TED Community » Maranda Marvin

More About Me

I'm passionate about

the condition of the world!

Talk to me about

Truth is all around us, there is only so long we can run.

People don't know that I'm good at

playing along until I get bored!

My TED Story

I am all about being open to hear, but having the right to disagree! I love seeking truth for myself and through others! I believe we all have a piece of the truth IN us. But I also believe that many of us have involuntarily or voluntarily bowed down to the mind-moving powers called CONTRADICTION.

Comments

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• A comment on Conversation: Is the global state of higher education a more pressing concern than others such as the environment, energy, food, human rights,...?

  Apr 8 2012: Hello Shawn! I agree that education is the most important key to the individual and collective surivival of mankind. However, I believe more funds and attention should be focused on early, elementary, & secondary education. Anyone who has spent a week or more in a public school environment can attest to what I believe. Those "precious mental resources" that are being wasted are most pliable during a child's early development. If we are going to continue to live as a species it will take education on varying levels, e.g., financial, medical, social, environmental. The colonies of mankind that are being driven through our elementary & secondary education systems are coming out able to produce very little (mental or material). Without getting into statistics (on a global scale), let's just say that when the serious cuts in our "lower" education systems began, it was made clear how important it was for the next generation "workforce" of America to know (on all levels).
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  A reply on Conversation: What are the underlying, universal fears present in humanity?

  Feb 28 2012: Jordan, I thought about your response all day yesterday. I was stuck at " Whether or not fear is experienced in the present moment..." The person that I mentioned before that gave me answers to questions no one else did, also gently opened my conditioned mind up to the reality of the objective and subjective nature of TIME. So after mulling around in your response above, I began to think about the what the present is (but a moment) and how CAN we overcome future-based fears that will always be there? The only thing that I kept coming back to was our EMOTIONS. Our fears are always future-based, but do you think it is our emotions that cause us to "stay" in the present with these fears? Instead of moving forward through these fears?
  
  So when we take control of these eMOTIONS, we are better equipped to live in the present moment with less fear about future events that may be only seconds away. (Not sure if I am effectively communicating what I see in my head, but I am trying.) What do you think?
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  A comment on Conversation: Can we get "Unconditional Love" from people not related? (other than siblings, parents or wife)

  Feb 26 2012: Your question caused me to think about people that give their lives for people they do not know. What would this be called? Altruism? Could this be a form of unconditional love? And what about the social workers and people that help others, those that genuinely care about a person's needs and well-being without giving one thought to the individual's history that brought them to the potentially adverse situation they are in (e.g. drug abuse, domestic violence, criminal wrong-doings)? Could this be considered unconditional love?

• A comment on Conversation: What are the underlying, universal fears present in humanity?

  Feb 26 2012: Hello Jordan. In regards to your statement "I want to better understand this and find a way to address and minimize those fears instilled in people". I think one way to assist people in overcoming paralyzing fear and supped-up anxieties about the inevitable is by helping them find a sense of meaning. Meaning about their role within the Earth, their role among millions of other humans, their role in their localized lives, and their role as a person that will one day not walk this Earth.
  
  I have always believed that each individual that comes onto the Earth, has a role, a place, and a reason to be. The difficulty is overcoming the lies upon lies that have plagued mankind within his mind and in the environment around him. Those lies that tell us that our lives are worthless or that we are here for no reason at all. Or that age-old question, "What's it all for?" These are difficult to assist someone in understanding unless they can find their own meaning for being here.
  
  What do you think? This is such a delicate topic. I am also very interested in finding effective ways to address these fears in people.

• A reply on Conversation: What are the underlying, universal fears present in humanity?

  Feb 26 2012: Good afternoon Peter! During my focused study on the many wonderful civilizations and societies that have walked this beautiful Earth throughout time, I learned a lot about what was at the root of the whole of mankind in relation to fears, anxieties, desires, and needs. The motivations that kept that "root" alive were intricately constructed belief systems that were created in a way that “fit” each civilization and society. It is really amazing and wonderful to see how creative mankind is in his ability to “survive” something he knows so little about and has very little control of.
  
  Our belief systems give us a sense of control over the unknown (not necessarily our own control of a situation, but a sense that something is in control), whether it is science or religion, they both assist man overcome anxieties and fears and they are both needed for such.
  
  The measure of what we don't know, will ALWAYS outweigh the measure of what we think we know. If that doesn't humble us, what will?
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  A comment on Conversation: What are the underlying, universal fears present in humanity?

