Why Style Distracts

Why Style Distracts:
IF YOU JUST WANT TO SAY SOMETHING, YOU JUST HAVE TO PAY (SINGULAR) ATTENTION TO SAY IT. IF YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING WITH STYLE, YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO SAY IT & ALSO PAY ATTENTION TO MODULATE HOW YOU SAY IT. A GIVEN MESSAGE CAN BE SAID WITH DIFFERENT STYLES, EG JOKINGLY OR AS IF VERY GRAVE OR SARCASTICALLY, SO STYLE IS SOMETHING SEPARATE. IF YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING JOVIALLY, YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY AND AT THE SAME TIME PAY ATTENTION TO SAY IT JOVIALLY. JOVIALITY, SADNESS, EXCITEMENT, SURPRISE, POLITENESS, CONCERN, ANXIOUSNESS, AGGRESSIVENESS ARE ALL FABRICATIONS & FALSE.

JUST AS THE TWO HALVES OF A ZIPPER MUST BE PROPERLY LINED UP & FITTED TOGETHER SEQUENTIALLY AS THE FLY MOVES ALONG, SIMILARLY THE STYLE AND THE SUBSTANCE OF ANY SPEECH OR MOTION MUST BE LINED UP AND MERGED TOGETHER SEQUENTIALLY AS THE SPEECH UNFOLDS IN A PROCESS THAT DEMANDS ATTENTION & COORDINATION BUT NO MATTER HOW SLICK IT HAS BECOME TO FOOL PEOPLE IT IS A SINGLE PIECE WHEN IT IS ALWAYS TWO CONTIGUOUS PIECES OF A JIGSAW STUCK TOGETHER BUT INATTENTIVE PEOPLE FAIL TO NOTICE THE SEAM, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES THIS ZIPPER MECHANISM CAN BE JAMMED SO THAT THE SUBSTANCE AND STYLE UNRAVEL. SPEECH WITHOUT STYLE IS SINGULAR AND DOES NOT REQUIRE MATCHING AND MERGING THAT DIVIDES THE PERSON’S ATTENTION.

NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES SPEECH OR MOTION THAT HAS ADDED STYLE HAS BEEN PERFORMED, THE EFFORT, STRESS, RESTLESSNESS AND DIVISION OF ATTENTION REQUIRED REMAIN THE SAME. WHAT IMPROVES WITH PRACTICE IS THE CONSISTENCY OR SLICKNESS THAT MAY DECEIVE THE ACTOR AND OBSERVERS THAT WHAT THEY SEE OR HEAR IS NOT FABRICATED OR CONTRIVED BUT EVEN SEEMINGLY SEAMLESS AND UNFLAPPABLE SPEECH AND BEHAVIOR THAT IS A COMPOUND OF UNNECESSARY/FALSE STYLE AND SUBSTANCE CAN BE DISRUPTED TO BECOME JERKY OR HESITANT GIVEN THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES (STRESS, DISTRACTION, TIREDNESS, STRONG EMOTION). FOR INSTANCE WHEN A PERSON BECOMES VERY ANGRY THE NORMAL COMPOSURE MESHING THE STYLE (STRETCHED SYLLABLES AND CONSTANT CHANGES OF SPEED AND LOUDNESS) AND THE SUBSTANCE OF WHAT HE WANTS TO SAY BECOMES STRAINED AND EVEN PARALYSED.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTRACT SOMEBODY WITHOUT YOURSELF BEING DISTRACTED TOO. IF SOMEONE’S BEHAVIOR OR THE WAY HE SPEAKS DISTRACTS YOU, HE HIMSELF (WHO ALSO HEARS HIS OWN SPEECH) MUST BE SIMILARLY DISTRACTED FABRICATING IT. THEREFORE ANYONE WHO SPEAKS WITH SUBSTANCE AND STYLE THAT DISTRACTS OTHERS MUST ALSO DISTRACT HIMSELF.
SYLLABLES DO NOT STRETCH BY THEMSELVES NOR DOES SPEED AND LOUDNESS CHANGE BY THEMSELVES. IN ORDER TO SPEAK WITH STRETCHED SYLLABLES AND CONSTANTLY CHANGING SPEED AND LOUDNESS ONE MUST PAY ATTENTION TO STRETCH ONE’S SYLLABLES AND CONSTANTLY CHANGE SPEED AND LOUDNESS WHEN ONE SPEAKS.

