『不斷幸福論』閱讀筆記

自得其樂的閱讀過程在於
無聊到把人家原本是德文翻成中文的內容
自作聰明地翻成了英文重點
歪歪斜斜地寫在眉批處
上次沒把書看完就丟在一邊，365頁只看到265頁就停了下來
早忘記自己幹過這檔無聊事了，再拿起來看竟已是相隔幾年
發現自己老喜歡胡亂搞東搞西，是因為日子總是太過清閒嗎
反正，覺得很驚喜，還蠻喜歡自己的這個部份

想起大學上過的『兒童心理與文學』
造型特別的女老師總是三不五時扮演傳教士的角色，宣揚基督教思想
三申五令告誡婚前性行為之不可……諸如此類，不勝枚舉
可我超討厭統一化的論調，尤其不喜歡被強迫灌輸某種宗教思想
一次就算了，經常這樣脫稿演出就很討厭
一開始，我還很白目地舉手發言說出不贊成她論點的一、二、三……
因為她自己說她是個開放、可接受意見交流的老師啊
試過之後，只是更加強化以下的認知而已
凡是經常強調自己非常民主的老師根本就不民主
於是，為免上課痛苦，我開始了沉默反駁的自得其樂遊戲
當傳教士又開始微笑地苦口婆心
我認真地聽講
也同時認真地默默反駁一個個對我而言荒謬到不行的說法
只是，我不再白目地舉手發言了
各持己見的意見交流不過是浪費彼此的時間啊

有鑑於自己從小就反骨得很
行為上雖然規矩，成績也因為爸媽給的好基因而不差
內心的叛逆卻硬是直挺挺地越過了青春期而一路繼續
因此，基於同理心，自然而然比較容易接受、欣賞大誠牛們
而我的現世報是
有一天我自己竟然變成了別人想打破的規範
其間必須經歷的內心交戰，無可避免
人生真的是很有趣啊

＊ shaped social identity, justice, freedom
＊ personal inner experiences
＊ smile mechanism
＊ Without a body, we can’t feel happy.
＊ We can’t change our mood ‘directly.’
    The nerve system is not controlled by our consciousness.
＊ Without thinking, you’ll be afraid always. Your body has been reacting to the danger itself.
＊ emotions: unconscious   feelings: conscious
＊ A bodiless creature feels nothing. If you’ve experienced your body’s impulse, your brain can even imitate the whole procedure.
＊ emotions       plans, action
＊ muscles around the eyes 
   Conscious unhappy smile can’t fool your brain.  How funny it is.
＊ a feelingless patient
＊ Emotional reactions save more time and energy in face of danger. Yet, it doesn’t take over more complicated situations in our life.
＊ You sense the fear. You are not at the mercy of the fear.
＊ Intelligence alone can’t help us go back on the right track.
＊ satisfaction-pursuit, biological mechanism 
    Something’s wrong.  Don’t ignore it.
＊ Human beings have to strive for happiness. 
    Experience + expectations         self-control
＊ Happiness is closely related to proper conducts.
＊ Get rid of the pain?  That doesn’t guarantee you the happiness you’ve expected.
＊ Recognize the happiness in unhappiness and the unhappiness in happiness.

＊ All the different parts of your brain work together when you feel a thing, either sadness or happiness. No particular part works alone.
＊ Hemisphere? A myth?
＊ extremely sad (0.01 sec) 
   Your emotions run much faster than your consciousness.
＊ A positive feeling and a negative feeling trigger each other.
＊ Obtain more happiness or reduce more pain?  Both are available.
   Sophia’s example: Music helps all the time.
＊ emotion-adjusting
＊ We don’t need an outlet! Simply control your emotions.
＊ Out-dated 19th century explanation. Our brain is not a steam boiler.
＊ You’re not just happier but also healthier. Learn to control your negative emotions.
＊ The brain can reboot itself.
＊ preference reset
＊ avoid it or get used to it
＊ Human being’s feelings are flexible and thus can be converted.
＊ new neurolinks
＊ The world is in our head!
   Sophia’s example: Birds’ singing in the neighborhood
＊ Simply for practice!
＊ Carpe diem
＊ Expand your Hippocampus!!
＊ Rationality actually has a lot to do with happiness.

＊ We don’t chance to be happy.
＊ existence, essence
＊ pretense , tricks, strength/power, speed      tips for survival
＊ Our body is still of the ancient design.
＊ Reptile brain : survival
   Ancient mammal brain: recognition
   New/new-age brain: imagination, communication, sympathy
＊ dynamic brain
＊ Hormones work like an orchestra.
＊ We are not chemical puppets. We are not ruled by these molecules.
＊ Live peacefully with your desires and emotions. Don’t waste your time fighting against them, your nature.

＊ direct influence: new information passed on and on
    change the way how the cells will deal with the new information
＊ Pleasure is derived from expectations, not from rewards.
＊ Unexpected surprise leads to excitement and satisfaction.
＊ Change the situation that we’ve been used to.
    Not better, but more and fresh.
＊ We don’t want to keep it; instead, we want more and something different from what we’ve got.
＊ Coolidge effect
＊ It’s not something or someone better, but something or someone new that excites you.
＊ It’s part of our nature to get interested in changes.
＊ Curiosity is a blessing.
＊ comprehension and creativity strengthened
＊ The brain runs on fun.

＊ Pleasure is temporary. 
   the shocking experiments on rats  What a brutal experiment.
＊ The ugly side of good feelings.
＊ The mechanism of desire: Satisfaction or excitement is obtained through doing something not through achieving a goal.
＊ All addictions are derived from the same mechanism.
＊ P.200  Good example: 1672 vs. 1645
＊ Homosexual men don’t have women’s brains.
＊ High: a peace-maker?  SEX
    A happy person finds no reason to fight with others.
＊ There’s a sort of mechanism that prevents a couple from getting numb in their long-term relationship. Sex is the spell.
＊ Raising kids doesn’t guarantee more happiness; instead, it brings you more challenges.
＊ A monkey that makes efforts to improve its social relationships leads a happier life.
＊ Friends promise you a longer life.
＊ Cruel experiment!  Kids with zero contact with others.
    Experiments on humans can never be reversed.
＊ The significance (meaning and effect) of a get-together desire is universal.
    RELATIONSHIP-forming    Give and take.

＊ Two ways of information storage:
   A conscious memory
   Subconscious / unconscious sensation (feelings)
＊ Form a circulation of give-and-take
＊ People are busy searching for happiness while the greatest happiness lies in keeping busy.
＊ We always want more.
＊ Unlike monkeys, we can control our desires.
＊ a good relationship + sex life

＊ Depression is an energy-saving plan.
＊ Helplessness is a learned attitude.
＊ The energy-saving plan is so risky that we fall into depression so easily today.
＊ Depression is a reward for imagination and intelligence.
＊ Prozac fights against unhappiness, but it doesn’t bring you happiness.   
     Prozac is non-effective for healthy people.
＊ Prozac works in an indirect way.
＊ Healthy comprehension is better than complicated ideas.
＊ Write it down and then get rid of it.