Adahn

I don't sing in the shower, ever. I do, however, think in the shower. I can think for a long, long time too. I used to take half-hour showers just because I was preoccupied with whatever was on my mind. I've whittled it down to 5-10 minutes, though.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by animangademon [/i] [B]I have a book on dream interpretations, so if anyone wants to know what certain asspects of their dreams mean, let me know [/B][/QUOTE] Did you read my psycho dream? If you can make sense out of that, I'd appreciate it. I might have just been delirious, like I said, I think I was kind of sick.

I fear that all religions are a product of the prospect of non-existence. I really don't want to "not-exist". I think that would suck, alot. That's the one fear I truly have, because it is completely out of my control. There is NOTHING I can do about it. So, I choose a religion, because it's what keeps my fragile psyche from collapsing. We all really are very fragile. Only the walls we build inside ourselves hold us up, but they push away the world. I need my walls, and religion is the strongest of them.

I don't get sick with strong diseases very often. I can't remember the last time I threw up, but it would have to have been many years ago. A little while ago, I had a month-long viral sore-throat, which sucked, especially because it was during summer. I just got over a weak little 3-day cold. Other than that it's my senior year, and I really don't want to take my exams, which I don't have to if I have good/perfect attendance. I think I've got a rather strong immune system, so that's good. The one thing that really bugs me is headaches. I really hate headaches.

I've had one dream twice, but only when I had some sort of weird, feverish feeling, like I was sort of sick, but not. Anyway I'm on a white plane (not an airplaine, kind of like a plane of existence) and there is a big black glob. I have an opponent, or if not that, then some sort of resistance. There are three consciousnesses (referees/judges?) that I can't really perceive except for that they are different and they communicate. The object of the "game" was to push the glob around mentally, trying to move it to one side or the other, or split it, or combine it. I don't really know the rules, just that there were some while I was dreaming, and I knew what I had to do. "I" wasn't touching the glob, but I willed it to move against the will of my resistance, and it seemed to go on for a long time. I don't know if I "won" or not, because it was a long time ago. At the time I had it, I was in my early teens, and it was indescribable. I knew it was weird, though, really, really weird.

The best way I can think of someone learning japonese would probably be to study abroad in college. I'm rather good at Spanish, probably because of the technique in which it was taught. The first year was classic grammar/structure, and a few low frequency words and phrases. Second through fifth year was completely different. We became immersed in thousands of high-frequency words, and developed fluency instead of just cramming in new words and grammar. It had a lot to do with stories. We'd get a story with 5-10 words we didn't know, and we'd act it out 2-3 times until all of them were ingrained in our memory. It might seem slower and take longer, but I could go to any Spanish speaking country and hold my ground in any conversation. I can already write over 200 words in ten minutes, which is superior to what most college students can do. I'll probably take Spanish in college, but I'm majoring in biochemistry. A spanish-speaking biochemist might be a worthwhile asset to any research company :).

One thing that I believe is that emotions are unique to us. Animals may feel things such as physical pain, hunger, or a change in daily routine (loss), but these are all mere sensations. They react instinctively based on them, and that is the extent of their connection to our world. I believe emotions are the product of our imagination. Our imagination allows us to perceive past, present, and future. It is from our thoughts on these phases in our lives that allow us to feel sadness for the loss of a loved one, happiness while we are in the presence of our loved ones, and hope for their future with us, together.

