Disembodied Voices: Current Thoughts on 'Culling Voices' by TOOL, Life During Covid, Telecommunications, Social Media, Art, and Blogging
'Disembodied Typescript' right here...
As in once again pushing myself to put ideas out there where I can’t see how people I care about might react to it, in a way where I don’t really get a chance to hear or respond to their interpretations or reactions, and don't get to any sort of natural conversation that would put me at ease. This disconnect leaves me wondering if their first reaction is one of appreciation & understanding or uncertainty with a desire to reach an understanding, or simply dismissals & judgements without the more desirable aspects.
Someone reading this might have heard the clip of Carl Jung in one of the rare recordings of his voice where he explains why he hates having his voice recorded— or “disembodied”— separated from his self, with that huge disconnect between the speaker and any potential listeners that so often leads to trouble.
I’d offer a link to that clip I heard of Jung but I only have it in my memory now. I have no idea who was interviewing him or where I found it, that was a while back.
Just sitting here considering that perhaps the psychological some of us, some of the time, are not always willing to be forthcoming with expressing things close to their heart + mind, has something to do with the way it feels after posting something vulnerable or honest on a site like this. As opposed to having a face to face interaction where misunderstandings are addressed and corrected in the moment— there are interjections and nonverbal exchanges, and hopefully an open & compassionate exchange in which everyone walks away having learned something about themselves and the other. In person, those compassionate discussions are the norm, and people have also allow others to interject to ask a question or challenge a statement.
As opposed to something like what I’m typing right now— these words that will arrive on your screen if the algorithm feeds it to you, but in which a discussion that goes both ways is almost certainly not the outcome.
How does it feel to write these?
Great, during, since they’re stream of consciousness journals. But very iffy afterward, for me. Because it’s not interactive with any audience, at all. It’s great to not craft my words or ideas for any audience, but it’s painful to be so hyperaware that many others won’t understand, or will enjoy it but will not respond, or may judge me in some way without asking if their interpretation of my message or my motives is even close to what I believe.
And how does that condition people?
Well, it trains us to be less vulnerable. Less forthcoming about what we think and feel and how much we really understand. Without that, perhaps all that’s left is shallowness, posts made for PR-related purposes, memes, content, news articles, or images that aren’t really personal or even relevant and things that no one we care about could possibly fail to understand or take issue with... those are the easiest things to share on a site like this.
Do you feel it, too? No need to answer just trying to help people think about things I wish I understood sooner.
I rarely look at my feed at all, I have a couple people prioritized whose posts I see more often— family and close friends or artists whose work I value or other individuals who choose to share personal, vulnerable things, regardless of any probable judgements or misunderstandings that might result. I certainly appreciate who push themselves a bit to share personal, sometimes vulnerable ideas and expressions, sharing what’s in their heart and mind, both in person and online, with a willingness to listen to others who disagree. As opposed to sharing what’s in their garage, their bank account, or on their plate, I suppose.
Not that there’s anything wrong with a picture of a good meal. Depends on that person’s values and reason for taking it, probably.
There’s a plate of Rocky’s Hot Chicken in my profile pic collage. Heh. I guess I just love that place & want people to know about it.
And yes— I’m aware others probably think about something completely different when they hear these songs. I try to interpret art and hear songs/my own words from others’ perspectives, too. Either when they say it, or when I’m left guessing what someone else thought, and I create a model of what they might say in my head. Those words I imagine, those simulated discussions we’ve never had, for the purpose of thought experiments, are disembodied voices, in another respect, in my current opinion. Which won’t be the same tomorrow. But I accept it as is, both now, and looking back on it tomorrow. The only part that feels weird is being concerned about whether others understand and accept too. It’s tougher to feel comfortable about when it’s just an online exchange without face to face discussions or an open & compassionate dialogue, for sure.
During The Covid, disembodied voices are the only voices some of us may have left. As I see it: understanding leads to compassion which builds trust which builds faith which makes some aspects of fear obsolete. There's a Fear Inoculum for someone right there-- an "Inoculation against Fear" someone might choose to embrace in a way that could help them, perhaps. I'll test it myself some more, first.
