And Diasporic Africans are suffering from Stockholm's Syndrome.



I'm about to piss some of you off. But the truth is the truth, and I challenge anyone to a debate. No matter your degree, theology, or doctrinal beliefs, if you believe you are sane and functioning normally as a human being, ! challenge you to prove it.

For you are sorely mistaken.

A psychosis is defined as, simply, a break from 'reality'. Reality, however, is defined in multiple ways. But dictionary dot com says it is 'the totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence'.

Ok then. Now that the battle grounds are settled, these are the rules: Civil discussion only. We are trying to arrive at an understanding. That is the nature of debate. Not to see who wins, but to determine what 'reality' is.

For me, my statement is 'reality' For others it may be blasphemy or insulting. Once you get over your anger, use that energy to defend yourselves and your reality. Or, do what you normally do, ignore it. Ignore me. Act out your psychosis. Ignore reality.

Bury your face in your bibles and Qur'ans. Turn away from the light of Truth, and embrace the darkness of ignorance. Hide from yourselves.

Religion is a psychosis because all those who partake of it take themselves out of the equation of 'everyone else'. They are no longer 'the same' as the neighbor, and so their neighbor is 'not' their neighbor. Because he is Lutheran, or Mormon, or 7th Day Adventist, and you are Baptist or Catholic or Hindi.

See? Psychosis. As soon as you take on the mantle of your religious beliefs, you disassociate yourselves from everyone else except for those who think like you do. Who believes what you do. Unless of course you don't discuss religion, like one doesn't discuss politics. Which is another example of psychosis.

They believe their 'bible' is the 'word' of God. They believe it is divinely inspired. They believe this despite all evidence-or even the appearance of evidence-to the contrary. They believe it despite the fact that their neighbor believes the same thing about his 'qur'an'.

How, then, can one expect to function normally, when, by virtue of your very belief, you do not associate with 'infidels' or 'heathens'? When, not by example of what is 'real', but because of what you think?

Does a brother become not a brother because he chose to murder? Because he chooses to drink to excess? Because he is violent? Because he prefers men instead of women? Does he become not a human being because he is or does something you cannot agree with?

Does the lady next door, never known or met before marring into your family now become your sister/mother/daughter? Is she now more than she was before because of what marital traditions says? Because of what you, she, and everyone else now thinks? Does the ring make it 'real' or the paperwork?

Do you see? How the mind changes and ones boundaries change with it? Hate is a thin line so subtle as to not even seem real at times. It is called patriotism. Or 'race', which in reality is cultural distinction, and not genetics. See? even science suffers from a psychosis, and as a result, all those who trust in it absolutely, suffer as well.

Every thing that defines, separates, or segregates one person from another, for one reason or another, based upon one's mental impression or thinking is the very definition of a psychosis: a (mental) break from (physical) reality. The only race on earth is the human race. There are no genetically distinct 'humanlike' animals that humans cannot mate with.

Neither does Arabian 'muslim' or 'submission' to Islam separate Arabs from Americans or Christians as humans. Neither does a Jewish state of Israel in the cultural home of the Palestinians make 'real' the prophecy of Judah and the Lost Tribes of Israel returning home.

These are all examples of psychoses. Common psychoses suffered by common people. Resulting in war, slavery, and both economic and social stratifications or 'classes'.

Simply put, the state of the world is the result of a massive world wide psychosis.
Yes, in a sense, this world wide psychosis a good thing. Necessary even. Otherwise the world would be a very different place.

If, all of a sudden, the veil was dropped, and all individuals of the human race knew the nature of their relationship to each other, their would likely be chaos.

The homeless man would know he was denied his home because of another's greed. Not because, as he as so long thought, he is a social and economic failure.

The poor man would know that he suffered his poverty, that his family suffered poverty because of the oversight of others. Mainly the leaders and formers of his government.

The rich man would know that he has made others to starve, to go without so he could have more than he needed. How another suffered for want of a drink, or a meal, or a safe place to sleep. The guilt would burn alive his soul.

The guilt would burn alive the souls of many. Simply to know exactly what the consequences of their actions were. This is the main reason why we suffer this world wide generic psychosis. We hide our faces from the fact that while we eat, others do not.

This is why we get so angry at God when such times fall upon us as individuals. The world seems so indifferent. Family and friends are all too busy or too broke to come to your aid and assistance. So you plead with God, and when God doesn't seem to respond, we despair.

It is then that we are forced to sit and think on our situation and circumstances. Why is this happening to ME?! Why, Lord, why?

Why indeed. It is because when the world calls for help, you did not respond. When you see a homeless man, and you know his 'reality': No food, no money, no means. Save for the kindness of a stranger. And still, you pass him by, thinking he's at fault.

