Infinite Cycles of Questioning

[Eldanen]

Hi guys. I've had a problem recently. I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other. Now, I know it's impossible to account for everything, so I'm trying to break the cycle. Any advice from those who have been through this before, questioning everything?

Thanks.

[Little Linguist]

Hi guys. I've had a problem recently. I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other. Now, I know it's impossible to account for everything, so I'm trying to break the cycle. Any advice from those who have been through this before, questioning everything?

Thanks.

I've questioned everything since I was 3 years old, when my favorite question was 'Why?' That has not changed, though I have admittedly learned to curb my curiosity. I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it is not totally disturbing or destructive. I think it's a normal part of the growth process.

[Eldanen]

I've questioned everything since I was 3 years old, when my favorite question was 'Why?' That has not changed, though I have admittedly learned to curb my curiosity. I see nothing wrong with it, as long as it is not totally disturbing or destructive. I think it's a normal part of the growth process.

Well, as I said, I've lost a lot of sleep and peace due to it.

[Little Linguist]

Well, as I said, I've lost a lot of sleep and peace due to it.

Why?

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Hi guys. I've had a problem recently. I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other. Now, I know it's impossible to account for everything, so I'm trying to break the cycle. Any advice from those who have been through this before, questioning everything?

Thanks.

You are an ENTP, so it is natural for you to question everything without ever coming to a solid conclusion. The problem with this though is that ENTP's still need some type of anchor, i.e. some type of solid center to give ourselves at least a little bit of structure and consistency. What I did was I kept searching and searching until I found some type of foundational belief that I felt was solid, and I could really invest myself into. It took me a good while to find it, but the search was well worth the time and effort. That is what I suggest you do.

"Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened unto you."

[nolla]

I think I know what you mean. I suppose the key is to accept the uncertainty and settle with some basic ideas of how things work (even though they are your own ideas and not really true). Create your own life philosophy.

[Mort Belfry]

I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other.

The inifinite cycle of questioning ends you when come to realise that you don't know anything, no one does. Everything you "know" is based on "knowing" something else.

[Didums]

Hi guys. I've had a problem recently. I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other. Now, I know it's impossible to account for everything, so I'm trying to break the cycle. Any advice from those who have been through this before, questioning everything?

Thanks.

Questions need answers, you need to go buy some books about the subjects you are questioning.

[Beat]

I'm going to assume that the questions you are asking, are unfortunately the ones that just don't have definitive answers. You have two options: 1. To spend the rest of your life questioning with uncertainty or 2. To adopt a system of beliefs/morals/ethics and so on, and convince yourself that questioning further is no longer necessary. For some option #2 isn't difficult to achieve. If you're anything like me, you'll have to make do knowing that you'll never know.

[Jennifer]

The inifinite cycle of questioning ends you when come to realise that you don't know anything, no one does. Everything you "know" is based on "knowing" something else.

Yup. There is nothing certain.

I have had a few religious crises in my life. The first time is when I went back and back and back... and realized I could not prove any of my assumptions. I slowly climbed back out of that -- but the next crash (five years later) was more gradual and far worse.

I had nothing to stand on at all, and that the specifics of my religious beliefs in the past were arbitrary in the sense I could prove none of them. And they were making a horrendous claim and toll on my life... and for what purpose? I couldn't live a life based on things that were no longer obvious to me.

What did I do?

I assessed my life, determined what actual principles I *did* believe and live by no matter what, saw how they aligned with parts of the specific religious beliefs I had held in the past, saw that as continuity, and then let the rest go. (These principles had been derived from my personal experience and thinking over the years, and I realized were the ones I still referenced when I made decisions.)

And I gave myself permission to no longer feel I had to make excuses to others for what I did believe or no longer could believe, nor would put myself down for it. I just accepted where I was.

Is there any way the OP's demands on 'self' are too extreme for what actually is believable to them? trying to hold a POV that you know you can't place that much faith in eventually results in an internal clash/crash.

[Peguy]

Infinite questioning will get you nowhere, you'll only end up going in countless circles. As Descartes once stated, the point of any questioning is to actually reach a conclusion. Your conclusion maybe right or wrong, but you'll never fully know unless you actually walk down that path. If you're wrong, retrace your steps and use your experience to better find the right path.

