If you watch TV YOU are the problem because:

TV programming is like a beautiful pearl necklace. The pearls are the good stuff. But who can see the string that holds it all together? Who can hear the hypnotic zombie chant… conform, compete, consume, breed? I hear it plainly.

Do you really need a pearl necklace?

 

its seems that you are trying to brainwash us with your repetitive posts

I thought for sure you would be out gardening right now..saving the world by watering plants

and yes, I need a pearl necklace

By the way, have you ever thought you might be schizophrenic,

 

• No, I’m searching for that inspired brother and sister who may could use some help to wash their own brain….that is if they still have a mind to!
• I picked a few flowers for mama today and planted a camellia and a couple of azaleas a couple of days ago…We had rain yesterday. Ground’s still wet.
• Shucks. I have no necklaces…way, way, way too many strings! I do have some pretty flowers…
• Yea…still do! How ‘bout you…still in denial?

 

*sigh*
No matter if it's TV, or a completely different subject, if in the wrong hands, it can be dangerous... but in the right hands, it can be a good source of information, entertainment, and communication.
There's some real shit on TV, and those with weak minds, might be too easily influenced by what they see on the television--- but you cannot blame TV itself for this... those same weak minds will be influenced by other sources, if not the TV.

And, as for "couch potatoes" ---to me, those are the same kinds of people who can't stop at a handful of chips and will eat a whole bag...those are the same kinds of people who just can't get enough of something, and will over do it.
Moderation is key.

I watch television at night, before going to bed, to relax and have a good laugh (I fucking love Frasier) and there's nothing wrong with it... I don't spend my entire day in front of the tube, or let a program stop me from enjoying an outdoor activity. I don't take the media literally.

Acting is a form of art, and it's ridiculous to think it should be shunned--- it too, is a form of expression. Anyone who spends their life in front of the TV, or tries to imitate a character on television, or listen to everything the news says, is the problem...not the TV itself.

 

Woooowwww.....
I respect your opinion, but your argument is incredibly weak, and a tad incoherent.

 

RE: Commercials---
Does anyone understand the nature of advertising? Of course its mental manipulation... if you have a ton of money on the line, based on the sale of a product, of course you're going to use the most mentally manipulative tactics you can, to get that product to sell. Don't tell me you never had a lemonade stand as a kid, that you spent lots of time making appealing posters for, and possibly waved down cars...
Don't tell me you didn't use the hot weather as your crutch to sell that lemonade, "It's hot out, but this lemonade will cool you off and quench your thirst!" (example)

But, if you have a mind of your own, why are ads a problem? (aside from the fact that they are usually boring)

And, believe it or not, every one of us use those same tactics, that advertisers do, to either prove a point, or get our way with something. It's human nature to try to get ourselves heard, and get our proposal approved.

If you're talking with a spouse about where to go to dinner for example... if they want mexican, and you want italian... you might say, "But, I was thinking we could do something with a little more of a romantic setting" in which you're tapping into your, and the other person's emotional side to get a reaction in your favor. Advertising is similar, if not the same. It should only be feared if your mind is flimsy.

 

ads sell products which allow people to make a living making,distributing, and selling those products.


Its the world, no use crying about it and its not going to go back to being purely agrarian either That system is what raised and fed almost everyone here.

 

Well, "Member",

I think that as with any tool or source of information, tv can be used in a productive or a destructive way. As can the internet/computers. The fact that you choose to attack one medium while extolling the virtues of another seems ridiculous and hypocritical to me.

That said, you made an argument about how reading for an hour of a non-fiction book would teach you more than a tv show. Perhaps it would give you more facts, but a great many of the shows I watch (educational), being able to see the mummies/ruins/food prep/bones/human remains/etc etc etc adds invaluable information. Pure text cannot fully grasp the majesty of the pyramids, nor show the intricate detail of ancient jewelry, nor truly reveal the glyphs used in Central America.

 

Who is weak? Who is innocent? Which one…or both? The infant that watches or the parents that introduce it…

…the hypnotic trance drone chant is everywhere…

…conform, compete, consume, breed...conform, compete, consume, breed...conform, compete, consume, breed...conform, compete, consume, breed...

Yes, yes, yes, you are way right...it isn't only TV...it's mom and dad, school, government, computers, you and me, god!

Everywhere!

 

Eh,... he has a point mostly I think he's trying to get across here

Get out an away from our media an most of material gains an engage a bit more
with Mother Nature an our relationship within

Brain is far more complex than a computer

But when not exercised in other areas.....like meditation...etc....
becomes a bit dusty in there...hehe

I know I see this in all media....corporations...religion...politics....etc....all around us

I'm always chasing 'rainbows' so to speak as so do I think of material gains
I notice I seek more of less needed material stuff when further from media exposers
True when on road

Like a 'veil' we cannot see....until we back off an take a look back
yup...dang how did I miss that.....<<example

Many times I have been stressed.....eh guess what....'coughs'
Yup....
I said 'Oh this is NOT happening'
hehehe

But the scarey part

Is the fear that 'we' become to taken that we forgot how to find the
'common ground'...to seek our truths

Dang I didn't want this to sound this way.........but it came out ....so am gunna leave it as such.

