Postmodernism, Mindfulness, and cleaning your own head....(and the circular argument logical fallacy,)

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present. This state encompasses observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/mindfulness

Well, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

Funny you should say that.....(I'm talking to myself).

What could possibly go wrong....?
Lots.

Lets have a look, shall we?....(still talking to myself).

Mindfulness is to live in the moment and reawaken oneself to the present, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/mindfulness

So, with being mindful, it means that we learn how to live 'in the now'.

That's something to be applauded in my opinion, as that is where real happiness in life lies.
(not strictly true, btw - 'anticipation' is where real happiness lies, judging from the dopamine hits to the brain, but lets not be pedantic).

Which means of course that most people's unhappiness lies in the past and the future.
That is absurd.

In the past, yes. Of course.
We are all a product of our past experiences, and if they were a bit shit, it ain't gonna make you very happy, is it?
The future?
That is impossible by definition. The future cannot make you unhappy - it doesn't exist.
Only your framing of the future, can do that.

Trying to control the future, to control something that doesn't exist, is a bit difficult.
Honest, it really is.
As 90% of the human race is well aware of. (the other 10% are thinking long term, the control freaks. And they are a fucking miserable lot. Funny that).

SO..... if I've just applauded the principles of mindfulness, why am I critical of it?

Am I a bit stupid, or something? (Well, yes, I am - but that's not the point right now).

At best, mindfulness is a tool that allows people to be more aware of their physical and emotional conditions without getting bogged down in self-criticism and judgment.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/mindfulness

And now it starts to get a little darker.....

Mindfulness is promoted, from all my research, by every life coach, self help guru, and motivational speaker, out there.
Why is that?
Because it's so successful as a technique of finding happiness?
The panacea to life's problems, the holy grail of enlightenment?
Nah, is is fuck.

It's because it's the spiritual version of big pharma.

You know how the big pharma model works..., ' we''ll give you something to fix your ulcer, but the medication might cause indigestion – we have something for that, so just take your ulcer medicine and purchase the indigestion medicine and we're good to go....
The indigestion tablets stop you sleeping at night? Oh, don't worry, we have something for that...
and so it goes...

The above is a made up set of events, but the stepping stones to consuming more medicine, is a well know strategy - from the people that are 'here to keep us healthy.
Yeah right.

When profit is to be made by keeping you ill, it's not in the interests of big pharma companies to make you healthy, now is it?
FACTOID: It was the Rockefellers move into big pharma from the oil industry - through 'philanthropic' funding of the educational facilities of medical research, that started this particular twisted logic gravy train.

So, speaking of using twisted logic for profit... (mainly used by the manipulators and sociopaths of this world)..
.... the only people looking for help, are people that feel they need help.
This makes them vulnerable individuals .
There's nothing a predator like more, than vulnerability...

Why on earth, would the multi billion self help and life coaching industry, be any different from big pharma, by preying on the vulnerable?

In what many believe is a slow economy, the self help industry is still booming. Conservative estimates are that Americans are spending over $11 billion in the self-help industry alone.
There are currently 20,000 coaches in the U.S. taking home a sum total of over $2 billion. It is the fastest growing profession in the U.S. second only to Information Technology.
https://ilifecoachtraining.com/life-coaching-is-currently-a-2-billion-industry/

It is in THEIR interests to keep you 'unwell', 'unhappy' - not satisfied with life.

Keep finding 'problems' to fix..
Kerching!

And they all promote mindfulness. Uhmmmm....

Are any pennies starting to drop, yet?
A mentally healthy society, has no need for any self help 'guru's'

Mindfulness - genuine self reflection, is great, you see.
I really think so. BUT.

..... don't let the 'expert' - who has profit to gain from your misery - tell you of a problem that you have, or don't have.
If 'enlightenment' costs you money, you're looking in the wrong place.

The 'self help crew' have the circular argument sussed (it's a logical fallacy).
...and they use it continually, to give the appearance of intelligence, by using fallacy. (more on than one, but we'll come to that in another post).

When logical fallacies are pointed out to the deceiver, the peddlers of said fallacy, the response is standard psy-op procedure. Projection, and creating a circular argument fallacy by doing so.
Ironically, they have a habit of losing the their minds - and not being very mindful at all.

Perhaps they need to take a dose of their own medicine?

SO....
The circular argument fallacy...

"The circular argument uses its own conclusion as one of its stated or unstated premises. Instead of offering proof, it simply asserts the conclusion in another form, thereby inviting the listener to accept it as settled when, in fact, it has not been settled. Because the premise is no different from and therefore as questionable as its conclusion, a circular argument violates the criterion of acceptability." (T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning. Wadsworth, 2001)
https://www.thoughtco.com/circular-reasoning-petitio-principii-1689842

From the motivational speakers, self help, camp, this could be something like...

