thehauntingsoul Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 The Baseline Effect: The key to happiness. One property of human consciousness that does not appear to be very self evident to us at first is the idea of 'baseline' you see, everything that happens to us in our life that we can rate in any way is going to be compared to our baseline. Our baseline is essentially composed of every single memory of every event that has occurred in our life. If we lead poor miserable lives, our baseline is going to be considerably low, however, if we lead incredibly successful and very luxurious lives, our baseline is going to be set considerably higher. What does that mean to you? Consider this: We always hear about spoiled rich people. Really the entire concept of being 'spoiled' is because of this baseline. When you get everything you want in life handed to you on a silver platter, you expect more of the same to follow, and are subsequently incredibly disappointed when things don't go exactly your way. By that exact same token, those of us who are less fortunate take much more pleasure in everyday normal things that seem a given to the privelaged. A good example would be a poor person who cant afford food for their family finally getting an economically stable family and being able to afford food. This family is able to derive happiness if not bliss purely from the fact that they now have food. Most of us are unable to truly appreceate food because we never have to go hungry. So now we need to apply this principle to our states of consciousness. A person under extreme emotional duress is going to feel INCREDIBLY releaved just to finally reach a state that would be considered 'normal' by the majority of us. In fact, you can observe first hand the effects of baseline, especially if yours has changed considerably over the course of your life. The simplest way is to notice how much better it feels to eat when you are incredibly hungry as opposed to when you are not, or to relax after a serious bout of exercise, or even more commonly, to get home and relax after a long hard day at work. Make no mistake, relaxing at the end of the day is only 'relaxing' because it is much less stressful in comparison to the baseline we have established by spending all day at work. This is why relaxing after working all day is often way more satisfying than spending a saturday relaxing all day. The overall point to this? Do not strive for pleasure in your life 100% of the time or you will set your expectations for this world far too high. You must strive for hardship at times. What does this mean to you? It gives you a reason to work hard, to commit to things and to persevere. It gives you a real reason to get up and go to work in the morning. You arent just cultivating an income, but you are preserving your ability to be HAPPY. So whether you are passing through an incredibly transitionary period in your life, or just happy to see a loved one after months of separation, the baseline effect is constantly effecting you. I would argue that it is the single most important aspect to human consciousness. just a few thoughts i typed up while at work, I thought you guys should be aware of this because it really helps you understand your mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pylonbitch Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 poor people are happy if you give them popcorn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autopilot Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 *stares at a blank wall with intense ambivalence* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 poor people are happy if you give them popcorn. and then they give you fleas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpenprol Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Guess someone's never heard of "rising expectations." If poor people see a rich person, they want to be rich, not just less poor. Human beings can be some unappreciative, restless bastards. I do agree with your central argument about happiness, however I think it's more rewarding to strive for contentment. Happiness is always fleeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 i'd say happiness is just a longer period of contentment. virtually the same thing, the way i see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autopilot Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Not neccessarily. You can be content with suffering as long as you acknowledge its neccessity and transience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z_B_Z Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 i dont think its possible to be content with suffering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpenprol Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 i dont think its possible to be content with suffering but what is suffering? *smokes joint* *ejaculates* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z_B_Z Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 id answer that, but it seems like a pointless diversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Not neccessarily. You can be content with suffering as long as you acknowledge its neccessity and transience. i don't agree - contentment is not based on rational evaluation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z_B_Z Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Not neccessarily. You can be content with suffering as long as you acknowledge its neccessity and transience. i don't agree - contentment is not based on rational evaluation. although rational evaluation is probably an aspect of contentment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCM Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ~ism Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 i dont think its possible to be content with suffering but what is suffering? *smokes joint* *ejaculates* *bassline lowered to the minimum possible point* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehauntingsoul Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 i dont think its possible to be content with suffering I think it depends on your definition of 'suffering'. Suffering within my original context essentially describes anything that is less than the baseline. by that definition, everything from a mosquito bite to a life of misery qualifies as suffering. Therefore, yeah I mean you can absolutely be content with a mosquito bite, as ned flanders once said, they sure are fun to scratch! It comes down to where you, as an individual, draws the line subjectively. One could argue that they are content with a daily dismemberment and could not be disproven as it is an entirely subjective distinction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oyster Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 I feel pretty happy when shooting up heroin, . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morpheus Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Never consciously strive for happiness. Strive for awareness and mindfulness. Happiness will just happen on its own after that. Strive is such a weird word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YEK Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 ok, so i barely read this thread. bassline= happiness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokoon Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 ok, so i barely read this thread. bassline= happiness? baseline dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braintree Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 i dont think its possible to be content with suffering but what is suffering? *smokes joint* *ejaculates* *bassline lowered to the minimum possible point* 20hz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv_party Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 just add alcohol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlisuite Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 i'm experiencing heavy duty bassline nirvana right now. luke slater @ fuse is an epic showcase of skills in programming and track selection. i'm also skipping job today. called in sick. i just don't give a fuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boo Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 yes, if you lose your keys and phone, dancing might make you happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
National Park Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Benga always cheers me up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCONES TO DIE FOR Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Baseline! (Ahh wicked!) Put a donk on it. Electro! (Ahh that is sick that mate!) Put a donk on it. Techno! (Ohhh that is good!) Put a donk on it. Ey, thats good that Tony! Ahahah sick! Baseline! (Where'd you learn that one) Put a donk on it. Electro! (Yeah i like that.) Put a donk on it. Techno! (That one's good.) Put a donk on it. Donk d-donk donk donk donk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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