Dios mio! Hay tantas cosas que quiero decir, pero perdi mi diccionario en la escuela (tonto). Hay treinta contestas, y empece el "thread" (No se la palabra) ayer. Gracias por todas las contestas, y tratare de comentar en cosas que vi. Primero, lo siento de los "accents", no tengo una cosa que me dice los numeros que usa con "alt". Es mi quinta ano de espanol, y mi profe es muy bueno. El ensena mi clase muy bien, pero es diferente. El usa "TPRS", pero no recuerdo la significa de las letras. Tome el examen AP el ano pasado, mi "junior" ano, y recibi un cuatro, que es bueno. Por mi profe, usamos "tu", porque es como un amigo. Ay, tengo que parar de escribir asi que puedo tranducirlo. Oh my god! There are so many things that I want to say, but I forgot my dictionary at school (stupid). There are thirty responses, and I started the thread (I don't know the word) yesterday. Thanks for all the replies, and I'll try to comment on things I saw. First, sorry about the accents, I don't have the thing that tells me the numbers you use with "alt". It's my fifth year in Spanish, and my teacher is very good. He teaches my class very well, but it is different. He uses "TPRS", but I don't remember the significance of the letters. I took the AP Spanish exam last year, and got a four, which is good. For my teacher we use you (informal) because he is like a friend. Oh, I have to stop writing so I can translate it :). Some funny little things about spanish: ll and ch and rr are their own letters. For spelling, you will almost never use double consonants except for words like action (accion, prounounced ahk see own). There is no "w", ever. Many dialects of spanish completely drop letters, such as Spain, I think, drops the "d" between words that end in "ado", so words like cansado (tired) are prounounced cansao (kahns oww).

Thanks for the welcome :). And I'm sure you're just being modest about your paper. From the citations I can tell work and effort was put into it, and it's difficult to put one's finger on something that scientific study cannot delve completely into; the human mind. We've known dreams have existed since we've started sleeping, and yet we have figured out all of the elements (periodic table) that make up our immediate reality down to their structure and the position of their electrons. Dreams are one area where psychology and science are intertwined.

I don't see any foreign language threads, and I don't think it goes against the rules. If it does, I'm sorry that I missed something, and I hope I'm not banned. However, I would like to start a thread in foreign languages to expand horizons on cultures, and maybe to even pick up a few words (no profanity please) I'm currently in my fifth year of Spanish, and since I seem to have a knack for that language, perhaps I might be able to teach what I know about that, and possibly learn ome words in other languages. I ask that if posts are in a foreign language, that they are followed by a translation to help comprehension, so please keep posts short. I don't have a whole lot of time, so I won't go into spanish right now :). I just think it would be a good opportunity to learn about other cultures and dialects.

If you'll notice, I never actually mentioned any religion at all, but you managed to guess correctly that I'm a Christian. The funny thing is that I've been to church less than half a dozen times. I grew up with my parents trying to believe in God, but never being able to look deep enough into things. They assume evolution has been proven, even though it's not even a theory, it's a model. As for agnostics, I never said anything to relate them to atheists. I specifically said that if you have any belief whatsoever, or even a hope of an afterlife, you're not an atheist. As for living life, I'm all for that. I just hope people who live in the United States (I'm just assuming most people live here) are grateful for the religion that is the basis for all the freedoms we are entitled to today. We are different from all other creatures on earth because of many things, but one of the greatest among them is religion. I had to create all of my own ideas about Christianity from what I read in the Bible. I think that if people follow a preacher, they might find contradictions between the preacher's predictions and their own. There are so many denominations of religions, and because of this, they are all imperfect. God wants us to explore our own faiths, not have them shoved down our throats by other people, or have them conditioned into us. An atheist or agnostic who converts to Christianity would probably deserve more respect than someone who takes their knowledge of their religion for granted. I wish I would have been brought up with Christianity, but I am stronger because I was not. My knowledge of the Bible may not be nearly as expansive as most peoples, but my beliefs of its teachings are my own, and they will only be changed by one on one discussions, or forums such as this. I know God loves me, and that's more or less the main idea of any major religion today. Your god created you, and he loves you. If anyone says I'm trying to change other people's ideas, then they're right. I want people to think about their choices, and to always consider new alternatives. The beginning of any exploration of religion can be as simple as the once-asked question to oneself, "What can it hurt?"

Ooh, can I play gristle (the nos, you remember)? I don't have the char sheet, but you might. If you don't, I could remake.