BECAUSE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PAY SIMULTANEOUS ATTENTION TO SUBSTANCE AND STYLE AND IT IS CUMBERSOME TO CONSTANTLY SWITCH ATTENTION BETWEEN THE TWO WHILST SPEAKING, AN ALTERNATIVE MUST BE FOUND AND IT IS TO PRERECORD OR MEMORIZE SPEECH THAT ARE FREQUENTLY USED (STANDARDIZED SPEECH) WITH ITS ALREADY COMBINED STYLE AND SUBSTANCE IN A MENTAL JUKEBOX TO BE THEN RENDERED BY SELECTING PERHAPS FROM AN ARRAY OF OPTIONS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE OCCASION THE SPEECH ONE DESIRES TO MAKE AND PRESS THE START BUTTON. THIS I BELIEVE IS THE DOMINANT MODE BY FAR WITH WHICH SPEECH WITH THE IMPOSSIBLE SIMULTANEOUS SUBSTANCE AND STYLE COMBINATION IS RENDERED.

(IF PEOPLE EXAMINE WHAT THEY SPEAK, THEY MIGHT REALIZE THAT A LOT OF THEIR SPEECH IS STANDARDIZED, THEY HAVE SAID WHAT THEY ARE SAYING WITH THE SAME STYLE MANY TIMES IN THE PAST AND RATHER THAN SPEAKING REALTIME, IT IS BEING MINDLESSLY REHASHED FROM A MENTAL JUKEBOX. SOMETIMES THEY SAY SOMETHING WITHOUT REALIZING THEY HAVE SAID OR THEY WISHED THEY HAVE NOT SAID IT WITHOUT THINKING)

SPEAKING BY JUKEBOX IS LIKE TEACHING A PARROT HOW AND WHAT TO SAY AND THEN DELEGATING THE PARROT TO SAY IT ON CUE, TRUSTING THE PARROT TO ALWAYS REMAIN FAITHFUL, DO AS IT IS TOLD AND NOT OTHERWISE.

THE FACT THAT PEOPLE CAN YELL INCONTINENTLY IN UNGUARDED MOMENTS PROFANITIES LIKE ‘DAMN YOU’ THAT IS JUST A PREPACKAGED PHRASE WITH SUBSTANCE AND VIOLENT STYLE INDICATES THAT CLICHES CAN BE RENDERED WITHOUT MUCH IF ANY ATTENTION, WHETHER THE PERSON DESIRES OR NOT. THAT PEOPLE CAN SLEEP OR UNAWARE WALK AND SLEEP OR UNAWARE TALK IN COMPLEX WAYS IS AN INDICATION THAT ATTENTION IS NOT NECESSARILY NEEDED TO SPEAK OR MOVE COHERENTLY. HOWEVER, THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS IS NO BETTER THAN SPEAKING DIVIDING ONE’S ATTENTION BETWEEN THE SUBSTANCE AND THE STYLE BECAUSE IT IS MINDLESS, SURRENDERS CONTROL OF ONE’S FUNCTIONS (TO MENTAL FORCE) AND RISKS TOTAL LOSS OF CONTROL OR MADNESS WHEN THIS FORCE TURNS ROGUE.

ALL ACTORS MUST EXPERIENCE EPISODES WHEN IN THE MIDST OF ANIMATED CONVERSATION, THEY SEEM ‘CURIOUSLY’ DISSOCIATED, AS IF WATCHING PASSIVELY IN THE BACKGROUND AS THEIR VOICES COMPULSIVELY, UNCONTROLLABLY SPEW OUT THINGS THEY HAVE SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE IN WAYS THEY HAVE SAID IT MANY TIMES BEFORE. TO TALK WITHOUT NEEDING TO PAY ATTENTION IS A FORM OF DISTRACTION OR DISSOCIATION FROM REALITY AND IT IS LIKE FOOLISHLY TRUSTING SOMEONE TO PERFORM FUNCTIONS THAT YOU SHOULD PERSONALLY CONDUCT.
THIS MEMORIZED RENDERING I BELIEVE IS THE DOMINANT MODE BY FAR OF EXPRESSING SPEECH AND MOTION IN ACTORS BECAUSE IT IS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND SUBCONSCIOUS OR CAN BE RENDERED WITHOUT PAYING ANY ATTENTION SO THAT THE ACTOR IS FOOLED IT IS NATURAL. MOST ACTORS SELDOM PAY MORE THAN CURSORY INTERMITTENT ATTENTION TO WHAT AND HOW THEY SAY THINGS; THEY JUST BLURT WHAT THEY WANT TO SAY TO GET ALONG WHILST BEING PREOCCUPIED WITH THEIR OWN CARES AND WORRIES REGARDING THEIR LIVES HERE.

PEOPLE FIRST LEARN TO ACT BY PAINSTAKINGLY PAYING ATTENTION TO MERGE THE SUBSTANCE AND STYLE OF WHAT THEY SAY BUT INCREASINGLY THEY MEMORIZE AND REGURGITATE IT COMBINED FROM A MENTAL JUKEBOX WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY FULL ATTENTION. NOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT AND HOW YOU SAY TOO IS A FORM OF DISTRACTION APART FROM THE DANGER OF DELEGATING CONTROL. IN THE COURSE OF A CONVERSATION RENDERED BY ROTE, THEY CAN BECOME INTERESTED TO PERSONALLY MULTIPLEX THE SUBSTANCE AND STYLE FOR CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF THEIR SPEECH.

