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OfflineHostileApostle
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happy all the time?
    #12348900 - 04/07/10 01:47 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Does anyone think they are happy all the time?  Is this goal possible?  I  know some emotions come on unconsciously and there are always uncontrollable outside influences on your mood, but is being content all the time achievable? I would describe myself as definitely happier than most, but I usually have parts of the day where i feel sorta down for no significant reason.  I know this is like any other person.  Are there truly and purely content people out there?  What do you all think?


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"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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InvisibleIcelander
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12348969 - 04/07/10 01:55 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

no


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"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.

" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.

With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC

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InvisibleOrgoneConclusion
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Icelander]
    #12348999 - 04/07/10 02:01 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

:lockdance:


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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: OrgoneConclusion] * 1
    #12349016 - 04/07/10 02:04 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

yes


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Offlineskatealex2
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12349576 - 04/07/10 03:27 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

i dont see why not.        until your death at least.  no one owns your consiousness  :mushroom2:


the world can be depressing tho

Edited by skatealex2 (04/07/10 03:34 PM)

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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: skatealex2]
    #12349627 - 04/07/10 03:37 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

If I could be happy all the time then I don't think I'd ever be happy again. :shrug2:

Contrast, man. Contrast.

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12349631 - 04/07/10 03:37 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Tropism said:
If I could be happy all the time then I don't think I'd ever be happy again. :shrug2:




Contradictions, man.  Contradictions.


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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

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OfflineAngryPhil
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: skatealex2]
    #12349654 - 04/07/10 03:41 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Nirvana


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The creation takes hand of the chisel...

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Invisibleviginti tres

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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12349717 - 04/07/10 03:51 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Seems to me like it would get pretty damn boring being happy all the time. :shrug:

Possible, though undesirable. At least IMO.


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InvisibleIcelander
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: viginti tres]
    #12350175 - 04/07/10 05:12 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Being happy could never be boring by definition.


--------------------
"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.

" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.

With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC

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Offlinecircastes
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Icelander]
    #12350221 - 04/07/10 05:20 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Yes it is possible. I think it's the goal of existence. Nirvana. The mind must be groomed first...

Try thinking about nothing and go about your day.


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My shield...
My armour...

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InvisibleTroll Bot
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: circastes]
    #12350225 - 04/07/10 05:21 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

What is there to be happy about?

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OfflineAngryPhil
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Troll Bot]
    #12350231 - 04/07/10 05:22 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Enpo said:
What is there to be happy about?



The fact that we are able to experience happiness for starters


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OfflineHostileApostle
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12350299 - 04/07/10 05:37 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Enjoyed all the talk.  It seems theoretically possible, but on a cellular level: do we possess enough "happy" chemicals in our brain?  Could you adapt to create more of these chemicals sober?  I know that goes outside the realm of philosophy, but that was what i was currently thinking. Yes, I feel there is much to be happy about and No, I don't think it would be boring.  It would be involving, enjoyable activity every minute (to  me at least).  It seems almost impossible to find that perfect rhythm or schedule every single day though.


--------------------
"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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Invisibleviginti tres
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Icelander]
    #12350357 - 04/07/10 05:45 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Icelander said:
Being happy could never be boring by definition.




meh. I meant relative to experiencing a range of emotions, it seems to me it would be.
I prefer painting with more than one color.


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OfflineAngryPhil
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: viginti tres]
    #12350669 - 04/07/10 06:26 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

viginti tres said:
Quote:

Icelander said:
Being happy could never be boring by definition.




meh. I meant relative to experiencing a range of emotions, it seems to me it would be.
I prefer painting with more than one color.




That's because painting with more than one color makes you happy. Your brain recognizes that you need to paint with more that one color to be happy, and makes you feel like you won't be happy if you don't. If you were always happy, you wouldn't need to paint with more than one color to be happy, so it wouldn't bother you if you weren't.


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OfflineBluePixieWaves
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: AngryPhil]
    #12351373 - 04/07/10 08:07 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Impossible. I mean why would you always want to be happy. Even if one could maintain such a state they would become lazy and lacking in inspiration and motivation. I mean if you where always content then you wouldn't have to reach for any goal. Personally I find someone who is always happy to be quiet disturbing. :uhoh:


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InvisiblePoid
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BluePixieWaves]
    #12351522 - 04/07/10 08:33 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

BluePixieWaves said:
I mean why would you always want to be happy.


For the same reason why you would want to be momentarily happy.