I think the mind of a true atheist would be something to ponder in itself. If you believe there is "something" after death, but don't know what to choose, then you have your own personal religion. True atheists believe in no afterlife, and therefore must embrace non-existence after death, it's only alternative. A mind with strong belief that their is a complete, final-death boggles me. Have any atheists put alot of thought into their choice? I pondered non-existence once, and it made me feel scared, empty, sad, and alone. From an atheist's point of view, all existence ends when the individual ends. Since we can only live by our own perspective, when our consciousness is no more, there is nothing, and end to all time, a time that never existed. One may attempt to perceive the world through another's eyes, through efforts in imagination, and even logic, but it is impossible. I, myself, truly cannot understand someone who embraces such emptiness and wishes to live a life with any meaning at all. Even if an atheist does good things, and is generally a nice guy, what does he think will come of it? If he does it to get things from other people, then he truly isn't good. If he believes he will live on in the minds of others, then he has that religion, or prospect of some form of life after death. For those who can live with such pain as atheism, I would like to hear your thoughts, and how you cope with internal moral issues. But know always, whether you are good or successful or contribute to anything, I empathize with you and hope to have an effect on any decision concerning religion that you bring to yourself. It's never too late to undergo a paradigm shift and reconsider one's values, never.

All threads end up being about religion because it's very vast, and very important. I don't know if there is any topic that can't be related to religion in some way. As for things that are amazing, I'm amazed people don't share the way they feel when they truly decide on a religion, or even delve into its intricacies. If you haven't considered it yet, then you might want to start soon. My deepest exploration of religion began with the concept of non-existence. If you believe in evolution, or just believe there is no life after death, then you believe that once your body stops functioning, when brain waves cease, your existence is ended. When I first thought about this, one mental vision/feeling popped into my head. I imagined the last moment of my life to be a pinprick of life in the vastness of space, and after that is done, all time instantly passes and all that is left is an empty universe. There will be no peace. To understand, try and imagine yourself giving up all of your memories, knowledges, emotions, loved ones, all gradually. In essence, imagine emptying yourself of everything that designates you as alive, slowly, and you will have the slightest idea of what it would be like to have all of that taken away in the blink of an eye. That scares the hell out of me. I would beg for eternal torture rather than not exist, but I don't have to. I believe that when I die, my soul will live on to enjoy new experiences in eternal paradise. If you think it matters that anyone remembers you, and that you will live on in people's minds, then you have found a religion already. True atheism is embracing the end of all things when one ends. This is what I mean when I say atheists consider themselves the center of the universe, because when they die, to them, everything dies. If any hope of any type of existence after death has a place in your heart, then you still have a religion, even if it's as unknown as death itself. As for Drix and PoisonTongue, keep it up! I LOVE reading your posts, and I know both of you feel the same way as PoisonTongue described. It's kind of like a pillow-fight. You might get in some good hits, but in the end, nobody gets hurt and everyone feels better.

