The (involuntary?) attraction of negativity and what to do about it?

It's bit of a conundrum i think, people seem to be hopelessly attracted to negativity in the media, and on this board well... ahem it is a conspiracy-board so yeah, negativity flows freely on this board but that is pretty inherent to the kind of site this is.

I'm someone that has conspiracies as a hobby so i'm as much a part of it as the rest of everyone that is hooked on this 'drug'. Only even conspiracies can be met in a positive attitude, the problem is that those topics, well bleed to death miserably in the basements of the internet.

If you take into considerance that the Law of attraction could be true the massive concentration on the bad stuff and the neglect of the positive possibilities into the future could be pretty much catastrophic

The future is not set in stone and the psychological propaganda aspects of any conspirators doing the planning and the execution is, in light of a possible LOA, at least as important an aspect as the rest of it. But if you look at topics that try to be positive they just wither and die due to lack of food. It is not a self-deluding act to try and fantasize a nice and bright future instead of fearing what may or may not even be true.

So just for a few hours a day, try and be positive about the future. It couldn't hurt.

Thank you, drive through!

[size=0]*waiting to let this one sink with his buddies

reply to post by Harman


I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's your reaction to these bad things floating around out there that matters, not the bad things themselves. If you see something that upsets you on ATS righteous indignation will do you no good. Stars and applause don't translate to RL, sadly.

So take what you learn from ATS and use that knowledge in a positive fashion, such as keeping yourself from being scammed, or from falling into the propaganda matrix. If you're really ambitious you can do things mentally and physically to improve things locally. If you percieve ATS as a learning experience rather than confirmation of what you knew all along, which is the world isn't fair, the NWO is real, your votes don't count, etc etc etc, then it's not really negativity.

Now bring on the stars and applause!

reply to post by Harman


Entropy: that's the true name of Satan, if you ask me.

Sorry for being so curt, it's only because of my present time constraints.
Great thoughts, BTW.

Well, i think that your approach is a healthy one. Just.....
You see, there was a thread in which OP asked to post prophecies of the future (90 days span) with the aim to see what percentage will be close. So i read the posts - doom,gloom,ww3,apocalypses and such and decided to be positive. Read several negative titles in news site, and made them positive plus some other points .Like - Russia and Georgia will negotiate mutual agreement (made on 17/7/08). Positive? Positive. Result - op"posit"ive. Now there are two months remaining and other positive points that could become something else.
I am trying to say that failing to predict/describe negative event is not that bad. This is what could be appealing to the people.

Thanks for the replies people!

Any tips on how to get this gloom/doom boat turned around? I'm all for leading with example ( just being positive in a thread that promises death and destruction for all or something) Or something like: www.abovetopsecret.com... Maybe? 1 hour a week, doesn't hurt and maybe even beneficial for the mental health

Being right is not always a good thing .

Anyway, speaking metapsychologically ( ) is it possible/plausible that some force is tinkering with the natural global (un)consciousness so to keep the vibrations low (as in the pessimistic realm). In itself it is not very unlikely really if you take into account that people with internet are in the range of top 10 percent of the richest people around.

The western world has it relatively great but the rest of the world where it does not even have the relative (but pretty bleak) greatness of the western world hunger/death/lawlesness/war/other stuff that does not help in being happy with people. If 60/70% of the population lives in those conditions people will be hard pressed to break the barrier so to speak. But it is not impossible so just try to be positive without being delusional. Or what the heck, be (subjectively)delusional for about an hour a day just to bring a positive outlook of the future. It does take some intention ofcourse but it doesn't hurt.

[edit on 1-9-2008 by Harman]

reply to post by Harman

Anyway, speaking metapsychologically ( ) is it possible/plausible that some force is tinkering with the natural global (un)consciousness so to keep the vibrations low (as in the pessimistic realm)....

...Or what the heck, be (subjectively)delusional for about an hour a day just to bring a positive outlook of the future. It does take some intention ofcourse but it doesn't hurt.

I'm not very familiar with the concept of metapsychology - so I'm not really sure about your question

if you had a quick, simple kindergarten example of what it means - I'd really appreciate it

but - if I get the basics of your question - I've seriously begun to wonder about that myself

I believe the collective unconscious exists - and I've wondered if we're all just feeding into it and off of it

so is all the negativity our perception or our creation? or as you're suggesting possibly from an outside source?