Quote:

BluePixieWaves said:
Even if one could maintain such a state they would become lazy and lacking in inspiration and motivation.


Not necessarily...:wtf:



Quote:

BluePixieWaves said:
I mean if you where always content then you wouldn't have to reach for any goal.


So..? :undecided:


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Well I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you to be just like them. --  Bob Dylan
fireworks_god said:
It's one thing to simply enjoy a style of life that one enjoys, but it's another thing altogether to refer to another person's choice as "wrong" or to rationalize their behavior as being pathological or resulting from some sort of inadequacy or failing so as to create a sense of superiority or separation as yet another projection of a personal fear or control issue.

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InvisibleOrgoneConclusion
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Poid] * 1
    #12351588 - 04/07/10 08:47 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)



This guy is forever happy.


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OfflineBrainChemistry
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: AngryPhil]
    #12351652 - 04/07/10 09:01 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

AngryPhil said:
If you were always happy, you wouldn't need to paint with more than one color to be happy, so it wouldn't bother you if you weren't.




Ah, so ignorance is bliss?

The way I see it, most of us experience happiness as a certain state of mind that we can only recognize because we have experienced other states of mind that are NOT happiness.

I know what sadness is, and I know what guilt is, and I know what jealousy is, etc. I know I am happy when I am NOT experiencing any of these other emotions. Therefore to be happy all the time, you have to have already experienced the full range of emotions.

To be happy ALL the time...well I think that is another bear entirely. To do that, you need to know what makes you unhappy and find a way to overcome that unhappiness.

I doubt I will ever fully achieve that. :super:


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OfflineHostileApostle
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: OrgoneConclusion]
    #12351683 - 04/07/10 09:07 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

OrgoneConclusion said:


This guy is forever happy.




lucky dude is always stoned.


--------------------
"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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OfflineBrainChemistry
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle] * 1
    #12351715 - 04/07/10 09:11 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

That pick def made me  :lmafo:


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OfflineBluePixieWaves
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Poid]
    #12351790 - 04/07/10 09:23 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Most people discover the shroomery through boredom (Pure Assumption), which indeed will make you unhappy. See I love the aspects of human emotion. Even though pain hurts and unhappiness is dreadful it is ironically pleasurable to me. It comes down to the point where it hurts so much it feels good and becomes funny. At least for me being completely jaded is better than feeling all fuzzy inside. I also believe you can gain a lot of experience from horrible events.:imo: Well I mean if you want to lay around your house all day feeling numb from so much happiness, then be my guest.


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Edited by BluePixieWaves (04/07/10 09:45 PM)

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OfflineBrainChemistry
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BluePixieWaves]
    #12351824 - 04/07/10 09:31 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Could there ever be a point where you feel like you've learned all you can from pain?


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OfflineBluePixieWaves
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BrainChemistry]
    #12351883 - 04/07/10 09:42 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Yes, I believe so. :thumbup:


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Edited by BluePixieWaves (04/07/10 09:43 PM)

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OfflineBrainChemistry
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BluePixieWaves]
    #12351933 - 04/07/10 09:51 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

So...at that point, would you never experience pain again, or would you fully accept any future pain entirely without any fear of it?


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OfflineBluePixieWaves
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BrainChemistry]
    #12351955 - 04/07/10 09:56 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

I would think after so many years of emotional and psychological pain, I would accept future pain without much fear of it. I think human suffering is inevitable.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12352203 - 04/07/10 10:40 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Mr. Cypher said:
Quote:

Tropism said:
If I could be happy all the time then I don't think I'd ever be happy again. :shrug2:




Contradictions, man.  Contradictions.




Humor, son. For myself happiness is what it is partially because it cannot be obtained all the time. It is the precipice of the wave that is to be looked forward too and longed for after. If it were constant would it be happiness? Is sensation all happiness is or does it involve an interested cognitive thought as well?

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OfflinePDU
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12352314 - 04/07/10 11:02 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

I don't think it's possible - our day to day needs and activities can lead to mixed emotions at the best of times, for all people.

I personally enjoy the emotional up's and down's in my life. The polarity makes the highs so much greater.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: PDU]
    #12352334 - 04/07/10 11:06 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Damn straight. :thumbup:

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12352355 - 04/07/10 11:10 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Tropism said:
If it were constant would it be happiness?




Why wouldn't it be?


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12352386 - 04/07/10 11:17 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Come on, buddy. You can see the contradiction.

