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Bodies only determine how much we can be physically. And if you want to be morw, then do more! Mentally we can be/ do anything and everything we want. An open mind is all that is needed
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Someone very wise one said, "All the world's a stage. And all the men and women are merely players." I, which is a concept of diminishing import to me, am a flesh sack full of chemical reactions that I have a tiny bit of control over. I can use that tiny bit of control to choose a role to play or accept the default that my environment constantly attempts to impose on me.
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Takoon's response kind of hit a good point that i've always agreed with when she said "We need to be careful, and because of that it can sometimes determine our style, which can guide us to a certain group of people." I think that our looks very much dictate our style, which is like a chain reaction to all kinds of things, including the groups we hang out with as she said. I can think of several people that I admired growing up that I wished I could have their "look" but could not even come close to pulling it off because of my physical differences like hair type, build etc. If i WERE able to be more like those people I admired, my style etc. today would be much different I believe. As well as the kinds of friends I had, and other peoples response to me as well. Hmmmmmmm..
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It doesn't necessarily determine who we are, but it determines how others see us and a few things about us.
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I'd say much more than one would initially wish to admit. I've experienced this first hand, as I've put on some weight while in college and noticed a significant difference in the way people, even strangers, treat me. I'm not morbidly obese or anything, but it is now much rarer for someone who doesn't know me very well to want to get to know me. And while I'm working to get back to my original weight, it's interesting to see how much more interested people are when you're more attractive to the eye.
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Have you seen Being John Malkovich?? Perfect example of a different "soul"/personality getting Malkovich's body and effing it all up. Watch it! You will see. You MAKE what you have physically seem one way or another. Your body is a canvas. You give it color. You can have a small canvas, a big one, a round one, a flat one.. you catch my drift.
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Religion says you are made in God’s image. Science says you are composed of twenty-five chemicals.
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Religion says you are made in God’s image. Science says you are composed of twenty-five chemicals.
While the scientific answer is physically true, it doesn’t answer the individual question of “Who are you?” as you are obviously very different from a jar containing these chemicals! Despite us all being comprised of these same basic elements, we are obviously very different from each other.
There are a range of reasons for this difference, starting with the way these elements are put together. Physically, you are these chemicals as put together by your genes—bits from your mother, parts of your father, some of your grandparents, as well as how you exercise (or don’t exercise). Mentally, you are what you think and do: with your thoughts stemming from what you have experienced and learned or been told. The mixing and interaction of these physical and mental aspects creates a huge variety of people and personalities. Each time a person is born, a different individual grows.
Another reason for our differences is due to the way energy is added to this mix. For example, while we all have the same chemicals, bodies with similar brains with a similar number of nerves in each, the way these nerves are connected is different in each of us. The experiences, learnings and resulting nerve connections are unique and are what make you who you are. They form your character and personality.
Science can’t specifically tell you precisely how your character and personality works, but we each know we have one that stares back from the mirror each day. Ask a scientist to prove your personality, to show you the formula for it. They can’t. Your character cannot be easily seen, even described or its location pinpointed in scientific terms—but it exists and certainly impacts you and the world.
Your character didn’t come preassembled but was formed by life, by your experiences, by learning, by memories, by your electromagnetic circuits, says Joseph LeDoux, neurologist and author of the benchmark book on how your brain works, Synaptic Self. He says we each start life with similar but slightly different sets of genes and then have different experiences. As such, both nature and nurture (inherited, as well as environment and learning aspects) contribute to who you are. They both shape the electric circuits of your brain.
Consider how cells in your body are regularly replaced over time, yet your personality remains the same. The reason is that while your cells are replaced, it is the energy flowing through them that ultimately comprises your character.
Accordingly, the patterns of the nerve circuits in your brain and body and the information encoded by those connections are key to who you are.
As such, you are also your energy. Ultimately, you are your body, your mind and your energy.
So why don’t you consider yourself more in terms of energy?
It is your energy patterns that make you different from other people. It is how you have your own personality or character.
Visit www.meaningoflifebook.com for more information.
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As Alan Watts spoke about, we ARE our bodies; "we" cannot be separated from our bodies. We are not a soul that can be separated or a little man inside of our heads. We do not choose to grow our hair, skin, bone and teeth, we cannot choose to beat our heart, we just do it. If one were to attempt to separate an "us" from our bodies, it would no longer be "us".
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Freud said that the first sense of self a baby has, is a body self. There is nothing else, but those nerve endings to define us. In a way, it is the essense of our subconscious, because our consciousness is built up on top of that as a basis- exponentially so when language comes into play. I think that people who have a good sense of a body self, are better off emotionally, meaning their sense of being able to be genuine and finding themselves is enhanced. When we feel comfortable in our bodies, we can go anywhere, be anything. It must be an intense sense of feeling grounded.
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Freud said that the first sense of self a baby has, is a body self. There is nothing else, but those nerve endings to define us. In a way, it is the essense of our subconscious, because our consciousness is built up on top of that as a basis- exponentially so when language comes into play. I think that people who have a good sense of a body self, are better off emotionally, meaning their sense of being able to be genuine and finding themselves is enhanced. When we feel comfortable in our bodies, we can go anywhere, be anything. It must be an intense sense of feeling grounded.
Mothers, btw- can add to this sense of a body self, by loving the body of their baby and giving the baby that sense as well. For example, a mother who is totally disgusted by a baby`s bodily functions will lead to this person also having a hard time accepting their body and its functions as well.Being at home in our own bodies is a blessing, and as psychologists know, can be very influential for the rest of our psyche.
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I think it doesn't necessarily hinder us for what we really want to do, but it does sort of guide us. For example, I have sort of a short stocky build with short legs and pigeon toes. I would have liked to do cross country in high school, but my physicality was just terrible for it.
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I think it doesn't necessarily hinder us for what we really want to do, but it does sort of guide us. For example, I have sort of a short stocky build with short legs and pigeon toes. I would have liked to do cross country in high school, but my physicality was just terrible for it.
Another thing that might come across as offensive is that if a woman's facial features or body build are more masculine, it determines what kind of clothes look good on us, to a certain extent. We need to be careful, and because of that it can sometimes determine our style, which can guide us to a certain group of people.
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A body is just a container. We don't choose it, I don't think it's a determining factor in who we are. But how we take care of our bodies or dress or dye or tattoo is the physical reflection of who we are. Or it's at least the attempt of a reflection. the fact the state of a person's body takes up so much thought and effort in our individual lives is kindof sad. that is when our bodies define us, especially young girls. It's when people's lives are consumed w/ body image.
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A body is just a container. We don't choose it, I don't think it's a determining factor in who we are. But how we take care of our bodies or dress or dye or tattoo is the physical reflection of who we are. Or it's at least the attempt of a reflection. the fact the state of a person's body takes up so much thought and effort in our individual lives is kindof sad. that is when our bodies define us, especially young girls. It's when people's lives are consumed w/ body image.
I'm kindof rambling.... but i think it goes even deeper than this. We've been told all our lives how important our image is. It effects how we're treated by others, and that may ultimatly lead to different privilages that may shape who that person is. Experience shapes each of us, and experiance based on looks could be the determining factor in some peoples personalities.
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Our body contains us but we can express ourselves physically through decoration; clothing, make-up, accessories, hairstyles, etc.
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Our body contains us but we can express ourselves physically through decoration; clothing, make-up, accessories, hairstyles, etc.
But before hair dye was invented, and everyone just wore a loin cloth and stuff like that... Our body didn't determine who we are, whatsoever.
Unless we followed emphasis on the body... whether we were in shape, or not.
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