ALL ACTORS MUST EXPERIENCE MOMENTS WHEN THEIR SPEECH AND MOVEMENTS THAT THEY HAVE PERFORMED SO MANY TIMES BEFORE LOSES ITS COMPOSURE TO BECOME LEADEN OR BECOMES COG WHEELED HESITANT. THIS IS ACTUALLY REFLECTION THAT AS SLICK AS THEIR SPEECH MAY BE IT IS A PRODUCT OF A CONSTANT USUALLY TIGHT SYNCHROMESH BETWEEN SUBSTANCE AND STYLE THAT CAN UNRAVEL AND OCCASIONALLY THREATEN TO DO SO IN SOCIALLY AWKWARD MOMENTS.
EVERY MOMENT YOU RESIDE IN DISTRACTION, YOU ARE CONDITIONING YOURSELF TO BE DISTRACTED. THEREFORE PEOPLE ARE UNWITTINGLY CONDITIONING THEMSELVES TO BE DISTRACTED ALL THE TIME, CONDITIONING THEMSELVES TO MAKE CONCENTRATION HARDER TO SUMMON.

ON EVERY OCCASION YOU FORCE YOURSELF TO SUSTAIN SIGNIFICANT DISTRACTION (EG SUSTAINED ANIMATED CONVERSATION OR GOSSIP), YOU ARE CONDITIONING YOURSELF TO SUSTAIN EXTENDED INTENSE DISTRACTION; AN URGE TO REPEAT DEVELOPS THAT GETS MORE AND MORE COMPELLING.

ALL VIOLENCE IN SPEECH AND MOTION IS THE ADDED STYLE OF THAT SPEECH AND MOTION THAT DIVIDED THAT PERSON’S CONCENTRATION. THEREFORE ON EVERY OCCASION YOU SUBJECT YOUR MIND TO INTENSE VIOLENCE (ABUSIVE SPEECH, VIOLENT SPITTING, VIOLENT LASHING AT A GOLF BALL), YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY IMPROVED YOUR ABILITY TO VIOLENTLY DIVIDE YOUR ATTENTION AND BE VIOLENTLY RESTLESS BECAUSE NOBODY GETS ANGRY OR SPIT WITH CONSTANT SPEED AND FORCE BUT THEY GET ANGRY AND SPIT WITH VIOLENTLY ACCELERATING SPEED AND FORCEFULNESS WHICH IS VIOLENT RESTLESSNESS. THE NEXT TIME YOU GET VIOLENTLY ANGRY, VIOLENTLY SPIT AND VIOLENTLY UPSET, OBSERVE HOW YOU BECOME RESTLESS AND DISTRACTED, CANNOT CONCENTRATE FOR A WHILE.

IF YOU KEEP DIVIDING YOUR ATTENTION BY (FORCEFULLY) BEHAVING IN A MANNER WITH SIMULTANEOUS SUBSTANCE AND STYLE, IN ADDITION YOU ALSO KEEP GREEDILY DOING MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME (EAT & TALK) SO THAT YOU HAVE TO FORCEFULLY GATHER OR UNITE YOUR ATTENTION ON OCCASIONS TO ATTEND TO IMPORTANT MATTERS AT HAND, IS IT ANY SURPRISE THAT ONE DAY YOU MAY FOOLISHLY SUBJECT YOURSELF TO DISTRACTION THAT IS TOO INTENSE AND PROLONGED THAT YOU MAY FAIL TO RECOVER AND INCREASINGLY WITH OLD AGE YOU MAY STRUGGLE AND ULTIMATELY FAIL TO RECOVER? DAZED PATIENTS IN MENTAL HOSPITALS (EG DISCO DROPOUTS) ARE INDICATIONS THIS MAY BE THE CASE.

Just as when a novice is learning a new skill like playing tennis you can see it is alien to him but when his strokes and movements have become competent you may not realize that his confident movements had to be previously painstakingly learnt, in the same way the styles in any speech and motion you see in everyone are never spontaneous but they must always be painstakingly learnt and even regularly maintained so that they do not become rusty (the are important tools of social lubrication) but no matter how slick it has become, how many times they have done it, how apparently singular the substance and style appears to be, style and substance are always separate entities that must be deftly merged by switching attention between the two or mindlessly by rote from a mental jukebox, in the process dividing the attention of the actor.

Because everything an actor does, says, thinks and perceives has substance and style that divides, his concentration is constantly divided, what varies is the degree of distraction. Until a person has truly stopped adding style (eg stretching syllables and constant changes in speed and loudness) to his behavior, he has never experienced passive, calm clearly thinking unity of concentration.