When you see a single mother of many, standing in a grocery line, counting pennies and which items she can afford to buy, and you can see her 'realty'. How she struggles to keep the bills paid, the family fed, her mind, and her job. With or without a husband. And yet, you let her walk away without a word.

Is it your duty to help those you know stand in need? Yes. For this is your reality. You desperately wish someone would come to your aid, every time you need it. You pray for it. You hope for it. You trust God for it. You cling to it like it is your sanity, and sometimes it is. Yet, no one comes to assist you.

How else is God to deal with people who do not think they need anything? That they are better than, more important, more special than the next person? How else should God deal with the financial wealth of televangelists except to let the world see their weaknesses? The flaws they claim to not halve? To enable them to see the flaws in themselves?

And even then, sometimes, it does not work. They blame it on the 'devil', instead of taking responsibility for their activities. Seeking the forgiveness of a God whom they know sees and hears all. A God who knows they lie. Yet and still, you hide from reality. From the fact that you are responsible for what you say and do. Your love of self or hate of another will be what proves you as worth or unworthy.

Religion is like a psychosis because it provides individuals with a means to escape their fears. To escape the 'reality' of this world and its conditions, and the conditions of the people within in. Themselves included.

They seek God, not in wisdom, but in the interest of self-preservation, as is often the case. It is usually when the stresses of their environment are nearly getting to them. When the structure and form of their sanity starts to crack under the pressure.

They seek an outlet for this pressure. Their worry. Their fear. Their guilt. They seek to hide from the ugliness that surrounds them, the hopelessness they feel, their despair in order to find a reason to keep going. TO keep living. Or to not eat themselves alive with questions they cannot possibly get the answers to. So they turn to a trusted source-religion (usually not specifically God but a doctrine about God)-and abdicate all personal responsibility for self and neighbor.

They disassociate-or mentally break away-from reality, in order to allow themselves to function in it. And as such, embrace psychosis. So if you've ever wondered what what wrong with the world, there you have it.

Any takers? Anyone up to the challenge? Be sure you read this carefully. Find the flaws and expose them, or establish the foundation of your own position. This is more than a battle of wits. It is a test of sanity. Your sanity. Or, if you prefer, mine.

I can take it. But can you bring it? Rise to the challenge. Defend yourselves. Prove me wrong. Or right, as the case may be.

Part two: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome or the Black Stockholm's Syndrome.

Stay tuned.

soul

Hey soul_doctor73:

good topic to chat about brother.

but methinks you have pretty much run the gamut on the discussion and done a great job of setting perimeters.

I love philosophy. But I will keep it as simple as i possibly can.

I will only deal with 'reality'.

To me reality is where you are standing this very second, the very instant without regard to anything or anyone else. Everything beyond that is a part of my memory has to be taken as faith that it will be what it was when i was last there. but the only truth is right here in the present space.

psychosis
[1847, "mental derangement," from Gk. psykhe- "mind" (see psyche) + Mod.L. -osis "abnormal condition." Gk. psykhosis meant "animation, principle of life."]
1. a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality.
2. any severe form of mental disorder, as schizophrenia or paranoia.


religion
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME religioun (< OF religion) < L religiōn- (s. of religiō) conscientiousness, piety, equiv. to relig(āre) to tie, fasten (re- re- + ligāre to bind, tie; cf. ligament) + -iōn- -ion; cf. rely]
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects:
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices:
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience:


belief
[c.1175, replaced O.E. geleafa, from W.Gmc. *ga-laubon (cf. O.S. gilobo, M.Du. gelove, O.H.G. giloubo, Ger. glaube), from *galaub- "dear, esteemed." ...by 16c. become limited to "mental acceptance of something as true," from the religious use in the sense of "things held to be true as a matter of religious doctrine" (c.1225).]
1. a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing;
2. something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group;
3. conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon, especially when based on examination of evidence;
4. A persuasion of the truth, or an assent of mind to the truth of a declaration, proposition or alleged fact, on the ground of evidence; distinct from personal knowledge.


evidence
[1382, from L. evidentem (nom. evidens) "perceptible, clear, obvious," from ex- "fully, out of" + videntem (nom. videns), prp. of videre "to see" (see vision). Evidence (c.1300) is L.L. evidentia "proof," originally "distinction." After c.1500 it began to oust witness in legal senses.]
1. that which is evident;
2. that which is clear to the vision or understanding, and satisfactory to the judgment;
3. a means of ascertaining the truth of any alleged matter of fact under investigation;
4. means of making proof;
5. that which furnishes, or tends to furnish, proof;
6. any mode of proof;
7. the ground of belief or judgement; as, the evidence of our senses;
8. your basis for belief or disbelief;
9. knowledge on which to base belief.


