The Three Horsemen

The point of this pointlessness is the purpose which we choose to pursue

Human psychology is complex science. But, I want to break it down into 3 parts. Control, loneliness, and pointlessness.

• Society =/= life
• Being taught things in school makes them self fulfilling prophecies more likely to happen
• Loneliness = being wanted and loved

Pointlessness

Psychotherapy is the process of altering cognitive processes – via sensory inputs - with the aim of increasing the quality of life experienced by an individual. Psychotherapy is beneficial to everybody, but it is mainly associated with those who are suffering from mental illness. Mental illness, is a disease of the brain and/or belief system of an individual resulting in a lower quality life experience. Thought disorders - characterized by a perception of pervasive or excessive thinking - deviations from the neuropsychological norms (creating groups) resulting in an individual experiencing a lower quality of life due to this deviation. What is considered “normal” is what the collective human species, within a group (i.e. society, city, province, country, continent, etc.), labels as “normal”. What is not “normal” is then considered abnormal. Most psychotherapies, aim to address supposed “core issues” of an individual, such as low self-esteem/self-worth, this feeling of lacking control over themselves and life circumstances, general feelings of loneliness, existential boredom, etc., by providing techniques that replace the negative cognitive processes with more positive ones. But, in my opinion these replacements are nothing more than Band-Aid solutions as they truly fail to tackle the underlying reason behind these core issues. The only psychotherapy I have found to be effective in tackling the underlying nature of these core issues, which would then retitle these core issues as just issues, is existential psychotherapy.

Existential therapy focuses on tackling a few different constructs that an individual seems to forget, ignore, or may simply be unaware of. These constructs involve givens of existence, the freedom of choice and responsibility, anxiety, guilt, and uncertainty, the inevitability of death, and the meaningless of our life, amongst others.

Givens of existence reinforces the idea that there are certain things in this life experience, which we have no control over.  We do not choose to be born, we do not choose our family, we have no control of perceptually negative circumstances created by chance, we have no control over our genetics, etc. Simply releasing this pervasiveness with these existential givens, is freeing. Things have happened, are happening, and will happen, that strip us of the right to choose. That is a fact. It has been, and always will be a fact, and the sooner we come to accept that fact, the sooner we learn to relinquish control over circumstances in which we played no or even an extremely minimal part.

The freedom of choice and responsibility emphasizes the fact that, while some events are givens which we have no influence on, a large portion of our lives revolve around our behavior. Around the simple notion that behind every action lies an intention, and in between action and intention lies a choice. Every single moment that passes by, which can be objectified into a second, is a moment in which a blank slate is created, and it is within our power to do with that blank slate what we wish. At any given moment, we have the freedom to an abundance of choices. Just as easily I chose to type these words, I could just as easily choose to stop typing. The process of choice carries the same weight no matter the outcome of said choice. It is as simple to choose to do something or nothing at all. Both involve choosing the action that will be performed. These choices carry over to not just external moments in our lives, such as our reaction towards a certain event, but also thoughts. As freeing as it is to understand that we have the freedom of choice towards a plethora of behaviors, as freeing as it is to understand that you can choose to be unhappy or happy, with the same amount of effort the process of choice. It is also a burden. Since you have the freedom of choice, and since your choices result in actions, and these actions may carry “good” or “bad” consequences, then how do you know which choice to choose from? You simply don’t. As a human, you do not have the ability to manipulate time, and once a choice is made, it is a permanent bookmark within an unmalleable point in time. This leads to developing a fear towards the freedom of choice. To make matters worse, along with the uncertainty of an impending consequence of a choice you have chosen, there is also the idea that if you are unhappy or disagree with a certain aspect of your life that you could change, then there is no one to blame but yourself. Since you have the freedom of choice, and since you have made millions of choices throughout your life that have interacted with chance and have resulted in where you are today, then to put it simply, your series of choices have played a part in leading you to where you are at this very point in time. What is comforting in this freedom and responsibility of choice, is that if you are unhappy or disagree with a certain aspect of your life due to this accumulation, of what may have been insignificant, choices and their interaction with chance, then it is within your power to choose to change this unhappiness/disagreement. I believe this to be one of the most incredibly powerful lessons/reminders.

