Hello fellow Googler,
You have just stumbled into my first blog. Welcome! I assume that you are a friend or family of mine, so i'm pretty sure no introductions are needed. You know that i am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You probably also know that I am studying to be a psychology major. I have had life-changing experiences in both of these areas in my life, but most importantly as a member of the church. I believe that every single person on this Earth has had spiritual experiences and has an enormous potential that is yet to be realized, no matter what background he or she may come from. This life is a wonderful opportunity for myself and for all of us to share insights and knowledge, testimonies and support, so that we all may be strengthened together.
The title of this blog is called "Avoiding Anoesis."
What the hey is anoesis? I hope you get used to it, here is the first of many psychological terms that will be defined on this blog...
"anoesis noun \-ˈwē-səs\
consciousness that is pure passive receptiveness without understanding or intellectual organization of the materials presented."
http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/anoesis
In other words, it is the state of mind that occurs when absolutely NO thinking is involved, a true "passive receptiveness." This is what happens when you listen to Baby by Justine Bieber, or read the lyrics of Friday by Rebecca Black. Yup...
The purpose of this blog is to AVOID this state! I really want to make you think! I want to keep myself thinking! It really doesn't matter how many people read this; I think it will be just as beneficial to me as to anyone! So don't feel bad if you don't follow up on every single blog I post, it is A OK!
So, welcome!! And enjoy! Please let me know how you feel about any of my posts! Also, don't hold back any criticisms. Not only am I open to them, but I enjoy philosophical discussion and debate as well! Comment away! Or not! It is up to you.
And as a closing thought on a good reason to avoid anoesis: our brain is made up of a dense collection of millions of neurons and their pathways. Each thought you have is the result of signals (action potentials) traveling through these neural pathways. Each signal that travels down the pathway "carves" an easier path for the next thought to come down through. The more you think of something, the more likely and easy it is for your mind to think of it again and use that same neural pathway. That is way some people can become "obsessed" with certain topics and cannot stop thinking about it. On the other hand, when you are not thinking about anything, these neural pathways because "less easy" to travel on, and become "old," making it less likely for your brain to send signals down that way again. In other words, when you don't think, your brain only gets lazier and lazier.... or stronger and stronger, with every thought you have. That's some food for thought (if it makes any sense)! :-)
