#Or do essays on communities/subjects that they themselves have no knowledge of or experience with

[witch-of-snow-and-stars]

Long rant under the cut:

Maybe it's because my AP World History teacher had a "fail you til you don't suck" way of teaching us how to write essays, but a lot of the essayists I've seen would have been failed by her due to lack of quality essays (both in terms of structuring and in terms of informative writing). Tbh I'd respect a lot of these essayists more if they said they did commentary videos and/or made think pieces because most commentators and think piece writers typically are open about just being someone with thoughts/opinions about things, not necessarily someone who's done research and/or has some level of authority on X subject. The entire James Somerton situation should have been a major wakeup call for a lot of people for a lot of reasons (beyond even what I've mentioned) and it just wasn't.

I think a big part of the issue is that a lot of people play video essays as background noise and are a passive audience rather than an active audience. It's incredibly difficult to analyze what someone's arguing or what the quality of that argumentation is if you're only halfway paying attention, much less check their sources or the materials that they cited. I'm not against long videos or background noise videos but essays are kinda supposed to be engaged with, the basic purpose of an essay is to say 'I contend X about this topic and I'm going to defend that contention with these points backed by information'. An essay is just a one sided debate (typically with some acknowledgement of differing views) that communicates information and *should* be able to stand up to good faith critique or counter-arguements. A lot of video essays either don't accomplish that or just don't hold up under fair scrutiny.

I'm not saying that you should be paranoid that every essayist is up to something or anything like that, but you need to examine what they're communicating with a healthy dose of skepticism. Hell, read what I'm saying in this with a grain of salt too

Anyway thanks for dealing with my tedtalk, rant over

YouTube essayists have too much power over you people

[oddtransfem]

So what's wrong with AFAB transfems anyway?

I might make a longer essay about this but for now, I wanted to jot down some thoughts.

I'm well aware of the origins of the term, to my knowledge it began in the intersex community by people who meant well and sought to describe an experience intersex people noticed they were having. Understandable but even then there was a fatal flaw.

My biggest gripe with the label is the first word in it. "AFAB". Supposedly, this is an identity label, words that describe someone's gender, modality or alignment. Why is it then that the assignment is part of the label?

There's a pretty clear reason why. There's an acknowledgement that transfeminine people assigned female at birth will have a different experience to other transfems. Fine and dandy right? Well still not really.

I discussed this a little in my essay 'Assigned Femininity', how identifying with an assignment is harmful not only to trans women but also trans identity. The very point of transitioning whether social or medical is to remake yourself, to define yourself outside of society's strict gendered assignment of female and male. To use one of those assignments as part of an identity, even if it's meant to describe an experience, is counterintuitive to adopting a transgender identity.

Trans women have been pointing this out, why don't these people use intersex transfem instead of AFAB transfem? Again, I get why, wanting a distinguisher for people like you is an understandable and very common thing for a community to push for. In simple terms it's just a bad one, it doesn't do what it sets out to do.

One of those reasons being that it's made people extrapolate assigned female TO female, a tendency humans have to simplify. They assume someone assigned female was born a certain way, has certain genitals, was raised as a girl, retained their female assignment throughout their lives, etc. It associates someone's identity with how they were assigned, the opposite of the point of being trans. It too splits a line down the middle, distinguishing "female" transfems from "male" transfems, do I have to explain what's wrong with that?

It's no wonder then that TERFs have adopted the label. It was inevitable, emphasizing a "female experience" was bound to alienate transfems who frequently have their own assignment used against them. TERFS said they were the real trans women, explicitly saying that trans women were not real women themselves. Ignoring the trans part, this likely begun the notion that AFAB transfems were cis women invading the transfeminine community to adopt aesthetics and culture while simultaneously speaking over transfems on their own subjects. The worst part was, that really was and still is happening. Intersex people find themselves distraught that a word they created for their people has been co-opted by bigots and face the repercussions for it. It never should've been used in the first place but regardless of TERF status or transmisogynistic peddling, a group of people were overwhelmingly labelled as disingenuous. To say this was out of left field would be ignorant to the level of transmisogyny stirring in these spaces though the minimal good that could've come out of the term all went down the drain.

That's another difficult topic, how AFAB transfem despite all its issues is the most popular term for these groups of people. It makes a horrible distinction but the only real one considering the more obscure labels (honeybee transfem, wïfmull, trollfem) don't have much of a community behind them. All that's left now is a clusterfuck of bad information. Misunderstandings of what it means to be transfeminine. Harassment. Blatant, internalized or otherwise relatively subtle transmisogyny. There's too much to say about it, how so much is wrong with people determining themselves to be transfeminine because of a supposed disconnection to womanhood, the desire for a penis or a masculine body structure. How there may very well be an experience that deserves recognition that isn't being explained with very much tact at all.

For a long time, this conversation has scared me away. I thought I was a bad person because I couldn't find a way characterize my experience with womanhood as anything other than trans. I interrogated myself based on my knowledge of transmisogyny, why do I think this? What makes me so different from a cis person? I couldn't stop feeling like I was doing a bad thing and trust me, I tried to stop. I've never used the AFAB transfem label, I knew its issues but the word too caused me a great deal of dysphoria that sent me down several mental health spirals as well as one severe dissociative episode where my entire identity as a human being nearly crumbled. I looked for anything else, ipsogender, adfeminine, demigender, sensfeminine, any little micro label but it did nothing for me. It just isolated me from any sense of community or culture. I truly do have an understanding of the people who fight for the label so hard, I know that there's a genuine experience of gender underneath all of the shit. In my opinion though, it's time to let the label go. There are better options out there. In my essay I described in more detail who I called assignment variant transgender women. I won't describe everything here, for that, go read my essay on WordPress.

Thank you for your time.

[neruomancer]

Essayturgy

aka content creators, telegenics, Ted's Talkers

The Internet is a couple hundred miles wide but it is only about a few feet deep. There is so much content out there now that it is difficult to put the time aside to invest into anything. You want to watch that show that everyone else at work is watching? Well it is several seasons in and by the time you get a moment to watch it you have some homework you need to do. But that is ridiculous isn't it? TV and movies should be something you put on in the background as you relax from your day at work. When you play a video game you shouldn't have to invest time in lore or the miniscule textures of the world, you are still trying to figure out the texture of this world let alone a different world. I can't possibly know the entire history or background of a beef between two celebrities, I just don't have the time for investment. What if there was a way for you to get all the information up front in less than half the time it would take to engage? You go to YouTube (or some other video platform equivalent when YouTube explodes in the future) and you type about the topic you want to learn. Let's say that show your coworkers are talking about and bam, there is a four hour YouTube video about "X show is genius and here's why" or "The Consequences of Y character doing X". Now you can get the ins and outs of the entire show in half the time it would take. You find a couple of videos and you find some people you like and from there you find out they have an entire back catalog of other videos. "A retrospective of a show with 10 seasons" and it is 6 hours, you can watch it in the background while you are cooking dinner and you can chat with your friends about it by tomorrow.

Not only that but these videos also can provide hidden aspects of shows or movies you didn't see before. You can apply an entire philosophy or ideology to the ways and means of random or unconnected things and then create connective tissue between them. If you make a video convincing enough you can make people believe that a children's show is the best way to understand a foucauldian panopticon or you can say that a television personality is secretly part of an unsavory ideology due to hidden hand signals that they present while on live.

The sum total experience of anything can be filtered through one person (or a team of people) but you are going to see the face of one person as you go to source on certain topics. Right now there are media savvy alchemists that are taking the pure lead of time and engagement in learning about something and transmuting it into the gold of pure inexperienced knowledge. 100% pure unfiltered qualia right into your brain. You pour the time and hours in a video editor to create visual-auditory hallucinations of reality. Get a couple thousand views on a video, get a nice plaque for your studio, create a platform for your opinions and now you have become a thought leader for your chosen community whether it is the lore and deep dives of a day time television show or you are devoted to the developing lore of an off screen background character.

The central paradox of this school is that you are presenting your essay as the sum total knowledge on certain subjects without the viewer really experiencing it for themselves. They are fans or experts in fields they have no experience in.

Stats

The charging structure for Essayturges is based on a consistent narrative they present in their videos. They must build a platform through any medium of their choice as long as it is a video presented in an essay form. The video must be at least 30 minutes long and must present a topic whether it is a retrospective of a given topic and it must provide a theory or an idea that the topic is addressing. "Bluey is about the nuclear family and here's why" "FNAF is about the fall of/or the corruption of Mascot centered business" etc.

Essayturges can choose multiple topics to address but it is best and easier for an adept to focus on 2-3 topics at hand that way they can spin a constant narrative or idea about a given video. Essayturges cannot gain multiple charges of one video. One charge per video whether it is a minor or a major charge.

Generate a Minor Charge: Make a video that is 30 minutes or longer about a topic. The topic can be informative but it can also present a theory. The video must gain at least 1000 - 10,000 views over a week.

Generate a significant Charge: Make a video that presents a theory or an idea about a subject or a medium. The topic can be informative on the subject but it must present a theory related to the subject invented from whole cloth. The video must gain at least 10,000-100,000 in a month.

Generate a Major Charge: Make a video that casts doubt or upstages another video essayist. You must either provide proof or you must present proof that can be believed beyond doubt even if it is not true. The video must gain at least 500,000-1,000,000 views in two weeks.

Taboo: You can never correct yourself or admit you were wrong about any topic. You can update your theory or you can reword things you have said previously but you can never say that you were incorrect about any subject you presented.

Random Magick Domain: Being a Essayturgist is about changing people's or the audience's perspective to accept your understanding of a certain topic or subject matter. Once you have changed peoples understanding of a certain subject you can change how they think and substance of consensus reality. Reality is at the whims of your editing software.

Charging tips: You can work Essayist magick as a radio show DJ or a podcaster as long as you also film everything you release in tandem with your recording. As long as it is presented in an informative fashion. This goes with Ted talks as well, as long as they are filmed and placed on YouTube. The video you make does not have to be on your channel that you have made you just have to be the one presenting information and it must be on your terms. You can't charge from someone else making a video about you but if an interview you are in goes viral you can charge as long as you are guiding or controlling the narrative.

Essayturgy Minor Formula Spells:

Clout

Cost: 2 minor charge

A Essayturgy can cast this on themselves or anyone and they will appear extremely likeable or at least tolerable for a brief time. If someone is chasing you down wanting to kill you, they suddenly don't feel the desire to hurt or harm you and may just stop in there tracks completely. If someone is indifferent about you, you can turn them into a rabid fan briefly.

Like and subscribe

Cost: 1 minor charge

Have you ever had a thought that didn't feel like your own? Maybe it was a intrusive thought? Maybe a adept is trying to get you to say something you shouldn't or don't want to? With this spell you can make people tell you what is really on there mind. But it will only be exact what is not there mind. You can't extract secrets or interrogate them, they can only tell you what they are thinking at that exact moment.

Copyright strike

Cost: 2 minor charges

You can block something or someone out of view of another person or a group of people. This person for whatever reason will not be registered or viewed by anyone this is effecting. This spell will only work if you or the person under the effect of the spell is playing copyrighted music.

Stats for Nerds

Cost: 2 minor charges

With this effect you can learn specific details about any person. Usually it is only one thing and you typically will not be able to decide what you learn about that person but you will be able to learn about someone's exact date of birth or blood type.

Essayturgy Significant Formula Spells:

Hey Guys!