Next, we have anxiety, guilt and uncertainty. All emotions, within “healthy” individuals have a reason. The most common “dysfunctional emotions” are anxiety and depression. We experience psychological anxiety when there is an acute dissociation between what we are currently doing versus what we believe we “should” be doing and we experience psychological depression when there is a chronic dissociation between where we are in our lives and where we believe we “should” or want to be. What is interesting about psychological anxiety and depression is that they are future based. They are based on an imaginary point in time in which the individual believes they should be. Since these are based on a future which does not exist, aside from in the mind of the individual, and is not even any guarantee - then it is easy to see how this feeling of uncertainty can develop. With any intention-choice-action sequence initiated in the hopes of achieving a goal in the future, there is uncertainty. There is no guarantee for such a future just as there is no reason as to why such an outcome may not arise. I believe that utilizing the idea behind mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which emphasizes awareness of the present experience, would be the easiest way to dissociate from these self-defined “negative” experiences. Of course, MBCT is nevertheless a bandage solution, and a further solution, would be to incorporate the philosophy behind Rational-Emotive Behavioral therapies (REBT) imperatives (shoulds, needs, must, never, forever). I will expand on this later on in this paper.

Next, we experience guilt when there is a dissociation between our potential and a position in time, which we reminisce on at a later point in time. Luckily, guilt is associated with the past, which is one of the easier experiences to logically alchemize. If something has occurred in the past, it has happened and therefore no longer exists aside from within the memory (ies) of the individual/individuals present during the circumstance involving a lower quality performance, which defies the standards of the individual, experiencing said guilt. But, if guilt is associated with an event that has occurred, and is simply re-labelled as a learning experience, then this idea of guilt will lessen in strength. Once the experience, of reminiscing upon a moment in time in with potential and results were not up to par is transformed into that of learning then an individual would need not to ruminate on the experience in a negative fashion, and instead enable themselves to accept that moment as it is, then proceed through the present, carrying said learning experience(s) in their repertoire of life experiences.

Another important fact brought up by existential therapy is the inevitability of death. While we are forced into this world, death is the only certainty we have. The reality is that death may occur at any moment in time. Everybody and everything, given a long enough amount of time will die. This idea of the inevitability and spontaneous nature of death relates back to the aforementioned idea of uncertainty, in a more profound way, as it is a given. In that right every moment is precious. No matter if that moment is perceived to be good or bad, the simple fact that you are still existing, alive, and not dead is a cause for celebration. Of course, certain individuals do choose to die. That is what makes death so interesting. It is a given, it is the end of life, yet it is also a choice. An individual may easily choose to die, just as easily as they may not. Several mental health dysfunctions and life circumstances bring people to make this choice, the choice to die and accelerate this existential given. What is interesting about the concept of death is that this choice to die, is brought on, in some cases, by the unawareness of the freedom of choice. It is a choice that is chosen because the individual believes that they have no other choice. The great thing about this awareness, of the inevitability and unpredictability of death is that, since we could die at any moment in time, then there is no reason experience the anxiety, caused by this uncertainty, as every moment that we are not dead is a moment to cherish, which therefore allows the individual to make every moment the best moment. As far as we are concerned, we have one life. When we die, that is the end of our life. If death is inevitable and unpredictable, then the only logical way to go about life is to live this life in a way that you perceive to be of the highest quality.

Finally, the topic that has inspired me to write this paper is that of the meaninglessness of life, of existential therapy. Existential therapy accentuates the idea that we are thrown into this world. This is an existential given, one that we have no control over. This idea that we are thrown into this world, without any purpose or meaning causes angst as there exists no point to our, or anything else’s, existence. Everything simply exists. If there is no point to our existence, then what is there to do? Why do anything at all if our only given is that we are journeying towards an unpredictable, and unavoidable death. This line of reasoning leads to a sense of despair, as rationally expected. Human beings strive on goal, purpose, a point, an objective, etc. To counter this despair existential psychology acknowledges the idea that we need to create it ourselves. In a sense, it is true. If the human species lived with the idea of the pointlessness of existence at the forefront of their minds, then we would probably not have “progressed” to where we are today. We would most likely not have these cures, rules, laws, regulations, that allow society to advance, in certain aspects. But, in my opinion, this is the biggest issue the human species seems to have encountered.