in your opening post - concerning the negativity - and the lack of attention optimistic threads receive - human nature seems to dwell on the negative - but I've always wondered if it isn't a necessary reaction - a way of thinking up the worst case scenario in order to prepare for it - even if the problem doesn't exist

maybe it's just our problem-solving nature

I'm no good at conspiracy theory - at least - I could never really contribute in any useful way - looking at the levels of thought and detail that go into the threads I've read through here at ATS

the one thing that always strikes me when reading some of these - no matter how plausible or implausible the scenario - I seldom hear the "best laid plans of mice and men..." angle

in other words - it's not just that optimism seems to be missing - but that there seems to be a willingness to really believe in an all encompassing power - or even evil power - that's impossible to overcome

insurmountable odds - an enemy so solid - so cohesive - so organized - so brilliant - that the final outcome of their plans is a foregone conclusion

so, I really see what you're getting at - the percentages - of negative to positive

but even just in the realm of the negative - a certain willingness to believe that our enemy (whoever that might be) is infallible - and that all is lost

that almost bothers me more

assuming our enemy is human - they can be outsmarted and out-played

if not human - then the first part of your question becomes more disturbing

on a lighter note - I agree with you completely - whoever is up for it - counteracting it all with some on-purpose positive energy is not going to hurt anything, may actually help - even if only helps the people involved become stronger

I'm even up for a chunk of time every day - even if it's only 10 minutes

good thread - star and flag - and thank you




[edit on 9/1/2008 by Spiramirabilis]

Originally posted by Spiramirabilis
I'm not very familiar with the concept of metapsychology - so I'm not really sure about your question

I thought i made it up, and i did make it up but it is a real word so it seems . And it fits pretty good although not exactly. I ment mass-psychology (in a supressive manner). Like tampering with the mass-consciousness is mass-psychology (in this case in a bad way). So, i short, mass-psychology is the word i was thinking about but the combination of metafysics with psychology was to tempting, sorry about that.

On the rest of the reply: Thank you! It was a pleasure to read. Just be positive every day, it doesn't even have to be in meditation. You know, yesterday i tried to visualize myself as a grandfather or at least as an old man. The space above my eyes (where the third one is suposed to be)just went all tingly. I think that is because i never contemplated the possibility that i will be an old man. Friends of mine are the same way with pensions, i had to fill something in for the pension that i get with my work and a good friend of mine just said flat out that he just winged it, we will not get old. And he is no conspiracy-addict whatsoever.

So deeply is the negative aspect ingrained that through the mass-consciousness people will 'know'stuff they never looked up. That really jumped up at me and from that moment on i kept on bumping into information that was talking about the same thing, so yeah. Being positive will help with making this world a better place, and not only for the people directly around you, it reaches further than that.

Originally posted by Harman

Originally posted by Spiramirabilis
I'm not very familiar with the concept of metapsychology - so I'm not really sure about your question

I thought i made it up, and i did make it up but it is a real word so it seems

...

...You know, yesterday i tried to visualize myself as a grandfather or at least as an old man. The space above my eyes (where the third one is suposed to be)just went all tingly.

...Being positive will help with making this world a better place, and not only for the people directly around you, it reaches further than that.

yes - it is a real word - which is why I asked - thanks!

went to the Great Google for an explanation - and saw myself being sucked into 2-3 hours of reading :-)

which normally I enjoy - but - have other stuff I'm working on

you're reply made me smile

makes me want to spend the rest of the day making my third eye all tingly

Originally posted by Spiramirabilis
went to the Great Google for an explanation - and saw myself being sucked into 2-3 hours of reading :-)

which normally I enjoy - but - have other stuff I'm working on

you're reply made me smile

makes me want to spend the rest of the day making my third eye all tingly

Heh, i know what you mean , and getting your third eye all tingly is pretty fun/nice really, i wonder if i can train it.

reply to post by Harman


Don't be negative about negativity! Treat Mr Negativity as your friend!

The mindsets I hear you describing, that you call 'negative', I consider to be limited spirals of conclusive thought. For example, if you start worrying that everyone is going to be rounded up in FEMA camps, you start seeing the actions of the world in that light. Facts start to fit, determinably, within that context. Actions and possibilities, also, become limited by that same assumed context.

These are things to learn from! Without invalidating any way of looking at the world, we can observe that certain mindsets lead to certain interpretations of 'facts'. BUT, we can also observe that there are, very often, multiple ways of looking at the same 'facts'! To say that one is entirely 'right' and the others are 'wrong' -- well, that's negativity: a mistake, in my opinion.

So, we can move our intellects beyond a single, static way of viewing the world, without having to deny any possible insights that may be gained by a particular 'reality tunnel'. To do so, one must not get 'caught in the spiral' of a fixed mindset, or make the mistake of discarding all fixed beliefs as relatively invaluable. It's our perception, where we decide to apply consistent concrete thought, that gives form to our interpretative realities. Thus, by perceiving, and acknowledging limited 'negativity', we can transcend it and continually grow ourselves.

