depression

Success and achievement: The light of dynamicity

by lorenzorizzelli

The present blog update is focused on one of the most practical aspects of the Philosophical Symbolic System because the connection with everyday life is very evident. Is it possible that a philosophical system centered on non-violence has got a very powerful and clear idea of what achievement and success are? The answer is yes.

Within the philosophical symbolic system there are two key acceptations of results expressed by their corresponding symbolic representations. The most basic one (from the symbolic point of view) is the negative acceptation of result expressed by the symbol of the down arrow:

The meanings attributed to this symbol are the following:

–  Result as something obtained without any sacrifice and building up the materialistic attitude of an individual (examples are gifts or inheritance);

– Result as something that must be obtained at any cost, even through violence or unjust methods;

– Result as something that, if not obtained, leads to deep depression and ultimately to suicide;

– Result as a threshold artificially and relatively set by humans that paradoxically acquires an absolute standard (in the last three cases we describe results as “absolutized”);

– Result as something representing a stationary point that does not need any progression;

– Result cumulatively conceived as an amount of results achieved because of contingency/luck of staying alive.

– Result as something achieved after overcoming one’s performance (eg. I managed to do better than my friend and so that is a great result).

Although all these negative meanings of the down arrow must not necessarily be present altogether to form the key idea of negative result, some of these meanings are more crucial than others. In particular, the most important meanings are the first four meanings listed above. As a matter of fact, the concepts of materialism, gravitational force of evil/negative emotions and result as absolutized are retrieved directly from the list of the meanings of the down arrow.

More subtly, the absence of dynamicity relates indirectly to the concept of space that is the first meaning of the down arrow. As for contingency and luck of staying alive, the first of these two ideas connects to the ephemeral contingent nature of our world expressed more precisely by the double arrow symbol (sum of down and up arrow). Interestingly, luck of staying alive derives instead from the symbolic fusion of the justification of evil for positive causes, made up by the universal symbol of negativity and the down arrow. This fusion stands also for adult tyranny and adult dimension, characterized by the loss of innocence and cruel opportunism. Luck of staying alive is intrinsic in this negative acceptation of the adult dimension that is evinced by the down arrow fused with moral negativity. This is the illustrated fusion:

As for the last shade of meaning listed above, comparing oneself with others is inconsistent and inaccurate as people have different life experiences. On this basis, the only rigorous comparison is with ourselves, as it will be shown later in this blog update. From the symbolic point of view, this negative shade does not emerge directly from the down arrow but from a symbol that is linked directly to the latter, i.e. the circle. As a matter of fact, darkness, lack of emotional harmony and especially obsession are basic meanings of the circle that relate with the concept of result as something great achieved after outperforming someone.

This is the overview of the various negative symbols, included down arrow, justification of evil and circle.

Let us now describe the positive acceptation of result that is expressed by the negation of the fusion between present and past. This time the acceptation is one but the explanation is split into four parts:

– When we think of results in a positive light we refer to them as the outcomes of a process characterized by perseverance and sacrifice. In this context, it is not the result to be absolutized but the strength of will. Since we are not sure to live enough to achieve a result, the latter can never be an absolute whereas we are sure about the fact that the determination and willingness to achieve a result are at the highest level, provided that we manifest spirituality, also in spite of negative circumstances.

– This acceptation of result never is compatible with violence as the symbol of the fusion between the present and the past mitigated by conventional negativity is still a very positive concept. Also the same fusion never is compatible with depression and anxiety because of its inner symbolic structure (circle + internal point + point in upper position) that also represents the idea of temporal and spiritual preservation.

– In addition, result is conceived as something intrinsically dynamic because it is the outcome of a process. While negating the fusion between the present and the past through the symbol of conventional negativity, we notice that this negation corresponds to a situation in which past and present are separated (because negated by the backlash symbol) while still being part of a path. In the context of this path, the past represents the “becoming history of the result” (or progression towards the result) and the present stands for the outcome achieved thanks to the sacrifice and perseverance characterizing the past.

– As anticipated above, another positive acceptation of result is positive outcome reached after comparing our performances in different periods of time, in order to realize any improvements. This comparison holds a great degree of accuracy as each of us has got a thorough knowledge of their life experiences and data are very precise, especially under similar living conditions. In symbolic terms, the ideas of dynamicity and positive self-pride are clearly evident in the circle + internal point. Very subtly, the reader that wants to deepen more the concept of positive self-pride would benefit from the explanation of the activities characterized by sacrifice and perseverance outlined here:

Fourth paragraph of article

How can this be put in terms of guideline offered by the philosophical symbolic system?