Space – Nothing can exist within nothingness

Before I begin exploring this issue further, it is important to view the macroscopic state of the universe. An ongoing “assumption” that physicists currently hold is that there are multiple universes, where each universe is the result of an explosion of extreme intensity, creating a universe, which we know as space and its elements (for example a star, a planet, or even a speck of dust). Whether this is the case of not, does not matter, as narrowing the concept down to a single universe, is more than enough to create this awareness. Within our universe we have space, which is this vast nothingness that has acquired its label due to the fact that “within” this space other elements have formed creating this illusion of separate entities. If space did not have any element residing within/on it, if space was strictly this vast nothingness, that we have labeled space, it would not be called space. It would be the foreground and the background. It would simply just be. As an element exists within this nothingness a separation occurs. There is now a background “space” and this foreground element found on/within the background, such as a planet. It is important to acknowledge the idea that, in reality, nothing can be formed within “nothingness”. So, realistically, if we have nothingness (space), and something has appeared in this nothingness (a planet), then we have the creation of two separate entities. Yet, at the core of this separation, is not a separation, but a unison; a unison of nothingness.

The Human Species as a Virus

It is interesting to think that no matter the cell, every single cell in the world is passing through time with the ultimate outcome of survival or with the ultimate outcome of aiding survival of the organism. Every single cell in your body is doing what it is doing to survive. That is a fact. It is interesting that every cell has defaulted to this process of survival. Almost every living cell on this earth is performing a sequence of behaviors/actions to survive. It is a beautiful idea, as when a conscious entity is thinking of giving up, or has given up (in a psychological sense), every single cell in that entity’s body is defaulting towards survival. When this action to survive (which includes replication and expansion) amplifies we label this process as cancer. With all this being said, I am sure that the exploration of the idea that the human species is not so different from a cancer is easier to imagine.

In respect to this notion, imagine a biology based laboratory. Within this laboratory is a culture dish (a dish that houses cells). Within this culture dish we find various kinds of cells. This culture dish, housing these various cells, has no purpose, and are simply left alone for an undetermined amount of time. The cells simply find themselves present in the laboratory and, more specifically, in the culture dish. Assuming these imaginative cells are aware, they would be aware of themselves and the cells surrounding them, while also being aware of the fact that they inhabit this culture dish that is providing them with the necessary nutrients for survival and growth. Nevertheless, these cells are unaware of the laboratory they find themselves in, unaware of how they got there or why. How they got there remains a mystery and why they are there has no answer. They are simply there. All that these cells are striving to survive and grow, as it is their default state. With this in mind, it is easy to compare these cells, found within that culture dish, with humans and other living, animated, entities (the cells) found on earth (the culture dish).

Everything that exists, including planet earth has no reason to exist within the awareness of all living entities. Everything simply exists. Everything is as it was, as it is and as it will be. With that in mind, and when specifically relating this metaphor towards human beings, there are no rules to follow, no obligations, laws, etc. The only reason we have rules, morals, obligations, laws, etc., within humans (and various other animals), is because of a unanimous decision by the human species to conform to these various rules, obligations, laws, etc. An example of this is that depending on the group of individuals, such as a tribe, people within a city, people within a province/state, and/or country, we may find different rules, obligations, morals, laws, etc. In this respect, everything that exists has its value obtained through subjectivity, which would mean that there can be no such thing as good or bad. These are simply labels that an individual or the collective human group (i.e. tribe, society, city, province/state, country, continent, etc.) has attributed to various behaviors. As these labels are defined by the human species/a human being, then, just like what is considered “normal” is simply a numbers game, of collective agreement. Someone can perform what a majority of individuals within a certain group would consider an evil or “inappropriate” act, such as taking the life of another human being, or using another living entity to benefit the individual would be no different than what is said to be “good”. All that is occurring is a sequence of actions and outcomes. That’s it. Yet depending on the collective agreement, or that of a single individual that action-outcome may be labeled as good or bad. There is no good and bad, as in a universal point of view, everything that is occurring just is. This ties into the earlier mention of imperatives from REBT. Nothing should be a certain way, nothing needs to be a certain way, and nothing must be a certain way. How could there be any obligations, if we are no different than a bunch of various cells left in a culture dish for an undetermined amount of time. Everything, including ourselves, simply exist.

