What do i do?

Well mutty-

First off get a fresh username.We can't be expected to type that thing out when we address you and we can't offer advice without addressing you.

But it is interesting.I don't think it is anything to worry about.But then again I might not have it as bad as you.

Now this dropping off of friends so you're now down to two is a trifle fraught.You can end up putting too much pressure on them.You're already saying that even those two are part of your increasing frustration which is a form of pressure.You can end up relying on them to relieve this and they may not want to in the way that would do it.

But I go to the pub at this time of night so I'll maybe have some ideas when I get back.I'll ask around.If anything that looks any good comes up I'll let you know.

Chin up though.Don't forget that.

it would help if you indicvated what kind of questions are you asking yourself?

what do you want to find out?

Interesting place you are in there anandmuthiah. Not sure that anyone can completely do this for you but for the record I have been there to some degree. Your best bet for getting out of the constant hours of analyzing everything is to start doing other things. Make a hard effort to get out of your home daily and try to interact with others.
Not happy with where you are, figure out why. Is it the frustration with yourself or is the place just plain lousy.

Also, I am curious as to your age. Sometimes this is just the transitional phase of life going from those youthful years to the adult years.

I just turned 18.

At 18 you are on the edge of your future and a level of anxiety and uncertainty are common place. Just do not allow them to take over your life. Who tells you this? A man who taught for more than a quarter of a century at the high school level, the teenaged years.

Anan wrote:


I've always thought that a good question was "what is the truth if you don't know yourself?" Are you your intellect? Are you your feelings, or your initiative? These things are often in conflict, but you are all of them. What you need to ensure is the continuation of this conflict. It is what steers you down the paths you come to chose through life. Pay attention to this development rather than cram your head full of other people's ideas. Knowledge is not wisdom, and experience is a quicker route to wisdom than knowledge ever was.

Also, what helped me alot was realizing that learning is both the gaining and shedding of knowledge. Made me go a little easier on myself.

You say you want to challenge your morals, values and beliefs. You say that you basically over analyze things. Whats wrong with your value system? Is there a specific reason you feel that you need to change it? What "things" are you analyzing?
If you don't know why you are doing these things, you will have no way of knowing how to fix the problem.
Yes, you must experience things to gain certain types of wisdom, but we must think about what we want to learn first and then evaluate whether its worth the experience.
Are you wanting to rebel just for the sake of it?
There are many questions that need to be asked and answered for a final definitive evaluation can be reached. Most people who have seen my posts on here have figured out that I, at times, am very conservative in my views and beliefs.
choose what you want to experience wisely.

Another option is to get a good fiction book, start reading it and enjoy a nice bowl of clam chowder with plenty of oyster crackers on the side. It might not solve everything but it will give you a moment to stop the thinking and over analyzing.

ewwwwwwwwwwwwww clam chowder! yuk!

I'm going through the same thing you are. I have been for quite awhile. It climaxed a few months ago when I would sit in my room, listen to The Police, drink tea, and read philosophy whenever I wasn't at school. At school I feel separated, just like you said, from 99% of my peers, so that seems normal too.

However, I feel less separated now that I've realized that everyone has their own range of knowledge, possibly higher than mine. If they know something I don't, then everything I'm doing could be wrong or useless. But that's ok, becuase it's the process that's important here, it's not the end, becuase there is no end. Or, rather, the end is the process.

Therefore, the most important and meaningul thing you can do is aquire knowledge, as much as possible without putting yourself in danger. The best ways to do this is to go to a local bookstore and grab a book in the philosophy section that looks interesting and easy to read. Your studies will be much more enlightening if you try to focus them into a few areas. Mine has been anarchism, especially relating to personal rebellion. It's important to find something to stand for, even if it seems impossible, as this will give you an idea of direction, which will help you narrow your studies, and it will give you a new perspective on the way you see everything, which allows every second of your life to be enlightening.

Talk to somebody smarter than you. A good place to start could be at the debate program at your school (I came in a Mormon, and three years in I'm anarchist), or at a local bookstore. Owners of bookstores (other than chain bookstores) have a very broad range of knowledge and like to talk about it. Plus they start giving you discounts after awhile .

I like philosophy books that are written in aphorisms (an entire idea in a few sentances) becuase most philosophers get too wordy or can't stay on topic (like me).

Taking a logic or philosophy class (or several) will help too.

I seem to have a problem with having too many things buzzing around my head all of the time, even to the point that talking with people I don't know very well is difficult. A good way to slow that down is to write. This will help you form solid ideas that can be easily expressed. I aslo carry a voice recorder with me wherever I go (built into my MP3 player) so that if I have some profound thought, I can spit it out before I forget it. Then I can expand on those ideas later. This forum is also a good place for prompts to write about.

Listening to music is enlightening, too, but you have to read the lyrics. Chances are, the music you listen to already has a gool focus.

One day (for me the first day I wrote), something will hit you, you'll figure something important out, and you will feel a lot better. Before that day, I had no direction, I didn't know what I wanted. So I started writing to figure it out. Somehow I came to the conclusion that everything is nothing and I went into a trance for a few hours. I couldn't even write. Weird, weird feeling. But when I came out it felt like I figured something out, something clicked -even just for a second - and now I feel better. Maybe I'm just insane. Oh well.

If you have any questions or anyting feel free to email me. I'm also working on a zine that I'll post here.

Anyway, here's my conclusion so far:

There is no political solution
To our troubled evolution
Have no faith in constitution
There is no bloody revolution

We are spirits in the material world

Our so-called leaders speak
With words they try to jail you
The subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure

We are spirits in the material world

Where does the answer lie?
Living from day to day
If it's something we can't buy
There must be another way

We are spirits in the material world

-the police

anandmuthiah ji,
If you wish to learn and learn about yourself and know who you really are then you must interact with the world. So don't hide your thoughts but share them with others. It's only via interacting with an OTHER that you see yourself. The other acts as a mirror. Don't you SEE YOURSELF in the mirror?