If happiness is what it is partially because it cannot be obtained all the time then would it be happiness if it were all the time? Yes the change is a my own semantic choice, but if novelty is neccessary for happiness would one consistent state --enjoyable or not-- be considered happiness?

Quote:

Wiki says:

yadayada... Positive psychology researchers use theoretical models that include describing happiness as consisting of positive emotions and positive activities, or that describe three kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.




And the definition of happiness blurs a little more. How are we using that one again?  Is sensation all happiness is or does it involve an interested cognitive thought as well?

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12352419 - 04/07/10 11:23 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Well, how are you defining happiness?  I would say happiness, if it exists, wouldn't necessitate inconstancy.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12352473 - 04/07/10 11:29 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

I could try and describe it for you or give you an article where people with better perspicacity than I have tried, but ideally I'm banking on happiness being a common emotion among the human species enough so that I don't need to.

I will admit I haven't a precise way of defining specifically what I mean, but one thing about eternal bliss always felt contradictory to me. Not if there is cognitive thought anyways. Boredom is too present in similarity. And even then, being happy and feeling happy are different things to me, and meaning is probably the catalyst there.

How do you define happiness?



:bong:

Edited by Tropism (04/07/10 11:30 PM)

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12352540 - 04/07/10 11:38 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

I would define happiness as my maximally desirable state, and thus I would see no reason why I would want to be unhappy in order to be happy.  Just seems contradictory to me.  :shrug:


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OfflineHostileApostle
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12352563 - 04/07/10 11:40 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

If you had sufficient life experience to know what had unhappy consequences, wouldn't you avoid these "bad" things?  I don't think the bad makes life better, that seems to go against the very definition.  You can feel happy in comparison to a previous unhappy you.  Why not the rest of your life, if possible?  Real happiness consists of many different things to different people, but you have to personally realize when you are feeling "happy" right?  I :heart: bein' happy :laugh:


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"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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OfflineBrainChemistry
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12352604 - 04/07/10 11:44 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

I don't think the bad makes life better, that seems to go against the very definition.




I tend to agree. Bad things don't make good things better....a good thing has its own inherent worth, as does a bad thing. And by recognizing one, you can recognize the other.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: BrainChemistry]
    #12354760 - 04/08/10 11:35 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

I would define happiness as my maximally desirable state, and thus I would see no reason why I would want to be unhappy in order to be happy.  Just seems contradictory to me. 




But is part of the reason it is so desirable because it cannot be obtained all the time?

Idk, it's not about wanting to be unhappy in order to be happy, it's that one wouldn't exist without the other.

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OfflineCalvin
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. [Re: Tropism]
    #12354768 - 04/08/10 11:37 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

.

Edited by Calvin (04/28/21 04:56 AM)

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354771 - 04/08/10 11:38 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Tropism said:
it's that one wouldn't exist without the other.




Why?

Plug an electrode into your reward center and you'll be happy 24/7.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12354777 - 04/08/10 11:40 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

So then we are leaving happiness as simply sensation then, aye? It has nothing to do with meaning or engagement, only pleasure?

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354780 - 04/08/10 11:40 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

I would say meaning can produce happiness.  It's a difficult question.


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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher] * 1
    #12354797 - 04/08/10 11:45 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Indeed. I'm analyzing in myself why happiness is what it is, and I cannot seem to rip it from the dichotomy of human nature that easily. Both happiness and sorrow come and go (almost in a wave like fashion) for me, but they seem to have more to do with each other than given at first glance.

And part of me has wondered ever since I was little and in Sunday school, if heaven is just one feeling all the time would I even be happy?

Ah well, speculation, speculation. We need more people getting things put into their brains so we can see some definitive results and ask some definitive questions. :grin:

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Offlinewellage
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354804 - 04/08/10 11:47 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

If I have been eating right and taking care of myself, happiness is simply the absence of something stressing me out at the time.

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Re: happy all the time? [Re: wellage]
    #12354805 - 04/08/10 11:48 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Pragmatically speaking feeling one emotion all the time would probably get boring, but I see no reason why happiness should necessarily include inconstancy.


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InvisibleTropism
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: wellage]
    #12354818 - 04/08/10 11:51 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

If I have been eating right and taking care of myself, happiness is simply the absence of something stressing me out at the time.




Is it? I've been wondering this myself. I can easily say that yeah, I'm happy. I'm doing fine, eating, excersizing, sexing, and I've got friends. I'm happy, I'm content. But I'm not the kind of happy that puts a smile on my face for me, the kind that levels out my insides into a peaceful waltz.