The fact that even professional sportsmen have to practice their strokes or ball skills for hours daily obsessively is an indication that their skills which in keeping with their natures as actors must also be a blend of substance and style, are not natural or stable but they must regular obsessive efforts to keep their strokes sharp. This obsessive practicing is actually needed to refine or improve and maintain the keenness or perfection of the synchronized meshing of substance and style which can slacken with disuse; there is no danger they will lose their style through disuse because style is always in use by them.

That sometimes an actor can embarrassingly forget what he was trying to say or do because he got carried away with the style of what he is saying or doing indicates that style and substance are separate entities that must be separately fabricated and merged. For instance he might want to say something in a way that is as funny as he can fabricate but he neglects to keep track of what he wants to say and the whole enterprise comes to an embarrassing halt. The usual confident stylish way with which an actor walks can be disrupted when he becomes self-conscious eg on stage, when he becomes too emotional, when he is tired or distracted (the intimidating approach of someone on the street is enough to upset the previous acted confident rhythm).
The more force he applies to the style of his motion, speech, thought or perception (eg put great force into his intimidating stare) the more forcefully is he dividing his concentration (he is improving the intensity of division he is capable), the longer he subjects his mind to severe division eg an extended animated social conversation, the better he gets at enduring tormenting division. This capacity for intense and prolonged distraction may not be frequently expressed but it remains dormant within so long as no effort is made to erase it. It can be activated explosively (not gradually) in a process that is not dependent on the strength or duration of the insult eg bad news can trigger intense prolonged distraction in some.
In the same way, stress and restlessness can arise either gradually, increasing in severity gradually in proportionate response to a stimulus but reflecting that intense and easily aroused stress and restlessness reside dormant in their minds, they too can also be triggered explosively and involuntarily by occurrences that may be idiosyncratic to that person (eg a dead body might make one person hysterical but not another).
The (constant) stretching of syllables and constant unnecessary changes in speed and loudness is the additional style (because it is possible to speak without them) that must be added on to the substance of that speech and reflecting that it is style, people stretch their syllables and change speed and loudness differently. If it was not individual style they would all stretch and vary their speed Although it is second nature by now, changing speed and loudness and stretching syllables are skills that have to be learnt, there was a time in the long distant past perhaps as children when they had to pay attention to make sure they stretched their syllables and changed speed and loudness in imitation of others, sometimes they might forget to stretch their syllables or change speed or loudness.
When the actor thinks of something he wants to say eg “I love you,” he thinks and decides how he wants to say it on that occasion eg mischievously, shyly, ‘joyously’ or seductively.
The mischievousness, shyness or seductiveness never gets into the message by itself but attention must be paid and effort made to fabricate the mischievous, shy or seductive way it is to be said and merge it into the message so that it sounds mischievous, shy or seductive.
If he is saying for the first time, “I love you” in a seductive way, he might become very anxious and his seductiveness may not be very convincing but as he practices on more victims, it becomes more convincing and the foolish girl might think he is genuinely turned on by her.
The Common Final Pathway:
Whatever styles there may be must be expressed through the common final pathway of how the syllables are stretched and how speed and loudness are changed.
For instance you express sadness by stretching your syllables in a manner with decaying speed and loudness and you express eagerness by stretching syllables in a manner with rising speed and loudness.
Whatever style there is in motion must be expressed in the common final pathway as a combination of unnecessary excursions or additions of movements done with a constant change in speed and force.
Imitation And Emulation:
Why is it always possible for a non actor to imitate an actor but it is not possible for any actor to imitate a non-actor?
It is possible for anyone (including non actors) by using force to imitate any act but it is not possible to imitate what is not an act.
The reason is because whenever an act is imitated, it is the style that is imitated and what is not an act has no style to be imitated. Further, because the actor’s mind is always divided, has never been passively united, he is forcibly detained in division that does not respond to his wish, the only thing he cannot do is fabricate substance without fabricating style. In other words his constant resident style prevents him from ever practicing substance only speech or motion without his style being first erased or effaced by a progressive dedicated course.
