Ego reactions on discussion boards

Sort of. I think a lot of people play the act of knowing, trying to talk like gurus, but end up saying almost nothing in the process because they leave in so much ambiguity as part of the act.

The "everything's a paradox" spiel is trotted out so many times, but it means so little; if everything's a paradox, we and everything else in the universe are part of that paradox, and so really it shouldn't affect the answer to any question that we ask within it.

 

Another aspect of ego reaction has to do with images.

Creating an image
Protecting an image
Defending an image
Correcting an image

How do you see me? Does it match how I see myself? Is it favorable? Unfavorable? Do you like me? Do you dislike me? Do I like myself? Do I dislike myself? I want you to see me this way not that way. Etc.

And we react to images, our own and others. We react to perceptions. And the reaction COMES FROM the image that we think we are. Images reacting to images, perpetuating images and image-making.

And it REALLY bothers an image when it's not perceived correctly. There's this need to SET THE PERCEPTION STRAIGHT, to make it match the one that we see. And if it can't do that then it takes the image-making process underground and stews on how miserable it is.

And it all seems so serious. So important. How we're perceived. How solid and intact is our persona, our mask.

And it's weird when the realization comes that... if there's no image to protect then what is there? what's left to contend with? if there's no more concern with other people's perceptions of "you" because you no longer protect some image of yourself then perceptions just fall to the ground, like ropes that were once bound around a body that has since disappeared. There's nothing left! It's freedom.

 

Good freedom though? If you stop caring about something, it doesn't affect you if you lose it, yes? You could say that about a lot of things. If someone no longer cares if they live or die, who cares if they die rather than live? Answer: everyone else. Dying may be ascending to another plane of being or whatever, but allow oneself to die can be an extremely selfish act.

And as for not caring how other perceive you, there's still the thorny matter of others caring how you perceive them. If you don't care how you're perceived, what's to stop you saying exactly what you think in a situation when the only appropriate reaction would be to keep the peace or keep quiet? You don't care what they think of you, so why does it matter if they hate you, right? Don't we need to care what others think of us in order to know how to behave ourselves? There are people who physically cannot register pain. Sounds great, right? Well no, they spend half their lives bumping into things, burning themselves by mistake because they don't realise it, biting themselves in their sleep... the end result isn't some superhero who never gets hurt, that's for sure!

You probably think people who care how others see them don't see the big picture, but I don't know; what's the point in seeing the big picture if you alienate yourself from those who maybe don't quite see it, or see a different picture? And of course, what if you're wrong? If people who want others to like them turn out to be wrong, no big deal, because it only affects them. If people who don't care if they're liked are wrong, they've potentially pissed off a lot of people for no good reason.

I don't know, that's just my view. Caring what others think of you goes hand in hand with them caring what you think of them. I don't see it as rising above these base concerns to just opt out. It's not like any of us can say that we tried caring and it didn't work, so we quit. We quit for other reasons.

 

Thinking a bit further on the general issue, what's the point in discussion if you consider ownership of an opinion to be a bad symptom? Surely you could have a just as good a discussion in your head?