This ties into if happiness includes meaning. Is simply the lack of any negativity happiness? Or does it involve accomplishment or some shit?

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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354820 - 04/08/10 11:52 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Happiness is a word.  Negativity can make it more likely that one becomes unhappy; finding meaning and a sense of purpose to one's life can make it more likely that one becomes happy.

:confused2:


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Re: happy all the time? [Re: deCypher]
    #12354842 - 04/08/10 11:57 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Pragmatically speaking feeling one emotion all the time would probably get boring, but I see no reason why happiness should necessarily include inconstancy.




You just said it would get boring. I'm getting pretty far from the point I was working on last night. I'm not suggesting for permanent happiness you would need inconstancy, I'm suggesting permanent happiness is impossible because inconstancy is one of the prerequisites that brought happiness into existence in the first place.

I'ma take a step back from this one though, think on it with a doob by the river.

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InvisibledeCypher
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354859 - 04/08/10 12:00 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

What is "permanent" happiness?

time for a beer, a bowl, and a cigarette


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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

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Offlinewellage
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354886 - 04/08/10 12:04 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Tropism said:
Quote:

If I have been eating right and taking care of myself, happiness is simply the absence of something stressing me out at the time.




Is it? I've been wondering this myself. I can easily say that yeah, I'm happy. I'm doing fine, eating, excersizing, sexing, and I've got friends. I'm happy, I'm content. But I'm not the kind of happy that puts a smile on my face for me, the kind that levels out my insides into a peaceful waltz.

This ties into if happiness includes meaning. Is simply the lack of any negativity happiness? Or does it involve accomplishment or some shit?




For me it is. My life being balanced, which includes meaning and accomplishments.

In fact, I'd say a base-line, day to day kind of happiness stems entirely from my accomplishments (school, work, art, keeping myself healthy) and the euphoric sensations because of entertainment, drugs, etc probably put a damper on my consistent level of happiness.

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Offlinewellage
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: Tropism]
    #12354903 - 04/08/10 12:06 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

Tropism said:
Quote:

Pragmatically speaking feeling one emotion all the time would probably get boring, but I see no reason why happiness should necessarily include inconstancy.




You just said it would get boring. I'm getting pretty far from the point I was working on last night. I'm not suggesting for permanent happiness you would need inconstancy, I'm suggesting permanent happiness is impossible because inconstancy is one of the prerequisites that brought happiness into existence in the first place.

I'ma take a step back from this one though, think on it with a doob by the river.




I disagree. Being able to reflect on your life with satisfaction can be consistent and even permanent if you are lucky.

If you have an unattainable view of happiness, maybe it's not.

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OfflineHostileApostle
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: wellage] * 1
    #12354957 - 04/08/10 12:19 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

All feelings are simply chemicals released in your brain.  Having a great, meaningful, and sober day can release the same chemicals in your brain as taking certain recreational drugs.  I think happiness can be inconsistent though, but still be constant happy feelings, just variations of your own happy state.  I most certainly have to change up what I am doing to stay happy, so (to me)growth and development of my life is necessary to achieve this "nirvana"


--------------------
"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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Invisiblevjp
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12358449 - 04/08/10 09:51 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

For me...

You can be happy all the time.

Experiencing all emotions is happiness.

Balance is bliss.

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OfflineJohnnyZ
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: HostileApostle]
    #12358532 - 04/08/10 10:01 PM (13 years, 11 months ago)

To live happily is to live fearlessly.


--------------------
'Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is just energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.'

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Offlinesorahtak
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: JohnnyZ]
    #12359897 - 04/09/10 02:56 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Here's my 2¢:

There seems to be a widely-held assumption that you can only feel good if you have experienced bad, because the only thing that makes good good is its contrast to bad.

I personally see no rational basis for this idea. If you were punched in the face repeatedly since you were born, then slapped, the slap wouldn't somehow feel good. Conversely, if you received one million blowjobs, then a backrub, the backrub wouldn't be painful, it would just be less good. Good and bad feelings are just that: good or bad. If it were really about contrast, then I'd presume that war veterans and concentration camp survivors would be some of the happiest folks around. However, it doesn't really work like that.

I think peoples' assumptions that it would be impossible or undesirable to be happy all the time stems from the fact that this is a largely unrealistic goal in most peoples' life as we know it.  The way that evolution wired us, many of us are constantly on an emotional roller coaster that keeps us seeking the good and avoiding the bad, more or less. However, just because most of us couldn't conceive of being consistently happy in our own lives by no means makes it a physical impossibility.