Now, with everything mentioned so far, it would not be outrageous to introduce the notion that the human species is not so different from what humans have defined as a virus, which is defined as an infective agent able to multiply only within the living cells of a host. Human beings have found themselves on earth. Earth is a planet. This planet is found within our solar system, which is found within a galaxy, we have labelled the Milky Way. While inhabiting this planet Earth, humans have used their cognitive advantage, to manipulate the finite resources, such as water, oil, minerals, nature, and even fellow living animal entities, to suit their needs/wants. As I type this, human beings are exploring the option of expansion to other planets. This process of expansion is inevitable. Even though we may be stripping this planet of its finite resources, grandeur processes, such as the inevitable explosion of the sun for example, will destroy this earth that we inhabit. Surely this exploration of other planets, if/when successful, will, if things remain as they are, simply lead to the destruction of the natural state of the next planet we decide to inhabit, and this same consummatory behavior of resources may continue, hence the labelling of the human species as, not only a cancer, but a virus. While, the multiplication and further infection of the cosmos/planets, resembles that of a virus who may only exist within the living cells of the host - the host being the planet/solar system/universe. A shift in perspective starts to develop. This is the beginning of the realization of the point of pointlessness.

Human beings, as “insane” of a species as they might be aren’t as complicated as we believe them to be. Human beings have gotten to a point, where they need labels, stories, purpose, and whatever other form of connection and relationship may exist in regards to this sense of self. When branching away from the human form and examining this grandeur scale of existence, we find that at the core of the universal experience is pointlessness. There is no purpose for anything in this universe, including humans. Once again, as stated earlier with REBT, there are no needs, shoulds, or musts. There are simply no rules. Human beings have found themselves on this planet, which we have labeled as earth, that’s really all there is to it. We are here on earth, because we have found ourselves here on earth. Period. Everything else is driven by this obsession that the majority of humans seem to have, which is this illusion of a purpose, this “instinctual” [Find another word] drive to conquer, destroy, create, nourish, etc. This pointlessness is not a good or bad thing, as it simply exists. It simply is, and that’s a fact.

Realistically you reading this right have most likely had a bunch of things go through your head, throughout the day, regarding life stuff (school, relationships, finances, hobbies, etc.), and these thoughts may have been labeled as good or bad depending on your beliefs. What is interesting, and, I believe to be crucial, to realize is that there exists this point of pointlessness; this realization that there is no reason for our existence, or the existence of anything really (at least to our current knowledge). What I believe to be at the very core of human suffering and progression, is that it seems that humans have decided that instead of accepting this point of pointless they have decided to disagree with it, to fight it, and that is what I believe to be the core of human suffering. It is the inability of the human species to accept the grand pointlessness of life on earth and in the world. While this realization may create despair, this pointlessness is not something to fear, it is not something to feel grim about. If there is no point to the existence of an individual, then in a sense, the point of an individual’s existence is to make this life the best possible life possible, which suits that individual, as to our knowledge it is the only one we have, and it would be illogical to waste ones existence doing anything other than making the best of this pointlessness; of this existential given that death may occur at any moment in time. We are not guaranteed as much as the next moment. That is how it has always been, how it is, and how it will be, and that is okay.

Why do all therapies work?