So long as one is willing to apply force on one’s mind, one can force oneself to imitate any style in any act that gets better with practice. Therefore a person who is not an actor can force himself to mindfully imitate what an actor does but it is not possible for any actor to imitate a non actor because there is no style for him to imitate.
You cannot imitate a non actor but one who has shed all style can emulate (follow the example of) another non actor.
THE FACT THAT AFTER A PERIOD OF DISTRACTING INTERACTION EG ANIMATED STYLE AND SUBSTANCE CONVERSATION ONE HAS TO STRUGGLE TO REGAIN A FUNCTIONAL CONCENTRATION INDICATES THAT DISTRACTION MAY HAVE HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES ON THE MIND LIKE ALCOHOL THAT MUST BE REVERSED OR REPAIRED BY THE MIND. EVEN THOUGH THE MIND MANAGES TO RECOVER EACH TIME, THERE MAY BE RESIDUAL DAMAGE THAT THE DISTRACTED PERSON FAILS TO APPRECIATE. LIKES THE FOOLISH BOXER WHO KEEPS SUBJECTING HIS BRAIN TO PUNCHES, ALTHOUGH HE RECOVERS EACH TIME, HE MAY BE GETTING MORE AND MORE PUNCH DRUNK WITHOUT NOTICING.
Switching Attention:
Whenever actors switch attention eg from one object or topic to another, they never do it at constant speed or force but they always switch attention with accelerating speed and force that in time is experienced as restlessness.
Mental force must always be applied to switch attention. And if you keep switching attention back and forth with accelerating speed and force, a mad or self perpetuating urge soon develops to keep switching attention even when the need has passed. If you keep repeatedly switching attention when it is unnecessary, the mind in time becomes shell shocked, unable to focus on anything; it lapses into a daze. As you keep doing it and keep applying greater force dividing your attention, the dazes that you can descend becomes deeper and deeper.
Together At Once:
It is likely that stress, restlessness and distraction always occur together although one may be more prominent than the others because although they are different, they are related to each other.
A person whose mind is distracted becomes restlessness and stressed. Stress leads to restlessness and distraction. Because restlessness is forceful, involves constant changes of speed and force in thought, speech and motion, it applies force on the mind that leads to stress and a mind whose thoughts are constantly unnecessarily changing in speed and force becomes distracted or unable to focus.
THEREFORE IT IS LIKELY THAT THE TRIAD STRESS, RESTLESSNESS AND DISTRACTION ALWAYS COEXIST IN A MIND ALTHOUGH THEY ARE DISTINCT EVEN FUNDAMENTAL FORMS OF MENTAL SUFFERING.
TENSION AND CONFLICT ARE FORMS OF SUFFERING THAT OCCUR ONLY BECAUSE A MIND HARBOR TWO FORCES, THE FORCE OF GOING AGAINST SELF THAT MUST BE RESTRAINED BY THE FORCE OF SELF PRESERVATION TO LIMIT THE FORMER’S HARMFULNESS. CONFLICT REFLECT THE TO & FRO BATTLE OF WILL BETWEEN THE TWO VOLITIONS WHILST TENSION ARISE WHEN THEY ARE GRIDLOCKED TOGETHER WITH NEITHER ABLE TO MOVE.
DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY TOO IS A PAINFUL DISTURBED MENTAL STATE THAT CAN ONLY ARISE IN FORCEFUL MINDS WHO CANNOT SEE THE TRUTH CLEARLY AND THEREFORE BELIEVES IN ITS OWN AND OTHERS’ FALSITY. IF YOU DO NOT SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND DO NOT MEAN WHAT YOU SAY (SARCASTIC) AND ACCEPT YOUR SARCASM AND OTHER PEOPLE’S SARCASMS AS TRUE, THEN YOU MUST BE IN DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY.
HOWEVER TENSION AND DOUBT AND UNCERTAINTY MAY BE SECONDARY OR COMPOUNDED FORMS OF SUFFERING THAT CAN BE BOILED DOWN TO STRESS, RESTLESSNESS AND EVEN DISTRACTION. SIMILARLY ANGER AND HATE TOO ARE FORMS OF SUFFERING THAT CAN BE REDUCED TO THE STRESS & RESTLESSNESS THAT RESULTS FROM APPLYING VIOLENTLY ACCELERATING FORCE ON THE MIND THAT INEVITABLY DISTRACTS THE MIND LEADING TO IT DESCENDING INTO A DAZE OR FIT OF VIRTUAL OR PHYSICAL VIOLENCE.
If truth all beings in this world are suffering, not enjoying themselves as they fake they do and their suffering can be distilled down to stress, restlessness and distraction (division or scattering of their minds), then whoever is the counselor Jesus spoke of must also address stress, restlessness and distraction if he is to be to your advantage to come and teach you all things. If what I said which accords with what the Buddha taught is true, then I would have rendered him obsolete by speaking so.
If stress, restlessness and distraction are fundamental sufferings that reach excruciating levels in the present, that if not erased from one’s mind will lead to certain mad stress, mad restlessness and mad distraction, leads to perdition after death, what are more pressing or relevant matters can there be?