As for consistent happiness being meaningless, I posit the following: Think of the way you feel when someone gives you a wonderful heart-felt compliment. First off, as I said before I really don't see the goodness of that feeling only being a result of the contrast of what it felt like when that guy called you a prick the other day. Its just a good feeling. Now, one might say that the cause of this feeling is a meaningful one: you feel good because someone said something nice. I agree, it is meaningful, but lets dissect this a bit more.

We humans are social animals, and our brains are wired to encourage such behavior. The approval of others connects us, brings us closer together; it is desirable behavior for the well being of our species. Your brain registers the compliment and rewards you with good feelings, further encouraging social behavior. Now it might seem like the cause of your good feeling was the compliment, and it was, but indirectly. The compliment was just a series of sonic vibrations produced by the vocal chords of your friend. It takes your brain to decode these sounds, recognize them as symbolic of desirable behavior on your part, and produce a good feeling to encourage you. The feeling and the indirect cause of it are still two entirely separate things. Sound alienating? Such is this strange existence we lead.

I personally can't see consistent happiness being undesirable either, despite the fact that nature has not bestowed it upon us. Happiness is simply an experienced feeling. As someone mentioned before, by its very nature it could not be tiresome or boring.

I can however completely empathize with the people that are disturbed by this idea. In a world where many people struggle just to make their lives less than a living hell, the concept of eternal happiness may seem grossly offensive, and is certainly not a practical goal for nearly anyone. Regardless, I don't think that makes it physically impossible or undesirable.


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OfflineHostileApostle
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Re: happy all the time? [Re: sorahtak]
    #12360643 - 04/09/10 08:18 AM (13 years, 11 months ago)

Quote:

sorahtak said:
Here's my 2¢:

There seems to be a widely-held assumption that you can only feel good if you have experienced bad, because the only thing that makes good good is its contrast to bad.

I personally see no rational basis for this idea. If you were punched in the face repeatedly since you were born, then slapped, the slap wouldn't somehow feel good. Conversely, if you received one million blowjobs, then a backrub, the backrub wouldn't be painful, it would just be less good. Good and bad feelings are just that: good or bad. If it were really about contrast, then I'd presume that war veterans and concentration camp survivors would be some of the happiest folks around. However, it doesn't really work like that.

I think peoples' assumptions that it would be impossible or undesirable to be happy all the time stems from the fact that this is a largely unrealistic goal in most peoples' life as we know it.  The way that evolution wired us, many of us are constantly on an emotional roller coaster that keeps us seeking the good and avoiding the bad, more or less. However, just because most of us couldn't conceive of being consistently happy in our own lives by no means makes it a physical impossibility.

As for consistent happiness being meaningless, I posit the following: Think of the way you feel when someone gives you a wonderful heart-felt compliment. First off, as I said before I really don't see the goodness of that feeling only being a result of the contrast of what it felt like when that guy called you a prick the other day. Its just a good feeling. Now, one might say that the cause of this feeling is a meaningful one: you feel good because someone said something nice. I agree, it is meaningful, but lets dissect this a bit more.

We humans are social animals, and our brains are wired to encourage such behavior. The approval of others connects us, brings us closer together; it is desirable behavior for the well being of our species. Your brain registers the compliment and rewards you with good feelings, further encouraging social behavior. Now it might seem like the cause of your good feeling was the compliment, and it was, but indirectly. The compliment was just a series of sonic vibrations produced by the vocal chords of your friend. It takes your brain to decode these sounds, recognize them as symbolic of desirable behavior on your part, and produce a good feeling to encourage you. The feeling and the indirect cause of it are still two entirely separate things. Sound alienating? Such is this strange existence we lead.

I personally can't see consistent happiness being undesirable either, despite the fact that nature has not bestowed it upon us. Happiness is simply an experienced feeling. As someone mentioned before, by its very nature it could not be tiresome or boring.

I can however completely empathize with the people that are disturbed by this idea. In a world where many people struggle just to make their lives less than a living hell, the concept of eternal happiness may seem grossly offensive, and is certainly not a practical goal for nearly anyone. Regardless, I don't think that makes it physically impossible or undesirable.



:thumbup: right on.  I really enjoyed your post and it got me thinking on some good points...mainly the million blowjobs part, but also the tasty philosophical stew you just cooked up my friend.  nom nom for my mind.


--------------------
"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die." -Raoul Duke

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