Cost: 2 significant charges

Essayturgists are strong personalities and have a particular sway over people, this spell enhances that three fold and allows for the adept to implant commands and suggests into a person or into a crowd of choice. If you work the ability on one person or a group of three the suggests are much stronger and last longer while of you where to cast it on a larger crowd it gets diffused and a weak suttle suggest that lasts only a minute or two. Casting the spell on one person you can make them a Manchurian candidate for 24 hours while casting it on a crowd of 15 you can have them look away from you for a brief period of time.

Fix it in post

Cost: 2significant charge

You can change the outcome of a event or a action that happened 5-10 minutes in the past. If your friend gets hit by a car you can go back a minute before it happens and hold them back or redirect the car to crash into a wall.

Major Charge Effects

You can choose one person to retroactively erase from existence. You can pick one day to repeat for 24 hours in a select location, such as a small town or a certain building.

[silverjirachi]

That’s not true? At all? That’s highly dependent on the teacher of course, and some ABSOLUTELY do this and I can only imagine it’s gotten worse, but as a professor that’s not at all why I assigned essays?

There were two main reasons why I would assign essays in class:

1) I teach in an artistic field where the material is not objective. I was genuinely interested in fielding their thoughts on the subject matter and encouraging them to form their own opinions. It was also to make sure they had actually looked at the material or engaged with it at all. (“While working on my monologue I discovered this and this and this.”). A lot of them were reflective or asking them to form their own opinions and relationships to what was being asked of them.

2) Related to #1, but taken further. Analysis & Interpretation. This is like reflection but it’s asking you to form your own opinions and then back them up. One class I taught was centered around learning to analyze and engage with art, even art you don’t understand or like at first, which is a really important skill to develop and can only be taught by doing. I literally cannot have them practice that skill in any way that is not having them write it down and hand it in to me, because asking them to analyze and interpret on the spot is not only not fair but not giving them the chance to go through all the steps and tools I provided them with to practice this skill. In class we went over things like how to look at color, shape, size, texture etc, they learned all these terms and skills and practiced how to put them together to get at why a certain piece of art made them think or feel a certain way. That’s not something you can just.. do?

Professors, good professors anyway, assign you essays because they want you to learn something. They want you to engage with critical thinking on the subject, and that extends to fields that are not as subjective as mine! Historians are constantly interpreting, analyzing, and speculating, scientists need to analyze and synthesize information to be able to form a hypothesis, take their research and build on it. You can’t do these things without writing them down- at least not in any meaningful way that will allow other people to use them, which is how knowledge in science and other fields is created. Creating knowledge and writing it down and having discussions with each other with analyzed opinions is literally why technology and our society progresses at all. And to do it well, you need to practice it as a skill.

I’m not saying the problem you’re talking about doesn’t exist. It does. Very much so and I’m sure it’s only gotten worse as both teachers and students get more and more jaded and burnt out. But essays aren’t just arbitrarily assigned to give you something to do, or “sort students into categories.” Good professors give feedback to tell their students why they didn’t get full marks and what they can do to improve. These are based on the skills demonstrated behind the words, not the words themselves.

What I’m saying and what I think is damaging about AI is that it’s not encouraging students to engage with the skills of analyzing and explaining themselves that are going to help make them successful in their careers. Someone who can communicate and back up their points well, even if it’s not the most eloquent thing you’ve ever heard, is going to be more respected in their career than people who can’t. And the good news about this is that it IS absolutely a skill that can be taught to ANYONE at any skill level or experience, but you as the student are actually the only person who can teach it to yourself by doing it. Professors can give you tips and pointers and strategies, but unless you actually work on being able to work through facts, data, and opinions, you are not going to develop this skill. That’s what students are robbing themselves of when they use AI. I don’t get mad at them because they’re “gaming the system” or something. I get really sad, because they are robbing themselves of the opportunity to challenge themselves and grow. Which is how you get the most of the hundreds of thousands of dollars we are forced to throw into school. Going into that much debt to cultivate absolutely no skills is a complete waste and a disservice to no one but yourself. Essays are practice.

I get that students have an incredibly burdensome workload. I don’t blame you if you choose to use AI because you are just too burnt out and swamped, especially if it’s one of those classes not as relevant to your major as others, and if your professor is particularly shit. But I am on my hands and knees begging you to at least consider what you are robbing yourself of every time you use AI, and to use it responsibly. At least actively pick when you’re doing it, and ask yourself if you can afford to skip out on this round of practice or maybe you need to work on that skill to understand the material more, or get better at explaining yourself.

Also if it was just about eloquence.. AI would not help you? AI has the most dogshit basic way of describing and explaining stuff I have ever seen. If it was purely eloquence AI essays would be getting C’s and D’s nonstop. Which is again gonna be a huge disservice to you and the GPA you so desperately need to maintain.

I’m not saying there isn’t a problem. There is. But if you never engage with material in your field, and I’d say even materials that arent in your field, because it’s good to understand things outside of your immediate sphere, the only one you’re hurting is yourself.

[bmebookmyessay]

How To Find Reliable Psychology Assignment Help Service?

Psychology is a complex and intriguing field that delves into the human mind and behavior. Students often find themselves overwhelmed with the breadth of topics and the depth of understanding required to excel in their psychology courses. This is where reliable psychology assignment help services come into play. BookMyEssay is a prominent name in this arena, offering top-notch assistance to students who seek psychology homework help. This guide will walk you through the key aspects to consider when searching for a dependable psychology assignment help service, highlighting why BookMyEssay stands out as a preferred choice.

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In summary, when searching for a dependable psychology assignment help service, it is essential to evaluate your needs, check reviews, assess the range of services offered, ensure originality, review sample work, and consider pricing and confidentiality. BookMyEssay ticks all these boxes, making it a trusted partner for students in need of psychology homework help. With BookMyEssay, you can confidently tackle your psychology assignments and excel in your academic journey.

[faridabadmodern]

Importance of Role Models for Young Minds

A role model is someone worth being inspired from  in character and lifestyle qualities. Every student needs a model to influence them to do better in their academic and life endeavours. This is one of the major reasons schools teach their learners about who and how to make the right choice of role guides. Modern School Faridabad At the Modern School Faridabad, the qualified and experienced staff ensures the nurturing of students by inspiring them at each step.

Role models play a vital role in shaping the lives of school students. They are important sources of inspiration, guidance, and motivation. The influence of role models can be seen in various areas of students' lives, including academics, personal development, and career goals. In this essay, we will discuss the importance of role models for school students and how they can positively impact their lives. The Modern School Faridabad creates a space that helps students get inspired. The school encourages leadership opportunities that help students get inspired from one another. Juniors look up to their seniors and learn from them. Various inspiring figures are invited for guest lectures. CBSC School Students get empowered by them and learn more about themselves through them. The extensive alumni network of the Modern School helps students in engaging with people they can look up to. First and foremost, role models serve as a source of inspiration for students. Seeing someone who has achieved success in a particular field can inspire students to work hard and pursue their own goals. Learning about their accomplishments and the challenges they overcame can motivate the student to pursue a similar path. Moreover, role models can provide guidance and mentorship to students. They can offer advice and support to help students navigate challenges and obstacles in their academic and personal lives. For instance, a student who is struggling with a difficult course may benefit from the guidance of a teacher or tutor who has experience in that subject. Similarly, a student who is facing personal challenges may benefit from the mentorship of a community leader or role model who can offer support and guidance.

Role models can also serve as positive influences on students. They can model positive behaviours and values that are important for success in life. When students see someone they admire exhibiting positive behaviours such as hard work, perseverance, and kindness, it can encourage them to do the same. For example, a student who looks up to a successful athlete may be inspired to emulate their work ethic and dedication to their sport. In addition to inspiring and guiding students, role models can also broaden their horizons and expose them to new ideas and experiences. They can introduce students to different career paths and ways of thinking, expanding their knowledge and worldview. The Best School Faridabad For instance, a student who has never considered a career in the arts may be inspired by a successful artist who shares their story and passion for their craft. The impact of role models on students can also extend beyond the classroom. Students who have positive role models in their lives may be more likely to develop strong character traits and make positive choices. Research has shown that students who have positive role models are less likely to engage in risky behaviours such as drug use, violence, and delinquency. They are also more likely to develop positive relationships and make healthy choices. Furthermore, role models can help students develop important social and emotional skills. They can model healthy communication, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation, providing students with examples of how to navigate social situations and build positive relationships. Students who have positive role models may also develop a greater sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence, which can help them succeed in their academic and personal lives. Overall, role models are important for students because they provide guidance, inspiration, and positive influence, helping students to achieve their goals and succeed in life. In conclusion, the importance of role models for school students cannot be overstated. They provide inspiration, guidance, and positive influence, helping students to achieve their goals and succeed in life. Role models can broaden students' horizons, introduce them to new ideas and experiences, and help them develop important social and emotional skills. Schools and communities should work to provide students with positive role models in various areas of their lives, including teachers, mentors, community leaders, and successful professionals. By doing so, we can help students develop the skills and qualities they need to thrive in the world.

[elliottallanhilsinger]

Why Is a Mentor Good?

An expert in the subject you want to learn more about makes a great mentor. They will offer you advice and helpful criticism to help you develop professionally.

Mentors can encourage you to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. This is a crucial step in developing professionally because it enables you to get past any obstacles standing in your way.

A mentor with empathy skills can create deeper connections with their proteges and help them through challenging times. Empathy involves putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

Paying attention to non-verbal cues also enables you to learn about their viewpoint. You may be able to listen without passing judgment as well.

One essential component of emotional intelligence is the capacity for empathy. It's necessary for a happy relationship and promotes interpersonal interaction.

The desire to comprehend and experience another person's suffering is known as compassionate empathy. This inspires you to take action and end their suffering.

However, empathy feelings can also be overpowering and cause a person to neglect their needs. Considering other people's feelings can make you forget about your requirements, which can result in burnout and stress.

A good mentor has a dedication to their mentees, their work, and their role. They are always improving their knowledge and abilities and want to support their mentees in doing the same.

Success and happiness in life depend heavily on commitment. It indicates that you have taken a meaningful career path that will make every day worthwhile.

It is also a powerful motivator that can help you stay focused and on track with your goals. You can avoid being overwhelmed by hardship or losing sight of your priorities with commitment.

In the traditional philosophical sense, commitment encompasses many different relationships involving committed agents (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969; Scanlon, 1998; Shpall, 2014). In this essay, we examine these various commitments and discuss the cognitive and motivational mechanisms that support them.

An essential component of a successful team is open communication in the workplace. Teams can move more quickly when opportunities present themselves because it is a method of effectively and communicating information.

It also encourages teams to maintain accountability by demonstrating to everyone that they are being heard. The increased trust makes people feel more comfortable sharing their issues or challenges.

People need more motivation when communication is challenging. They might begin to feel unappreciated or, worse yet, that their opinions aren't respected.

In order to give mentees the confidence to do the same, you should set an example of open communication as a mentor. By doing this, you demonstrate your concern for their well-being and future and invite them to open up to you.

Whether it is about us, our organizations, or our goods and services, feedback is a form of communication that enables us to learn and develop.

Positive or negative feedback should always be delivered to another person tactfully and constructively. With feedback, it will be possible for someone to advance personally or professionally.

You must feel at ease providing feedback to your mentees as a mentor. Even though it's difficult, doing this will keep your mentoring relationship fruitful and beneficial.

The mentor you select must be adaptable, whether they guide you in your professional or personal life. They should be able to explain a situation in a way you can understand and be open to new ideas.

They must always be ethical and honest and never encourage their mentees to do the same.

