Wise Thoughts
(January 11, 1842, New York - August 26, 1910, Chocorua, Carroll County (New Hampshire))
American philosopher and psychologist, one of the founders and leading exponents of pragmatism and functionalism.
Quote: 18 - 34 of 55
The art of being wise is knowing which should not be ignored.
Every day or every other day, force yourself to do what what you dislike to do, lest the hour of cruel necessity, when it comes, take you by surprise.
Everyone knows what attention is. This partiality, carried out through mental activity possession in a clear and distinct way of one of several, as it seems, at the same time possible objects or lines of thought. Focusing, concentration of consciousness is its essence. It means giving up some things in order to deal effectively with others, and is a condition that has a real opposite in that confused, twilight and scattered consciousness, which in French is called distraction, and in German Zerstreutheit.
Each of us, depending on the circumstances, can be a savage or a saint. Good man different from a bad choice.
It would seem that the act should follow the feeling, but in reality, action and feeling go hand in hand, and by controlling actions that are under a more direct control of the will than feelings, we get the opportunity to indirectly control feelings. Thus, the highest conscious way to cheerfulness, if we have lost it, is to pull ourselves together and make us speak and act as if cheerfulness was already found.
When you have to make a choice and you don't, is also a choice.
People usually use only a small part of the forces which are owned and which could be used under the right circumstances.
We came into this world to help each other on our journey through life.
At first new theory declared ridiculous. It is then accepted, but is said to be nothing special and as clear as daylight. Finally, it is recognized as so important that its former opponents begin to claim that they themselves discovered it.
A philosopher can only be relied upon for one thing.- in criticism of other philosophers.
The punishment of a liar is not at all that no one believes him, but that he himself cannot trust anyone.
Our fate is in our own hands... Hell awaits us in afterlife about which theologians tell us not worse than that hell, which we ourselves create for ourselves in this world, educating our character in a false direction.
Our lives are like islands in the ocean or trees in the forest, whose roots are intertwined in the underground depths.
Don't be afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living. And your confidence will make these words true
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There are many ways to read not even a person’s thoughts, but his thoughts, his deepest hopes and fears. Everyone can develop the ability to see through people: it is enough to know about a few points in the behavior of the interlocutor that you should pay attention to. Practice "reading people" more often, get yourself into this habit, and after a while you will be impossible to deceive.
People always give away their thoughts and feelings. website will reveal to you some secrets that will help you see it. Of course, in fact, there are much more subtleties and secrets here - and hundreds of articles are not enough to fully cover this topic. But even this brief information will be enough to learn to notice a lot of interesting things in others.
To begin with, be sure to determine the norm
All people are different and everyone has their own habits and characteristics. Someone
sorting through objects on the table, someone wrinkles his nose funny, shakes his legs,
touches the chin. These behaviors can indicate nervousness, distrust, and more. Or they may be a habit of this person that has nothing to do with what is happening.
So it is important to determine what behaviors are the norm for specific person . And then pay attention to any deviations from the norm, to minor changes in the behavior and facial expressions of the interlocutor. They are the very essence.
Watch from the sidelines and compare
To complete the picture, it is useful to observe the interlocutor from the side: how he
behaves before communicating with you, how it communicates with other people, what language says
his body. During a conversation with you, he will behave a little differently, he will
try to impress. By comparing what you see, you will get much
more information about a human. After the meeting, do not rush to leave either - see if his mood and behavior have changed.
Always adjust for context
All people in society unconsciously play roles and adjust a little to each other, mirroring the gestures of people they like or those they want to impress. Make allowance for the context in which the person you are trying to read is located, because in different circles there may be different rules. For example, in some countries, eyes are averted because it is customary to express respect, and not at all because of a sense of embarrassment.
Picking up his clothes, a person consciously or involuntarily demonstrates his real character, their subconscious desires and fears. And even if he tries to seem like someone, if his image is created intentionally, this says a lot about his intentions.
- If a person’s wardrobe is dominated by gray and discreet things, then he probably wants to hide from everyone, become invisible.
- The one who always copies popular styles and images is afraid of being different from everyone else, afraid of condemnation. You most likely will not wait for initiatives and new ideas from such a person.
- Elegance and restraint, simplicity, classic options choose nature tactful and able to listen.
