On Awareness and Blog Chains


This marks another post in the Absolute Write blog chain, and I wanted to tell everyone out there that not only do we have the will to make this chain, but we are also just crazy enough to use it! So fork over all your comments or we'll be forced to do our worse.

The idea that someone would fork over 375 euros for a meal or 5,000 dollars for a wedding dress as much for the high dollar amount as for any quality or need reminds me of Awareness by Anthony De Mello. De Mello expressed that we are made happy by what we have been programmed to make us happy, and we are made unhappy by what we have been programmed to make us unhappy, and usually this programming hinges on the reactions (good, bad, or indifferent) of other people.

The idea is to put aside this programming and stop pinning our happiness to the reactions of others, and this will lead to awareness and true happiness. Aside from the over-generalizations in the book, I agree with the main concept. What other people think is irrelevant, what matters is walking your own path and not letting the opinions weigh you down.

It does pose a dilemma for the writer. Is seeking publication a way to coincide with that programming? Should we care who reads our work, or what they think about it?

As I said, I agree with the book's concept, but I think it over-generalizes too much. I have released a Hall of Fame series of modules for the computer game Neverwinter Nights. I programmed the modules for myself, but it was great knowing that others enjoyed them too.

If there is one area in which De Mello missed completely it is that the programming isn't bad. The key is to realize it is programming, and to choose your own programming. If, for instance, you get irritated when driving, you should realize that your unhappiness is a programmed reaction, and if you strive for it, you can change it. On the other hand, the happiness we feel when giving to charity is just as much a matter of programming, but do we really become more self-aware by changing it? Or are we self-aware simply by realizing it?

I think it is the latter. I think we are all gods and, as such, we have the divine right to create our own universe -- and our own happiness in that universe. It is up to us to decide what makes us happy.

But I'm supposed to be talking about food, aren't I? I wouldn't want to strap the next blogger in the chain to a theme provided by a Jesuit priest who has been dead for two decades, so I'd better get to the good and juicy stuff.

I like sushi.

There, I've said it. Do your worst, but its true.

I've never been a picky eater (how could anyone that survived on fast food ever be considered picky?), but I also wasn't an adventurous eater until I met my wife. She loves food, and she has taught me a certain appreciation for it too. (Some people would call it being a food snob, I like to call it food appreciation.) Recently, I've been wanting to try new things, so I've tried Thai food (love that Pad Thai!) and Sushi.

My friends say: Yuk! I'd never eat raw fish!

I guess that's how you spot someone who has never had sushi. We went last week and had six different things on the menu. None of it was raw fish. And all of it was good eating.

So, there, the food theme is in place so Virginia won't have to freak out on awareness unless she wants to! I'd also like to give a shout out to Oswann who opened that door a crack and let me jump through.

The complete consists of the following:

Cath
Midnight Muse
Niteowl
s_aileronbois
wordsmyth
Deathwizard
Gillian
Madderblue
Oswann
Dan
valeenc


Tags: Posted by Dan on 09/02/07
Comments
 
 
sam 09/02/07 12:51 PM
I like sushi, too, now that I'm over that "Yuk! I'd never eat raw fish!" thing. (Actually, the raw fish is the part I like.)

There's a paradox (I think that's the right word) that creeps in, for me, with the notion that we're all gods, mostly because of the association of godhood with omnipotence. If I am omnipotent, I can control you, my friends, and the guy who thinks it's funny to let air out of my car tires. But if they're omnipotent, too, then that isn't the case. Omnipotence cancels omnipotence. No one is omnipotent, therefore none of us are gods.

But being responsible for our own happiness? Sure, within reason, and usually through the help of well-chosen relationships.
 
 
Jim Melvin 09/02/07 1:48 PM
Man, I adore Thai food and sushi. Could eat one for lunch and the other for dinner, every day. (Though I do love raw fish, also.) As for the rest of your post, it sounds very Buddhist! Live in the present moment. Observe phenomenon such as emotions with nonjudgmental attachment. Etc. My series is filled with this kind of philosophical outlook.
 
 
Gillian 09/02/07 9:05 PM
I like sushi so much that I can even say "I like sushi" in Japanese. Except I only like non-fish or seasfood sushi because I am the possessor of sad allergies. That's a hard one to explain in Japanese.
 
 
Os 09/03/07 8:18 AM
I like good food and when I see something which is made with the sort of application coming from the combination of years of work and a slice of pure talent, I'd be prepared to pay more than 375€. And I'm not alone.

It's like the x-ray glasses which were advertised on the back of comic books when we were kids. If you looked at your hand your could see the bones of your hand however if you looked at your brother's head you could still see the bones in your hand. The bones were printed on the glasses but the experience of waiting for the x-ray glasses far outweighed the disappointment of discovering they were fake.
 
 
Cath 09/04/07 4:35 AM
Huh, I adore Neverwinter Nights, and I'm now wondering if I've played any of your modules. :)

I do think there's something in De Mello's comments. I see it all around me - people who have to have something because it's the done thing, or because their neighbor has it. It's all slightly nuts IMO.
 
 
Dan 09/04/07 6:43 AM
No doubt, De Mello had a keen understanding of the way people operate.

The Neverwinter Nights series I did was Endless Nights. It was Endless Nights IV that made it into the Vault's Hall of Fame. It was a rogue-like interpretation of NWN. (If you are familiar with rogue-like games.)
 
 
Midnight Muse 09/04/07 7:24 AM
Sushi ? Well, I've never taken that plunge, but I can see the attraction. Though I do love Thai food! I do agree with the paradox of one's happiness being influenced by the reactions of others, and how detrimental that can be. Especially to us as writers. I was struggling with that just recently, and still am to a certain extent - but realizing it is the first step, eh? :D
 
 
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