Monday 14 August 2017

#219 A swan and a dove

On one of my typical journeys through cyberspace today, I came across not one but two splendidly perceptive works of non-fiction.

The first was a video called How To Feel Your Emotions by Teal Swan. I couldn't tell whether Ms. Swan had come up with the moniker herself or if her parents had mistaken Your Ultimate Guide To Garden Ornaments for The Big Book Of Baby Names.

Nor could I tell how a lady of some evident intellect had managed to find herself believing in the pseudo-scientific concept of vibrational frequencies but had also attracted an audience who tolerated and maybe even bought into her musings on it. Still, as she walked along the line between psychology and spirituality, I got a sense that some of her more sensible observations might have had some merit. Fruitcakes are mostly flour and sugar but they do contain some small pieces of fruit.

The second was an article entitled "It's a Postrealist world" on the website for The Institute of Art and Ideas, which I'd also found for the first time today. The article highlighted the prevalence and dangers of dogmatism among both the religious and scientific communities. While the article's underlying mechanics would be intelligible to a seven year old, the author had expressed them so deliciously eloquently that I immediately favourited the IAI website. I'd encourage anyone who might be entertained by a collection of free philosophical articles to take a look.

5 comments

Fizzfan said...

Good stuff Teal, lots of really valid observations, but by the end I'd decided I'd rather not be hit by Trucks every day.
Can't imagine how tiresome and tiring it would be embrace your emotions all day. Not sure I'd get out of bed to even have a day. I must be suppressed or raised by awful parents but learning to suppress feelings is a very useful if not crucial tool to living outside of a hippie commune.
Always fancied it, but ya know real life got in the way.
Quite surprised she didn't mention humour? Is that good or just covering up?

Profound Familiarity said...

Humour can be either. At times it's an authentic expression of emotion, like crying. At other times, it can be an awkward attempt to bypass the seriousness of a situation.

If you're not ready to get more in touch with your emotions, I think that's quite normal. A lot of people live their lives that way, myself included.

Fizzfan said...

If I'm really honest, I was thinking in terms of living a life where you embraced them rather than fought them. Most of us find ways of keeping them under wraps because they're embarrassing and annoying.
One of my friends laughingly gives me tissues before watching crud like the X Factor because beautiful voices always make me blub....Olympians getting their medals.....Acts of great kindness or sacrifice....Even huge fireworks displays! It gets worse the older you get.
Also for guys, surely all the most celebrated heart throbs are all tough guys with immense emotional problems who've become very skilled at hiding their emotions?
Like a lot of things, there's a time and a place.

Profound Familiarity said...

Yeah there is an allure about people we don't understand, who tend to be the ones who don't wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Fizzfan said...

I just thought about an Indian guy I work with who's REALLY uninhabited about what he talks about and how he's feeling. He even posted on Facebook the first time him n his wife got back to nuptials after having their baby. He's absolutely hilarious. Another great one was when he earnestly asked if a manager had gone for a Pooh when she'd left the meeting for a few minutes.
He doesn't do it for effect, he just doesn't have our English sensibilities.