- Negligence in the image, convenience at the expense of beauty speak of stubbornness, unwillingness to change one's views and shyness.
By clothing, one can judge the well-being of a person, his accuracy, caring attitude about things or about indifference and laziness, about whether he is disturbed by the impression he makes or is insensitive to the opinions of others.
What's with the face?
Wrinkles reflect the character of a person. If a person frowns and twists his mouth for years, it will be noticeable. Facial expressions can tell a lot.
- When a person longs to be understood and convincing, he raises his eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead. People who have pronounced longitudinal wrinkles on their foreheads have been trying all their lives to establish contact with others and want to be heard.
- When you are attractive to the interlocutor, his facial muscles relax, the head leans a little to one side, blood rushes to the lips, making them a little plumper and brighter. If meeting with you is unpleasant for him, his face will be slightly tense.
- If you see a smile on a person’s face, but there are no wrinkles in the corners of his eyes, then he smiles at you insincerely - this is a fake smile. Such a smile can also indicate that the interlocutor feels uncomfortable.
- Squinting eyes during a conversation (as if a person is trying to see something small) indicate that he is trying to understand, understand, concentrate, and probably feels out of his element. If a person with a squint looks directly into your eyes, then this signals his distrust and ill will.
- Dilated pupils speak of strong sensations, of sympathy, excitement, interest. When a person quickly sorts through thoughts in his head, frantically looking for a solution, his eyes run around.
- If a person avoids direct eye contact or, on the contrary, looks too intently into your eyes, there is a high probability that he is telling a lie.
Most often, when a person remembers something, his pupils are directed either up or to the left and up. But when writing and inventing on the go, a person looks to the right and up.
Behavior in a team
In collectives, people are grouped according to the similarity of views or characters. Observe your interlocutor, find out with whom he prefers to spend time. A lot will also be said about how he behaves with people, whether he worries about the convenience of others or unceremoniously interferes with them and does not even notice it.
- A talkative and verbose person is usually proud and touchy.
- Quiet speech and avoidance of public statements are inherent in people prone to self-criticism, assiduous and insecure.
- If the interlocutor constantly interrupts, hears only himself - he is pessimistic, distrustful and selfish.
- If a person speaks little, this does not always indicate his stiffness. Perhaps this is a sign of success: such people talk less and do more.
- The voice changes and trembles if a person is trying to hide his emotions, overcome embarrassment when he tries to seem better or deceives you.
Trust your intuition
Our consciousness is not always able to catch the whole range of the smallest movements of facial expressions, changes in behavior and gestures. But is our internal perception does not sleep. Sometimes we can’t even understand what exactly confuses us in the interlocutor, but we intuitively feel that he should not be trusted: having sufficient experience in observing people, we subconsciously and very quickly compare the smallest details of behavior and recreate a complete picture. This is how intuition works. It can and should be developed, and it should also be listened to more often. Of course, sometimes we can make mistakes in our intuitive assessments, but gradually, with practice and experience, we will make fewer and fewer such mistakes.
Can a person hide their true intentions feelings and fears? Or, knowing the intricacies of behavior, facial expressions and gestures, you can figure out absolutely any person, even the biggest cunning and skillful actor? How do you think?
American philosopher (born William James; 1842-1910) and psychologist, one of the founders and leading exponents of pragmatism and functionalism.
Quotes and aphorisms
1. The greatest benefit that can be derived from life is to spend life on a cause that will outlive us.
2. The art of being wise consists in the ability to know what not to pay attention to.
3. Many people think that they are thinking, when in fact they are just putting old prejudices in a new order.
4. Every day or every other day, force yourself to do something that you do not like to do, so that the hour of cruel necessity, when it comes, does not take you by surprise.
5. Genius is just an unusual way of looking at things.
6. Man is the most terrible predator in the world, because only man tends to hunt his own kind.
7. In any project the most important factor is the belief in success. Without faith, success is impossible.
8. When it is necessary to make a choice, but you do not make it, this is also a choice.
9. God can forgive us our sins, but nervous system- never.
10. Don't be afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living. And your confidence will make these words true.
11. Feeling dignity equals success divided by claims.
Some Christians are of the opinion that one should not pay attention to thoughts and examine them.