'Oh wise one': (sarcasm)
"You are seeking attention. And that's bad."

Normal person: "No I'm not, and why is it bad?"_

'Oh wise one':"
Well, yes you are. You're here and you are seeking my attention. By talking to me, you must be seeking attention."

Normal person: "But...but...but...how do I discuss anything, with anyone, without some degree of seeking attention?"

'Oh wise one':
"Step into my office and let me explain as complicated simply as I can, to someone who doesn't understand these things.
I charge by the hour, to make you well..."

Simplistic example of course, but just like the simplistic big pharma example, no less true.

The circular argument fallacy, once understood, can really show you 'the charlatan' from the 'authentic person'.
There are many (I would argue most ), well meaning people, trying the 'self help, motivational speaker, career'.
Unfortunately that doesn't change anything.
As I wrote in my post a couple of days ago (A stream of consciousness, a non conspiratorial....):
'Well meaning, and naive people are used by the corrupt manipulators all the time, without ever realizing that they are being used, and unwittingly corrupted themselves'.

In this case, it's postmodernism thought process (or marxism) that's the corrupter and the manipulator, of the naive.

HERE IS WHERE IS GETS REALLY DARK.

As in, like Darth Vader dark side, dark...and where mindfulness becomes seriously dangerous..

The mindfulness principle is ....

"This state encompasses observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad."

Observing ones thoughts.
Observing the self.
Without criticism.
Without Judging the self.
Can anybody see a potential problem arising, here?
A big fuck off size, of a potential problem?

If you are so busy observing one's self, you are by definition, NOT observing the rest of the world.

It can quite easily slip into a full on egocentric pastime.
...Giving the ego food to grow.
Introspection, combined with non judgmental, and non self critical? The dogs of insanity have been unconsciously unleashed...
This can never turn out well.

Have you never noticed the demeanor of the 'spiritual superior, enlightened one? The self declared 'wise one', and 'guru?'

There's no enlightenment there, just inflated ego. And with a very thin veneer I might add, for those who look.
have you ever noticed how 'the wise and enlightened' are always very passive aggressive, and judgmental?
You can't be judgmental, without self referencing. It's impossible.

You can't be passive aggressive without showing a thought process, unconsciousness or otherwise, of a perceived (and very often incorrect) intellectual superiority, combined with a fear of talking in real world terms.

Reality is not a comfortable place for the faux enlightened to inhabit.
Reality is the anathema of the postmodernist ideology insanity.

Are you starting to see that mindfulness (meditation, and other solo activities) can and does help people find peace.
When it relies on external stimuli ( life coach, self help, etc) it then becomes a group think dogma, not a personal journey.
It's is ego centric jerking off, billed by the hour...

This 'self help industry' - exactly like higher educational facilities - is postmodernism insidiously twisting it's way into your/our psyche's.

It's no coincidence that we didn't have these well meaning( but misguided), charlatans before the 1970/80's.
At the same time the postmodernist indoctrinated student, started to leave the universities
It's no coincidence.
It's ideology on the march.
Correlation doesn't also mean causation. But sometimes it fucking does.

For postmodernism to gain power (Marxism and communism) it has to unsettle the real world into believing that its crazy.
And the true madness – postmodern theory – can then offer the solution- and appear sane!
Orwell...up is down black is white freedom is slavery.
There are no biological gender's....etc...

Are we catching on yet?

Mindfulness?
As a gentle exercise to keep things in perspective – Is not only good, it's highly recommended.
Going fishing, going shooting, is mindfulness, painting is mindfulness.
It's about being at one, without the ego.

It's been used for centuries by many different cultures across the globe.
It WORKS.
Mindfulness scaled up, to become an industry benchmark, a dogma?
It's just like communism really...
IT WORKS FINE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, BUT IT DOESN'T SCALE UP, AND IT GOES ON TO CORRUPT EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES.

Mindfulness as dogma, creates egocentric, selfish, unemphatic, cold, and calculating individuals.

The very antithesis of what individuals need to be, to create a healthy society.

And it's what postmodernism the insane need to foster in people, to gain power.

Coincidence?
Fuck off.

This obsession with the self....
From the industry called self help, motivational speaking, and life coaching.
All stemming from the industry of mindfulness.
All stemming from the insanity of postmodernism.

Be very mindful of mindfulness.

It's best not used on children, if you don't want a budding sociopath..
(or adults with childlike perspectives, the same thing).

I'll be deconstructing the twisted logic of the postmodernist / life coaching perspective some more in another post.

Lets start cleaning our heads, hey?