Re: Off-topic? physical pain vs. suffering (was Re: MD MOQ and The Problem Of Evil)

From: ml (mbtlehn@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sat Aug 21 2004 - 17:09:49 BST

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    Hello Chris:

    > Interesting. I've been noticing the same thing, starting from a very
    > different angle: connectionist artificial intelligence.

    mel:
    This IS intriguing, probably off topic, but can you give me references
    to check this out or we could communicate off line unless others see
    this as appropriate.
    It raises a question, AI, as an entre into DQ-SQ from Physical to
    Artificial-Social and Intellectual as an alternative "evolution" in the
    data/information theory world

    >
    > Based on some theorizing I've done about how parts of the brain share
    > information, I decided that the root of all unpleasant feeling
    > (suffering) is mental tension: when part of the brain is confronted with
    > something it doesn't expect. Release of tension is pleasurable. Note
    > that unexpected sensations from the body can cause this kind of mental
    > disagreement: physical tension can cause mental tension, which may be
    > why electric shocks are so unpleasant (and may have some interesting
    > implications for repetitive stress injury). Sometimes we learn to
    > appreciate the tension when we know it'll be released: humor and
    > learning on the mental side; being tickled and sex on the physical side.
    >
    > Anyway, I applied this theory, and found that if something is causing me
    > physical pain, bringing my brain in line with what's actually coming in
    > from my body makes most of the feeling go away. It even works on
    > ice-cream headaches and sensitive spots on my teeth.
    >
    > What I do is, I assume that the injury is causing more muscle tension
    > and other sensations than I expect, and I try to imagine what's actually
    > happening (what signals are actually being sent) and tell my brain to
    > expect them. It's a bit like learning to see one of those two-way
    > drawings. And it seems to work.
    >
    > One way to deal with mental tension is dissociation: just make the
    > disagreeing parts of your brain stop talking to each other.
    > Dissociation is usually not healthy, though it can be adaptive. But I
    > don't think what I'm describing here is dissociation.
    >
    > Hope this is interesting, and maybe even useful...

    mel:
    Yes! this is interesting. You have given me insight into something I
    tried to explain to a doctor in a different way. He thought I was nuts to
    turn down pain killer after knee surgery.

    I used a clumsy analogy for stating that pain killers usually reduce
    my overall capacity for awareness, which makes the sensations
    about my surgery or injury a larger part of my experience of
    "all of which I am aware". Your description is more lucid than my
    "reacing into the experience" attempt.

    Regarding dissociation, and your statement helps me place this in
    an MoQ context, I believe that pain looked at in this manner is the
    opposite of dissociation.

    Try this: Dissociation turns away from the quality of the ongoing
    NOW, and retreats into a static quality model of preferred illusion.
    Full bore attention on the sensation of "pain" is in fact leaving the
    S-Q assumptions about it "that everyone knows" and embracing the
    full Dynamic Quality of what is flowing into experience Now.

    thoughts?

    thanks--mel

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