Among Christians there are those who believe that there is no need to "protect the soul from thoughts." To this the holy ascetics answer:
Varsanofy Optina(Sat. “The soulful teachings of the venerable Optina elders”, ch. Thoughts): “Protecting your soul from thoughts is a difficult matter, the meaning of which is even incomprehensible to worldly people. It is often said: why protect the soul from thoughts? Well, a thought came and went, why fight it? They are very wrong. Thought doesn't just come and go. A different thought can destroy a person’s soul, a different thought makes a person completely turn to life path and go in a completely different direction than he used to go."
Ephraim Sirin(Rebuke to oneself and confession): “But, perhaps, you will say that thoughts should not be included in the study ... But I can also give you proof of this from Divine Scripture. Job offered sacrifices for his children, saying, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts” (Job 1:5). And if thoughts were not subject to responsibility, then why would one bring him a single calf for the fall of thoughts? ... And when we hear: “And the hairs on your head are all numbered” (Mt. 10:30), then the hairs on the head are thoughts, and glory is the mind, in which the power of thinking is contained. God recognized the consent to adultery as adultery, and the lust of a wife - the very deed, and sin - murder, and values hatred on an equal footing with homicide, for He says that "everyone who is angry with his brother in vain is subject to judgment" (Matt. 5:22); and “... whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). Blessed Paul also testifies to our responsibility for our thoughts, saying that the Lord will reveal “hidden things in darkness and reveal the intentions of the heart” (1 Corinthians 4:5). And he says again: “their thoughts, now accusing, now justifying one another” (Rom. 2:15). So, do not tell me that thoughts do not mean anything, because the consent to them is recognized as the deed itself.
We will also cite some teachings of the holy fathers who say that every Christian should do his own thing. inner world, or heart, through sobriety over one’s thoughts, scolding passionate thoughts and prayer, and performing some external deeds corresponding to Christian virtues and bodily feats. But doing your own inner man and thoughts - more importantly, if a Christian wants to be cleansed of sin in himself.
Macarius Optinsky(Collected letters, vol. 6, p. 168): “It’s not just the matter<спасения>what to go to church and sit at the hoop, but you need to look after your heart and exterminate passions: pride, pride, vanity, anger, rage, malice, gluttony, lust of the flesh, and so on; This is precisely what our spiritual warfare consists of - to resist the passions, to destroy them with the help of God.
Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer (Invisible Warfare, v. 1, ch. 1): “God requires from Christians the fullness of perfection, that is, he requires us to be perfect in all virtues. But if you, my beloved reader in Christ, wish to reach such a height, you must know in advance what Christian perfection consists in. For, not knowing this, you can deviate from the real path and, thinking that you are flowing towards perfection, head in a completely different direction. I will say frankly: the most perfect and great thing that a person can desire and achieve is drawing closer to God and being in union with Him. But there are not a few who say that the perfection of the Christian life consists in fasting, vigils, kneeling, sleeping on bare ground, and in other similar bodily austerities. Others say that it consists in doing many prayers at home and standing up for long church services. And there are those who believe that our perfection consists entirely in mental prayer, in solitude, hermitage and silence. The largest part limits this perfection to the exact fulfillment of all the ascetic deeds prescribed by the charter, not deviating either to excess or to a lack of anything, but holding on to the golden mean. However, all these virtues alone do not constitute the desired Christian perfection, but are only means and ways to achieve it. That they are the means and the effective means to the attainment of perfection in the Christian life, of this there is no doubt. For we see very many virtuous men who go through these virtues as they should, with the aim of obtaining through this strength and power against their sinfulness and badness, in order to draw from them the courage to resist the temptations and seductions of our three main enemies: the flesh, the world and the devil ... But, on the other hand, these same virtues can do more harm to those who place the whole foundation of their life and their hope in them than their obvious omissions, not in themselves, because they are pious and holy, but through the fault of those who do not use them as they should, namely, when, paying attention only to these outwardly performed virtues, they leave the heart of their mother-in-law in their own decrees and in the wills of the devil, who, seeing that they have strayed from the right path, does not interfere with them not only with joy to strive in these bodily exploits, but also to expand and multiply them according to their vain thought. Experiencing at the same time some spiritual movements and consolations, these workers begin to think of themselves that they have already risen to the status of angelic ranks and feel the presence of God Himself in themselves ... "
So, external deeds and prayer are obligatory for a Christian, but if he “leaves his mother-in-law’s heart” as he pleases, sinful soul and the devil, which means he will not follow what he thinks about and will not wage war with passionate thoughts, then he will be delusional about himself to varying degrees. And this means that he will have a wrong opinion about himself and not see the passions that control him from the inside (and outwardly he can do nothing bad and sinful), and will not follow the path of Christ, because:
Macarius the Egyptian(Spiritual conversations, b.53): "... who wants to become a true Christian must acquire labor and struggle not of the flesh, but (to wrestle) in the mind with thoughts."
