Inanimate objects and emotion

[Han]

Dear Paracasters, I have always been fascinated by the way "we" attach "emotions" to inanimate objects, both in a positive and negative way. For example cursed dishwashers, or lucky coins.

I for one am guilty of buying into these ideas, for example I have a "lucky" stick, which when I write about it here seem ridiculous, but I would not part with it for all the money in the world (figure of speech obviously) but I do genuinely treasure it, because of when, where and how I found it.

I have seen similar behaviours in animals too, the one that springs to mind is one day I went to visit a huge reservoir, when me and a friend arrived, we went to the bailiffs hut to inquire about the fishing regulations. Anyway to cut a long story short, the Bailiff had a very large Alsatian dog (German Shepard) and as I was standing there it began to stare at my feet and growl, I was not a little worried due to the size of this dog, and asked the owner what was wrong, he replied you are standing on his "favourite" stone, which was confusing to say the least, he then said take a step back, which I did, immediately the dog walked forward and with great dexterity picked up a small reddish pebble in its mouth and took it to its owner to throw like a ball. My jaw dropped the stone in question was no larger than a marble and was quite similar to the surrounding pebbles, however when the owner threw the pebble the dog retrieved it and bought it back to him, he then said you have a go which I did, I took great care to ensure that inspected the stone thoroughly before throwing it, and when I did the dog bought back the exact same stone! it is not an understatement to say that there were literally thousands of similar stones in the area that I threw it, but somehow the dog was able to recognise "his" stone time and again.
I wish I had asked how long the dog had "owned" the stone in question or if he had more? However it was only when looking back did I realise how remarkable it was.

In this thread I would like help to explore the dynamics of the way we attach emotion to objects, the question that intrigues me the most is how much impact does the actual object in question have? and to what extent does what you "know" or are "told" effect the way you "feel" about it?

For example if we take a wedding ring (for clarity a plain gold "band" without inscription) and examine it without provenance we might conclude that it was just a "ring" however if we were told that it once belonged to an ancestor, relative or "important" (to us) person how might our feelings towards it change?

Any input or examples would be most welcome.

 

[nameless]

yeah, fascinating area.

Harry I guess you've seen the channel 4 docs like Nightmare Hoarders and such, where people will just keep everything and anything because they attach meaning and connection to just any old junk. This is the extreme, like their filtering system is set to non existent and mental illness takes over. This is different to the ritualisation of objects or meaning deemed through narrative attribution like a token or totem. The object is itself a symbol or synonymous with an experience or event.

 

[nameless]

Its like a trophy or a medal. The objects itself are worthless but the significance we bestow on these items is important but not as important as the "we". This differs from place where a static place has itself an inherent spirit or personality which we experience but whose importance has been bestowed on by something or someone else. I've always been interested in the names of places particularly ones which may give a spooky clue to a past occurrence or relationship e.g. 'Devils Dyke".

 

[nameless]

Thats pretty cool if you have a "magic stick" , particularly as the stick itself was a living thing and if it was from a tree has an inherent symbolism attached as well as your own experience or connection with it. cool

 

[Han]

Its like a trophy or a medal. The objects itself are worthless but the significance we bestow on these items is important but not as important as the "we". This differs from place where a static place has itself an inherent spirit or personality which we experience but whose importance has been bestowed on by something or someone else. I've always been interested in the names of places particularly ones which may give a spooky clue to a past occurrence or relationship e.g. 'Devils Dyke".

I know of one London (former) street name, that was as descriptive as rude, but I would not dream of posting it here (yes it is that rude) but my second favourite is "Houndsditch" which actually still smells! even though it was "paved over" long ago.

 

[manxman]

i have a lucky rabbits foot.

come to thinking about it, i had the rest of him aswell, with chips and peas.

 

[boomerang]

One should chalk this up to personal mythology or human instinct, or the power of suggestion. But I've always felt distinct "vibes" from certain geographical locations. I think it's almost a given that certain natural or even man-made settings tend to affect people in emotionally distinct ways. There is even a name for this phenomenon: genius loci.

