31 March 2008
My first essay for Knowledge and Inquiry!Not counting the one I wrote while sitting for the selection test.
I am not terribly proud of this, but that is alright! I just want to see it archived here for future reference so maybe I can have a chuckle or two as I look back.
Introspection is a process. It is not immediate and, more often than not, is time consuming. Introspection is the act of observing one’s own thoughts and feelings. It is a self-reflection of personal cognition and emotion.
Knowledge is most commonly explained as what is both believed and true. A source is defined as a generator of sorts, from which other things originate and are initiated. Synthesizing the two, a source of knowledge is a producer of what we know without doubt as a fact.
Knowledge can be derived from introspection. This source stems from the fact that by reflecting, we uncover deeper understandings of our own thoughts and actions that would otherwise have been left unnoticed. By introspecting, we are able to reorganize and prioritize our tasks, creating greater efficiency and productivity. In the same way, we can better manage our emotions and utilize them for our advantage, to be more assertive, more sociable and even more respected.
Introspection generates knowledge only to the extent which the realizations can be applied in other occasions.
Socrates once said: An unexamined life is not worth living. By this testimony alone, we can establish the great importance that is placed on this process of self-discovery by at least some people in society. Introspection is a skill that separate humans from other species of animals. This ability has contributed, if not entirely, significantly to the rise of morality. Our very early ancestral homo sapiens behaved very similarly to animals. Behavior was guided on instinct and base emotions. With introspection, however, these animalistic instincts gradually move away from rage or jealousy, greed or lust. The phrase, think twice before you speak, portrays this notion of how introspection will allow the individual to remain calm and take stock of one’s emotions before speaking, or acting, for that matter.
On the other hand, complications may arise from this self-reflection. An individual’s turmoil could be aggravated by seemingly unanswered questions. For example, a depressed man sinks into self-pity as he unsuccessfully attempts to come to terms with his current situation. Each consecutive dive into his emotions leads him closer to despair, to the point where he may take his own life. On the other spectrum, an insight meaning a lot to the person usually is accompanied with strong conviction. This is not terribly bad, unless the person has a skewed aspiration that is controversial to societal norms. Serial murderers usually fall into this category, convinced that they would be happy while causing hurt to countless others.
Over the generations, emphasis on introspection has been growing. Nowadays, more and more people keep journals, diaries or even web logs to catalog their daily mundane affairs to inner struggles. Unwittingly or not, they indulge in a form of self-reflection. They process their every day experiences into knowledge that they are able to utilize for the future. Therefore, indulge in a source of knowledge too.
30 March 2008
I remember you told us, to always make time for God. God will do the rest. I remember.
28 March 2008
Oh well, I guess I will have to sacrifice my airborne course to go for the Leadership Training Camp, which I suspect will be some what similar to all my previous training camps.The things I do for my new school.
No more far-fetched wishes of jumping out of a plane with a chute for this year.
24 March 2008
In your head, in your head,Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
19 March 2008
Consciousness.You can neither touch nor hear nor smell nor taste nor see it. Intangible. But still you know it is there. Some things simply do not have to be proven to know to be true.
Just thinking about it, the fact that there is consciousness and that we can be aware of our surroundings is amazing. What are we? A construct of different systems and organs within a body? A combination of many different specialized cells fitted together? Protein, fat, water, glycogen, and what not lumped together? Carbon, calcium, oxygen, and other elements? Fundamentally, we are just an agglomeration neutrons, protons and electrons.
And for some absurd reason, we were arranged in such a way that we are able to think, to learn, and to remember. Most strikingly, we are sentient.
Hello there, you, the one made of little sub-atomic particles, can you help but feel amazed at this miracle?
18 March 2008
After a hiatus, I decided to blog on some thing that just happened to be on my mind right now. Talk about spontaneity!What is stress?
In physics, stress or pressure is the amount of force per unit area experienced by a body. In linguistic terms, to stress a word is to place special emphasis when otherwise not singled out. In a cognitive and emotive sense, stress is manifested psychologically as tension or strain.
Where does psychological stress come from?
Stress stems from worry. Worry stems from ignorance. If an individual is absolutely sure about he was doing, the person would not worry, and there would not be stress. Likewise, if the same person treads on territories he is unfamiliar with, he would be subject to worry. The worry of possible failure. This worry leads to stress.
For example, an average man holds a scissors and cuts a piece of paper. True, there is a danger of inflicting accidental injury on himself, but the risk is negligible and hence the man knows what he is doing, and does not worry about the danger, and has minimal stress.
Imagine the same person now at the bow of a ship. Instead of guiding a pair of blades across a white sheet, he now has to steer an unfamiliar vehicle through choppy waters and storms. Here, there are definitely more factors affecting his probability of success. Since he lacks the knowledge in this field of navigation, he will be fearful of the countless possibilities he could sink the ship. People fear what they do not understand. This fear will induce stress on his psychology.
Is stress self-inflicted or externally imposed?
This also leads to the question, can stress be prevented? Recall that stress does not exist by itself. Stress is caused by worry, and worry in turn is generated by ignorance. Understand that there is too much knowledge in the world to fully understand in a lifetime, and we will always be ignorant in one way or another. That would mean we have to try working on worries instead. But worry, can one let go of worries?
Why is there worry? Because people dream. Because people hope. Because people aspire to achieve. Surely if you do not have anything to live for for tomorrow, you would not worry if you were faced with a death sentence today. The fact that people have a destination they intend to reach, creates the prospect of dropping out halfway through the journey.
Compare Ash and Bob. Both of them water their flowers every day. Assume that the sole reason of Ash is purely routine, and that Bob wishes to see the flowers bloom. Their motives are different. However, Ash has no end in mind whereas Bob has already set his goal. Would both worry if the flowers withered and died? Only Bob would worry, because that would directly lead to the failure of his task. Ash had no objective hence did not worry.
Coming back to the original question, do we have the power to control stress? The simplest answer is yes. In a given situation, remove all your relevant wants and settle into a state of tranquility. Of course, such a bold action comes with serious consequences. The onus is on yourself to weigh the benefits and detriments of such a decision.
You have a given task, complete with a deadline. As you approach the deadline, ask yourself, do you want to meet the standard set? Yes, and you would have to deal with the limited time and the chance that your assignment still becomes overdue. No, and you can relax, but will have to face the consequences such as demotion or retrenchment.
So what is stress, really?
Stress is really subjective to the pertaining situation. Stress can be good and bad. Working under stress can make people be more observant, more focused, more productive. On the contrary, stress can lead to breakdowns and giving up all hope. Having no stress is likewise a double-edged sword. Without stress, people are relatively relaxed and contented. On the other hand, people may tend to be unmotivated.
So as always, it depends.
05 March 2008
He was happy with just eating, sleeping and playing.But his life was not to be.