You should also consider how long they have worked in your sector and whether they are continually learning about it. If they have at least ten years of experience in your field, it demonstrates that they need to be set in their ways.

Additionally, you should follow up with your mentees frequently. This might be done through pulse surveys or one-on-one catch-ups.

[astrolovecosmos]

Neptune: Deep Dive

Pink petals

fallen onto

night shaded

waters.

Nothing is ever as it seems.

Wood turned to metal.

Reality turned to dreams.

-Natasha Reeves 

The planet Neptune I think is most famous for two things - illusions and dreamy or ethereal associations. A lot of negativity is also commonly associated such as addiction, insanity, guilt, sorrow, denial, and doubt. This planet is complex and just like all the other planets has a huge array of associations. What prompted me to do a deep dive in Neptune? Well for one I’ve been going through the transit of Neptune in Pisces crossing over my IC which has been powerful and I am at the end of my progressed Moon in the 12th House. Also in my own chart I’ve been paying more attention to my natal Neptune placements... which are a lot more prominent and worthy of my attention than I’ve understood and noticed in the past. Honestly I spend a lot more time analyzing others’ charts vs. my own, and I really should have looked more closely at some of my own aspects. I have had a LOT of experience with Pisces influences throughout my life, intense ones. I want to make it clear that Pisces DOES NOT = Neptune. I’ve always wanted to write a whole essay about my experience as a Pisces friend, lover, family member, enemy, etc. An outsiders opinion but that isn’t this. This is a disclaimer because this is going to be both theory and my own experiences. This is a deep dive. 

The Sea’s Love and Wrath 

Neptune in a lot of mainstream media is described as gentle but this planet can be unpredictable and harsh, with erratic energy that could rival Uranus. Neptune can be about tolerance and kindness, seeing past the ego and material. Neptune can embody or promote unconditional love and forgiveness. Because Neptune can be about dissolving and merging this planet allows us to see ourselves in others, maybe even in everyone allowing for compassion, empathy, and the ability to love very freely and openly. But the illusion and deception of Neptune is its shadow. 

Romanticizing and idealizing can be one of Neptune’s downfalls. Many times this is described as putting other’s on a pedestal but this can be applied to any area of life from work to places to ideals. From this those with strong Neptune aspects or prominent placements can find that disappointment is a frequent visitor. Neptune square, opposite, or conjunct Venus can quickly fall for others, trust others, and gravitates towards those they want to help or who have a strong personality they can meld with. Neptune opposite or square Mercury may face the frustration and disappointment of frequently being misunderstood or finding that they easily misread others or trust their words. After feeling tricked there can be wrath to these oceanic bodies. 

Where will their vengeance or anger land? It isn’t fair if they idolize you to get mad at you... sometimes their anger is self-loathing and self-destructive, other times they take you down with them. But the lesson is that Neptune can be as soft and as dangerous as the sea. 

Enlightenment and Madness

Coming down from the high, was getting lost in Neptune’s blue. Dreams and visions dancing in the back of my mind, when reality is so hard to chew. Sensation used to distract and pieces of stories stitched together to where nothing is fact.- Natasha Reeves 

There are many influences that can grant us wisdom or enlightenment throughout astrology, but I don’t see too many writings or posts about Neptune and its connection to enlightenment, nirvana, or eurekas and on the flipside also insanity and denial. Neptune can pull away the fog to give us clarity - especially when looking at the whole of things, the big picture. Neptune can famously also be the fog. 

The transit of Neptune crossing over my IC/4th House brought a lot of light to my childhood and how I was raised. However my IC is in Pisces, while Pisces isn’t the same as the planet, and many astrologers believe Neptune is not the ruling planet of Pisces - it is a sign known for illusions, confusion, and vagueness much like Neptune. I came from a place of a lot of secretiveness and vagueness, but when the “planet of illusions” crossed over I found myself accepting the instability and moments I felt lost or clueless in my life as well as looking back with remembering and understanding. 

Neptune can represent the part of us that is hard to grasp and understand, it also faces us with the idea that it is okay to have unanswered questions, to not have closure, that many times we have to create that closure or solidity ourselves. Neptune much like Jupiter is a matter of faith whether in ourselves or a higher power. 

It should be noted Neptune doesn’t always mean outside sources. Neptune is an introverted, intimate actor. It can represent how we lie to ourselves, trick ourselves, or how we push responsibility off of ourselves. Neptune also allows us to see, understand, more importantly feel what we easily ignore or can’t see. 

Life’s Extremes - Our Extremes 

“Neptune moves between the greatest extremes: from the highest spiritual awareness through imagination, fantasy, and illusion, to the depths of deceptions and disillusionment. The planet of mysticism, glamour, and enchantment, Neptune exerts a hypotonic fascination.” - Judy Hall. 

When many think of extremes they probably think Pluto before Neptune. The blue sphere isn’t going to take away the icy orb’s reputation - Pluto holds tightly in terms of extremes, but Neptune is far from a level-headed, consistent influence. Let’s touch on fantasy and illusion - two things that tends to warn of foolishness or impracticality, but fantasy is part of everyone’s life, no matter how pragmatic or mature an individual claims to be. From coping to manifesting to understanding to enjoying, fantasy is a natural human thing. Think of how often you daydream in an hour, how many books, movies, and games you indulge in, how often you find yourself being tempted by gossip, and how often you find yourself painting a picture of another in your head - negative or positive. 

Neptune symbolizes the abstract, importance, and rawness of our fantasies. Individuals with prominent Neptune aspects can find themselves easily tapping into their imagination, falling into escapism frequently, or have a great use for their wild ideas. If you think of the subject of fantasies or illusion as an extreme - it makes sense. You aren’t going to get an interesting story without the gods and monsters. Our sleeping dreams often are filled with strangeness or strong emotions. Clarity to madness, hopeless romantic highs to deeply wounded sorrows, and dissolving/surrendering to becoming whole/complete are common extremes this planet centers around. 

I have Mercury Square Neptune which tends to make one doubtful of their own opinions and intellect, can increase misunderstandings, and make communication difficult for the individual. Mercury Square Neptune can make someone highly persuasive and deceptive but it can also make one easily confused, tricked, and manipulated by others. Rationality and intuition can conflict. One experience I have with this aspect is usually swinging from extremes to being very withdrawn and quiet to interrupting others, chatting away. I’ve been described by those in my life as always saying something they didn’t expect - few words but impactful or strange ones. This is an example of the more everyday way Neptune can present itself.

“Neptune-attuned people possess glamour in the old sense of the word: the ability to bewitch. They are also impossible to categorize or pin down, demonstrating the planet’s elusive quality. Lacking strong boundaries, Neptune-attuned people are susceptible to outside influences.” - Judy Hall. It is from these lack of boundaries and fluidness we see Neptune’s extremeness. Neptune aspects can have us take on the traits of others and there is intensity in that. Let’s say we are talking about a Neptune to Mercury aspect, here may be someone who is easily energized or put down by the mood of another. Neptune to Mars can create a volatile person who fights, guards, and pursues based on their inner circle. 

Alice: Imagination and Dreams 

Personally I tend to associate Alice in Wonderland with Gemini themes. But I’ve seen her used as a metaphor for many placements and influences, such as Scorpio and Pluto. Neptune’s lostness certainly relates to the character and story. Neptune can be the planet of dreams. Challenging aspects to Saturn indicates someone who struggles to get in touch with reality while easy aspects to Saturn indicates someone who can marry big dreams or imagination to practicality. 

Neptune to Moon aspects can indicate powerful dreaming - almost intuitive or helpful in processing stress or trauma. So does Neptune in the 12th, 4th, 8th, and possibly 9th. Neptune in the 2nd can mean imagination or even dreams themselves act as a resource, maybe this is through inspiration or increasing one’s belief or confidence. Neptune in the 3rd may find themselves always remembering their dreams and keeping a journal. Neptune in the 5th blessed with all of the fun dreams of flying or dreaming of a favorite fictional character. Neptune in the 6th or 10th may find strikes of inspiration, knowledge, problem solving, or important foresight in their sleep. Neptune in the 11th may find comfort or realize important information about self and/or society in their dreams. 

Neptune is a newer planet, many times called the visionary, healer, or spiritual link or messenger. Traditional astrologers can approach the planet with a lot of skepticism. Its exaltation is in creative Leo, detriment in practical Virgo, and fall in usually praised as “visionary” Aquarius. Neptune is still new enough to be a hot topic of debate. You will find many astrologers don’t even agree on the planet’s exaltation, fall, and detriment. Leo is considered one of the most creative sign and on the topic of imagination and dreams Neptune can feel amazing in this sign. It feels confident and shinning in its ideas, fantasies, and magic. Elusive and ever-changing Neptune doesn’t feel comfortable in stable and structured Virgo. But Aquarius is an unexpected challenge for Neptune. Aquarius is about collective action - unity that Neptune also is familiar with. But Aquarius is a cold sign and despite its unconventional side can be highly practical and may dislike unrealistic ideas or approaches. Saturn is Aquarius’s co-ruler after all. Neptune wants oneness as in intimacy, not oneness in action or rebellion like Aquarius. Neptune is the magical moonlit spring to heal all your wounds, especially the emotional and spiritual kind. Aquarius is the soul forge in Asgard from Thor: The Dark World or the hypospray in Star Trek. Aquarius is modern medicine most of the time and when Neptune is dressed in Aquarius’s colors at its best it is advanced medicine we don’t understand yet but are working towards. Neptune in Aquarius can be a genius, but it is about ambitious realism to help others, Neptune at its heart is about helping the individual on the most personal level. Aquarius is random strikes of lightning coming from an active mind while Neptune flows from one spot to another, always connected and coming from an original primal, emotional place. Aquarius is the future, Neptune is outside of time. Aquarius is intellect and Neptune emotions and intuition. Aquarius is rebellion, riot, revolution, Neptune is peace or death and rebirth - Aquarius is the noise and Neptune the silence. 

Some believe Neptune’s fall is in Capricorn, which the struggles exist with Capricorn’s strictness and clinging to reality and control.��Neptune in Leo is Alice looking regal like a queen or warrior going to fight the jabberwock, Neptune in Virgo can get dark, feeling uncomfortable and maybe in pain, but still important and empowering. Alice in Aquarius or Capricorn is likely a totally new story, adult Alice putting away the tea parties and white rabbits for a lab coat or pantsuit. 

What about Healing and the Spiritual? 

Let’s get to what Neptune may be most known for. That otherworldly connection, the power of love, transcendence. Neptune is dramatic and it is soothing. Neptune embraces all aspects of the human experience so we can focus more on the soul. Neptune is all about healing and how healing can come in a million ways. It can be fast and hard or slow and revealing. It is painful and messy, it goes in cycles, loops, falls and rises. 

Neptune whether the aspects are easy or challenging, whether in a house focused on the self or others, it gives everyone ways to heal and to connect. As an outer planet it gives a lot of insight into generations but in the unique placement of one’s chart it touches us with humanity. 

Pretty speeches, enchanting metaphors, crazy nights, and charming lovers lead us to our doom and a raw poem, crying ourselves to sleep, old medicine, late night graveyard walks, and maybe a rebound help us pick up the pieces. Neptune many times shows us that the unexpected is what tears us down and what lifts us back up. It teaches us nothing is inherently bad like substances, manipulation, honesty, authority, it is how it is used. Neptune shows us that you are the hero to some and the villain to others. 

