solipsistic or little motherfucker.
> im bigger than solipsism. how could a
> individual with a sense of self like mine
> crawl into a little group of anybodies.
How indeed? Belly too big, mouth too little. Frustrating. Makes you
angry. Totally understandable.