I don't always agree with all folks on all subjects
I try to look within
Not easy
Ususally I wait awhile an try again
If not
I ask myself why can't I see
Have I become so blind

Right now a good 'drummin circle' or even sounds echoed in the forest would sure sound good right now surrounded by the sounds of luvin folk

Aren't we


Well, luvs ya all.......I know most of do care or we wouldn't be on this hipforums

I care enough to search...read....listen..
An hopefully learn to respect 'the feather'

My habits are terrible....eh yeh ole granny here ..an she knows darn well better

But I do luv to see those open their hearts....which in turns opens their minds (or is it other way around) hehe

But I do see we by nature seek out what we want or think we want
an the media knows that very well

But I've also seeked further an found a little road an it brought me here back in 99

I wanted to babble here a bit.......hopefully you'll all peacefully look
an take in all gifts with 'wisdom'

luvin ya all

hugs

 

Beautiful sister,



Your words sing with the rhythm of the drum circle...community ... harmony...nature...celebration!



Yes...the veil! The "I's" that cannot see...



Zero degrees of separation!



Peace and Love.

 

A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts, By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought forces and mind elements operate in the shaping of his character, circumstances, and destiny.

Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that a man's circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within himself that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development.

Every man is where he is by the law of his being. The thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. This is just as true of those who feel "out of harmony" with their surroundings as of those who are contented with them.

As the progressive and evolving being, man is where he is that he may learn that he may grow; and as he learns the spiritual lesson which any circumstance contains for him, it passes away and gives place to other circumstances.

This is from a book called "As a Man Thinketh". It's available for free online.

It seed ordering time and I'm expanding the selection this season. So many beautiful things to grow.

I could use some help benther in organizing young people in my community to plant good seeds of respect and revolution if you'd like to PM me.

 

Its twenty degrees here we finally have our winter, Flowers will come in
May. Untill then .......................

 

LOL, I feel you on that. It's been FRIGID out here ---it went from like 60 degrees to 10 overnight, pretty much. And well, the flowers just dont grow through snow.

But, he is right about one thing... there are other things in life to enjoy besides TV and technology. Being that I am fairly intolerant to the cold, I'm learning yoga and getting more involved with the animal shelter...things I can do inside, but still keep my mind and body active.
And, there are a lot of people who live in the climates that we do, that just shut themselves inside in front of the TV all winter, which is pretty unhealthy.

 

wait. I watch History channel, Animal Planet, Science channel, National Geographic...

and thats bad?

I may watch adult swim occassionally but I pretty much just watch educational programming.

You guys are making too strong of a judgement

 

"TV programming is like a beautiful pearl necklace. The pearls are the good stuff. But who can see the string that holds it all together? Who can hear the hypnotic zombie chant… conform, compete, consume, breed? I hear it plainly.

Do you really need a pearl necklace?

Us guys are just trying to liberate the mind's I.

 

and you are qualified to liberate someone's mind why? Delusions of grandeur is more like it.

Plus irritating style

 

I don't watch TV at all... it's too dumbed down for me to enjoy, and I'm not going to pay for NBA League Pass (which is all I would watch anyhow).

At the same time... I see nothing with people who watch TV as mere entertainment. Few things in life are truly "bad" as long as they are not taken in excess. Watching TV for a while a day does not hurt anyone... especially the rather strong, anti-consumerist minds of these forum. You are preaching to the wrong choir.

Even though, when people ask me to preach something I believe in... I refuse.

Be a teacher, not a preacher... I say.

Go and teach by example now... yes, yes.

 

I find it really intriguing how the OP ignores most posts in here and only responds to a few in a bit of an inflammatory style.

I will say again, that I believe educational tv is fine and dandy, that tv/movies as a medium provide certain forms of invaluable information that you cannot replicate with a book (ie things in motion), and that watching the news is a great thing to do (hey saves on trees used in newspapers right?). I also see nothing wrong with occasionally taking a mental break with the silly shows like CSI and Heroes etc. I don't do pot, so my way to give my mind a bit of a reprieve from the normality of my life is to watch some tv.

If you don't like that, that's too bad, you should go do something far more productive than trying to change my mind while hypocritically using a medium that is far more addictive to a great many people.

 

WELL SAID, especially:
while hypocritically using a medium that is far more addictive to a great many people

The internet is full of a LOT more filth than the TV... by fucking far. But, with that said... is it fair to criticize people for using these things? To the OP, would you prefer a more regulated society...in which people are limited to the amount of TV they watch or how long they spend on the internet? What about freedom, what about letting others choose for themselves how they want to spend their time?

People that get worked up over television, and what's on it...or the internet, for that matter, are the same people that are going to end up taking away responsible individuals' rights.

I'm so fucking sick of hearing about it. If you don't want your children to watch a violent TV program, thats one thing, and thats fine, and you do what you think is best for your children, but dont tell other people how to live their lives.