Posted by Alli from ? (160.129.202.60) on Thursday, April 18, 2002 at 12:43PM :
In Reply to: From one anchoress to another.... posted by Stella from ? (140.192.132.36) on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 at 2:49PM :
: ... can you go on some more about the new-agey understanding of emotion and spirituality?
xxx let me preface my comment with this statement: there is nothing wrong, necessarily, with this new-agey "understanding" of emotion & spirituality.
xxx spirituality (whether it is humanistic, monotheistic, or polytheistic) is now defined as something that humans have that connects them to each other (esp. as a society) & gives them a yearning for "better" things like "happiness," which can be achieved through any number or types of peace & companionship. human spiritual nature is also defined as the inner sanctum or soul, simultaneously accessible to all humans, yet inaccessible to anything or anyone. it's something that is so vague yet real to humans. hm... perhaps spirituality is a source of discontent... the question is: has spirituality been taught as a way of conducing man into more sociable interactions [in certain ways]? in a society that can not tolerate an over-arching religious belief system because of the various cultures that mingle within the same physical space, science is used as the common denominator - the discipline that attempts to explain nature, our natures, & give us remedies that will ultimately affect our spiritual well-being.
xxx this is what i think of the new-agey understanding of emotion: it is a trend, built up mostly by the ardent followers of pseudo- & "real" sciences, of attempting to understand/rationalize that which was previously defined as man's "irrational" nature. emotions are now thought to be mere chemical processes in the brain. but a *complete* scientific understanding of emotion does not exist - these brain processes are not entirely mapped out - what receptors do exactly what, where, when, how, etc. so, in effect, we end up practicing witchcraft/black-magic, with various sorts of drugs, to remedy emotional "problems." again, this is not bad, necessarily...
xxx emotion & spirituality are not bad, in themselves. but they are something the drug companies & clothing, music, food, etc. industries are capitalizing from, heavily.
xxx the problems, in this sort of human-nature discovery expedition, are in: 1.) the "facts," 2.) how these "facts" are fed to us, & 3.) how we are taught to respond (& therefore do respond as a group) to "facts."
xxx to address #1 & #2: the average consumer has very little science background, so whatever is presented as scientific data (is it something that has been extensively reviewed by [honest] experts?) is *preached* as universal "truth" by the media. this is not bad if the data is honestly & realistically presented. however, how honest do you expect any data to be when it is fed to us, as a society, by a very corporate media? there is too much hype, & competitive industries only think about quarterly returns, not long term effects in consumers who buy from them, unless there is liability involved.
xxx to address #3: as a society, we have been trained to react to the "truth" in certain ways. here is where the industries jump in: not only do they know & control what is going to be presented to the public, they can forecast a population reaction/trend & then use these trends to make as much profit as possible. forecasting trends is not "bad;" however, the way they push their products, i feel, is despicable.
xxx emotion (psychology, in general), thought to be a tap into the somewhat "irrational," yet "natural" side of a person (esp. us "hysterical she-males" or "brute males"), is used in advertising campaigns for these industries: industry knows what buttons to push in its audience, basically how to make a product appealing, how to make someone happy or calm with certain stimuli, etc. because we, as a society, have been trained to act & react in certain ways. industry merely uses our common social background as something to work with.
xxx our new-agey spirituality has fallen prey to the following tactics: our [selected] scientific "truths" come from the corporate media, & our remedies, which are now available for anyone (not just a certain ethnic group or cult), our quick fixes to happiness & ultimate spiritual satisfaction, are sold to us by the very corporations that sponsor the media.
-- Alli
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