It is all a learning experience.

Originally posted by Ian McLean
reply to post by Harman

 

Don't be negative about negativity! Treat Mr Negativity as your friend!

So, we can move our intellects beyond a single, static way of viewing the world, without having to deny any possible insights that may be gained by a particular 'reality tunnel'. To do so, one must not get 'caught in the spiral' of a fixed mindset, or make the mistake of discarding all fixed beliefs as relatively invaluable. It's our perception, where we decide to apply consistent concrete thought, that gives form to our interpretative realities. Thus, by perceiving, and acknowledging limited 'negativity', we can transcend it and continually grow ourselves.

It is all a learning experience.

Thanks and i agree, negativity as a possibility can be a lifesaver, but negativity as the only focalpoint is a recepy for doom (self-fullfilling prophecy and all that). But disasters, starvation, war, and other unadulterated forms of negatively inclined views of the world and the future of/on it sell. In the Netherlands itself there where multiple times that hey started a 'positivity channnel' on TV. None of them survived for even 6 months, it got ignored. The world at large is addicted to emotions and maybe because of the general lack of love in the world people just grab any emotion they can get and are used to?

reply to post by Harman

Ho, and also hum.

There's no big deal about it. It's just that bad stuff is more interesting than good stuff.

How many novels, movies, TV shows etc etc have you seen where everyone is happy at the beginning, more good stuff and nothing but good stuff happens all the way through and, at the end, they all live happily ever after?

Answer: none, nada, rien, zilch. Because there aren't any.

Even Winnie the Pooh stories have conflict and controversy in them, for heaven's sake.

Unless there's something wrong that has to be put right, a problem to be solved, or an unhappy person has to go in search of happiness, there's no story. As long as everything is going well, there's nothing to think about. Nothing to pay attention to.

Without conflict, trouble, misfortune and all the other things sententiously labelled 'negativity', life would have no meaning. We might just as well be dead.

EDIT TO ADD

If you take into considerance that the Law of attraction...

There is no such law. It's just wishful thinking for losers and lazybones.

[edit on 3-9-2008 by Astyanax]

reply to post by Astyanax


Well, ok, thanks for clearing that up . But i'm not convinced. The whole Law of attraction is not a lazy-mans solution for things because you still have to put work in it to get it realized, but that is really besides the point in this thread, maybe the other one is better suited to reel against the percieved non-existance of that one.

Anyway, i know that it is more interesting for the population at large but WHY, the fact that it is is not an explanation of why it is so. Grass is green because it is not purple is not an explanation of why it is green. 'Interesting' is a subjective term for things that hold interest or intent it does not clearify the reason of why it is just that.

Originally posted by Harman
But disasters, starvation, war, and other unadulterated forms of negatively inclined views of the world and the future of/on it sell. In the Netherlands itself there where multiple times that hey started a 'positivity channnel' on TV. None of them survived for even 6 months, it got ignored. The world at large is addicted to emotions and maybe because of the general lack of love in the world people just grab any emotion they can get and are used to?

Sure, that kind of focused attention, "putting on the blinders", yearning to perceive the world only in a single way, rallying around the shocking -- that SELLS. That's its job.

The idea of a 'positivity channel' is funny. It seems to me a byproduct of a dualist outlook -- where positivity is simply the other face of the coin, symmetrical with negativity.

Is that true? Well, who can prove it? However, try thinking of these 'negative' worldviews as small regions of chaos in a larger 'positive' landscape. Diversity is a 'positive' concept! Try this analogy, for example: think of news reporting as going to a restaurant. Now, there's lots of types of food out there, of many different varieties, but would you prefer to go to a restaurant that served all of them, and attempted to blend the atmosphere and presentation that culturally goes along with every dining experience, or would you like to sample a variety of restaurants, each focusing on a particular type of food from a specific culture? Even if the actually food-product quality were the same, the coherence of experience, the unique atmosphere that could be presented, would be more 'focused' where specialized.

There is value to be found, in the coherence of context that can be attained, by what you ignore. That can be realized without having to imply that what is being ignored is being devalued. Same thing with the emotionally evocative -- 'negative' news reporting -- when seen in a larger context. It's not 'bad', per se, in itself.

What I think can be bad is the willful propagation of ignorance, the elimination of perspective. But isn't that like the fact that a knife can be used to cut, or craft?

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by negativity on a daily basis in our lives whether it be the media, on the internet in forums or out and about living our lives. The thing that I feel we should do is to recognize when we have approached or are confronted by a situation that is "negative", and not analyze it to bits and pieces, but to move ahead without becoming attached emotionally to the negative.