[Eldanen]

Is there any way the OP's demands on 'self' are too extreme for what actually is believable to them? trying to hold a POV that you know you can't place that much faith in eventually results in an internal clash/crash.

Bingo. You've hit the nail on the head, I believe. I was PMing earlier today and I came to some conclusion along those lines. Over the past 5 or so years I've been through a lot dealing with my (now previous) faith, and I have always felt like it didn't quite fit. I remember going to church, and now that I look on it in retrospect, it seems like I just had an exoskeleton on and I was just playing the chameleon, trying to fit in with these beliefs that had to be correct. And with the denomination I was associated with, it was an "or else" kind of thing. (And, frankly, it wore the shit out of me.)

Ultimately, there's some core part of my personality I believe, that doesn't really permit me to become lodged into one belief system. It's just utterly anathema to me. Therefore, trying to force myself to do that basically plugged my pipe, so to speak. I've been crashing ever since I started, and I realize that now, and I have been realizing it over the past few weeks and months. It's amazing how I got into something and never saw how contrary it was to the "real me" inside. And it's caused me a lot of pain (physically, mentally, emotionally) to try to conform. I'm also a heavy dreamer, and such a "defined" and rigorous faith doesn't really do me well. At the most, I think I should be spiritual in some way, if anything. Discordianism fits me, hehe. (I don't want to believe anything, I want to believe everything on some level, etc. If you're not familiar with the philosophy, here it is: Discordianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism))

Most recently, what I've been working through are the ideas that I /must/ believe this, or that I /must/ believe that. I've had a lot of requirement-oriented ideas that have found their way into my system, and it's been like shackles on me. I've worked through a lot of logic and it has taken a lot of time and effort, but I have yet to work through the emotional imprints that have persisted. (And I'm not sure exactly how.)

[Edahn]

I think skepticim and checking your beliefs about the world is a great way to gain wisdom. Maybe the reason you're losing sleep is because you're coming to face the fact that you've sacrificed a lot of yourself for the sake of an organized religion you never really chose. In that case, maybe your confusion is a necessary step in your personal development.

[Eldanen]

I think skepticim and checking your beliefs about the world is a great way to gain wisdom. Maybe the reason you're losing sleep is because you're coming to face the fact that you've sacrificed a lot of yourself for the sake of an organized religion you never really chose. In that case, maybe your confusion is a necessary step in your personal development.

Again, exactly. I sacrificed my inner personality for something that wasn't really me, and I'm not sure how it really happened. Except that it was very uhm, externally magnetic if anyone can understand that? I know that when I was a kid, my definition of reality was the feeling I got by looking outside at twilight and feeling the emotionally charged atmosphere of the night, perhaps relating it to something I'd read, seen, or felt in some book of Fantasy, hehe. :0 Or something I'd seen in a game. So yeah, it is necessary confusion. Though I do wish I was through it already hehe :). And it just reached the point where I was exploding and there was no way to shut down the skeptic thoughts. Kind of like a chain reaction.

On a side note, if I had to describe my "inner self" as a color it'd probably be indigo or electric blue.

[Peguy]

Remember Socrates' saying that the wise man is one who knows he's ignorant. He even told the Oracle of Delphi he knew nothing.

[Edahn]

Again, exactly. I sacrificed my inner personality for something that wasn't really me, and I'm not sure how it really happened. Except that it was very uhm, externally magnetic if anyone can understand that? I know that when I was a kid, my definition of reality was the feeling I got by looking outside at twilight and feeling the emotionally charged atmosphere of the night, perhaps relating it to something I'd read, seen, or felt in some book of Fantasy, hehe. :0 Or something I'd seen in a game. So yeah, it is necessary confusion. Though I do wish I was through it already hehe :). And it just reached the point where I was exploding and there was no way to shut down the skeptic thoughts. Kind of like a chain reaction.

On a side note, if I had to describe my "inner self" as a color it'd probably be indigo or electric blue.

