On Thu, Apr 26, 2018, 3:38 AM Vani Murarka <[email protected]> wrote:
> > ---2--- > > The media cannot resist tapping into our fear instinct. It is such an easy > way to grab our attention. In fact the biggest stories are often those that > trigger more than one type of fear. Kidnappings and plane crashes, for > example, each combine the fear of harm and the fear of captivity. > Earthquake victims trapped under collapsed buildings are both hurt and > trapped, and get more attention than regular earthquake victims. The drama > is so much stronger when multiple fears are triggered. Yet here’s the > paradox: the image of a dangerous world has never been broadcast more > effectively than it is now, while the world has never been less violent and > more safe. > Entertainment preys on an evolutionary reward mechanism that boosts happy chemicals when an imminent danger is avoided, or at the very least keeps one riveted to whatever is going on. Fear and lust are the best ways to grab attention, even nature TV channels sprinkle gratuitous shots of snakes with this intention. This is such a reptilian, amygdala pre-brain thing, that this age is in danger of seriously retarding or regressing human evolution. The human brain needs to be rewired to survive this age, or many will soon check out on drugs and other short cuts to stupor. Trump's election and the resultant endless news cycle shot cannabis sales through the roof in the US. The day is not far when one in two will use drugs at least periodically to deal with the world. I foresee more and more drugs becoming socially acceptable recreational pursuits. No grabbing plot line can exist without some conflict, so the violence has gone from battlefields and famines into our minds as we consume fear and inadequacy all day long. The net suffering remains the same, it's just at this abstract level, where everyone struggles to be happy. Happiness is considered some Holy Grail of the times, like a full stomach was in British Raj era India. Whereas happiness should be the normal condition of the human. The US even settled for the pursuit of happiness, as if it's always only available tomorrow. The pursuit of happiness is much the same as the pursuit of a full stomach, little else can be done in life without it, but unlike a full stomach it's not easily attained. Go about it in the wrong ways, and one harms oneself and others. Yogic practices involve a lot of austerities and penance, because it rewires the brain to appreciate there's true pleasure in pain, and very real pain in illusory pleasures. Anyone who's run a marathon or even a 10k can tell you it's not madness that makes them nearly kill themselves, it's a quest for some inner calm. The calm comes from learning to appreciate the battles of life as necessary and energizing. In the near future, or even today, in some parts of the world, the only people who can be truly happy will be those who are prepared to work for it. Who've overcome their reptilian instincts and exhibit greater will power. The time for hard work has never been greater than today when we have leisure. >
