"Is it oblivion or absorption
when things pass from our minds?
- Emily Dickinson
Thomas Moore says when some new thought, feeling, or notion presents itself, we can't forget it or overlook it.
When we have invited it in or agree to live in its company, maybe then it won't be such a preoccupation.
It will be forgotten - not exiled into oblivion, but absorbed into being.
I'm pondering this over - where will they be absorbed? in the brain? in the mind?
meanwhile would love to know what you think.
When we have invited it in or agree to live in its company, maybe then it won't be such a preoccupation.
It will be forgotten - not exiled into oblivion, but absorbed into being.
I'm pondering this over - where will they be absorbed? in the brain? in the mind?
meanwhile would love to know what you think.
36 comments:
EXACTLY. As a wannabe writer, the minute I come up with an idea, I SHOULD write it down, but sometimes I don't and I forget it forever...it's sad, really.
Thoughts are like a river. We can dip but not absorb all
i believe they are absorbed,, as so many things come back.... and often the most in opportune times... like uncle said... when you haven't the time or the materials to notate them properly....
like song lyrics,, or poetry,, or words from a movie... one day they just pop back into being... i love that....
i think new thoughts and ideas are absorbed into the mind... filed away until they are needed or something triggers them to come forward...
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There's a notion that thoughts and memory do not evaporate we just loose the link ...
like losing the URL to a really good blog, or when you can't remember the name of that great song you used to hum all day long.
As to where they come from and where they go, that is still the great unknown. PS - Great Pic.
Random, Some thoughts do strike us right between the eyes, Some are inspirational and will change our lives
But it seems we spend our life between creating those memories we want to cherish all our life, and those memories we'd like to shed
Uncle Phatato: The worse is when just before sleeping or when you are half asleep and half awake you get this fabulous idea and you think that you should write ti down but are too lazy and you instruct your mind that it's remember when you're fully awake but it's still forgotten
Peter Haslem: I know and I keep thinking all of the thoughts I've thought that seemed so real at one point and now I can't even remember - where are they?
Paisley: I wonder if there is a hidden room in the mind/brain whatever you call it and whiffs escape when some thing triggers a lost memory
insanity-suits-me: It'd be so fascinating if they were actually not sent into oblivion but in the brain lurking around somewhere
Sonmce: Thanks for stopping by
QUASAR9: That's what I'm debating in my head about. If they are still in our mind where would they be? But then the whole question of brain versus mind would open up the Pandora's Box
I agree with insanity-suits-me. I think everything is absorbed, and stored away. Things surface, sometimes on demand, and sometimes very randomly. I have had ideas strike me while walking down he street. I keep a pen and scrap of paper handy for those moments. The thoughts that occur in the twilight of sleep, argh. I cannot make myself surface long enough to jot THEM down.
I'd say it's just like you're so comfortable with the thought that you don't have to think about it any more (...'absorbed into being.')
It's like when you resent someone, they say, pray for that person. I know it's the hardest thing to do outside of space walk, but when you do, that person (or the thought, for that matter) ceases to be a preoccupation.
It's out of your 'conscious' system.
He or she will not be forgotten, but you've just accepted them by actually praying for them, thus anything about them will not be bulldozing your mind any more.
You're free.
Thoughts are a river that flow along. As we think new things, that flow goes in a slightly different way.
I agree with DAWN right now, but I am going to take some time to sit and think more of my own answer... be back ....
I'm sure everything is absorbed by our mind/brain. That strange electrochemical reaction that takes place with everything we experience!
Rebecca:
But where do they go?
Zakman:
I don't know there are so many things that we will ourslves to forget and we do succeed but are they sent into oblivion or do they wait for any opportunity to spring into consciousness to torment us?
Jean-Luc Picard:
As long as they don't come back
meleah rebeccah:
So am I... I'm quite confused about this myself
....
Epimenides:
All I've thinking about is this; the nature of mind, hypnosis and the end of things when they are past and what we do with them to handle them. Especially when they are things which oppose the very mettle of us
I like Peter's answer. As to your question to him "where are they?" - well maybe there are always "there" in space, floating around waiting for our brainwaves to pick it up and process?! Hhmmm... interesting topic! :)
the real mother hen: Cool...like a store where all unclaimed memories hide until they are reclaimed
ahh girl thoughts r like the wind, they come and go!! its like that to me :) sometimes i can make a whole dialog with myself in my head and when i try to put a pen to paper i get lost ... i dont know how to express my thoughts... sometimes i cant even remember them... :D
What a challenging concept!!