Regret, shame, guilt, feeling trapped, isolation, addiction, grief, and sorrow are closely linked to Neptune. I believe many times this is due to the healing process or spiritual associations of the planet. These emotions are heavy and life-changing but they are emotions that many times need to be faced with a lot of bravery and work. They are feelings that also help us come to realizations. Neptune is associated with rebirth and if you examine emotions like regret or shame, sometimes rebirth is the only way you can shed those feelings. Neptune’s fluid nature also allows us acceptance, which is needed to deal with such heavy emotions. 

While we always talk about the lack of boundaries as a dangerous or bad thing... and it can be, these lack of boundaries like I mentioned above can allow for a very giving love and empathy, it also allows us to feel or interact with a higher power, magic, and the spiritual. Whatever your beat is - religion, magic, or the belief we are just star stuff, Neptune symbolizes our relationship with it. 

[grimmradiance]

Close to Me: How the Hollow Knight's Fighting Style Reflects Their Trauma (and the Radiance's as well)

So I've been trying to actually beat the Radiance, which means I've been fighting the Hollow Knight. A lot, as a matter of fact, since I'm beans at this game sometimes. I've also been thinking about @lost-kinn's meta about how fighting styles are how Vessels, especially the Little Knight, communicate.

In trying to apply this to the Hollow Knight, I've been coming to some very interesting conclusions, especially taken in context of...Everything Else in the lore, and Everything Else implicated in this by the psychology of it.

There's a lot to cover here, and it tracks through a LOT of different places, including trauma psychology, the relationship between chronic stress and lifespan health, and shape symbolism. Two warnings first:

One: this essay is gonna get heavy. It includes fine-grained discussion of the Hollow Knight's trauma, including discussions of the real-life machanics of psychological abuse, as well as the Extremely Concerning Implications of them harming themself during their boss fight. please read with caution and when you're in a safe emotional place to do so.

Two: This post is not a place for justifying the Pale King. If you read this essay in its entirety and still want to do that, please make your own post; my relationship to the Hollow Knight themself is deeply rooted in my own experiences, so in the context of this discussion I can't promise I won't take it personally.

With that out of the way, let's talk trauma and fighting styles:

We know that the Hollow Knight is trained to be a paragon of fighting skill, through the Pure Vessel fight, and this gives us a fantastic way to compare what they were like before they were made Government Assigned Radiance Jail, and after. Or, in other words, we're given the perfect opportunity to see what the Radiance is doing (i.e. context effects), and what Hollow is (i.e. what we can conclude is reliably consistent as a part of them). Listed here, for reference:

Hollow's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Radiant Shade Soul, which launches a volley of Infection blobs in arcs

A Radiant Desolate Dive, which produces pillars of entwined Void and Light at random intervals

The Infection bursting out of them in random arcs, covering a significant amount of the aerial space of the arena

The Radiance ragdolling their body around trying to hit the Knight

Contact damage from them stabbing themself and falling over atop you

The Pure Vessel's attacks:

Three slashes

A dash slash

A Pure Shade Soul, which launches a volley of nails in straight lines

A Pure Desolate Dive, which produces nails at specific intervals

A Pure Focus, which causes circular explosions across most of the aerial space in the arena

Lashing out with a Void Arm (word choice intentional)

I've highlighted attacks from each battle that are different, since those are our points of interest here. In addition, both the Pure Vessel and Hollow are exceedingly fond of teleport-spamming in a way that is usually reserved for a specific group of bosses.

Another very important distinction between these two fights: the Pure Vessel doesn't scream. Well, they certainly try to, but no sound comes out. No voice to cry suffering, after all. All of these points have a lot to go into, so let's address them one at a time.

All That Remains: Theoretical Background On The Significance Of Constants

Making comparisons across time is important specifically because humans (and human-like bugs) change. Most personality traits aren't set in stone--they exist as an interaction of someone's internal tendencies, their experiences, and their environment. Speaking of those last two points, not all experiences and environments are created equally. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs for short) are known to have lifelong implications for a child's health, both physically and mentally. These are events that are so stressful or stressful for so long that they exceed a child's ability to cope and become toxic stress (yes, that's the term in the literature, because it actively damages your organs). They compound, as well--the stress of one ACE makes it harder for a child to cope with another, especially if they overlap.

Some examples of ACEs? Being exposed to physical danger or the threat of physical danger, deprivation of normal social relationships with peers of a similar age, being forcibly seperated from family members, witnessing a loved one being hurt or killed, chronic illness in oneself or a family member, neglect of a child's emotional needs....

Poor fucking Holly. It's a miracle they didn't disintegrate under the pressure. The only other option is that they bent and adapted under that much stress--in other words, most of their personality has been forcibly reshaped by what they've gone through. Anyone who has up-close experience with parentification or complex child abuse already knows: this was by design. I'm not saying the intent was to traumatize the Pure Vessel past several points of no return, but the intent definitely was to reshape their personality for the purpose of being The Vessel. We only see them (the Pure Vessel) in battle after this process is mostly or entirely complete, but we do see them a few times beforehand. I'd like to draw attention to the Path of Pain cutscene right now.

I've seen people talking about the look the Vessel and the King share as a sign that TPK really does love his child. That might be true, but it's definitely not relevant when it comes to how abuse works. This is, in fact, exactly how the cycle of abuse uses affection as a tool. Long periods of abuse or neglect, smoothed over by small periods of affection that placate the survivor? That's textbook love bombing, the kind that forms stubborn trauma bonds and facilitates unhealthy dependency. Forgive me for not giving the Higher Being of knowledge and prescience the benefit of the doubt on that one. (/s)

Team Cherry knows about the importance of parallels and dissonance. There's a reason the music in the second phase of the Hollow Knight fight plays in the Path of Pain. There's a reason it cuts out the moment the battle with the Kingsmoulds is over, instead of at the room transition. There's a reason it doesn't cut out in the Black Egg. Actually, there's two potential reasons, which could also coexist: either little Hollow trusts the Pale King to keep them safe, even after the borderline torture that they were just subjected to, or big Hollow is so hypervigilant that they're in full functioning-through-trauma mode even while they're at death's door.

If you don't see how much the Pale King scarred his child at this point, I'm not sure we were playing the same game.

Walking the Straight Line: How the Pale King's Teachings Show In the Pure Vessel

The Pale King loves order and control. Everything about the White Palace and every decision we see him make implies this. Everything is spotless white walls and well-maintained gardens; the only signs of disorder are hidden away, either in his workshop or in The Pit™. This also reflects in the Pure Vessel's title--pure as in holy, but also pure as in without flaw. Considering the Nailsmith's emotional state after completing the Pure Nail, TPK's fate with his Perfect Controlled Kingdom, and the Godmaster ending as a whole, attaining perfection is not a good thing in any sense.

We know the Hollow Knight isn't perfect--that's the whole catalyst for the plot. But considering their upbringing and their fighting style as the Pure Vessel, their imperfections absolutely kill them emotionally. I'll spare the lecture on how perfectionism affects neurodivergent kids even more severely than neurotypical kids, if only to keep this post to a reasonable length (look up "twice-exceptional children" if you'd like to know the theory I'm glossing over in more depth). But, in essence, the deck is doubly stacked against them--they have a higher goal to reach, and far more obsctacles in their path, including their own emotional scars.

I've already discussed how Hollow isn't meant for this kind of stress in a physical sense in other posts. They're not prepared for it emotionally, either--the Pale King wants perfection, and they can't even stand up straight (every spoonie in the audience already knows how exhausting people's obsession with Standing Up Straight is). There's another page on their stack of emotional baggage, even BEFORE you consider that the Pure Vessel knows their perfection is what bought them a ticket out of the Abyss.

Bringing Teleportation To A Sword Fight: Where The Pure Vessel Reveals Their Fears

How else are they going to cope with that need for perfection, that need to prove themselves worthy of the reason their life was spared, by being flawless in any way they can? Being a mechanical, flawless fighter puts so much pressure on them, both literally (repetitive strain injuries fucking HURT) and figuratively--if you're predictable, the only sure way to win is to mop the floor with your opponents before they figure you out. Hell, that's the way most people play their first run of Hollow Knight, by throwing themselves at the bosses over and over until they figure out the patterns. That strategy is inherently going to fail against an opponent that's, say, an immortal higher being.

There's no way that the Vessel didn't figure this out, and yet none of their TPV specific attacks are positioned randomly--the nails are always evenly spaced, and the Focus explosions are always in a specific height region of the screen. That's clinging to survival strategies even when they become maladaptive in its purest form.

Another dip into psychological theory: let's talk about disorganized attachment. Attachment styles describe how someone's relationships to their main caregiver(s) influence their understanding on relationships in general. Disorganized attachment is a result of an upbringing of inherently unstable parent-child relationships, where there's no way of a child predicting whether an adult is going to be delighted to see them, ambivalent, upset, or otherwise. If my parent woke up some days saying "all right my child, time for the Infinite Buzzsaws Obstacle Course," I'd be the same way. In adulthood this manifests as an inability to form a stable sense of self-concept as well as concepts of others. Mission accomplished, TPK, there's no will to break if you broke it yourself.

This is where the fighting styles as communication comes in--Hollow needs to keep Ghost at a distance to fight, but also wants to be closer to their sibling (the only being who has a chance of understanding what they've been through), BUT also has a trauma-rooted fear of attaching to people, as their experiences with attachment are inherently unpredictable and dangerous. Hence, both the teleportation that doesn't seem to match their fighting style any more reliably than "aim at the thing attacking you" and the second attack unique to the Pure Vessel--they're quite literally lashing out in pain to push people away. There's a reason that attack is so reminiscent of the Thorns of Agony.

Of note is that Holly does seem to teleport like the bugs of the Soul Sanctum do (favoring the edges of a screen, rather than going wherever like Dream Warriors do), which makes sense--they're the most obvious answer to the question "how did they learn how to teleport, anyways?" However, Sanctum bugs have abilities designed to capitalize on this, like homing spells and slashes from above. I can only assume this means that someone saw Holly's proficiency with the nail and assumed it translated to other forms of combat, and didn't feel the need to give them at least a bit of a primer on how to make the best use of it. There's another tally for the Hollow Knight as an autism metaphor.

Trauma Bonds: How the Radiance Speaks Through Hollow

Now, we're back to the Black Egg, and two people stuck in the same sinking ship. The thing that makes this hurt so badly is that Holly and the Radiance are at complete cross purposes here, and yet they both want the same thing:

They both want out, no matter the cost. For the Radiance, this means forsaking the pacifistic nature of the moths and nuking Ghost personally.

For Hollow, this means forsaking the way they were raised and everything that was bludgeoned into their personality: the only way out is to fail, give up control, and trust that Ghost will do what needs to be done.

Imagine how much pain they're in to actually go for it. Going against a literal lifetime of conditioning is something that takes the average person years to even consider, let alone go through with. It's a form of learned helplessness--if you try to break free and fall, again and again, it actively discourages further attempts. Breaking through learned helplessness is an interesting process, because it generally involves re-establishing a sense of control by recalling previous events where the person was able to change their situation.

Which, as far as we know of, are nothing but traumatic memories for Hollow. It's very unlikely that they'd break through it on their own, but we know they have by the time we see the second phase of their fight. This is them at their most desperate: the same music as the Path of Pain, the way they let, or can't stop, the Radiance throw their body around, the way they actively try to let the Radiance out by stabbing themself.