In other words, see it, know that in fact it is negative and move past the situation, i.e. recognize that yes, it is negative but not pay too much attention to it. We all live either too much in the past, or conversely too much in the future.

What we should be doing is living in the present moment. Without the present moment, we would have no past or future. We are very emotionally driven beings. Don't get me wrong, being passionate about certain things is healthy for the spirit, such as giving without expecting any form of emotional payback.

As far as the media: We all fall victim and sometimes get hooked on misfortune and misery that are not our own, creating guilt and misplaced empathy, that is why I feel that these subjects "sell".

Step back, turn the channel, reply to the negative post and reinforce your belief that there is, and should be more good in the world, then move on.
Don't spend time wallowing in the negative...creates physical illness as well in some of us that are prone to negative stress.

In some circles, I feel the media has some good intentions, but for the most part they are "big business" and those businesses don't really care about the state of the world today as long as there are little kids trapped in wells or kidnapped or left in cars in southern states due to the ignorance of the parent or parents. I have children and those are the stories that stir guilt and empathy in me.

Be the Change you wish to see....
You may not see results worldwide inside 2 weeks, start small and just have hope for the future, that is all we can do.

Originally posted by Ian McLean

The idea of a 'positivity channel' is funny. It seems to me a byproduct of a dualist outlook -- where positivity is simply the other face of the coin, symmetrical with negativity.

But is it really symmetrical in the media? I believe that people could be just as happy or happier even if the media would put a barage of happy stuff on the tube instead of news shows filled with death, destruction and deception all around. So let's say the media is the egg and we are the chicken; who was first?

Do we dictate the egg or does the egg dictate us? At this moment it is said that we get what we want T.V. wise but isn't the case that we are used to what the T.V. shows and LEARNED to like it? I'm not saying ban the negative stuff because tinkering with television WOULD cause the riots some would have liked to see against goverments worldwide.

Is that true? Well, who can prove it? However, try thinking of these 'negative' worldviews as small regions of chaos in a larger 'positive' landscape. Diversity is a 'positive' concept!

That would be so if the balance was there. In my daily life there is not a lot of perpetual negativity going on but on the tube, yeah there is more negative stuff than there is positive so is diversity in negativity also positive? We as a species are pretty much hooked on tv, now it is shifting to the interactive media (internet) but still there is the focus on dread and doom (ok, and porn, lots and lots of porn ). But i have to say that the 'cure' is just that, the internet where everyone can make their opnion known to the world at large just like the MSM does, on a smaller scale as of yet but the potential is there to get 'Internet-famous'.

Try this analogy, for example: think of news reporting as going to a restaurant. Now, there's lots of types of food out there, of many different varieties, but would you prefer to go to a restaurant that served all of them, and attempted to blend the atmosphere and presentation that culturally goes along with every dining experience, or would you like to sample a variety of restaurants, each focusing on a particular type of food from a specific culture? Even if the actually food-product quality were the same, the coherence of experience, the unique atmosphere that could be presented, would be more 'focused' where specialized.

Hm yeah, but when everything the restaurant serves is steaming heaps of negativity it doesn't matter wich restaurant you walk in, your so hungry you'll eat everything! Then it doesn't matter if you choose the 'drive by shooting salade' with the main course of 'double political scandals special' and a 'child-abuse sunday' to fill in the gaps. because the rest of the menu is pretty much the same.

There is value to be found, in the coherence of context that can be attained, by what you ignore. That can be realized without having to imply that what is being ignored is being devalued. Same thing with the emotionally evocative -- 'negative' news reporting -- when seen in a larger context. It's not 'bad', per se, in itself.

But when it is steered into a certain direction it could be made 'bad'

What I think can be bad is the willful propagation of ignorance, the elimination of perspective. But isn't that like the fact that a knife can be used to cut, or craft?

Yeah, the knife could be used for both sides of the coin and i'm not even saying that it IS the way i suspect it is but keeping the options open is always a good thing and like i said, the same thing is happening here when you look at the topics, MSM doesn't have a direct influence here but the residual influence could still be lingering and people go with what they know without trying something new? Or we are just disaster-tourists and nothing that can be done about it. Although, a kid seeing something shocking is pretty much inclined to cry but when we grow older we are used to the same thing that made us cry or feel bad so how is that possible without some nudging? Heck, people can even get immune to HIV, so why shouldn't the psyche have a equivalent?

And yeah i know that there is an off-button on the thing and i do use it, but i still see around me that there are a lot of us that are still glued to the thing. For me it is not a lot better because i'm pretty much glued to the keyboard but yeah, small steps i guess .

reply to post by Frank_Rizzo


Totally agree Be the change you want to be, don't linger on the negative things too long and show people how to smile once and a while .