Whenever we try to achieve a result we should not conceive the latter as embodying all the negative acceptations outlined, otherwise we run the risk to experience deep anxiety, depression and ultimately suicide, apart from the risk to commit violence. Instead, we should embrace the positive acceptation of result allowing us to regulate our emotions, apart from prompting us to continuous self-improvement (and that’s why result is not simply an arrival point but an arrival point becoming a new departure point). This reflects the symbol of the circle included in the negation of the symbol of the fusion between present and past. On a more technical note, the symbol of conventional negativity \ is not able to subvert totally the concept of fusion between present and past (the circle + internal point + point in upper position) because this symbol holds a very high position in the symbolic hierarchy. As a result, \ does not actually negate the mentioned symbolic fusion but it changes (or deviates) its meaning.

Incidentally, the symbolic hierarchy is illustrated on page 112 of the philosophical treatise.

This is the overview of the neutral and positive symbols of the philosophical symbolic system, included the fusion between present and past.

The striking example of Artax’s sinking into the swamp of sadness

by lorenzorizzelli

The striking scene of Artax’s sinking into the swamp of sadness, taken from the movie “The neverending story”, exemplifies one of the most important aspects forming the basis of the philosophical symbolic system, i.e. the gravitational attraction exerted on us by evil.

Artax died in the swamp of sadness due to deeper and deeper depression into which he had fallen. In fact Atreyu, who did not experience feelings such as depression and sadness, was not affected by the force of the swamp. Atreyu knew exactly that the swamp sucks you down if you stop believing you can walk in the swamp. And that’s what happened to Artax, who stopped believing in himself and, as a result, sadness overtook him.

There is a key symbol of the system (the monad symbol) shedding light on this fundamental point :

The monad symbol is a symbolic fusion made up of two components, i.e. the circle and the point. Although the graphic representation of the circle symbol is strictly linked to the notions of negative repetitiveness, persecution and constantly suffered offenses, our attention is instead focused on the concepts of anxiety, depression and lack of self – control (which are also expressed by the circle). Since human beings are limited creatures, every time they feel sadness and discomfort, there is a negative force pushing them progressively to deeper and deeper depression. This is a force (that one can label as “mechanistic”) which is implicit in our human nature, as resulting from purely physical processes. To put it more simply, as a volcano eruption may be considered mechanistic, so in case human beings are victimized, they may tend to react to a given offense,  by molesting physically or verbally another individual, due to a mechanistic force pushing them to commit an evil act. The concept of gravitational attraction exerted by evil on us represents a creative way of explaining the mechanistic negative force. Additionally, persistent anxiety and depression might lead to self – harming behaviour and, in the most extreme cases, to suicide.

Having said all this, what I want to bring to the fore is the fact that human beings are not made up solely of flesh and blood and cannot be considered like a “volcano”. Indeed, we are made up also of spirit and reason, which enable us to successfully keep our negative instincts under control, preventing us from committing offenses against others or ourselves. Let us move now on to introducing the second part of this explanation, related to the point symbol, which is inside the circle. The latter refers to a spiritual force or strong willpower exerting its action inside us, contrasting any gravitational evil attraction. Indeed, the spiritual positivity expressed by the point exerts an upward action whereby we are relieved from the gravitational evil attraction.

By recalling the fascinating example of Artax’s sinking into the swamp of sadness, we may assert that the force exerted by the swamp, which is clearly fuelled by the depression affecting the horse, may be associated with the gravitational downward force exerted by depression, anxiety and lack of self – control on us, which are three key ideas of the circle forming the monad symbol. On the other hand, Atreyu’s attempt to pull desperately on Artax’s bridle may, to some degree, approximate the ascensional movement of the spirit through which human beings break free from depression and anxiety. In my view, Atreyu’s attempt is unsuccessful because only the strength of will coming from the self can rescue ourselves from depression. In detail, this aspect is particularly crucial in the symbol of the monad, since the ascensional movement of the spirit must necessarily be an autonomous action, not depending on external elements. With regard to the two opposite movements mentioned, i.e. the gravitational and the ascensional ones, they are symbolized respectively by the down and up arrows, also included within the philosophical symbolic system.