There are different kinds of therapies as there are different kinds of mental health disorders. Some therapies help certain disorders more than other, but what is interesting is that every therapy is effective for any disorder. No matter which style of therapy an individual pursues, they will get better. Why? Because when an individual decides to go to therapy, they are making a choice; more specifically, they are making a choice in which they believe will lead to a change in their life. There is no way that the choice they make end up in no change. But, that’s the beauty of it. If a person chooses to pursue a specific situation, then they feel a sense of control. They feel a sense of control because they are aware of the choices they can make, and choices a behavior that would benefit them. The person going to therapy feels a sense of purpose. Even though the person may believe their general existence is purposeless, that overarching purposelessness is subdued by the immediate purpose of

Loneliness

Why do we decide to be unique? Why do we want to stand out from other people? If you went to a knew country, and in this country, everyone wore a hat. Would you start wearing a hat? According to social psychology, chances are that at some point you might. But, why? Why would you choose to consciously start wearing a hat? Obviously, it would be to blend in, given that wearing a hat had no benefit. You would be consciously deciding to blend in, to be less unique. Our sense of self is important to us. We need to know who we are in relation to our environment.

I know I am not you and I am my own person. Knowing that I am my own person allows me to feel more in control of my life. I want to do things for myself, this strengthens my sense of self and my feeling of control. Not being able to do anything

Loneliness is an interesting human experience. At first, I did not believe that it belonged in this writing, but after some thought, I concluded that it is the biological product which is drives all human social interaction. Philosophical thought dictates that loneliness is prevalent amongst the human experience. This prevalent form of loneliness is defined by the idea that no one will ever be able to fully understand us as an individual. No matter how much of ourselves we share, no matter if a person can integrate all our beliefs, thoughts, and memories, into their consciousness, no other person will be able to fully understand what the experience of our life is like – our life experience. It is impossible due to the various biases found in the human species. This is a fact of the life experience, and one that is difficult to perceive. It differs from the feeling of loneliness, which is experienced when one feels like they have no social support network. Regardless of how many people are in our lives, how deep those connections may be, no one person will be able to completely understand us.

Humans are said to be social creatures, enabling us to achieve strength through numbers, therefore enabling survival as a species. In the world of survival and expansion, this makes a lot of sense. There is truth to the idea of strength in numbers. Humans need other humans to understand themselves, as in situations of arousal and ambiguity, as per the two-factory theory of emotion. But, why even attempt to survive? For starters, we don’t have a choice in the matter. Every single atom which collectively make-up this universe is striving for a sense of stability, which in turn enables them to survive. The reality is, on a microscopic level, an atom is made up of mostly empty space and is never consistent in the amount of energy it contains. There is a constant state of change, that humans have labelled as chaos. When this is translated to cells, we see that every single cell aims for survival of itself, by the survival of the organ it inhabits, and ultimately, the species. If every single cell which makes us is striving to survive, then it’s no surprise that the result is the organism focusing on survival. Could it be that an atom is trying to avoid “death”, that is a reversion of its atomic form to that of humanly-imperceptible energy?

Let’s run a thought experiment. Imagine that an individual can integrate their consciousness into a virtual reality simulator that can last an infinite amount of time. The only difference between the simulator and life outside of the simulator is an occasional, subtle, visual reminder “This is a simulator.”. What would occur in that situation if the person was forced into the simulator, for eternity, and found themselves with control of every variable, except ones that directly relate to themselves. Such as, their biological and psychological dispositions; body and mind. They are also fully aware of the eternal length of the simulator.  Well, of course the person would do whatever they believe will contribute to a more positive experience in that reality. But, more importantly, when we think about human social interaction, what would that person do? Initially they may create people they find perfect, in one or more ways, for whatever purpose(s) they have in mind. Would they ever feel the prevalent philosophical loneliness explained earlier? I would argue that they would. This person is aware they are in that environment for an undetermined amount of time, unless they choose not to be; meaning survival is no longer a priority. There is no reason to need anyone else, so why even interact with others, according to the biological basis of social psychology, there is no need for these interactions, as survival is guaranteed. The only reason to

[Ancestors]

