What is the difference between thought and feeling?

So, you're saying that it's possible to feel satisfaction but surely that can only be fleeting even with external help. For me fleeting satisfaction is just a more subtle form of dissatisfaction because it's the precursor of it. Or do you disagree? If so what's your solution? Is there one? Or is it a fact-of-life and there is no solution?

I'm hardly n expert but (a) It helps to confide in a trusted companion (2) If you're well off you might consider psychotherapy or (3) just hang in there, things might improve with age and maturity

Dissatisfaction is a bit more fundamental than that surely? For example if we were always satisfied then taken to the extreme we'd die. It's because we are dissatisfied with hunger we eat and with thirst we drink. Dissatisfaction makes us adjust our environment and that keeps us healthy etc.. etc..

The status quo is momentary we soon become dissatisfied with everything. Momentarily all the plates are spinning but one by one they lose momentum and crash to the ground. It’s exhausting to keep all those plates spinning.

What can we do?

We can become satisfied if we give up being dissatisfied and only act to benefit others either directly or indirectly. We keep the essential plates spinning unselfishly for others and let the selfish ones drop, never to be replaced again. We are willing to put an end to dissatisfaction but we remain alive to benefit others. A satisfied mind is a happy mind and its activity is compassion for others who are tormented by dissatisfaction.

Igm, you are a good Buddhist.

It's apparent igm that I haven't actually addressed your issue. I was thinking of its negative aspects, eg as being vaguely dissatisfied with one's life

Exhaustion is surely one negative aspect and might therefore be addressed. But how

In the same manner as most other subliminal therapy

Might help but might not. Better first concentrate on the self

I believe what I was trying to say is that dissatisfaction is ubiquitous. This feeling of dissatisfaction can be seen as both good in some instances and bad in others. The alternative a satisfied mind is a mind at peace and naturally happy for no other reason than the absence of the feeling of dissatisfaction.

But how can we be satisfied when dissatisfaction is essential in some very important situations we find ourselves in daily life e.g. being dissatisfied about how cold we are feeling, makes us correct the situation, this then prevents us from suffering from the cold etc…? The habit of being dissatisfied for ‘good reasons’ soon makes us dissatisfied with everything most of the time… with fleeting ephemeral satisfaction that’s quickly replaced by new dissatisfaction.

The answer is to be satisfied with everything; if we are then motivated to be ready to help others, if they ask, then we can replace dissatisfaction with direct or indirect compassion. This is the only way to remove the mental suffering of continual never ending ubiquitous feelings of dissatisfaction.
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Can explain what you mean by ‘subliminal therapy’?


Why wouldn’t it help to be less selfish; peace and happiness come from removing our preoccupation with our feelings of dissatisfaction and the negative types of this are caused by focusing on the self and selfishness aren’t they?

If you mean the alternative to a feeling of dissatisfaction I suppose you mean to the bad instances

I don't know. I suppose we should emphasize the good instances and somehow ameliorate the bad

Don't see how this follows, Igm. You seem to be saying we're looking for reasons to be dissatisfied

Igm you might be onto something profound though your Average Clod (me) would view this as contradictory. Are you asking me to become satisfied with my dissatisfaction

dalehileman wrote:
Exhaustion…...might therefore be addressed. But how? In the same manner as most other subliminal therapy

mental, psychological, spiritual, psychic, etc. I hesitate to suggest psychotherapy 'cause it's controversial

I’m saying that if we are satisfied (mentally) then we experience the feelings of peace, happiness and contentment. This can be after relaxing or after strenuous activity. As satisfaction makes us happy then dissatisfaction makes us feel unhappy. We continually go from brief satisfaction to longer and more frequent periods of dissatisfaction many, many times a day.

Here’s an example, let take PQ’s problem:

Basically, PQ is dissatisfied with her day ending at the time which would give her the required number of hours sleep. Her solution is to extend the day by several hours, probably in retrospect not gaining any worthwhile satisfaction from it, certainly not at every attempt. She then wakes up and experiences the feeling of dissatisfaction resulting from too little sleep. She is in a catch-22 she wishes to extend her day but the lack of sleep that results is unpleasant. If she goes to bed at the correct time she is dissatisfied with the length of her day. What can she do?

She should decide to gain happiness from being satisfied with a normal length of day and the correct amount of sleep. Happiness will arise from learning how to be satisfied with the day when it is ended at the correct time and happiness will be gained from the feeling one gets from a ‘good night’s sleep’ which is gained by having enough hours sleep.

How can the day being a normal length bring satisfaction? From the satisfaction of preparing to help others if one cannot directly or indirectly help them; or by helping them because they have asked or their request for help is implied by their circumstances. We only need a normal length day for this and we help others indirectly by keeping healthy e.g. by having enough sleep etc..

How can we be dissatisfied with a life lived in this way? Then of course the satisfaction derived from the lack of dissatisfaction, brings a peaceful happy contentment.

thought i.e. cognition
feeling i.e. emotive

Thought is the manner of second guessing the feeling.

Let's see how can I answer this with some degree of originality...

Feelings are quick awareness, automated intuitions, while thoughts are slow awareness, inductive and deductive reasoning build upon intuitions.