True Name: Favyr Anoll Assumed Name: Adahn Age: 19 (Human equivalent) Race: Elven Weapons: Well-crafted yew longbow/arrows, steel shortsword. Outfit: Adahn wears the clothes of a commoner, but these are always covered in a hooded cloak, black as night (magically enchanted to draw darkness). Magic: (none) However, he has the potential to learn. Appearance: His face is usually hidden by his cloak, however, if it is removed, he would have short, unruly black hair, deep green eyes, and features only a little sharper than most humans. The one big feature that sets him apart from other elves is that his ears have been cut down to human size (will explain later). Other than this, he is attractive to humans, and has a fairly light build. Occupation: He is a "sword" for hire. A mercenary, if you will. However, he only does jobs that are in accordance with the laws of nations and common morals. His specialty is sneak-attacks/ambushes. Description: Adahn is usually quiet, and almost always serious. He walks swiftly, and when in public, he tries to avoid notice. If he is observed while alone, he seems most at peace on cool nights where he can remove his cloak and take in the natural world untouched by human/elven/dwarven etc. hands. Despite the dark aura he may give off, he is actually quite kind and considerate when it is appropriate. History: Favyr (true name) lived most of his young childhood in solitude with his parents, who preferred living near the forest. The would hunt and gather from the forest, trade for goods at the nearby town, and altogether live natural, happy lives. One day, Favyr was sent out into the woods by his parents to gather berries and fruits. Favyr's appreciation for nature caused him to take the job slowly, examining animals and such, travelling deep into the forest. As he was about to put a ripe-looking raspberry into his basket, he heard a far-off scream coming from the direction of his home. He immediately felt a pang of fear, dropped his basket, spilling the contents all over the ground, and sprinted toward his house. When he arrived, panting, he was frozen by fear. His house was on fire, and orcs were dancing around it, torches held high. They had the door barricaded with a large cart we used to bring goods to and from the town. Tears ran silently down Favyr's face as he saw the silhouette of one of his parents through the window, experiencing a last burst of flame before its charred body fell to the floor. It was at this time that the orcs noticed him, and they all grinned and cackled ecstatically as they advanced towards him. They were about to kill him when they noticed he wasn't moving a muscle, blinking, or exhibiting any kind of fear. They realized he was the child of the elves whose house they had burned down, and decided it would be better for him to live his life in anguish than to end his suffering. They proceeded to hack at his hair and cropped his ears down to a human-like size and shape. Favyr didn't do anything while this happened, in fact, it took him hours, to respond to anything at all. When he snapped out of his shock, his sorrow was gone, replaced by the strongest feelings of anger and hatred possible. He vowed revenge on the orcs who had done this to him, and murdered his parents. More importantly, he vowed never to show weakness of mind, including sorrow. Eventually, Favyr went to the town and reported what had happened. Naturally, everyone sympathized with him, offering to help him in any way. One mage admitted that his ears would never be restored, but he offered to make them seem normal human ears. He accepted their gifts, and eventually went into the forest to make peace with himself, and say goodbye to his parents. Ever since then, he has worked to improve his fighting skills so he would one day be able to have his revenge. He would know the band because of a distinct marking on their forearms that he only remembered much later. Eventually, he adopted the name "Adahn" and masqueraded as a human to hide his shame, and to try and forget as much of his past as possible, except for the prospect of revenge. Likes: Adahn likes improving himself, whether it be his skills or equipment. He also likes people who take life as seriously as he does. As stated earlier, he appreciates nature's beauty, especially at night. He has also made a habit of watching every sunrise and sunset. Dislikes: Adahn doesn't like people who are ignorant. Overly cheerful people depress him because he realizes he will never be able to feel that way. Style: Adahn doesn't beat around the bush, he gets things done, and done right. He doesn't talk unless it seems necessary, and is angered by ineffectiveness.

I used to treasure being alone. If you ask me, some children are the most horrible creatures on the face of the planet. My self-esteem took a deathblow from a few jerks whose parents never told them all of the "be nice to other children" rhetoric, but probably never meant it. Until recently, very recently, the only way I could convince myself that someone didn't automatically hate me was if they were so outgoing that they convinced me otherwise, and those are my closest friends. Right now, I CANNOT judge people. If you assume everyone dislikes you, with only the very, very rare exceptions, you realize that it doesn't matter at all to you what social parameters they fit into. I would be friendly and kind only when I was forced into contact with others, such as when I sat next to someone in class. Until I no longer was "forced" into contact with that person, I would treat them as I would an acquaintance who was close to being a friend. After there was no forced contact, however, I thought I was doing them a favor by ignoring them thereafter because I assumed they were only being civil, and didn't really want to have anything to do with me. If only I had realized earlier that this is absurd, I might have doubled, tripled, or quadrupled my friends. As of now, I'm going through the difficult process of a forced paradigm shift. It's like relearning math, and 1+1 suddenly equals five. It won't be easy, but if I don't do it, the false paradigm will only bury itself deeper into my character until nothing can dig it out. If anyone else shares my old perception of others, then I advise you to change it, now, before it's too late. I'm a senior this year, and after pushing everyone away, I'm not sure I can develop relationships, but I'll be damned if I don't try.

I think it's amazing how any forum on any topic will eventually become a heated argument(or debate, if you prefer). I like debates :). However, I found out something that seems rather amazing to me. I often find myself with a light case of insomnia, and have tried sleeping methods. So far, the only thing that really works for me is kind of odd. You all know that you can say something, while thinking something different at the same time, correct? Well, I start with "row, row, row your boat" in the front of my mind, but I only half-mouth the words for a while, after which I only think them. Then, I utilize that "back" part of my mind where my thoughts can contradict my words, and I jump in with "row, row, row your boat" in the same time signature as "gently down the stream" I can continue to go through the song a few times like this, getting better as I progress, but it takes a hell of a lot out of my brain, so I usually fall asleep from mental exhaustion. I think it's amazing because there's the possibility of tapping into an even deeper section of your brain to start the song for the third time, then the fourth, and so on. So far, it's one and two for me, but I think I'll practice. It's a unique concentration exercise because you know the goal you're trying to reach, and it is just a question of whether or not you have the ability or the effort to push yourself a step further.