What is it about the death of someone close to us that hurts us? When someone we love or care about dies, the feeling is described as a hole in the heart. It feels as though a part of ourselves died along with them. There’s no evolutionary purpose to that, there is no biological purpose to the sense of sorrow following death. The mourning of death, if anything, is a survival nightmare. It renders one less efficient in their cognitive functioning, less focused on their reality, and therefore less focused on their survival. What dies or dims in us that leads to the pain an individual may feel for a time following a death? Is it the death of ourselves, is it a death of our past and/or our future? We know that memory is not forever lasting, and even if every single moment in time has been captured on video, it is not the same. A video cannot replicate the sensory experience of the time shared. It could be the death of our future, because our projection of what our life is like in the future is altered. What if the response to death is that of appreciation (or guilt). In the case of appreciation, we hurt because we felt happiness in the presence of the dead. We hurt because we feel as though we have lost a piece of us. The piece of our life experience which we could feel understood by the one who died. Do we lose love? We lose the feeling of constant reaffirmation that we are loved and the constant reaffirmation that we are capable of love from that person. For us to be saddened by death would mean that we were happy with the moments shared during life. Do we cry due to the loss of love or the loss of self? Is it both? Does the self need love, does love to need the self, are they independent; or can one survive without the other? When a sense of self is dissolved, a sense of unity is usually found. This unity, consists of appreciation, at such a high concentration that we can call it love. If there is no love, no appreciation, does the sense of self serve any purpose? Can an individual exist without loving themselves or anyone else? I can’t see how, given that if one doesn’t love themselves, then they would cease to exist.

Control – Change, Chance, and Choice

07/04/18

What is that makes all people who undergo psychotherapy improve slightly? It could be that the therapies all work in their own way. Or, it could be that the moment an individual decides to contact a therapist to book an appointment, they regain control of their lives. This phone call is a novel behavior, one usually inhibited by social stigma, embarrassment, or even a feeling of accepting defeating whence seeking help. So, the person picking up the phone and making the call, has many psychological barriers that they have broken through. The question is, what sparks this desire to go through the challenges of questioning one’s own reality and looking for one that is out of their awareness. In another word, how can someone decide to look for something that they don’t know about.

Take the example, of someone who experiences Depression because of a faulty or dysfunctional belief system/perspective. If this person does not believe that happiness exists, as they do not experience it, do not understand the psychological and physiological inputs/outputs known as happiness, and believe those who exhibit happy behaviors are faking it.

Ultimately, what this means, is that an individual does not believe in happiness, they will not seek it, they will not think about what it could be like, they will even refute the expression of happiness by dismissing the behaviors and expressions as illusionary.

Perspective-based Depression is what I believe to be what we call “Treatment Resistant Depression” today. If an individual who believes in the experience of happiness as much as an adult believes in the Easter bunny, how will various forms of medications and/or therapy’s (both which has been shown to be comparable to placebo’s) change this person’s perspective? It would seem cruel and unusual to manipulate someone, via pharmacology and psychology to get them to believe in the Easter bunny… Isn’t it the same to force people who are experiencing a belief issue to believe some other reality imposed by the mental health worker.

The way to change this person’s life is to make him feel the experience of happiness. We try to do that with anti-depressants, but that is a untrustworthy source of treatment. [rant about psychedelics and shit].

Pharmacology aside, the most effective way to treat that patient, in a therapeutic setting is to focus on 3 factors : Control, Loneliness, and Pointlessness.

To convince such an individual of the existence of happiness, would be the same as convincing a life-loving individual to live a life of sadness, loneliness, anger, self-hatred, etc. It would be difficult for anyone to shift their perspective in such an opposing direction. It makes it even more difficult when someone doesn’t believe in happiness or sadness.

Now, if that individual decided to call a therapy clinic to book an appointment to get better, would he be feeling better? Chances are he will. The reason he will is because he has gained control of his life at that instance. How things proceed are dependent on his perspective of reality, beliefs, and philosophical schema’s. If this individual goes to therapy and receives talk therapy, It wouldn’t make sense for the treatment to be effective. He is experiencing his issues because he does not experience happiness and therefore does not believe it.

