vagal vs. sympathetic experiences

I am suspecting that the experiences that work via the vagal channel are generally softer flexible etc. while hte sympathetic route is less good.
Physically, vagal effect on the heart are much much faster than sympathetic (1 vs. 5-10 seconds)

Maybe that relates to approach vs. avoidance motivations.

Note that enforced vagal tone may not be fun/healthy.

working memory hypothesis of mindfulness

[perceptions etc. maybe attended to without being analysed, or maybe re-loaded in the mind and thought about.

I suggest that re-loading everything (like an echo) is itself a heavy cost of operating in life.

I suspect that part of the idea of mindfulness is learning to attend to things without loading them (again) to working memory.

Different kinds, shapes and depths of thoughts

I am sure ther are different kinds of thoughts.

There are kinds of thoughts. i.e. visual, words, scenes, feelings etc.

There are strenghts of thoughts. from the most faint ones,for which we may hardly be conscious about, and which we can attend ogether with other thougths asimuiltenously (or with tiny time differences. But I believe they can be subjectively together, and probably even cognitively. Have not reviewed literrature).

There i the lenght of thoughts. Does it stay there? or flows and fades away?

There is also the automaticity of thoughts. Are they coming by themselves like in dreams? or being initiated and "moved" with a feeling of making them happen?


These differences are crucial to many manifestations of thoguhts.

Generally, I beleive that the softer and cheaper the thought is the more efficient its management etc. and the less complications. (I have a suspicion that in meditation training, people learn to handle thoguht in an easier and cheaper way. But meditation training has many components, and this is probably only one of them. It would be interesting if one can develop meditation practices that are directed to mroe specific thoguhts components).

theories about optimal psych

Self determination theory, flow, positive psychology.

In a sense they talk about how a good life would look like, or actually looks like.

Yet looking at how happy or healthy people live does not necessarily prove this is the right way to go.

First there is caustion opacity. A heappy person behaves "authentic" does things for their inherent sake and so on. But possoibly when you are happy or rich (rich in the emotional sense) it makes sense that you will enjoy what you do be whole with yoruself etc. etc. It is not clear what is causing what.

Another issue is whether creating these condition intentionally will be of any use. When "creating" a situation it suffers from many problems. It is clearly not the very thing you are trying to imitate.

Thinking about psychopaths, for example. It is a better card to be dealt not being born or raised into psychopathy. Yet, for that very perosn that happened to be in this emotional and behavioral package, it is unclear whether higher emotinal sensitivity will be adaptive. he may not be able to handle life with more emotional connection. he may even lose his earlier learned ways and trciks how to find his way around the xomplex realisties of being.


I fully agree that we can learn a lot from cuntional life, and try to imitate it. I am only presenting: 1) skepticism, which stems from lack of rigorous proofs for the value of most of the research (correlation does not prove ausation. etc.) 2) Applicability question. When and how is it realitic to transfer what we learn from the functional life to the non functional.

I must admit that John Gottman holds that the way to create functional relationships is to learn from the working ones. And I have much value to him (except that I am worried that there are not enough ppl following his advice which again shows how in reality ppl do not follow sensible advice). I do not know.

practical side of doings for happiness

things do not happen in themselves.

especially artificial things like training etc.

one reason is because the general management system of people is limited in capacity (unless you leanr to improve it, certainly). If one got to have on his mind making money, caring for whatever errands etc. there may not be plae to remember happiness improving activities.

Another problem is self control. Which is limited as Baumeioster has shown

A solution would be if there are exercises that are self-reinforcing. i.e. they are fun, and somehow stick to mind and are remembered easily

another idea is outer memory aids (electronic calendar, for example)

exersices for happiness

practices that improve psychological tendencies etc. have two parts.

1) Effective practice in the training time

2) Learning to use the skills outside the training environment.

Reducing neuroticism is great. Yet many neurotics depend on neuroticism for a living. They function less good when not stressed (it sounds absurd, but so it is. see research on avoidance motivaiton fr neurotics. also dfensive neuroticism.)