You'd think that giving up and learned helplessness are inherently compatible, but when giving up both goes against your core personality, and involves your active participation, they're in direct opposition. So either Holly was able to process all their trauma by themself (which I doubt, judging by how much effort the player has to go through to even see Ghost's and Hollow's traumatic memories), or someone gave them a nudge or three in that direction.

Considering that there's been someone living in Holly's head who has a vested interest in them Not Doing Their Duty, I think we know who. And the thing is, I think we watch Hollow have this breakthrough during their battle. Imagine for the first time in decades, at least, you can move. You're in pain from being in the same position, probably hallucinating from sensory deprivation, with an infection sucking at what strength your body has left. And there's this little creature who looks ready to fight you, who seems to have let you go for that exact purpose.

And you look down, and both you and the Radiance recognize them from a place rooted deeper than consciousness, in the murky depths of trauma. You see the other Vessel who just as easily could have been you, and who looks so much stronger for not being you, for being an imperfect, willful creature. And the Radiance sees history threatening to repeat itself, another one of the Wyrm's cursed children seeking to lock her away once more.

What else do you do when you're triggered? You scream, and you go on instinct, and you retreat into your head. Those first blows, with the epic music? That's the Vessel the Pale King forged, the fighting machine that will endure unimaginable stress because it knows no other way. What snaps you back out of dissociation? Usually, either the passage of the triggering stimulus, or an even more relevant stimulus (severe pain from getting beaten up by a nail, for example).

The tragedy is this: we know this isn't a triumph. I think most of us went into that fight the first time, knowing we'd be putting the Hollow Knight out of their misery. The music turns tragic, Hollow screams, and then we see the Radiance and Hollow themself break through: the Radiance trying to fight Ghost directly with the resources she has, and Hollow trying to help her along.

For what it's worth, Hollow even had the right idea, when it came to letting themself rest while helping Ghost stop the madness their father started--they were just digging for the Radiance in the wrong place. The dynamic between the Radiance and the Hollow Knight is something I could write on for pages and pages, but this has gone on for long enough. Tune in next time, where I'll presumably talk about this same topic but in reverse with regards to the Radiance.

[timothypines]

Is Classical Music Dead? (Essay)

How does society determine when a particular genre of music is dead? From this question, multiple others are born. For example, do we consider that the inspiration from music continued throughout popular genres as the survival of what it was originally? Or is it dead because it has changed into something different from its original form? When it comes to classical music, it isn’t really as question about whether or not it is dead, but if it’s dying. Classical music is still being performed, listened to, and celebrated in communities today, so calling it dead seems premature, even foolish. That’s not to say that the average person believing classical music is dying is without merit; classical music isn’t usually on the radar for say a random person asked off the street. However, when looked at from the perspective of the musical community, classical music is positively flourishing and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

           In a New York Times Article, a violinist showed concern that the classical music industry was dying. Some readers responded in letters reacting to the concerns she expressed. The violinist started by saying, “A schoolboy recently asked me if Richard Wagner was a pitcher for the Yankees. At that moment I feared that classical music in America was doomed” (Dreyer). Like this violinist expressed, most people in the music community, and outside the community, acknowledge that classical music isn’t a subject that most people going through life know a whole lot about. While many know some parts of classical pieces and perhaps some names of famous composers, their knowledge is surface level and, for the most part, they don’t seek to learn more. This reflects in some worrying trends in the industry. Classical radio stations were shutting down, concerts were being reduced and canceled, less and less were classical musicians being discussed (Dreyer). Classical music simply isn’t popular. But from this trend came a great wave of musicians, teachers, and lovers of classical music who were determined to spread the love and knowledge of a music they deemed immensely important, and rightfully so.

           Most all of the music we have and enjoy today has elements that came from classical music, from the most basic to the more complex. The major-minor scale system that is commonly used in the majority of today’s music was first put into use in the baroque period. It was in this period that the scale system was also standardized (Willoughby). In fact, the baroque period standardized a great many musical tools, styles, and elements. From this period developed keyboard music, which lead to the invention of the modern piano, an instrument that can be argued to be the most important instrument when it comes to creating music, harmony, a base element in most music performed today, and the establishment of the orchestra (Willoughby). It would take a long time to list all of the musical elements gained and standardized in the baroque period, but it is certain that music would not look nearly the same if not for the major development that occurred.

           The baroque period, while very important, wasn’t the only period that significantly influenced music. The romantic period brought what was missing from music in the baroque period back into the musical community, emotion. A big emphasis on music today is how it makes the listener feel. While the baroque period brought technicality, all emotion was sacrificed for ridged structure and extremely complex technique. Beethoven put emotion into his music, effectively shifting people’s approach to composing. Willoughby writes, “These attributes of Beethoven mirror the attributes of the Romantic period as a whole; it was a time when artistic expression became highly individual and personal, and also highly emotional” (Willoughby, 253). With this wave of emotion came another change; music started being made for music’s sake. Composers started writing what they wanted to hear instead of what was popular or what the church needed for service. A large part of what music is now has come from classical music, and most people within the music community, of many genres, understand and respect this.

           It is important to be noted that while people respect the roots that classical music has provided, that doesn’t mean that people are very supportive of how it exists, or rather, how they believe it exists. There is a notion that classical music is elitist, for the rich and privileged only. One could point to the expensive ticketing for opera and ballets and orchestra performances to prove this point, but there are many things that are just as or even more expensive than these tickets that people don’t find elitist—for example, sporting events (Cross-eyed Pianist). Some people will point at the etiquette and dress for attendance at a concert hall. The fact remains, however, that opera houses and concert halls have no official dress code or strict rules everyone must follow. Music blogger and commenter goes on to say, “It troubles me, this negative perception of classical music and its fans, and it strikes me that currently there is an image crisis surrounding classical music. It wasn’t always like this. When I was growing up in the 1970s, there was more classical music in our everyday lives” (Cross-eyed Pianist). Most people have the notion that classical music is only accessible to and is only made for those better off than themselves, even though it has been available to and made for everyone’s ears for centuries now.

With that in mind, the love for classical music itself has not died out yet. There is a vast and passionate community of musicians, teachers, and listeners who adore classical music and saw it failing in the wider community. These people have worked hard and are continuing to work hard to spread a passion for classical music. An excellent example of some people doing this is the YouTube duo who run the channel Two Set Violin. On this channel they make comedy sketches, play games, and react to videos. All of this content is tied together by one thing, classical music. Brett and Eddy, the two friends who run Two Set, are professionally trained violinists who decided to make a YouTube channel to try and spread love for classical music. It was also important to them to make classical music and the education of classical music more accessible. They teach about music in an engaging, funny way all while encouraging their audience to create and perform music. Their saying is simply ‘practice’. They encourage their musician audience members by reminding them that no one who is really good at playing an instrument got there without hard work and tell them to keep practicing. Two Set has even brought on large musicians like Hillary Han and Benny Chen to talk about their experiences and the importance of practicing. This helps to break the stereotype of not only what a classical musician looks like, but how they act and how much work goes into their music. In one video, while reacting to an American Idol performance with two violinists, one of the judges says, “It’s so nice to see such young, good looking guys that play the violin because usually they’re like old and bald and, you know, a bit greasy” (Two Set Violin). They respond by pointing out that they themselves are young and that this is a negative stereotype. In another video they react to a man that says he is the fastest violin player in the world. Brett says, “the world needs to know that classical music is more than just playing fast” (Two Set Violin).  In these two videos, Brett and Eddy are challenging the media’s, and greater public’s, view of classical music, the view that classical music is old, for old people, and the people who participate are elitists who only care about perfection and technicality. And they have done so much more than videos like these reaction to other musicians. They have had videos where they have their followers compose a piece and send it to them to play. They have asked people to send in clips of them performing for them to react to. In so many ways these two violinists have gotten so many people involved in classical music. Over the years they have grown a great following of people who love participating in classical music, whether that be through performance or listening; as of today, they have almost 3 million subscribers (Two Set Violin). Brett and Eddy aren’t the only people who have gotten the public more involved in classical music. As social media has grown, classical musicians have become increasingly accessible to the public. The violinist Hillary Han often posts on Instagram videos of her practicing and other music related things, but she also speaks on social issues and gives insight into her life. This shows all 300,000 followers she is human (violincase).

           It is difficult to say whether or not a musical genre is dead, and even harder to say if it’s dying. The act of music dying would take centuries, and even then, there are arguments to be made that because other music that exists was influenced by the ‘dead’ music, it still lives. Classical music was the popular music for centuries, its memory will not so easily fade, especially to the point where it is considered a dead genre. Even if it is not a popular genre today, classical music is being kept alive by the musicians who perform it and the people who love to listen to it. Music is art that decorates and marks time, and so, as long as people paint time with classical music, it is not dead.

     Work Cited

Dreyer, Les. “Sunday Dialogue: Is Classical Music Dying?” The New York Times, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-is-classical-music-dying.html

Willoughby, David. The World of Music. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kindle Edition.

The Cross-Eyed Pianist. “Who Made Classical Music ‘elitist’?” The Cross-Eyed Pianist, 2019. https://crosseyedpianist.com/2019/07/24/who-made-classical-music-elitist/

Two Set Violin. “The World's FASTEST (and most INACCURATE) VIOLINIST!” YouTube, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsvaCU6i1M&ab_channel=TwoSetViolin

Two Set Violin. “Classical Violinists React to Mainstream Violin Competitions” YouTube, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uVN5Fb_Z44&ab_channel=TwoSetViolin

Han, Hillary. “@violincase” Instagram.

[nabilblig]

Education is that the tactic of facilitating learnin

Education is that the tactic of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of data , skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods include teaching, training, storytelling, discussion and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, however learners also can educate themselves. Education can happen informal or informal settings and any experience that features a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts could even be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is understood as pedagogy.

 What education really means?

True education is beyond earning degrees it's quite bookish knowledge. Education means inculcating moral values, positive thinking, attitude of helping, attitude of giving to society and ethical values these quite students are only able to bring changes in society.

 What is the simplest definition of education?

Education is defined because the method of gaining knowledge. ... the tactic of coaching and developing the knowledge, skill, mind, character, etc., esp. by formal schooling; teaching; training.

 What are 3 sorts of education?

There are three main sorts of education, namely, Formal, Informal and Non-formal. Each of these types is discussed below.

 Does education change a person?

Education changes lives. it is a fact. Data shows that just one extra year of schooling can increase a person's earnings by up to 10%, and if all students in low income countries left school with basic reading skills, it could pull 171 million people out of poverty.

 How many sort of education can we have?

According to experts, there are three differing kinds of education, each of which has its characteristics. Let's take a glance at them and the way they differ from each other . Formal education is anything that's taught during a proper setting sort of a classroom.

 Who has the facility of education?

Federal Role in Education. Education is primarily a State and native responsibility within the us . it's States and communities, also as public and private organizations of all kinds , that establish schools and college, develop curricula, and determine requirements for enrollment and graduation.

     Who controls the varsity system?

The public establishment is owned and operated by the govt. . it's weakened at the extent of every of the states, meaning that every state's legislators are liable for overseeing and ruling on decisions involving public schools therein state.

 What are functions of education?

Education serves several functions for society. These include (a) socialization, (b) social integration, (c) social placement, and (d) social and cultural innovation.

 How can education improve your life?

An education can greatly improve your quality of life. ... With an honest education, you'll also become well-informed about healthy living, making you more likely to live longer. An education also exposes you to new people and experiences which may have a positive impact on your life.

 What exactly is an essay?