  Feb 26 2012: Hello Jordan! What a GREAT question! You know, every now & then (and sometimes even rarer than that) you run into a person that seems to give you the answer to questions no one else could. Well I ran into this person for a short time and he gave me an answer to your question that I will never forget. I fought the answer in my mind, but I lost. He said to me (and a bunch of other students) at the root of all fear for mankind is the reality of our unknown death (when/where/how/why). In addition to that, I also believe our fears come from the reality of knowing we are NOT in control of the "bigger picture" which includes death, but also the external occurrences (other people's issues, attitudes, responses that cause wars, deaths, job losses, hate and the likes) and internal occurrences (physical & mental ailments beyond our control) that render us helpless in our own lives as well as in the lives of those we love and care for.
  
  On a cultural level, I did a lot of studying of other civilizations during my undergraduate degree and found the anxieties about death and the reality of how in control we "really" are to be the same but expressed quite differently. I found religion (or a belief system) to be the most effective way, throughout all these civilizations and societies, to buffer these anxieties and fears in a way that helped people cope and continue.
  
  Sometimes I wonder how long humanity would have been here if we did not have the cognitive abilities to allow for belief systems?

• A reply on Conversation: What makes an idea spread? Duration? Quality? Loudness?

  Feb 23 2012: Exactly Kieran! Relevancy!

• A reply on Conversation: How do you overcome fear?

  Feb 23 2012: Monika, sadly you are right about suicides. That is why I believe it is so important for individuals to seek assistance and for individuals to be open to give assistance. I have all too often dealt with family members that have lost relatives that have committed suicide. Fear can be paralyzing to the point of feeling numb to yourself, to your family & friends, and the world around you. Life is hard sometimes, but thankfully there are people that genuinly care for people. Everyday I think about how wonderful it is that even though this world seems to be one big jumble of destructive chaos and instability toward WAR (on all levels), there are good & caring people here creating balance! My heart aches for the condition of man, but I am ever so thankful for that spirit of resilience that seems to be built into our DNA.
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  A reply on Conversation: How do you overcome fear?

  Feb 22 2012: Monika you are so right about the "unexpected fear". That is a whole other conversation in itself. In regards to that, I think about how "not in control" of things we really are, although our sanity comes from feeling like we are in control of things. The reality is that fear is always around us, it is up to us to do something to alleviate it or allow it to alleviate us. This can be a life-long journey for some people, but once a person overcomes this fear they are equipped to help someone else. It is promised to us that we all will FAIL at something at some point in our lives (or at many points in some of our lives) but that failure is like on-the-job LIFE training. And living in a competitive, capitalist, individualistic society does not help our fear factor one bit, but it is still able to be overcome with assistance. I have seen it happen way too often.
  
  I have seen women that have lost their babies in freak car accidents have more children, women that have lost their legs in car accidents stand before gymnasiums of people and talk about "being all you can be even when your legs are missing", I know a woman that watched her father get shot in the face with a gun and now she is a leading a group of citizens to fight against gang crime, while I was pregnant I met a woman from Palestine that watched her family get mutilated, one by one and now she is a spokeswoman for crimes against humanity...I could go on and on. My point is that there are many things in this world that can deposit fear into us, but each of us have within us the ability to overcome that fear. That of course, is easier said than done when the moment of FEAR strikes, but it can be done.
  
  The unexpected fear you speak about is what can make this life crazy. A wise man once told me that fear was at the root of all the social ills we see around the world. I questioned him in immaturity, thinking it was more laziness than fear, but now I believe him to be completely right.
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  A comment on Conversation: How do you overcome fear?

  Feb 22 2012: I believe there is a level of fear that is normal. Then there is a level of fear that is paralyzing. But then there is the in between and many of us get stuck in that area, needing a little push to get through it. The level of fear that is paralyzing, however, may stem from something physiological or psychological that we may need to "go within" to conquer.
  
  In my experience, most people that experience this level of fear must first recognize it as something that is not apart of them. It is something that is able to be shed off with assistance. Then they must seek out assistance, in whatever form works for them (e.g. mindfulness techniques, therapy, coaching, seeking more knowledge about the specific area they are desiring to "conquer", etc.). I have worked with many people that see "mountains" before them, but every single one of them that sought after assistance reached the top of those mountains. It is not always easy, actually most of the time, it isn't easy, but on the other side they are stronger and more knowledgeable. Which, in turn, causes that them to be able to assist someone else they encounter (in the future) over his or her mountain. THAT is the true story of man's existence! All the other stories out there are simply fiction.