Control can be broken down into 2 parts – External and internal control. When talking about external control, I am referring to the feeling of control one feels when What is a feeling of control? The feeling of being in control occurs when an individual believes they have the appropriate experience(s) and/or skillset(s), to reduce ambiguity regarding a future outcome. When an individual believes they lack control, they are unable to feel in control of initiation, maintaining, or finishing a behavior. What’s interesting is the reality which exists around us is not a controlled environment, all events occur at random for no given reason, and if the further we zoom into anything, we find the amount of chaos increases. A reason an individual can feel out of control is because of, and due to, 3 concepts which comprise control; Choice, chance, and change.

When an individual beliefs in their own abilities and therefore does not worry about the future as they believe they will handle things as they come.

Choice is a very interesting idea when it comes to humans. Give people too much choice, and they have trouble making one, give them too few and that will leave them satisfied or feeling confined. The funny thing with choice is that a lot of the emphasis is put on the choice that an individual makes, when really the emphasis makes more sense to be placed on the choosing of the choice. If someone chooses X, then they must have dealt with 2+ choices relating to X. Out of Y and Z, they chose X. Then they chose to do X. There must have been an entire process from going from no choice, to acting on a choice.

Chance is a word that humans have decided to attribute to the continuous, random, events occurring in the universe. Chance can be combined with choice to create change. When change occurs, what has happened that an individual has made a choice, that choice has interacted with the randomness of the universe and has lead to a change. The choice a person makes is an alteration of the current timeline. Time is usually thought of as a straight line, constantly going forward, regardless of what is. The reality is time may be more like tree diagram. Timelines are constantly changing, with the interaction of choices. If a person makes a choice, they are choosing and not choosing timelines, which will accompany their choice. If a person chooses to do A, then option B, C, D… etc. have been decided against. If the person has decided either one of those options, then the timeline would proceed in accordance to the choice. The future is uncertain to us because of chance. If change occurred because of choice, then people would feel in control all the time. If the choices people made resulted in the change that people expected, then they would be gods. Chance creates ambiguity towards the future, this can make people feel uncomfortable. People feel uncomfortable when there is ambiguity, as ambiguity is a more chaotic state of being.

The result of the interaction between chance and choice is change. These function in a triangular fashion, in which chance, choice, and change all interact with one-another. If someone makes a choice, that choice interacts with chance and results in change. Change cannot occur without any of these, because a choice (or shift in timeline) must be made, and that must interact with the environment. A choice is useless without chance or change, as when a choice is made it will interact with chance and result in change. If we took chance out of the equation and the choice resulted in change, that would be an environment in which a person at god like powers. Chance can occur without choice, but if we consider choice an act any being is capable of, then that would eliminate the idea of free-will.

Appreciation

What defines the experience of appreciative sorrow an individual feel when someone they are fond of leave their mutual environment? If we were to break it down we can see that there are two individuals who are sharing a common environment through a combination of individual choices, and chance, these people relate as they share common beliefs and experiences. With time more of these common beliefs and experiences are shared and te individuals will feel a sense of aunity that this paper explains as a defence mechanis to existential loneliness. What is interesting about this is that it exists within many animals as well. What is curious is if a non-awareness of clock time influences the “desire to be completely understood” by another. Why does te absence of an individual create an initial emotional shock.

-emotion experiences of animals, different cultures, go from most “primitive” brain to most “advanced”

If we put 10 of the same species side by side in a similar activating event their reaction would vary based on the belief that each animal is an individual. What about animals who function only on external cues? Do we actually have free will?

What is the feeling of missing someone?

What is Depression?

Depression is a label for a cumulative combination of symptoms. A label, such as Depression, has its uses in the scientific/medical fields. Like most labels which spread from these fields to the public, it gains an additional use a characteristic. One who experiences Depression symptomology and is unaware of the disorder, will benefit from this newfound knowledge. One who does not experience Depression may learn about this label/characteristic, and include themselves in the Depression group.