Theophan the Recluse(Sat. " inner life, ch. 6): “Whoever has not experienced illnesses of internal warfare, who has not suffered for Christ in any way, hopes in vain to be married in the Kingdom of Christ.”
Flower garden of the monk Dorotheus(ch. 26): “The one who works with the body and performs some virtues, but does not care about the arrangement of the heart, does not care about keeping the mind and inner doing (about sobriety and abuse - from composition) does not care, does not care about protecting the senses, - looks like someone who collects something with one hand and scatters it with the other.
All the holy fathers say that whoever does not follow thoughts and does not fight with them is “in great danger” and “enslavement”, and also lives in constant deceit, because outwardly he looks pious, but inwardly he creates lawlessness.
Theophan the Recluse(Collection of words "Inner Life", 18): "When a person is devoted to passions, he does not see them in himself and does not separate from them, because he lives in them and by them."
Nicodemus the Holy Mountaineer(Invisible Warfare, v. 1, ch. 1): “Why is it obvious that they are in great danger. Having their inner eye, that is, their mind, darkened, they look at themselves with it, and look wrong. Thinking about their external deeds of piety, that they are good with them, they think that they have already reached perfection, and, being proud of this, they begin to condemn others. After this, there is no longer any possibility that any of the people would convert such people, except for the special influence of God. It is more convenient to turn to good for an obvious sinner than a secret one, hiding under the cover of visible virtues.
Sophrony (Sakharov)(Elder Silouan of Athos, sec. The beginning of spiritual life is the struggle with passions): “ normal person, in his present state, all his life to be in the struggle; but there are two extreme states which can be characterized by its absence. The dispassionate person has no struggle in the sense that the pleasure offered by passion does not in the least attract him, and everything ends with a “bare” thought. And one who, although subject to the attacks of thoughts, is not accessible to their enticing force, can be called impassive. A sign of complete enslavement is also the absence of a struggle, but already because at all stages of the development of a passionate thought, a person not only does not resist, but also goes towards him, lives by them.
Basil the Great(Conversations, b.3): “Sometimes a gloomy person, magnifying himself with honesty, outwardly wearing the guise of chastity and often even sitting among those who please him for virtue, in an invisible movement of the heart is carried away by thought to the place of sin. He sees in the representation the object of his desires, imagines some indecent conversation, and in the innermost temple of the heart, having vividly and completely traced a clear pleasure in himself, he commits inwardly a sin that has no witnesses and remains unknown to everyone until the One Who comes reveals "the secret darkness and announces the counsels of the heart" (1 Corinthians 4:5). Therefore, beware, "Let no word of iniquity be hidden in your heart."
And one more thing: who does not follow thoughts and constantly either dream or lead mental conversations with someone, they do arbitrary evil, and those who follow and oppose them, they do involuntary evil.
Barsanophius the Great(Guide to Spiritual Life, v. 617): “Who voluntarily has sin and evil in him, and who involuntarily? Answer. Those who voluntarily have evil in themselves are those who give up their freedom to evil, delight in it, and make friends with it. Such have peace with Satan and do not wage war with him in their thoughts. Involuntarily, those who have evil in themselves are those who, according to the word of the apostle (see Rom. 7, 23), feel an opposite force that is antagonistic in their members, and there is a certain dark power and a veil over them, but only in thoughts with which they do not agree, do not delight in them, do not obey them, but contradict, oppose, speak against, resist, become angry with themselves. These latter before God are much better and more honest than those who arbitrarily betray freedom to evil and delight in it.
So, here are the main spiritual reasons why people do not see their thoughts or see them poorly. And in conclusion, to those who wish to know themselves: if you do not yet have the skill of sobriety and true knowledge of yourself, then begin to observe how often you mentally say something to someone imaginary (and the subsequent material that will be presented in the following chapters I hope this helps).