An academic essay could also be a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis and interpretation. There are many kinds of essays you'd possibly write as a student. ... Writing: began your argument within the introduction, develop it with evidence within the most body, and wrap it up with a conclusion

 What is the simplest definition essay?

The definition of an essay could also be a brief piece of writing that expresses information also because the writer's opinion. ... A written composition of moderate length exploring a selected issue or subject.

 What is essay and example?

An essay could also be a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different kinds of essay, but they're often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays. ... At university level, argumentative essays are the foremost common type.

 How do I write an essay?

Tips for effective writing

Start writing early —the earlier the upper . ...

Keep the essay question in mind. ...

Don't plan to write an essay from beginning to end, especially not during one sitting.

Write the introduction and conclusion after the body. ...

Use 'signpost' words in your writing. ...

Integrate your evidence careful

 Does an essay have a title?

First page: Your first page should have your essay title (usually your essay question) at the very best of the page. Put it in bold and make it a bigger font. you ought to also still offer the introduction to your essay on the first paper. ... you've TO READ for your essay

 How am i able to write an honest essay?

Share Make an overview . Know what you're going to write of before you start writing. ...

Acquire a solid understanding of basic grammar, style, and punctuation. ...

Use the proper vocabulary. ...

Understand the argument and critically analyze the evidence. ...

Know how to write down down down an accurate conclusion that supports your research.

 What is during a good essay?

An essay should have one clear central idea. Each paragraph should have a transparent main point or sentence . ... An essay or paper should be organized logically, flow smoothly, and "stick" together. In other words, everything within the writing should add up to a reader.

 How do i explain points in an essay?

Your point should be a transparent introduction to the argument you are making during this paragraph; your example or evidence should be strong and relevant ask yourself, have you ever ever chosen the simplest example? your explanation should be demonstrate why your evidence is significant and therefore the way it conveys meaning; and your link should

  https://sites.google.com/view/your...riting-services/

[goodbye-toallthat]

Alain de Botton - Essays in Love

“My mistake was to confuse a destiny to love with a destiny to love a given person.”

“Do we not fall in love partly out of a momentary will to suspend seeing through people, even at the cost of blinding ourselves a little in the process?”

“Every fall into love involves the triumph of hope over self-knowledge.”

“Yet we can perhaps only ever fall in love without knowing quite who we have fallen in love with.

“The most attractive are not those who allow us to kiss them at once (we soon feel ungrateful) or those who never allow us to kiss them (we soon forget them), but those who know how carefully to administer varied doses of hope and despair.”

“If you asked most people whether they believed in love or not, they’d probably say they didn’t. Yet that’s not necessarily what they truly think. It’s just the way they defend themselves against what they want. They believe in it, but pretend they don’t until they’re allowed to.”

“Being loved is always the more complicated emotion, Cupid’s armor easier to send than receive.”

“Albert Camus suggested that we fall in love with people because, from the outside, they look so whole, physically whole and emotionally “together”— when subjectively, we feel dispersed and confused. We would not love if there was no lack within us, but we are offended by the discovery of a similar lack in the other. Expecting to find the answer, we find only the duplicate of our own problem.”

Stendhal : “Beauty is the promise of happiness”

“We have often read the same books at night in the same bed, and later realized that they had touched us in different places: that they had been different books for each of us.”

“Delusions are not harmful in themselves, they only hurt when one is alone in believing in them, when one cannot create an environment in which they can be sustained.”

“Perhaps it is true that we do not really exist until there is someone there to see us existing, we cannot properly speak until there is someone there who can understand what we are saying, in essence, we are not wholly alive until we are loved.”

“The problem with needing others to legitimate our existence is that we are very much at their mercy to have a correct identity ascribed to us.”

“Everyone returns us to a different sense of ourselves, for we become a little of who they think we are.”

“To comprehend her, I had to rely on an understanding of human nature that had been shaped by my biology, class, and psychological biography.”

“‘I love you’ can only be taken to mean, ‘for now.’”

“I bowed to the tremendous authority of what already exists.”

“The pleasures of depending on someone pale next to the paralyzing fears that such dependence involves.”

“We were sometimes seized by an urge to kill our love affair before it had reached its natural end, a murder committed not out of hatred, but out of an excess love—or rather, out of the fear that an excess of love may bring. Lovers may kill their own love story only because they are unable to tolerate the uncertainty, the sheer risk, that their experiment in happiness has delivered.”

“We would be like an audience emerging from a heart-wrenching play but unable to communicate anything of the emotions they had felt inside, able to only head for a drink at the bar, knowing there was more, but unable to touch it.”

“To love someone is moral only when that love is given free of any expected return, if that love is given simply for the sake of giving love.”

“One cannot blame a lover for loving or not loving, for it is a matter beyond their choice and hence responsibility — though what makes rejection in love harder to bear than donkeys who can never sing is that one did once see the lover loving.”

“We start trying to be wise when we realize that we are not born knowing how to live, but that life is a skill that has to be acquired, like riding a bicycle or playing the piano.”

“It is the confrontation between wisdom and wisdom’s opposite, which is not the ignorance of wisdom (that is easy to put right) but the inability to act on the knowledge of what one knows is right.”

“I was an unusually didactic sort of person, always keen to “learn” something from art, wanting my eyes to be opened and my mind expanded. I looked to books to help me live and master the challenges that faced me.”

[h-sleepingirl]

On Double Binds (A Hypnokinky Article by sleepingirl)

Many are familiar with the concept of “double binds” either inside or outside of the hypnosis world – even if not by name. There is the well-known example of something like, “Would you like to do this now, or later?” which highlights one aspect of double binds – creating the illusion of choice between two options while underplaying any others. However, as we’ll explore, double binds and binds in general are both more complex and more broad than is described by a “this or that” sentence.

In this essay, we’ll aim to explore double binds in depth – including their origins, the various perspectives on their applications, and examples of how to be versatile with them – to further our use of them as hypnokinksters. Let’s explore.

Who?

Within the framework of hypnosis, language, NLP, and other fields, there is a fascinating amount of overlap, not only in content, but in the key players involved therein. It is ideal to discuss these topics with the context of who was involved and what the cultural climate was surrounding them instead of in a vacuum.

Gregory Bateson was the first person to introduce the idea of a double bind while investigating language and communication in patients with schizophrenia. (He did this along with colleagues such as Jay Haley, author of “Uncommon Therapy”, an oft-cited book analyzing the techniques of Milton Erickson.) What they theorized in their paper, “Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia” (1956) was that schizophrenic individuals have a difficult time discerning choice both inside and outside of situations involving double binds, and that double binds occur frequently in the family environment of a schizophrenic patient, potentially contributing to the development of the disorder. Also in the paper was extensive discussion of the “ingredients” of double binds, according to the authors – including conversation of Erickson’s therapeutic use of them, how people tend to respond in various scenarios, and the framework of communication that they fit into.

Bateson is one of these “key players” in the “canon” of the body of hypnosis knowledge. He wrote the introduction to “The Structure of Magic, Vol. I: A Book About Language and Therapy” (1975) – the very first book that Richard Bandler and John Grinder put out in their soon-to-be extensive series on Neuro-Linguistic Programming. In fact, looking back to the origins of NLP and where it first began formulating at University of California, Santa Cruz, Bateson was a professor who had close contact with Bandler – an eager student interested in Gestalt therapy – and Grinder – the professor specializing in linguistics. Both of them drew upon Bateson’s body of work when formulating the beginnings of NLP, and Bateson ended up being the person who introduced the two of them to Erickson.

While NLP is a goldmine of history and good referential leads, it has an unfortunate (and ironic) habit of distorting the information and terms that it borrows. “NLP double binds,” for example, differ from “Bateson double binds,” and in the hypnokink world we take blindly from both sources. It’s prudent for us to strive to understand some about NLP to glean information on where many of our hypnotic habits come from, and it does provide a valuable context of how to analyze them, including in this case with binds.

NLP

NLP – especially early NLP – has an interesting method of breaking down chunks of “flawed” communication and acknowledging both how they can negatively impact someone and how they can be used to the operator’s advantage in inducing trance or change. The former is called the “Meta model” and lists various therapeutic challenges to problematic thought patterns. For example, someone might say, “My partner doesn’t care about me,” and NLP says to ask, “How do you know that? What have they done to show that?” to recover the “missing information,” which is referred to as “Deletion” in the Meta model. On the flipside, the “Milton model” (referring to THAT Milton) says that you can use Deletions to your advantage – for example, saying, “You can feel it much stronger now, can’t you?” where both the object of the sentence, “it,” and the comparison word, “stronger,” are left purposefully vague and without index to allow the subject to fill in the blanks themselves.

This is a very simplified and incomplete discussion of both the Meta and Milton models, but the key here is to understand double binds in a similar fashion – from one perspective, they are a hindrance and can be challenged, and from another, they can be utilized purposefully to obtain results. Some descriptions of NLP include binds as part of these models, while others break binds down into the simple communication chunks given by the Meta and Milton models.

Ingredients of Double Binds

To fully be able to utilize double binds, we must move past the model of them as simple “this or that” phrases. Let’s discuss them broadly to understand how they apply in both everyday situations as well as hypnotically. We will compare and contrast “Bateson double binds” with “NLP double binds”.

According to Bateson, double binds:

Require two or more people, one of whom is being acted upon by the other(s) who somehow have influence, authority, or superiority over the subject

 A classic example is parent to child, but even child to parent is possible if the parent feels like they do not have control or authority over the situation

Often give a not-unfamiliar experience of being stuck in a dilemma, especially in the case of them being problematic

Bateson places high value on the idea that in the context of someone’s life, the double bind is not a single experience and thus can’t be resolved as such; the person experiences the feeling of being stuck as patterns or habits

Have a “primary injunction”: they create a sense that there is a “right” thing to do, and if the subject doesn’t perform, they will be “punished” (whether verbally, by withdrawal of attention, cultural stigma, etc)

This is often cited as having two possibilities: “Don’t do this, or I’ll punish you” and “If you don’t do this, I’ll punish you” – perhaps an example might be a boss telling an employee that they need to finish a project by the end of the day; the punishment if they don’t is implied

Have a “secondary” and sometimes “tertiary injunction”: conflicting with the initial message, they create a sense that even if they fulfil the original requirements of the situation, there is no way to do it that doesn’t also fail some other aspect of it

Continuing the above example, the boss gives the employee extra work and expresses something like, “This isn’t punishment, it’s acknowledgment of your skill” – the employee may be overworked, but the only way to avoid more work is to go against the initial premise of, “Do the work or you will be punished”

May exist outside the scope of these clear guidelines if the subject often feels like their world is full of double binds and “no-win” scenarios

Bateson describes part of this in terms of the relationship between people – there is an “important” relationship that the subject doesn’t want to jeopardize and simultaneously feels unable to communicate on the paradoxical or uncomfortable nature of the situation or messages

May differ from the exact feeling of being “stuck between a rock and a hard place” in that the subject may have difficulty discerning the nature of the bind or what is preventing them from acting

For example, in a situation where there is an unspoken rule not to question a parent, and the child witnesses a parent doing something wrong, the child may feel paralyzed but not understand why

Certainly, Bateson’s focus is on double binds that impede the individual in some way, and this description of binds might be new to those of us that only are familiar with binds from a hypnotic level. In Bateson’s binds, as well, the entire scenario and environment that exists is a large focus to how the bind works – circumstantial double binds, or double binds where the “injunctions” (conflicts) are entirely nonverbal.