I get that completely. For me, it's something I usually enjoy when it comes to things that are theoretical or philosophical (god, reality, psychology). It gets to be a problem when it starts infecting my personal relationships (am I good enough, will she leave me, what's she thinking, what will I say next). When that happens, I give it a label or character (in your case, you might image an insatiable skeptic with a magnifying glass, perhaps) and just gently watch it all go by me, like I was watching traffic pass by. You'llfeel less compelled to answer and chase down all the inquiries you've ignited. The gentleness is a key aspect because otherwise you end up creating more disturbance. If you really don't enjoy it, you can try something like that, though I think it'll prolly just pass on its own.

[Eldanen]

Questions need answers, you need to go buy some books about the subjects you are questioning.

And on that note, someone name me some good science books with accurate information intelligently and interestingly presented :D. (Maybe stuff that you like personally?)

[Peguy]

And on that note, someone name me some good science books with accurate information intelligently and interestingly presented :D. (Maybe stuff that you like personally?)

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science (http://www.regnery.com/books/pigscience.html) - Tom Bethell, certainly explores the ways science is often misused to serve political agendas.

[sassafrassquatch]

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science (http://www.regnery.com/books/pigscience.html) - Tom Bethell, certainly explores the ways science is often misused to serve political agendas.

Tom Bethell is an evolution and HIV denying kook.

Upping the Anti (Doubt and About) (http://www.csicop.org/doubtandabout/bethell/)
Yes, Virginia, There is a War on Science (http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/05/there-is-a-war-on-science/)

[Peguy]

Tom Bethell is an evolution and HIV denying kook.
Rather nice ad-hominem charade you got going here.

[sassafrassquatch]

Rather nice ad-hominem charade you got going here.

:huh:

[Didums]

And on that note, someone name me some good science books with accurate information intelligently and interestingly presented :D. (Maybe stuff that you like personally?)

Science is Broad, Broooooaaad subject. What exactly are you interested in learning about?

[Eldanen]

Science is Broad, Broooooaaad subject. What exactly are you interested in learning about?

I have at least a passing interest in anything, lol. Maybe, theoretical physics, biology, astronomy.... In the social sciences psychology of course (preferably something better than a self-help book, although those can be good.) Maybe I'll get some of CG Jung's stuff. Yeah. He's a cool dude.

[alicia91]

I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun.

I was like that when I was younger. With age, I learned to accept that knowing everything is impossible and that at some level I'm just going to have to trust, without having to understand everything myself. As a T-type this is hard to do, but not impossible. Some new-age ideas such living in the moment (not always trying to anticipate and understand), reducing the ego (not having to be an expert on everything), and meditation (clearing the mind), have really helped me. I have also figured out a personal philosophy about the things that are important to me and that my world revolves around, extra information and insight is just a bonus now, not a compulsion.

[Anja]

Just lookit all the good answers you'r getting here, Eldanen!

There are very few certainties in my life and one of them is that successful living is living well with myself/peace of mind and heart. That is one which I seek.

If I can't find "answers" with dilligent pursuit then I practice acceptance of my inability.

[Didums]

I have at least a passing interest in anything, lol. Maybe, theoretical physics, biology, astronomy.... In the social sciences psychology of course (preferably something better than a self-help book, although those can be good.) Maybe I'll get some of CG Jung's stuff. Yeah. He's a cool dude.

For theoretical physics, either: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, or The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking. The first one is a drier read, the second one has lots of pictures.

And you could always get Bluewing's book: Poverty of Conventionalism (http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~51831.aspx)

For biology: YouTube - DonExodus2's Videos (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=DonExodus2) has some interesting videos on Evolution/Abiogenesis etc.

[Athenian200]

Hi guys. I've had a problem recently. I've been questioning a lot of my beliefs, and it seems as though the process of questioning has become compulsive to me, to the point of losing sleep and peace over the matter. I've been asking myself how I can know X, Y, Z, and everything under the sun. How can I account for this, this, that, that, and the other. Now, I know it's impossible to account for everything, so I'm trying to break the cycle. Any advice from those who have been through this before, questioning everything?

Thanks.

Yes. You just have to realize that you have to start from an assumption in order to know anything.

The most basic assumption is that your sense experience is related to something that is true, and then the next most basic one is that scientific principles are true.

You probably should be open to questioning everything else. To question the first two assumptions is an attempt at philosophy, not a question that can be answered. Basically, all knowledge is based on some kind of assumption, some kind of underlying perspective.