To be updated later...

Now...Upon close examination of the above definitions, it should be clear that one cannot mathematically equate "religion" with "psychosis", due to the fact that in relation to each other one acts as "cause" and the other manifests as "effect".

It could be argued that "religion CAUSES psychosis", and there is certainly room for serious consideration of such an argument. But is it true for "all" religion?

If, for argument's sake, it is true that NOT ALL religions "cause" psychosis, yet someone insists to the contrary, against the Truth; would not such one be manifesting a form of "psychosis", himself?

If there were a "religion" which stressed the study of Creation and the Laws that Govern it as a Guide for Living and as verification of the Truth of its contents, could such a religion reasonably be said to "cause" a psychosis? How could the Study of Universal Law and Truth, which is the Basis of the Universal Order, induce a mental "disorder", when the Mind is Designed to function on such Truth?

RM

RM

I like this. Thank you.

I would not agree that religion as a cause for psychosis is 'true' for all religion. But if you are using 'religion' in the theological or doctrinal sense, then yes, all doctrinal religions cause a psychosis.

On the other hand, religion is also defined as 'a cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.'

Such a 'religion'-such as the search of truth-would not cause a psychosis. In all truth, I believe such a pursuit would identify the cause of a psychosis, as well as understand the nature of psychosis when it is encountered. Such as the example I provided between Muslim and Jew or Christian and American and Iraqi or Cuban.

What is evident as Universal Truth is our absolutely identical set of environmental circumstances. We are spiritual beings in development. Whether or not you agree with what we are in development for, one must agree that it is development, even if in the guise of evolution from the point of view of the atheist.

We are all earthlings, all bound by the same biological rules and regulations, and thereby confined to the same beginning and ending. It could be debated to no end what fills the in between-which is why we are having this discussion in the first place-but it must be from common ground: Humanity.

It cannot be denied. Universal Truth Applies To All Humanity Equally.

I specifically try to deal only in Universal Truth, as that is my aim, my cause, my principle, and goal pursued with conscientious devotion: My 'religion'. But not a doctrinal religion. Not a statement of beliefs. It is Evidence of Actuality. What is and is not so. Whether abstract or physically observable. The pursuit of that evidence. All things are knowable. Only the mind which refuses to be objective would say it is not so.

Why I elaborate to such an extent is to ensure you understand what I mean.

I am not talking about a culture, nationality, or skin color. Not even dominant planetary life form. I mean ALL sentient life. All thinking beings in All of the Cosmos.

The reality is we are all one people. Genetically, reproductively, and biologically. We should therefore be all of one mind. All of one 'religion', that is conscientious devotion to Universal Truth. Only that Truth which applies to everyone. With or without belief.

We are, as human beings, being petty. We are children in a sand box, fighting over dirt dirt. Never understanding that we are all in the same box. It is all the same dirt. And when we finally come to our senses, we will all step out of the sandbox into the same playground.

Our universe. It can't be denied that it exists. Maybe we don't know what it is out there for, but, like I said before, that is debatable. But you can rest assured, on everything that is, was, and shall be, that it applies to all, universally and equally.

So if we stopped with the 'my religion is truer than yours' routine, we could actually begin to make some headway into discovering our true natures, rather than being fixated on appearances.

Do you understand what I mean? This is not about winning a debate against all comers, but an effort to convince them of their lack of higher comprehension. Like trying to tell a child, a two year old child, that candy isn't all that good for you. That if you eat too much you'll get sick, fat, etc....

They can't comprehend that. What it is like after you get sick. After you are fat, and you can't take all the candy back.

This is very much like that for me. Not that you are that two year old child, but to wake up one day and realize that everything that came before was child's play. How can I make you understand the clarity? The supreme peace and freedom found in understanding that there is something more for you? Something more than what you have been told? More than what you believe? Knowing what that something is?

Wouldn't you like to be free? Unfettered, unbound, unrestricted by such horrendously flawed human understanding? Not yours, but take a look around you. Just look, you have to be able to see it. All of the empty lives that surround you.

Computer, speakers, monitor, keyboard, all made in a place and by someone you have never seen nor met, nor ever thought or cared about before today. Everything is like this. EVERYTHING. Clothes, car, house, you name it. We are surrounded by the spent efforts of people's lives. We buy them everyday, and don't even realize the lives that touch us, that we care nothing for. That we think nothing about.

But people who live and feel and struggle the same way you do. That is why I do this. I can't stand the indifference we display. You shouldn't be able to see another human being and not care or be aware of them. You shouldn't be able to sleep in peace with the knowledge that others are suffering. But we do.

