# Wow. I get it. This is great! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104 "2008-03-12T14:02:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/41 "2008-03-12T18:11:09Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] No, I don’t think so. Sounds pretty weird. It almost sounds like panic. I’ve had times when I’ve had so many thoughts running through my head, so many epiphanies, that it was hard for me to function. Is that kind of like what you’re talking about? It’s kind of totally opposite of what I experienced this morning. [/QUOTE] That’s the one – it’s like “hey! look at that ground! It’s made of pulverised stones, and those stones were made by tiny pieces of sand pressed together over long periods of time or fired in volcanoes and THAT SAND came from OTHER rocks” and “my hands! Look at that amazing infinitesimal pattern of lines and wrinkles connecting the hair follicles! The uneven curve of the cuticle! It’s all whole and one piece and it keeps everything inside!” and “This shirt! I can feel its texture ALL OVER MY BODY!” and et cetera and it’s all happening at once, rushing into my mind, making even walking or talking about as easy as juggling nineteen chainsaws and four pineapples at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/42 "2008-03-12T18:16:30Z")
I find the concept utterly depressing, **tdn**. If we focus only on now, there’s no room for reflection or hope. Our ability to think of both what was and what might be is what sets us apart from the less intelligent species. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/43 "2008-03-12T18:24:52Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] I find the concept utterly depressing, **tdn**. If we focus only on now, there’s no room for reflection or hope. Our ability to think of both what was and what might be is what sets us apart from the less intelligent species. [/QUOTE] You can still reflect or hope whenever you want. You can make that choice. But most people do nothing BUT that. (Or the opposites, regret and fear.) The sad thing is, their heads are never truly in the now. They know how to be human, but they’ve lost the ability to be animals. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/44 "2008-03-12T18:25:12Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Meh. It’s all Satanism. [/QUOTE] Entropy requires no maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/45 "2008-03-12T18:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=Heffalump and Roo] Thanks for explaining that so well. I sometimes try to get others to understand the feeling and they look at me blankly or with that awkward silence. You did a good job describing the feeling. [/QUOTE] Why thank you. 🙂 Obviously some people still aren’t getting it, but it’s a pretty alien concept to most people. I was pretty resistant to it at first. I tried explaining it to a coworker, and she knew immediately what I was talking about. She just gets more awesome every time I talk to her. I should probably charge her for that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/46 "2008-03-12T18:32:31Z")
Wonderful. Now you need to go buy [this watch](http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/the-time-is-nigh/now-watch-is-always-right-278824.php). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/47 "2008-03-12T18:41:30Z")
I am so getting that. On Mondays I can wear it upside down! ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/48 "2008-03-12T18:44:25Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > And what does it weigh? [QUOTE=tdn] It’s heavy, man. [/QUOTE] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/49 "2008-03-12T20:20:45Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] 😃 [/QUOTE] Glad you liked that. I’m off to the dentist. Let’s see if I can achieve a state of enlightenment while getting a root canal. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/50 "2008-03-12T23:21:10Z")
Can’t say I’ve ever experienced this nirvana of which you speak. I don’t hold out any particular hope that I ever will, all things considered. But, you never know. ---
**Author:** ![ThirdCultureKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@ThirdCultureKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdCultureKid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/51 "2008-03-12T23:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=Little Plastic Ninja] It’s like “hey! look at that ground! It’s made of pulverised stones, and those stones were made by tiny pieces of sand pressed together over long periods of time or fired in volcanoes and THAT SAND came from OTHER rocks” and “my hands! Look at that amazing infinitesimal pattern of lines and wrinkles connecting the hair follicles! The uneven curve of the cuticle! It’s all whole and one piece and it keeps everything inside!” and “This shirt! I can feel its texture ALL OVER MY BODY!” [/QUOTE] Dude, take another toke, then come see this _awesome_ crystal I have. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/52 "2008-03-13T00:02:57Z")
**tdn** , I’ve had this growing sense as I’ve read your posts of the sort of person you are, but I’ve chosen now to let you know how incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking I find your observations and advice. This importance of the present moment is perhaps one of the single most life-altering realities I have personally encountered, and sums up what I love about Zen. It’s important enough that I had word _impermanent_ tattooed on myself in Sanskrit. Impermanence is the same thing as the present moment, which is the same thing as self. I never really understood the way these all interact until I read _Moon in a Dewdrop: The Writings of Zen Master Dogen_ for a Japanese lit course. Zen Master Dogen talks about the concept of Time-Being, which, once you understand it, is a total fucking mind trip. [QUOTE=The Time-Being] The way the self arrays itself is the form of the entire world. See each thing in this entire world as a moment of time. Things do not hinder one another, just as moments do not hinder one another. The way-seeking mind arises in this moment. A way-seeking moment arises in this mind. It is the same with practice and with attaining the way. Thus the self setting itself out in array sees itself. This is the understanding that the self is time. [/QUOTE] Nothing is more important than the fact that the only real thing is now, that the self is at once everything AND this moment. Knowing that is sublime joy. Thank you so much for sharing your personal joy – I will always celebrate it right along with you. I can’t help it, you rock too hard. Happy now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/53 "2008-03-13T06:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=ThirdCultureKid] Dude, take another toke, then come see this _awesome_ crystal I have. 😃 [/QUOTE] This is why I don’t do drugs, yes. 😛 I can make my own bliss! **tdn** , good on you. It’s a wonderful feeling, when you get it. Cultivate it and let it help your life get all the better. ---
**Author:** ![JustThinkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/54 "2008-03-13T12:34:38Z")
Life is good. What’s for lunch? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/55 "2008-03-13T12:43:47Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] I think the best answer I can give you is: I’m eating chocolate. It’s yummy. … How will you know you’re enjoying it? I think the big dumb shit-eating grin on your face will clue you in. 😉 [/QUOTE] I think maybe someone switched your chocolate bar while you were turning off your brain. Does it have nuts in? Corn? Seriously though - Yeah, I really think I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s for me. I mean, there are times when I like to just _be_ (sitting in a shaft of sunlight in a forest glade, just letting the sounds, smells, sights, etc wash over me), but for the most part, thinking is something I find immensely pleasurable - wringing the last possible drop of understanding out of things. That’s fun too. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/56 "2008-03-13T12:59:30Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Seriously though - Yeah, I really think I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s for me. I mean, there are times when I like to just _be_ (sitting in a shaft of sunlight in a forest glade, just letting the sounds, smells, sights, etc wash over me), but for the most part, thinking is something I find immensely pleasurable - wringing the last possible drop of understanding out of things. That’s fun too. [/QUOTE] I like doing both. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/57 "2008-03-13T13:01:25Z")
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th] **tdn** , I’ve had this growing sense as I’ve read your posts of the sort of person you are, but I’ve chosen now to let you know how incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking I find your observations and advice. [/QUOTE] That’s so sweet. I like you too. 🙂 The thing that sucks about this state of mind is how little I want to actually do any work. Oh well, time, to pull myself out of bliss and earn a living. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/58 "2008-03-13T13:17:46Z")
_Pffffffffp_ _cough - cough_ _" 'Ear, finish this off if you want."_ Seriously though, I have been studying the Tao for 3 months now. Still not past the 22nd verse. I do understand the sensations you are describing. It is an emptyness and a fullness at the same time. And yet it is neither; Because emptyness describes a vessel in the past Waiting to be filled And fullness describes a vessel in the future Overflowing with experiences. It is the realization that the glass is not half full or half empty But that the glass is a glass. The experience of “now” and total immersion into the present, Remembering the past yet living like it never happened, Embracing the future yet never worrying about when it will come, Indeed accepting the future as an uncertainty no matter what plans have been made, Putting all of this aside and simply being aware of time flowing over you Like the gentle waters of an endless river Allows one to draw refreshment, nourishment and healing, Life itself, From the endless flowing river. It is nourishing to stop and drink the water, But first you have to stop. I’ll stop now, carry on then. _- The Tao of N8_ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/59 "2008-03-13T13:34:12Z")
[QUOTE=nd\_n8] _- The Tao of N8_ [/QUOTE] That’s great! I’d describe it more as being in a waking dream. Life is like a huge puzzle where all of the pieces fit, and I’m just floating through it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104/60 "2008-03-13T13:46:12Z")
I **did** hear rumours of some powerful new hydro on the streets… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-get-it-this-is-great/441104.md?page=4)