If A Stoic Had a Gun to Their Head, and Clarification on Trump and Musk
If A Stoic Had a Gun to Their Head
An unknown commenter stated on a recent post, "I would like to know the immediate response of a Stoic with a gun to their head."
This comment may have been an attempt to invalidate stoicism by using an extreme situation for the purpose of shock value, or this may have been a legitimate curiosity.
Most people in the world will never be in the situation of having a gun to their head. We hear about it in the news all the time but out of 8 billion people it's statistically extremely rare. However, stoicism addresses these kinds of scenarios. "Stoicism and the Art of Happiness" by Donald Robertson states:
"Epictetus says that when a terrifying sound surprises us, such as thunder or a falling building, or when we're suddenly confronted by news of some impending danger, even the Sage is necessarily disturbed, because the initial impression forces itself on his mind, and he may grow pale and shrink back automatically for a moment. This isn't due to the judgement that something intrinsically 'bad' is about to happen but because of very rapid, involuntary, bodily reactions.
We potentially do control what happens next. We get to choose our voluntary response to these initial automatic reactions. We can give our 'assent' to the impressions and go along with them or step back from them instead. The Sage may receive a sudden shock but does not continue to worry about it, whereas the majority of people allow themselves to be 'carried away' by their anxious impressions. The Stoics observed that the distress of other animals naturally runs its course.
After being startled, animals gradually relax; after a loss their distress eventually fades. Our automatic reactions will often likewise fade naturally over time, once the initial impressions are no longer 'fresh' in our minds, as long as we don't perpetuate our feelings by going along with them and giving our assent to faulty value judgements."
It's congruent with stoicism that someone with a gun to their head would have involuntary activation of their fight-or-flight response. If the trigger was not pulled and the individual survives, then it becomes a matter of utilizing stoicism and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to not get PTSD from it. However, in the case of getting PTSD, it then becomes a matter of healing from PTSD utilizing stoicism and CBT.
In the even more extreme case of being held captive for a long period of time while being abused, the same still applies if one is rescued. One would pursue stoicism and CBT to heal. This would not be easy of course, but it's possible to restructure PTSD pathways in the mind with stoicism and CBT. It's well worth at least giving it a try.
(A CBT author states that stoicism is the "Grandfather of CBT."
Similarly, authors of stoicism state that CBT derives many of its
methods from stoicism. I didn't know this yet when I stated in a
previous post that both CBT and stoicism work really well together.
This was a definite 'aha moment' when I had confirmation from these
authors.)
Personally, although I haven't had a gun to my head and haven't been kidnapped and abused over a long period of time, I have been physically tortured (warning, this post contains graphic and disturbing content):
https://starlight432.blogspot.com/2020/09/one-of-my-experiences-with-torture.html
I've also experienced very disturbing horrors in the dreamstate a countless number of times:
https://starlight432.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-most-virtuous-endeavor.html
There may be the attitude among some, such as trollish commenters, that they can push me around. Perhaps they have underestimated me. 🙂
Anyway, the power of stoicism and CBT has not been shaken in the slightest by the gun comment.
Clarification on Trump and Musk:
The Light Forces did not say they unconditionally support Trump and Musk. Instead, according to the latest conference notes, this was stated:
"1 month ago the chances of cooperation between the Aldebarans and Trump/Musk were 40-45%. As of right now, it stands at 30-35% probability. We’ll see how things go in February and March."
"There are two scenarios. The first scenario is that Donald Trump and Elon Musk cooperate and are contacted by the Aldebarans. Elon Musk will be the first person who the Aldebarans will contact. It may begin real disclosure. Elon Musk has a thick mind. He is good in some aspects. If the click happens between him and the Aldebarans, it will be a force for good.
The second scenario is that the Aldebarans have a backup plan which will continue regardless of surface politicians. This is why the United States is the last chance for cooperation (with surface politicians). The Aldebarans will do things differently in case of the second scenario. It will be more rough and confrontational. But the truth needs to come out."
Basically, if Trump and Musk don't cooperate, there is an alternate plan.
Note on whey protein:
ReplyDeleteI took a closer look at the amino acids in whey protein and compared this with pea protein and rice protein powder to discover that whey protein is low in glycine. Pea protein and rice protein both have close to 3 times the amount of glycine compared with whey protein.
Glycine is an important amino acid for feeling full. So, it makes sense that I was constantly hungry when I made whey my main source of protein.
If I go back to the whey protein (I still have a few pounds of the stuff just sitting in the cupboard), all I would have to do is purchase some glycine powder and fortify the whey in order to make it have as much glycine as pea protein and rice protein powder. It would be interesting to see if this solves the problem of constantly feeling hungry with whey.