I'm sorry about the quoting thing, Knight, I just started posting today, and I don't know the mechanisms. As for the discussion, I think that everyone is their own center of the universe. I read a book a while ago that had a great king in it. When one of his closest friends/advisors asked him how he was so fair, he said that you have to realize that whenever you talk to someone, that person percieves himself at the center of the universe, and what happens to him is the most important thing in the world. If you can look at others, and yourself, this way, then your horizons will be unlimited in what you can communicate to others. As for aliens, if you believe God created man, then you believe God didn't create aliens. If you believe in evolution, then you know that the chances of another form of life even being able to exist is as ridiculous as the possibility of pigs instantly sprouting wings and flying for no particular reason.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Double_B_Daigo [/i]The realization that you are nothing compared to everything else can knock the wind out of you[/QUOTE] I don't know about being nothing compared to everything. I've written about it in a thread I started, but we, as humans, have the capacity to be unique from any other of our race. Stars and other things of huge size and importance have precedents all over, and anything universal has already happened, is happening, and will happen again. If you can grasp the concept that we can create something from nothing, you will know that a pair of pants is an item so unnatural that it would never exist without our bringing it into existence, and you getting dumped by your girlfriend is amazing because you are of the only species in existence that can conceive something as such. We have unlimited ability to shape the universe as we see fit, and all the star can do is sit there and be important.

I've had sort of the same feeling. I was standing in front of the mirror, and I suddenly felt lightheaded. I had a realization involving all senses, which had mainly to do with the absolute amazingness of existence itself. The fact that I could see, taste, touch, hear, and smell hit me. Not only that, but I realized that I, an entity that existed in my mind, had control over my arms and legs, and everything else. It felt as though I were observing my body from my mind's eye, and I'd never felt that way before in my entire life.

I believe that before you start helping others, you should help yourself. Everyone has problems, and if you don't work on your own, you won't develop any knowledge that will be useful to others. Right now, I'm going through a huge paradigm shift, which is changing something that has been ingrained in my mind ever since I was a young child. I feel that if I don't work through my own problems first, helping others with theirs would seem hypocritical. It's okay to try and comfort people, but leave the actual advice giving to parents or other people with emotional experience, unless you have enough emotional experience to truly aid someone. Remember, there is a difference between giving someone temporary false hope and helping them emotionally by reflecting on your own experiences. One more thing, so nobody yells at me, I make no assumption that Meteora or anyone else who posts lacks emotional experience, and do not want to offend anyone mentally or emotionally. These are merely my views, and I will be glad to expand on them or defend them, if necessary.

Hmm, it seems nobody has mentioned regret. Everyone knows regret, and all it does is eat at one's soul. People usually regret mistakes, and you can learn from mistakes, but that does not make regret a good thing. Let's say you dump your girlfriend for the wrong reasons. When you find out about it, you regret it, and you feel an emptiness because it has happened, and you don't like the results. AFTER the regret has passed, specifically after, you can think about what you have done and you can rectify it. Focusing on the regret will cause you nothing but emotional pain, causing a chain reaction of undesirable emotions such as loss, sadness, and powerlessness. The opposite of regret is contentment, and you surely can have contentment without regret. I can see how people would argue against me, so I'll just refute them now :) . If someone does something atrocious, such as murdering someone, and they have enough humanity in them to regret it, the regret may cause such levels of depression that suicide is the only way to escape its torments (which is what I believe is the case with most murders that are followed by suicides). However, if one skips the regret phase, one can recover mentally and their conscience will overwhelm them with a need to redeem oneself. Without regret clouding one's mind, one can make amends, or plan to make amends, instantly. The main thing about regret is that it always pertains to the past, however recent. One can learn from a mistake without regret, and one can make up for a mistake without regret. Remember, acknowledging a mistake is not the same as regretting it, because nothing good can come from regret.