I do think it is all filed away, absorbed, some segments of thought buried deeply, other more pertinent bytes of information closer to the surface and easier to access.
All on a 'need to know' basis...
until they are triggered and released...
What great questions to ponder, Random. I was joking at work today that my brain had hit "information overload". Really, I think I was just tired...
But its facinating to explore if, where, when, HOW we compartmentalize and store information for later retrieval. How do we prioritize the thoughts/memories in terms of accessibility? There's the obvious idea that if we know we have to remember something - like for a test - it is stored somewhere more readily accessible. But what of the seemingly passive thoughts or experiences that we have that somehow emblazen themselves on our gray matter...? What a great topic! ...as usual...:)
I agree with your true words:
...'It will be forgotten - not exiled into oblivion, but absorbed into being...
A good post Random Magus.Good luck.
Our brains are sponges. Even if we think we forgot, we really haven't. It is still there the problem is our crappy recall and selective memory. :o)
Great thought provoking post. Well done.
wow - very interesting
I think some thoughts and emotions we welcome in like friends and enjoy spending time together.
Other stuff we shun like an enemy knocking at our door. Problem is I think they are always there knocking if we ignore them! I find it best to let them in one by one. Behave yourselves and form an orderly queue!
confessing7girl: I guess some are absorbed and others thrown away.
The Domestic Minx: I wonder if we'll ever find out the workings of that process
HollyGL: Maybe our brain does spring cleaning as well. Keeping some stuff in case needed in the future and throwing away stuff not used in a long time
Surjit: This was said by Thomas Moore in explanation to Emily Dickinson's lines. Moore is a writer and lecturer who used to be a monk for 12 years
Titania: I have been accused of selective memory a couple of times myself ;)
Lirun: I know... I have been constantly thinking about it.
Mike French: I like that... I will try it, wonder if they'll listen though
I think my mind's too full already and my brain has holes in it so I'm gonna vote for oblivion! LOL!
I was so sad after your comment. I totally understand the trauma of such an event. I'm just so glad you didn't get hurt in it.
P.S. I haven't forgotten that you tagged me for the 8 random things. Honestly I'm trying to come up with different things - something I haven't already shared on my blog. I'm almost there!! What a procrastinator! LOL!
I think thoughts and ideas are gifts. If we overlook them we may be overlooking an opportunity to create, change, or learn something useful. Have you ever looked back on a thought or idea, and realized the significance of it later? I believe thoughts go into our subconscious or soul then tap into our conscious. That's when we need to be worthy of their existence.
Great post!
I love thought provoking passages like that! Thanks for making me THINK! :))
Ann
Interesting question. I don't think we ever forget anything, however there are times when we forget where we stored the information.
We tend to remember what is important to us.
I hope it's into my stomach, because I'm STARVING.
Time to go make a PB&J sammich.
Looney Mom:
It was really horrible I was so upset about my books and my clothes everything went up in smokes. But it was a miracle that I wasn't home though!
Blog Author Ann Clemmons:
Thank you. It's happened quite often to me, I ignore an idea and discover later that I should have paid more heed to it.
Mark:
It's crazy but the things that we'd rather forget stay pretty fresh.
Diesel:
As long as you don't forget to eat :)
Wonderful question. I find that thoughts sometimes come in waves, one upon the other. I guess I don't tend to worry about catching everyone or where they go, but riding the right ones. If I pondered every thought I had and tried to contain it, I think I would go absolutely mad in a very short period of time. Right now I think I'm hungry, so I'm going to eat.
It'd be so cool if we had a secretary inside our head who would do all the filing and keep things organized and in alphabetical order - to be pulled as and when required.
Amber I have been thinking about this for DAYS. I don't think there really is one answer. I think it may be a little bit of all of these answers together?
I believe it gets absorbed because one will never be the same after it is internalized. Example: When one has a problem (e.g. depression), after he/she ACCEPTS that fact, then he/she can work on healing and dealing. The acceptance is absorbing and incorporating into the being which causes the change.
Meleah: I'm wondering as well - although I do know if I consciously try to not do something I'll want to do it all the more but if I don't think about it or give myself instructions it becomes easier to let it go.
Jeff: It looses some of its power after it meets no resistance
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