But Bateson does, in the original paper, talk about double binds in a therapeutic context, in fact referencing Milton Erickson and hypnosis. Here is an excerpt:

Another Erickson experiment (12) seems to isolate a double bind communicational sequence without the specific use of hypnosis. Erickson arranged a seminar so as to have a young chain smoker sit next to him and to be without cigarettes; other participants were briefed on what to do. All was ordered so that Erickson repeatedly turned to offer the young man a cigarette but was always interrupted by a question from someone so that he turned away “inadvertently” withdrawing the cigarettes from the young man’s reach. Later another participant asked this young man if he had received the cigarette from Dr. Erickson. He replied, “What cigarette?”, showed clearly that he had forgotten the whole sequence, and even refused a cigarette offered by another member, saying that he was too interested in the seminar discussion to smoke. This young man seems to us to be in an experimental situation paralleling the schizophrenic’s double bind situation with mother: An important relationship, contradictory messages (here of giving and taking away), and comment blocked–because there was a seminar going on, and anyway it was all “inadvertent.” And note the similar outcome: Amnesia for the double bind sequence and reversal from “He doesn’t give” to “I don’t want.”

The situation in this case is considered by Bateson and colleagues to be a double bind, as the necessary ingredients are present and the scenario itself creates the bind. There is another interesting comment as well, that the “amnesia” is a somewhat expected response. What Bateson is referring to here is the way that people may deal with feeling bound – not necessarily literal loss of memory, but change in perception of the event. The subject of a double bind is often mentally struggling to parse the situation, which may manifest in a variety of different ways, depending on their perspective and how aware they are of all of the aspects of the bind. The specific feeling of being trapped seems to be the hallmark of binds, in Bateson’s theory – that is what he and his colleagues were studying.

Bateson says this is a non-hypnotic example, but it is interesting to think about whether Erickson would agree with that assessment, or if we as hypnokinksters would, considering our broad perspective on mind play in general. We only have Bateson’s account here, but perhaps it is worth investigating about what it means to feel “stuck” in a situation that is hard to discern, rolling something over in one’s mind, changing focus between internal and external – all very hypnotic patterns. But while this is something we’ll explore more in depth, this is not really the kind of double bind we’re familiar with from the hypnosis world – so let’s dive into where that version of them really comes from: NLP.

According to NLP, double binds:

Are often a question, using the word “or”

“Are you ready to go deeper, or are you ready for something more intense?”

Offer a real or perceived choice between two options while explicitly downplaying or not mentioning any others

“Would you like to talk about this now, or after dinner?” – no choice offered to not have the conversation, or have it on a later day

Have potential to be rejected if they are not true binds

The subject may see other options and choose to circumvent the original offer – in the previous example, “Can it wait until tomorrow?”

Often are meant to facilitate one outcome chosen by the operator, even though the subject is apparently given a choice

“Do you want a quick trance or a long trance?” – the outcome is that trance is going to happen in both cases

Can be “unconscious” or ambiguous – framed in such a way that the answer to the question is not truly consciously answerable

“I wonder if your feet will go into trance before your head, or vice versa…” – this can be emphasized by changing the perspective of the sentence, “I” vs “you”, “I wonder…” vs “Do you think…”, or other verbal markers such as “Who knows if…”

Often are composed with other aspects of the Milton model

“You’ll be a great subject if you listen really carefully, or if you let my suggestions float in unnoticed…” – the use of “if/then” is indicative of causal thinking, which is a standard part of the Milton model, also presuppositions

Here we see the common habit of NLP in its natural environment: the “borrowing” of a term and concept well-established in psychology, and distorting it. Sometimes this sort-of-infamous NLP distortion renders the result useless, but there are certainly cases (such as this one) where the theory and practice that comes of it is worth thinking about, understanding, and finding ways to use. This is the “double bind” that most of us are familiar with – a single expression ranging from simple to complex which attempts to garner one outcome through the false offering of choice. We know now that this is very distinct from Bateson’s binds, in many ways, with a notable exception in that both Bateson and NLP reference Milton Erickson as being masterful with them. We will compare, contrast, and attempt to reconcile the two, but first let’s talk a little more about NLP binds in hypnosis.

The term “double bind” seems to beg the question, “Are there other forms of binds?” The answer is yes. The classic example, “Would you like to go into trance now, or later?” is a double bind. If we remove one of the options, we’re left with, “Would you like to go into trance now?” This is a theoretical “single” bind, because upon the subject responding positively, they’ve “bound” themselves to a course of action or thought. Oftentimes, binds overlap with other NLP artifacts, such as being part of a “yes set” or being part of Milton model language patterns. For example, “Do you think that going deeper into trance like you are right now means that I’m weakening your will?” binds a “yes” response to the cause/effect of them subjectively feeling more submissive or controlled by you. Of course, we can add options as well, and come up with a “triple” or “quadruple” bind – “Would you like to go into trance now, or later, or would you like me to choose?”

NLP binds are about having a general goal in mind and being able to break it down into multiple scenarios to offer which lead to that goal. If the goal is to get someone to go into trance, you can think about the various aspects of that situation – what position they can be in (“Would you prefer going deep sitting up or laying down?”), when it’s going to happen (“…immediately or in a moment?”), parts of their body (“…eyes open or closed?”, “…hands in your lap or hanging down?”), what else is involved (“…staring at a watch or a spiral?”), how they are feeling (“…excited or pleasantly nervous?”, “…aroused or too deep to be turned on?”), what they are thinking about (“…focused on my voice or my eyes?”, “…listening harder with your left ear or your right ear?”), and many, many other options that have to do with all of the different variables. This could be about the environment, who is involved, what you’re doing, and much more.

Compare, Contrast, Reconcile (Applications)

In this section, we’ll take what we’ve learned about these two distinct types of binds and see where they are similar, where they differ, and where they can be spliced.

Choice and/or No Choice

One of the major differences between these two forms of double binds is that in Bateson’s, the sense of being trapped is important to the bind itself, while NLP seems to emphasize an aspect of sneakiness – you don’t necessarily want the subject to know there are other options, if there are any, and the goal is for the subject to feel like they are making a choice themselves. But an NLP bind can also be a Bateson bind, for example, in a situation where a hypnotist asks a subject, “Are you ready for me to fuck up your mind, now, or do you need a break?” and the subject blushingly responds that now is good, but the hypnotist does not immediately signal to them that they are doing hypnosis. The subject is left unsure – is hypnosis happening, or not? Likely they don’t want to ask to clarify or push. This leads to a variety of possible responses – perhaps the feeling of hypnosis becomes ambiguous, and the act of the subject continuously checking internally and wondering if trance has happened becomes hypnotic. The sneaky hypnotist can take advantage of this.

This feeling of being trapped in paradox is evident in the reverse of this as well – the common trope of the hypnotist saying, “Don’t go into trance…” while swinging a pocketwatch or otherwise signalling trance. The subject is unsure how to respond. In hypnokink, there should never be risk of real punishment or disappointment from a dilemma like this, so it is more of a playful version of Bateson’s bind than a true version of one, but it is one that we can explore. Any situation where you create incongruent messages and expectations fits – trying to get a bimbo to act smart, a scenario where the subject is told not to orgasm but it’s unclear what the “punishment” would be for disobeying, telling someone that it’s dangerous to brainwash themselves but rewarding each step in that direction.

You can conceptualize it like this: A Bateson bind is a scenario where there is no perceived correct response, and an NLP bind is a scenario where all perceived responses are correct. Once we understand the usefulness of both, we can freely intermingle and make decisions about which to choose.

Implications

Another place that we can marry the two effectively is taking into account Bateson’s focus on the personal history, environment, and mindset of the subject as essential to a double bind. In many of his examples, the bind comes partially as a product of these things – in a scenario of a potentially unhealthy relationship, one partner may express to the other, “If you loved me, I wouldn’t have to ask you to do this.” This is a classic Bateson double bind – the partner clearly must do the thing they are being asked to do, but by doing so, they fulfil the conditions that the first partner laid out as meaning that they don’t love them. Perhaps, in this case, there is a history of the first partner asking for certain things to be done – they themselves are in a pattern where they expect the second partner to never follow through, thus never giving them a chance to “prove them wrong.” This unspoken part of the bind that exists – as well as any others, such as the theoretical second partner’s childhood being filled with nagging parents – is just as important as the verbal construction of the bind.

We can apply this knowledge to the NLP double bind by reducing the verbal aspects of binds, and leave them implied. For example, in the case of two partners on a video call together with limited time, the hypnotist may allude to the fact that they are going to do trance (“Well, gotta fuck your shit up at some point…”) which leaves the subject to wonder when it’s going to happen. (As discussed previously, not immediately acting upon the statement or changing the subject away from trance can create the Bateson bind.) The hypnotist may ask, “How badly do you want it?” which presupposes that there is a desire as well as urgency. The “hidden” option is the response of “I don’t want it,” which is not explicitly downplayed, but considering the context (unless the subject is going for bratty) the answer will usually be somewhere on the scale from “kinda badly” to “really badly.” In general, we should strive to be aware of our partners’ thought patterns and personal history in order to better utilize it, as well as striving to be able to create patter that doesn’t sound like it came out of an NLP manual.

The Hypnokink Bind

There is a sort of third perspective on double binds here – the perspective of us as erotic hypnotists, where we almost expect our partners to understand when we are binding them, because that’s part of the fun. Not every hypnokinky subject at every time will key into when a bind is happening, but many will recognize the classic NLP pattern, and this is something we need to keep in mind as hypnotists. Often, we’re able to tell by their response, whether it’s a knowing smile or a furrowing brow. The bind in this case becomes fully voluntary – it is no less of a “bind,” but we should examine our motivations for using them and how we can adapt to a situation where a bind is fully informed and consented to, even appreciated.

In the case of a subject who knows the bind is happening, perhaps one option is to bind even more fully – in “The Brainwashing Book,” we talked about the idea of “traps” and how we can make our suggestions and language encompassing in a way that there is no available “failure” response. Continuing the example, instead of simply saying, “Would you like to go into trance now, or later?” we could say something like, “Do you think your desire to go into trance affects whether you notice it happening immediately, or in a little while, or even if it slips past your awareness?” A few things are at play here. There is a meta-question about the real question – a “yes” or “no” response to whether they think their desire matters doesn’t affect the presupposition that trance is going to happen. In fact, this presupposition isn’t challenged even by the subject wondering about noticing or not noticing anymore. Whichever response they have – feeling trance now, feeling trance later, or not feeling trance at all – is covered by the original question. There may even be some confusion and struggling to parse, which fits inside the Bateson bind: Stuck between various options, especially for someone who is trying to analyze, not sure if there is a “right” answer, and the feeling that they’re unable to properly challenge it as it happens.

Depending on the situation – if this is a verbal back-and-forth, or if the subject is not verbally responsive in trance – there are options to continue the bind as suggestive patter (“…And I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I enjoy wondering about it, and maybe you’d like to enjoy wondering with me, going back and forth with just easy curiosity about how you will respond to trance this time and how your internal thoughts affect it…”) or even to bind further, adding in more restrictions and “steering” the subject how you’d like them to go (“…You should decide: Is it important to you to consider this, or is it something that you can just let go of?”).

Collapsing the Bind

There is a final aspect to binds that we must consider as something useful – what happens if or when the bind is released? In the case of the subject being unsure if they are supposed to be in trance or not, the clarity of the hypnotist explicitly releasing the bind is something that we universally know is freeing. Think about similar examples in hypnosis – “confusion” or “overload” inductions such as the 7+/-2 are popular and effective because of the contrast between the subject’s mind racing and the sudden, clear instruction.