If you are constantly dividing your attention for the sake of speaking and moving with a style you think is impressive and only desperately repeatedly reconstituting your attention to keep your sanity and ability to function adequately, might it not be presumptuous that your constant wish to divide or scatter your attention be fulfilled when you will finally be unable to reconstitute your attention either because you have divided your attention too intensely or your power of constitution has failed? You have nobody to blame should this come to pass because you are constantly dividing your attention.
The ability to divide one’s attention can be compared to diving skill. It is a potentially fatal skill that gets better and better and the fool may be tempted to push himself to his limit by diving deeper and deeper and marveling at his ability to resurface but one day he may push himself too deep or his ability to resurface may deteriorate with age and he succumbs to his folly of subjecting himself to unnecessary risk. The same applies with restlessness and stress. It is what people subject themselves and only turning back at the critical moment not realizing they are ultimately doomed.
The fact that those who indulge in a period of prolonged animated conversation that always involves speech and gestures by themselves and those they interact with that have a constantly dividing or distraction combo of style and substance lapse into a daze of varying intensity in which they cannot concentrate properly on matters at hand indicates that forceful division of attention must be forcefully reconstituted and after prolonged heedless division, the recovery process is taxed and takes time to recover and there is future danger that this process of reconstitution may fail permanently or when overwhelmed by a situational crisis and the heedful person will be well advised to desist from further subjecting himself and others to division of their attention 9eg do not speak to the teller when he is processing your transaction).
The fact that sometimes people can come to a stuttering halt in mid sentence or forget what they were saying, especially when they get emotionally involved with the style of what they are saying (they focus on how funny or stylish or well said they are saying it) to momentarily lose track of what they were trying to say (substance) indicates style and substance, no matter how well integrated or how they appear as one, are in truth separate entities that must divide the attention of the speaker who does not merely speak but speak with style, how unstylish the style is.
Whenever anyone says or does something with style eg constantly changing speed and loudness, with stretched syllables, he forces the listener to constantly divide his attention between paying attention to the style and the substance of what is being said and he is therefore persecuting his listener, distracting him. If he switches off, you are forcing him to detach himself from reality and that too is persecuting. If you do not care, you think it is done of your business, you insist the stylish way you speak is beneficial, you may be heading for debt repayment beyond your wildest imagination. If you speak to the person without style, without stretched syllables and constant changes in speed and loudness he can mindfully devote his attention to what you want to say, to the substance of your speech.
Whenever you smile whilst you speak, you force the listener to divide his attention between what you are speaking and your smiling (why smile if it is not meant to be noticed?). You don’t care do you? You insist your smiling is beneficial to your listener. When your woes start piling up you certainly will care.
If this does not convince you of sin, righteous and judgment, what else said by anybody can convince?
By saying great is the gain in concentration when it is developed by virtue, the Buddha implies that it is not possible to have great concentration without first having virtue, it is not possible for an evil man to have great concentration because their minds must be permanently scattered or easily scattered. What people see the intense concentration of athletes is the great intense brief forcefully reconstituted concentration that can nevertheless be disrupted, that is nevertheless still divided because there is added force and added style in the concentration as depicted by the fabricated facial grimness and intense stare that distracts from the concentration.
Mentally smiling:
If people pay attention to their minds, they may realize that they often smile mentally when they read or see or hear something.
Smiling is never good but it is nice, false and leads to stress and restlessness. Whenever one smiles, even mentally one must apply force on the mind that leads to restlessness and distraction. Further, one is distracting oneself when one smiles even mentally because one is doing two things, reading and smiling at the same time. Speaking as someone who is now able not to smile or even react emotionally in anyway when I read something, the mental state of calm clarity is incomparable to the former churning restlessness.
Nonsense & Future Madness:
Quote: "It would seem to make sense to think that we could see a loss of GDP growth rate in the quarters ahead of a half a percent or so," Mr Snow said late on Tuesday.