Maybe I've said too much. I tend to be long winded, but for some reason no one can see my passion, my pain. My incredible desire for unity. For an end to this crazy world we live in. For the beginning of Justice and the end of Unaccountability.

They can only see
What could be
Considered
Insanity.
Or a lonely


soul

Ok then, fine. If you feel like I'm leaving out the important part about *how* and *when*, well....prove your desire.

Then I'll tell you how. Otherwise, it would be a frustrating waste of my time. People are just not serious. You must be involved. You must want to be involved. You have to involve yourself. There is no free crown or halo, people. Believe that. If there was, you would already have it.

You earn it. One way.
Or the other.

Seems to be a psychosis shared by a great many folks then... You realise when you start thinking EVERYbody else is crazy it might mean something else lol

religion is really a phsycosis, an escape from reality like already stated.

my aunt, this women did every thing according to religion and God, every damn aspect of her life she's pray about, even prayed before buying stuff in the market.

one day some dude was preaching on t.v she touched the screen to gain some blessings and lost her mind after that, she just stopped functioning well anymore had to go into some kinda institue for 2 weeks.

funny isnt it an escape from reality? but it was the same religion that brought her back to reality... she went mad. that was her reality. where was god? who knows. GOD dosnt fucntion they way we view him to be, we all assume, its like we mold him to be what we want him to be. we dont know shit. i'll say stop praying so damn much and see whats going on around you'.

if i was GOD id be pissed off with people constantly bothering me with every little detail of thier lives. you got people praying before they take a dump. its crazy. especially with africans, nigerians to be exact. they cal themselves prayer worriors. yea right go box the devil for a mistake you made in your past things have a way of comming back and bitting your ass, they fight the devil physcially punching the air and crap like that.
this thread was a good read for me by the way it highlighted somethings i went through.

Peace and Guidance, Beloved One.

I am glad that you were able to find some useful information here. I hope it makes the things you might go through in the future easier to bear.

Blessings,

soul

Of course I do realize. I stated as much. But it is my effort to identify the psychosis where it exists, not to imagine it where it doesn't. I set fine examples I believe, to support my point of view. If you believe me to be in error, do submit your evidence.

But I don't think everybody is crazy. I'd just like to find one as 'crazy' as me.


soul.

most of this is way over my head, i am a simple man.

one question popped up in my spirit...how can someone ever believe that you can "escape from reality". by all the standards and reasonings i have met, 'twould seem ultimately impossible since i think we are talking absolutes.

a drug addicts problems don't go away when he/she fixes....

No, the problems do not go away, but the burden they place on your mind does.

An 'escape from reality' is not called 'entertainment' by modern day standards. We goto movies, out to clubs, out to the beach, for walks, all to 'escape reality'.

That is when loneliness is a reality, or if anger is a reality, or if unhappiness is a reality.

To be even more forceful, reality is what you 'think' it is. So when you are unhappy, you think unhappy thoughts. You then do things to change the way you are thinking. Some people drink. Some go for a walk. Some talk to others. There are a number of ways we each deal with our 'reality'.

But 'personal reality' is different from worldwide reality, or what I might term 'actuality', in order to differentiate between the two. Actuality relates to those things that are happening, that are 'real' despite what we 'think' of them.

Starvation in Africa is an Actuality. It is actually happening, right now this very moment. A tree is actuality. All things that can be touched, tasted, or handled in someone belong, in some form, to actuality. What is said to be a tree in English is another word in French, but it is still defining the same thing: Actuality.

Personal reality may not take into account those things that are happening and that exist outside of our scope of interest. That is why religion can be a break from reality in that it changes the way a person thinks. Changes how they define themselves, how they view themselves. It makes them think they are something else, whether or not what they think is 'actuality'.

For instance, the doomsday cults of note where members kill themselves with the belief that they are going to be taken up on a spaceship or will be liberated into a particular form. It is a good example of 'psychosis' since no one in their 'right' mind would believe such a thing. But that is one person on the outside looking in.

It is much the same with conventional religion. Most people don't like to have that pointed out, as it is an 'extreme' view, but it is 'actuality' regardless of what one may or may not think of it. Religious doctrine does change the way people think, and that thinking process is most often aimed at their environment, their being, and those in being around them.

I may be a little long winded here, but I hopefully you get my point. There are minor degrees of 'escape', just as their are major degrees. We all have a point at which we 'think' that what other people 'think' is 'crazy' or 'outside the realm of normality'.

For some polygamy is normal, for others it is an evil. Still for others marriage and the sex act somehow 'spoils' the spiritual development. We all believe different things, but the reasons why we believe what we believe is the point. Why. Why. Why. That is the answer.

Doesn't make sense? Think about it. Why do we do anything of the things we do? Because it is either necessary, or we believe it to be. So it is with religion.

soul