Similarly, this applies to both NLP binds and Bateson binds. In a Bateson bind, it’s especially clear; the paralysis and paradox is the nature of the bind. In NLP, we have to analyze the situation a little more. When giving options, such as, “Do you think you’ll be completely mindless, or keep enough of yourself to watch your own brain fade away?” we can think about how to create a sense of punctuation or closure with it. It is perfectly fine as-is, but it allows us a choice to move from ambiguous to clear. This could certainly be as simple as saying, “I think you’ll go back and forth, feeling your own consciousness slip through your fingers…”, which shifts focus from the subject wondering internally to the clear thoughts of the hypnotist. It breaks the bind, not necessarily by choosing one option or the other (although that is certainly an option) but by building upon it while moving to a space where the hypnotist calls the shots.

The other aspect to this is about timing. In “The Brainwashing Book”, we talk about the format of a scene as a series of peaks and valleys, and the motivation of us as intimate partners to seek climactic moments and be aware of the flow of play. Collapsing a bind can certainly be a climactic moment such as this – it can be the induction of trance, the change between focal points, the gaining of permission for something, or more. We should always be attentive of how to build tension and enjoyment, looking for these peaks and valleys in the body language and verbal language of our partners. If we see our partner struggling with paradox, for example, unsure of whether or not they are in trance, we can purposefully add to it (perhaps by goading, “Are you, or aren’t you? Hmm?”) and watch carefully – does their breathing change, is there a moment where they look like they may crack? Perhaps one option to build and peak is by snapping your fingers to bring them out, so they have an intense moment of, “Oh, I must have been – and oh, I wish I still was –” and then almost immediately dropping them back down.

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In Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this writing – it is good as a standalone but there is so much more to say as all of these topics are so entwined. This particular article will likely be adapted into a couple chapters for my next book, which will be on NLP for hypnokinksters, so please consider this a sneak peek into that project – speaking of which, if you liked this and haven’t checked out “The Brainwashing Book,” I encourage you to see for yourself!

The other reason for me writing this is to show what I can put out in terms of shortish-form educational content. I am looking into making more writings like this in a scheduled, monetized format like Patreon – they take a lot of time and effort (probably about 12 hours here of writing, organizing, research, etc!) and I believe that I have a LOT to offer in terms of knowledge to share, especially intermediate or advanced material like this.

It is possible-to-likely that I will have to shift my focus for a little while off of my current job because of COVID-19, so I want to get this started early! If this was interesting or enjoyable to you, please share it, and let me know if these articles are something you’d find worth paying a few bucks for per month (while having input to the topics I write about), or purchasing them at a small cost one-by-one, or something else.

If you REALLY REALLY like this RIGHT NOW and you want to tip, here you go: https://ko-fi.com/sleepingirl

Thanks so much!

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Bibliography:

Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1975). The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books.

Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. (1956). Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia. Personality and Social Systems., 172–187. doi: 10.1037/11302-016

Jones, A. (2008, October 7). Binds, Double Binds and Unconscious Double Binds – Part One. Retrieved from http://communicatingexcellence.com/binds-double-binds-and-unconscious-double-binds-part-one/

Lankton, S. R., & Lankton, C. H. (2014). The Answer Within: A Clinical Framework of Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. Routledge.

Roffman, A. E. (2008). Men are Grass: Bateson, Erickson, Utilization and Metaphor. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 50(3). doi: 10.1080/00029157.2008.10401627

sleepingirl. (2019). The Brainwashing Book: Hypnotic, Erotic Behaviorism and Beyond. Kindle Direct Publishing.

Yudkowsky, B. (2016, May 17). Beware the Bind. Retrieved from http://agentyduck.blogspot.com/2016/05/beware-bind.html

[kny111]

by Alexandra Stein

As I ‘developed’ over the years (as our groupspeak put it) it was revealed to me that ‘struggling with the practice’ would help us transform ourselves so as to be ready to contribute to some brave new world where we would finally fight for liberation of the oppressed. Meanwhile, we foot soldiers were so exhausted by the double shifts we worked year in and year out, the endless criticisms and self-criticisms, the leadership’s frowning upon any joy and spontaneity, that we no longer had the energy nor wit to keep asking questions.

However, despite – or perhaps because of – this dull and exhausting routine, in 1991 I did eventually make my exit along with two other disaffected comrades. Together we formed what I now call an ‘island of resistance’. We were able to gradually break the code of secrecy that silenced doubts about the group and its leader. With each other as validation, we began to articulate the real, dismal and frightening story of life in The O, which had as its unlikely recruiting grounds the 1970s food co-ops of the US Midwest.

After a dramatic exit, I wrote the memoir Inside Out (2002). The book was an effort to understand how I, an independent, curious and intelligent 26-year-old, could have been captured and held by such a group for so long. It was a cautionary tale for those not yet tempted by such a fate to beware of isolating groups with persuasive ideologies and threatening bass notes.

By then, I had learned about the brainwashing of prisoners of war and others in Mao’s China and North Korea in the 1950s; I had read the psychohistorian Robert Jay Lifton’s Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism (1961) and the psychologist Margaret Singer’s Cults in Our Midst (1996). Singer described six conditions of cultic control among which were control of the environment; a system of rewards and punishments; creating a sense of powerlessness, fear and dependency; and reforming the follower’s behaviour and attitudes, all within a closed system of logic. Lifton emphasised that thought reform took place when human communication was controlled. Added to this, I found John Lofland’s Doomsday Cult (1966), his unrivalled undercover study of an early cell of the Unification Church – the Moonies – which outlined seven steps to total conversion centred around the isolation of the follower from everyone except other cult members. All these scholars agreed that the essence of the process was to isolate victims from their prior connections and destabilise their identity, then consolidate a new, submissive identity within a rigidly bound new network. This was achieved by alternating a regime of threats with conditional approval.

As I continued to recover from the trauma of my cult involvement, I came across the British psychologist John Bowlby’s attachment theory. This states that both children and adults will usually seek closeness to perceived safe others when stressed (even if only symbolically in the case of adults) in order to gain protection from threat. I saw this as potentially useful in helping to understand how people become trapped in cultic relationships.

Eventually, my friends twisted my arm and packed me off to the University of Minnesota. I tentatively tried a course one of them had found for me: George Kliger’s class on cults and totalitarianism. On his reading list, I found the work of the political theorist Hannah Arendt, a German Jewish refugee who examined large themes of human freedom and oppression with detailed evidence. In her seminal work, The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), she found that the regimes of Hitler and Stalin destroyed public and private life; both regimes based themselves on ‘loneliness, on the experience of not belonging to the world at all, which is among the most radical and desperate experiences of man’.

Although The O had been a small group numbering no more than 200 at its peak, it was Arendt’s work that illuminated most clearly what I came to see as a diminutive totalitarian movement. Like the movements Arendt profiled, The O operated at the whim of a charismatic, authoritarian leader wielding an exclusive belief system to isolate each individual in order to dominate us.

In that first class, I also learned something about teaching. At his last session, the somewhat unassuming, almost doddery Kliger, in the context of discussing why people become passive in the face of totalitarianism, revealed to us that he knew personally the power of induced powerlessness. He stood up and quietly unbuttoned his sleeve. As he rolled up the fabric, the not-very-faded inked number appeared on his arm, and he explained that as a teenager he had survived Buchenwald concentration camp.

Inspired by Kliger, I entered the Masters of Liberal Studies programme at the age of 45. There, I learned about Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments of the 1960s, which showed that two-thirds of ordinary people were willing to administer severe electric shocks to complete strangers when ordered to do so by the experimenter. I also learned about the conformity experiments of the 1950s by the social psychologist Solomon Asch, who demonstrated that, when faced with obviously incorrect information, 75 per cent of participants publicly denied clear evidence before their own eyes rather than buck the majority opinion. However, when just one other person disagreed with the majority and broke the unanimous bloc, the conformity effect almost entirely disappeared.

All of this became key to my own study of the social psychology of extremist political organisations. These scholars understood the power of extreme social influence to corral and corrupt even the most ordinary of individuals. Totalism works because ordinary people – at least those without prior knowledge of the controlling methods of totalism – are subject to the coercive manipulations that leaders employ. If the situation is strong and isolating enough, without any clear escape route, then the average person can cave in to the traumatising pressures of brainwashing.

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[faridabadmodern]

Importance of Role Models for Young Minds

A role model is someone worth being inspired from  in character and lifestyle qualities. Every student needs a model to influence them to do better in their academic and life endeavours. CBSC School This is one of the major reasons schools teach their learners about who and how to make the right choice of role guides. At the Modern School Faridabad, the qualified and experienced staff ensures the nurturing of students by inspiring them at each step. Role models play a vital role in shaping the lives of school students. They are important sources of inspiration, guidance, and motivation. The influence of role models can be seen in various areas of students' lives, including academics, personal development, and career goals. In this essay, we will discuss the importance of role models for school students and how they can positively impact their lives.

The Modern School Faridabad creates a space that helps students get inspired. The school encourages leadership opportunities that help students get inspired from one another. Juniors look up to their seniors and learn from them. Various inspiring figures are invited for guest lectures. Students get empowered by them and learn more about themselves through them. The extensive alumni network of the Modern School helps students in engaging with people they can look up to. First and foremost, role models serve as a source of inspiration for students. Seeing someone who has achieved success in a particular field can inspire students to work hard and pursue their own goals. Learning about their accomplishments and the challenges they overcame can motivate the student to pursue a similar path.

Moreover, role models can provide guidance and mentorship to students. They can offer advice and support to help students navigate challenges and obstacles in their academic and personal lives. For instance, a student who is struggling with a difficult course may benefit from the guidance of a teacher or tutor who has experience in that subject. Similarly, a student who is facing personal challenges may benefit from the mentorship of a community leader or role model who can offer support and guidance. The Best School Faridabad Role models can also serve as positive influences on students. They can model positive behaviours and values that are important for success in life. When students see someone they admire exhibiting positive behaviours such as hard work, perseverance, and kindness, it can encourage them to do the same. For example, a student who looks up to a successful athlete may be inspired to emulate their work ethic and dedication to their sport.

In addition to inspiring and guiding students, role models can also broaden their horizons and expose them to new ideas and experiences. They can introduce students to different career paths and ways of thinking, expanding their knowledge and worldview. For instance, a student who has never considered a career in the arts may be inspired by a successful artist who shares their story and passion for their craft. The impact of role models on students can also extend beyond the classroom. Students who have positive role models in their lives may be more likely to develop strong character traits and make positive choices. Research has shown that students who have positive role models are less likely to engage in risky behaviours such as drug use, violence, and delinquency. They are also more likely to develop positive relationships and make healthy choices. Furthermore, role models can help students develop important social and emotional skills. They can model healthy communication, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation, providing students with examples of how to navigate social situations and build positive relationships. Students who have positive role models may also develop a greater sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence, which can help them succeed in their academic and personal lives. Overall, role models are important for students because they provide guidance, inspiration, and positive influence, helping students to achieve their goals and succeed in life.

In conclusion, the importance of role models for school students cannot be overstated. They provide inspiration, guidance, and positive influence, helping students to achieve their goals and succeed in life.Top schools in Faridabad Role models can broaden students' horizons, introduce them to new ideas and experiences, and help them develop important social and emotional skills. Schools and communities should work to provide students with positive role models in various areas of their lives, including teachers, mentors, community leaders, and successful professionals. By doing so, we can help students develop the skills and qualities they need to thrive in the world.