Comment: “It would seem to make sense to think” is unnecessary beating around the bush or not letting your yes be yes only and because actors believe what is garbage that they speak is full of meaning, they are headed for future madness. Suffice and it is less confusing to say “We could see a loss of GDP growth rate in the quarters ahead of a half a percent or so."
More Nonsense:
Quote Newsweek: A band so contrary that it rebelled against rebellion.
Comment: There are those who are intimidated that they think that however outrageous something is presented to them there must be some truth in it and it is their appreciation that is defective. There are those who are impressed by style to think “Wow, rebel against rebellion! How profound,” when it is nonsense. Those who utter such messages and those who are appreciative or see nothing wrong may be well on the way to future madness.
Not that it is physically possible to rebel against rebellion (rebellion is not an entity or institution or way of doing things that you can rebel against) but if you rebel against rebellion, you are essentially not a rebel and what is so (terribly) contrary about being not a rebel?
Why is a reputable magazine like Newsweek publishing such a heading? It is only because Newsweek thinks it makes sense, is witty or funny or profound that it publishes it. It reflects how foolish not wise Newsweek or those who run it is.
As the Buddha said, do not go by tradition or reputation: So Kalamas, don't go by reports, legends, traditions or scripture. When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are unskillful, blameworthy & criticized by the wise; these qualities when undertaken lead to harm & to suffering' -- then you should abandon them.
In accordance to what I say:
For those with eyes that see, the look of distractibility is actually visible in the eyes of all ordinary people and it becomes more severe as people age and does not need expensive research to demonstrate. People are always distracted and become more intensely distracted because of lifelong practice of substance and style behavior that permanently divides their behavior, lifelong heedless doing more than one thing at a time (eat and talk) that finally overwhelms their weakening force of self preservation.
Distractions 'hit ageing memory'
An inability to ignore distractions is the main reason why older people have memory problems, research suggests.
A team at the University of California, Berkeley, used scans to examine the brain's ability to concentrate in adults aged 19 to 30 and 60 to 77.
They found the older people had no problems focusing on relevant information - but could not effectively shut out competing distractions.
Lead researcher Dr Adam Gazzaley said: "Difficulty filtering out distractions impacts a wide range of daily life activities, such as driving, social interactions and reading, and can greatly affect quality of life.
A Vivid Description Of The Stress Reaction:
The vivid description of the stress reaction in the article below is a reminder that stress is never pleasure but even torment.
Quote:
"I could feel my blood boiling, my pulse is racing, my heart's going.
"My muscles get more and more tense, my heart's getting faster and faster, there's a pain in my chest - I'm a gibbering wreck'.
"When it comes to bedtime I'm tired and try to make myself go to sleep, but I can't, my mind is racing and my thoughts whirling."
Research shows there is such a thing called a stress reaction and it is highly disagreeable, can be rapidly aroused by seemingly innocuous triggers and is hard to shed afterwards, especially those afflicted by chronic stress.
Stress only exists in a mind that harbors force, that adds force to whatever it says, does, thinks and perceives (see, hear, smell, touch and taste). Stress is the result of force acting on a mind and if a mind does not allow force to impact on it, there is no stress.
The only reason violent stress can seize a mind suddenly eg on seeing a tiger (or your wife if you are henpecked) is because on seeing a tiger he becomes intensely fearful for his life and in becoming intensely fearful, he applies intense force on his mind that triggers an immediate intense stress reaction. Fear is mental force or is powered by mental force and if you have no force in your mind, you have no fear.
Being caught in a traffic jam can make some people rapidly boil over with rage and then experience severe stress. The reason is because they have experienced many previous jams to which they have reacted with anger that they somnolently did not realize was increasing in strength & ease of arousal such that they become very intolerant. Again when you become angry you apply force on your mind that triggers stress. If you become rapidly violently angry, you apply intense force that triggers intense stress.
The only permanent exit from stress is to recognize force in its every guise and eliminate it from one’s mind, to not use force or add force to whatever one says, does or thinks. Ordinary people do not realize they are very forceful emotional people and there is appreciable added force even when they think they are being gentle.
Stress: A blight on modern life
By Vivienne Parry
Presenter, BBC Radio 4's Stressed Out