Perhaps dreams are just recent, random occurances, or they may help us gain insight into our deepest feelings and thoughts. However, I now remember why I started on dreams in the first place, and I accidentally went into it too far, while I really hadn't put much thought into it. My true train of thought was somewhere else :( The good thing is that I remember why I got into it :) . The thing about dreams is that they relate only to you. Nobody will ever be able to invade their sanctity, and the only way they can hear about your dreams is if you tell them. What I originally had pondered was the value of what only you can know, unless you tell someone else. Every thought that you do not divulge to someone else is yours, utterly and completely yours. All other sources of knowledge; books, magazines, movies, other people, can be made available to you, and have already been conceived of and expanded on. Sometimes, I wonder if anything I have ever thought about has not been thought of before, and that makes me feel less important and insightful. As a person who thinks of himself as intelligent, that thought really gets to me. I've thought about creating stories, worlds, and/or situations in my mind for the sole reason of having something truly unique to me to pride myself on. I could always start a journal or something, but dealing with things that happen to me or thoughts about things that happen to me seems superficial. I suppose other people can convince themselves that they are unique because the combination of their experiences produce a final form that is impossible to reproduce, but if taken apart, I cannot think of any experience that has happened to me that anyone who exists or has ever existed has not had happen to them. Even now, I feel as if I'm giving up a piece of my own uniqueness in hopes of personal mental growth, which throws me right back into the crowd where everyone else wants to grow also. So you see, dreams are a small part of my larger thought, which I believe has more depth. I'm sorry if I change subjects, but I wanted to clear my mind by resolving my earlier thoughts. I don't know of anyone who has ever had the above concept before, although I haven't looked, but I hope it stimulates conversations that may not have been thought of before.

Hi, I'm new here. Being a person, the occasional thought crosses my mind. However, sometimes I find I'm afflicted with too many thoughts to handle. In order to get them out of my head, I've decided to put them here so I don't lose them, and perhaps they can be expanded on. I'd talk to people about them, but I have trouble getting comfortable around people, and giving them a peek at my innermost machinations seems a bit too intimate. I hope to get input on my thoughts, and will try to keep them on fairly neutral ground so as not to let too much emotion cloud responses. The most recent thought that I haven't lost and am willing to share deals with, well, thoughts themselves. I find that before I go to sleep, my level of insight increases dramatically, perhaps do to my body being in a very relaxed position, freeing up resources for my overactive mind. During one of these occurances, I was pondering truth and reality. Those of us who have a belief system of some sort surely devote parts of their mind to faith. The thing about faith, in any religion, is that it cannot exist if it is proven. To know, without a doubt, how to obtain your best possible afterlife would require no self-searching for truth or questioning of your religion. This does not mean that you cannot believe, with all your heart and soul, that your religion is true, but basing that belief on evidence would destroy one of the most essential parts of religion; faith in the unknown. Those who have no religion, correct me if i'm wrong, would probably consider themselves at the center of the universe. If you believe there is no life after death, then life must be spent with the knowledge that your own life is the most important part of you. If you recognize yourself as all-important, then the most sacred knowledges must be gained through life, and true insight must also be gleaned from the unknown, because the most sacred things are those not easily obtained. This brings me to dreams. Surely, there is no mortal that exists or has ever existed that knew all of their dreams. Dreams come from your most physically inactive state, and while the mind rests, it does not stop working, therefore thoughts and feelings that come from such a state must originate from the most easily accessed parts of your mind. I have not read any dream interpretations or anything like them, mostly because this is a basically underdeveloped thought. However, since everyone's brain is wired differently, I don't think fitting dreams into a certain category is the best way to find the truth in them. Truth is a sacred thing, and can only be found from within yourself, whether it is a communion with a greater being, or a communion within your own mind. With all this in my mind, I currently believe that you should take the dreams you have and see if they apply to what thoughts or emotions have been recently predominant in your mind, or even ones that have been pondered for a good deal of time and have taken permanent residence in your mind. I thank you for listening, and would appreciate any input. If my thoughts seem incomplete, or, well, thoughtless, it may be because it's 2 A.M. and I'm not exactly lying down half asleep :) I may remember other things later, and I'll try to post them here to see if anyone can help me push them around. Thanks again :)