Culture Vs. Reality

[chefranden]

Please look at this illustration first.

 

Why do we do this? Why do we lie to ourselves, and then believe it?

 

I think that most of the participants in this forum have had the experience of waking up to the self delusion of religion, but does that mean that now we are no longer deluded? If eliminating one delusion is good, why not work to find others and eliminate those as well? Or is delusion our natural state? Do we just go from delusion to delusion? Life is a delusion, and then you die?

 

Another Example (video 47minutes)

 

I put the question as, "are you only fooling yourself", but perhaps it is too much to ask of the individual. Perhaps it is too difficult to give up or even find delusions because delusions tend to be collective.

 

What lie am I believing today?

[NotBlinded]

I can't really watch the video at work but based on what you said, it reminds me of ancient wisdom found in Hindu (maya), Toltec (mitote) and even in the Genesis creation story (knowledge of good and evil).

 

This is when the mind believes in lies or illusions. These illusions are what we believe about ourselves and others.

 

I really don't think there is a way to get rid of them other than accepting that they are just our perceptions and stories about the world. Don Migel Ruiz calls the story of our lives art forms and they are to be respected but not accepted as truth. If we can understand that they aren't really truth, then we won't be so quick to judge.

 

The collective lie, or illusion, is the most dangerous. No one knows that it is nothing but ego on a grand scale.

[Amanda]

Chefranden, unfortunately my computer doesn't have sound, however, I did see these advertised versions vs. the actuals, and watched some of the movie on lending institutions. It's right, IMO, in that a delusion is created where it seems the consumer is buying into the perception, it becoming their reality, when it seems to me another perspective could be a reality that would be much more beneficial to the consumer.

 

It seems to me that these sited incidences are the creation of a predominantly capitalist society. Perhaps it is time for the pendulum to start to swing in the other direction now. I suppose we are sold a perception and usually are working so much, we don't have time to question it.

 

Mortgages have become the biggest joke. All the interest is front loaded in payment structure, the average person sells their house every 7 years, so the lender basically gets almost all his initial loan back PLUS all the payments he has been collecting. His total investment is always securely collateralized. Refinancing is encouraged to start the front loaded cycle again. Has it always been this way?

 

Credit card companies prey on emotionally compromised people, with rates escalating to as high as 26%, and dare have the nerve to be immune from bankruptcies! They manage to enslave so many people this way, and want to keep them as their slave for life!?!! Hey, credit card companies, consider the risks like the rest of businesses have to do so! Apologies for all my ranting...

 

Here in Florida, I saw the initial rise of timeshares. I thought that would never work! Who would collectively pay $500,000 dollars for an $80,000 unit, plus yearly upkeep expenses too? Well, it's spreading like wildfire down here! It appears we are fed a perception, it becomes our reality, and we eat it up... when if we actually looked at it from another perspective, we'd be making better choices for survival. I still don't understand how we went from our money backed by gold to our money backed by what... nothing? How can we stop the tidal wave of capitalism creating inappropriate delusions? One way, IMO, is to change our motto from "consumer beware" to "integrity in businesses."

[R. S. Martin]

Chef, I looked at some of the illustrations. Took too long to load all of them. I don't get how your question fits pics of food. One reason I hate to eat out is because I don't know what the names and pictures mean. I want to know what my teeth will be biting into and what my tongue will taste. I also want to know what it will do to my body. In my culture, we never went out to eat. When we were served something new at the table we could ask what it was and expect a list of ingredients that was meaningful in comparison to what we were normally served. We might get ourselves a sample of something, then go home and make something that resembled it but tasted lots better. I've been off the farm long enough by now, and I've been taken out by people often enough, that I have acquired a taste for some of the things such as hamburger buns. If your question literally means how would a person from another culture respond to the foods listed in that illustration, you have your answer.

[Piprus]

It's a great thought, Chef, but this crap has been going on for a long time.

It's basically the artist's conception of perfection against reality. Oh yeah, those magazine-glossy portraits of those fast-food dishes don't compare to what you really get at the counter. The object is to get you to turn loose of your money to buy into that ideal, and make a profit for the company that tries to sell it to you. Just the same, the pictures of the models in the magazines, hawking designer clothes, fragrances, and even beer, don't portray life as it really is. Honestly, is the average consumer of Budweiser a nubile 21 year old female with a perfect figure? In a word...No.

 

I don't think of it as delusion. I might have 20 years ago. Nowadays, I just think of it as salesmanship, and to me, trite, shallow, and easily seen through. Maturation has its price.