"I could feel my blood boiling, my pulse is racing, my heart's going.
"My muscles get more and more tense (mad, unnecessary change in force), my heart's getting faster and faster (mad unnecessary, uncontrollable increase in speed), there's a pain in my chest - I'm a gibbering wreck'. (it is because you constantly practice controlled unnecessary speed and loudness changes that your body also changes unnecessarily, uncontrollably)
"When it comes to bedtime I'm tired and try to make myself go to sleep, but I can't, my mind is racing and my thoughts whirling."
These are the words of John and Anne and what they are describing are the all too familiar symptoms of stress. (Suffice to say familiar, the ‘all too’ is said unnecessarily and falsely. Something can only become very familiar, never too familiar. Again people far underestimate the falsity they are guilty of.)
Stress is a constant theme in our lives.
It is the second biggest cause of time off work and is estimated to cost the country £13bn a year.

It's (the stress reaction) a wonderful adaptation should you come across a bear - but too much of a good thing and you're in trouble

Professor Robert Sapolsky
We clearly are not coping well with it, but how sick is it making us?
We all differ in what hits our own particular stress buttons - deadlines at work, being late, traffic jams - or what does it for me, computer rage. (Just the thought of something eg deadline to meet is enough to cause stress to rise precipitously indicating that stress is virtual, in the mind and not proportionate to the strength and duration of stress inducing input)
Simulating stress
But researchers at a unique stress research facility in the Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology at the University of Bristol have found a way.
An individual's blood pressure and heartbeat are recorded before and after they breathe an air mix containing 35% carbon dioxide for four seconds.
Normal air contains just 0.03% of this gas. This (breathing 35% CO2) prompts an acute - and automatic - physiological stress response.
At the start, my heartbeat was 54 per minute and my blood pressure a healthy 110/65.
I knew I was safe, but my body disagreed violently - it thought I was being suffocated.
My blood pressure shot through the roof - to 193/65. I felt sick and panic stricken. It was horrible.
But a couple of minutes afterwards, I was back to normal again.
The initial but dramatic rise is normal. In those who are chronically stressed, the return to normality is much slower.
"Their body is able to turn their acute stress response on, but is not as good at switching it off again," said Professor Stafford Lightman, director of the Bristol unit.
As Professor Simon Wessely, of King's College Hospital says, an acute stress response is actually good news: "It allows you to react to an emergency."
A bear jumping out at you in the street will prompt a flood of the stress hormones, first adrenaline and then cortisol, preparing you for fight, flight or fright.
Robert Sapolsky, professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and the world's leading stress researcher, summarised it like this.
"Your body is turning off all the long term building and repair projects. It's do it tonight, if there is a tonight'.
"So blood pressure soars, more body fuel in the form of glucose is made available, the immune system is enhanced.
"It's a wonderful adaptation should you come across a bear. But too much of a good thing and you're in trouble."
Why People Cannot See:
If a person can see completely or clearly how he stretches his syllables and change speed and loudness, he would put a stop to it because it is tormenting, leads to stress, restlessness and distraction. It is because people cannot see, even those who think they are good and intelligent fail to discern in its entirety how they constantly do so that they continue to do so after much demonstration by me.
There are many reasons why people find it hard to see in its entirety or the complete extent to which they stretch their syllables, change speed and loudness when they speak.
If you are intent on manipulating others, you cannot give it up, there is greed and ill will in you to exploit others, it is understandable you do not tell others the secret tools of your trade, how you bamboozle or overwhelm others with incessant, forceful emotional stretching of syllables, forceful emotional changes in speed and loudness that divides their attention thus preventing them from paying full attention to the false substance of what you say. If you do not want to tell others the tricks of your trade, it pays and facilitate your shenanigans if you similarly cannot see your deceit, you also make yourself blind to the deceits you are perpetrating otherwise you might be stricken by guilt and be self conscious. Therefore there is a chronic willful refusal to see the precise mechanisms of deceit, the constant stretching of syllables with attendant constant speed and loudness changes until now they become truly blind, cannot see just as fish that live in the depths of the ocean lose sight of their eyes and become albino because colorful skins are useless in an environment where there is little light.
When you want to cheat someone, you must hide your intent from him by various ploys including the method of delivery that distracts his attention. In order to better hide your intention from others, it pays that you also hide your intention, your awareness of your modus operandi even from yourself, you forcefully deny to yourself that the stretched syllables and constant changes in speed and loudness are not intended to deceive and distract but they are essential, you stress yourself and make yourself restless to speak thus because you are such a wonderful self sacrificing guy. Because people cannot give up their deceit, they refuse or cannot to see how they are stretching their syllables and changing speed and loudness because that will give their game away and impair their performance.
There is such a thing as true and apparent make believe acted out intelligence, true and apparent make believe acted out goodness. If your intelligence or discernment, your virtue is apparent than real or you are poorly endowed with them and you are engrossed in worldly pursuits in which knowledge of how you make yourself suffer detracts, then it is unsurprising you cannot see the full extent of how you are abusing yourself and others.
Another important reason is that the stretching of syllables, speed and loudness changes are very complex or complicated, they occur rapidly at multiple, not single levels or layers and this overwhelms their ability to keep track or see in its entirety the stretching of syllables, speed and loudness changes they are perpetrating. Every syllable is to greater or lesser extent always stretched, sometimes so rapidly people who do not pay attention think their syllable is not stretched. Every stretched syllable is never stretched at constant speed and loudness but speed and loudness always increases or decreases even rapidly whenever people stretch their syllables, adjacent syllables are spoken at different loudness and speed, people tend to accelerate in speed and loudness from start to finish of their sentences.
Another indication that style and substance are separate is that actors’ gait and speech can become hesitant or cogwheel like when it is put under the spotlight eg in stage fright or when they feel self-conscious. The usual confident aggressive strides can become jerky on the catwalk or when someone approaches the actor in the street. Normally the substance and style of the walk is well merged but when the person is self conscious or distracted by the intimidation of someone suddenly approaching, the former confident merging of the style and substance of the walk becomes compromised.
Everyone in this world bombards each other with audio visual stimuli that have constant changes in speed and loudness and even though they are unaware that this is so, such incessant bombardment keeps them harassed by stress, restlessness and distraction that is an important barrier to them paying full undivided attention to the way they speak.
People are already permanently seized by stress, restlessness and distraction that never completely depart them and thus seized, they are actually compelled to stretch their syllables and change speed and loudness like driven mechanical robots. In another way, you can say their minds are already seriously and permanently warped by past abuses that thus warped, drives them to continue their self and other abusive behavior that they firmly believe is good for themselves and others.
Put in another way, stretching syllables with constant changes in speed and loudness are never mindfully premeditated and passive but there is considerable mental force that is difficult to placate without great effort that propels people to automatically stretch their syllables and change speed and loudness.
If people can see into the future and see what is in store for them later, then many more will sit up and take notice, make more determined and urgent effort to examine themselves more carefully for misconduct.