A few examples of locations that tweak my vibe-meter:

-The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Feels like a shrine and I could swear the spirit of old Percival is still present.
-Jefferson's Monticello. One of the most powerful I have experienced.
-Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, and really quite a few places in Colorado.

There must be hundreds more such locations out there I have not had the privilege of visiting.

 

[manxman]

One should chalk this up to personal mythology or human instinct, or the power of suggestion. But I've always felt distinct "vibes" from certain geographical locations. I think it's almost a given that certain natural or even man-made settings tend to affect people in emotionally distinct ways. There is even a name for this phenomenon: genius loci.

either that or feng shui .

 

[Randall]

Dear Paracasters, I have always been fascinated by the way "we" attach "emotions" to inanimate objects, both in a positive and negative way ... Any input or examples would be most welcome.

I had attended university in their fine arts department and was in my fourth year when my former girlfriend who had some kind of personality disorder decided to pick a fight with me, and to instigate it, she took the portfolio of my best work from that four years, mostly drawings on paper that had in some cases taken weeks to complete, and threw it outside in the backyard in the rain and ruined it all. It's the only time I shed a tear for the loss of something inanimate, and I don't know if it's because it was because of the loss of the personal effort and heart that went into creating all the pieces, or because someone who I believed was supposed to have deep caring feelings for me could do something so hurtful. Probably both.

 

[nameless]

....And ever since then women's bodies have been found across Canada, the common feature being stab founds with a 2b graphite pencil or series 5 sable oil painting brush and a quick life drawing sketch in blood on an abandoned canvas art board.

 

[nameless]

One should chalk this up to personal mythology or human instinct, or the power of suggestion. But I've always felt distinct "vibes" from certain geographical locations. I think it's almost a given that certain natural or even man-made settings tend to affect people in emotionally distinct ways. There is even a name for this phenomenon: genius loci.

either that or feng shui .

Definitely

Now we are talking pscychogeography which is going to be the new buzz word in the states and in para-chat circles in the foreseeable . Walter Bosley needs to be acquainted with this term quickly. But I digress.

 

[nameless]

I don't know it's relevance but anyway once popular fringe whackery that is ;

Kirlian photography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Han]

Definitely

Now we are talking pscychogeography which is going to be the new buzz word in the states and in para-chat circles in the foreseeable . Walter Bosley needs to be acquainted with this term quickly. But I digress.

I once heard a radio show about pschyogeography, and what the person interviewed seemed to be suggesting was that the "landscape" can "store" "vibes/energy" both good and bad, if I recall correctly he thought that "storage tanks" for water or gas etc were ideally suited for this, and that people often have "experiences" in locations near to them.

I have managed to find the show here is the link it features a guy called Tim Bradford who wrote the book called "the ground water diaries".

Ventures and Adventures In Topography at Resonance FM Podcasts

Also you might enjoy this article about Hackney Marshes:
Crocodile and sex cult history of Hackney Marshes revealed in new book - News - Hackney Gazette

 

[nameless]

People have their own takes on the term but if you purely go on the situationist use if the term then we are talking about fugue state, walking the territory living the map and being open to all sensory and causal connection both analogically and metaphorically as well as being aware of cultural, social and artistic influences. To define the 'spirit' of the place and in so doing so more often to define your spirit and it's reaction to a place.

Iain Sinclair being the magus of this.

 

[nameless]

Sorry I don't mean to hijack this thread Harry.

 

[Han]

Sorry I don't mean to hijack this thread Harry.

You didn't, or if you did I don't mind because I found what you wrote very interesting.

 

[smcder]

One should chalk this up to personal mythology or human instinct, or the power of suggestion. But I've always felt distinct "vibes" from certain geographical locations. I think it's almost a given that certain natural or even man-made settings tend to affect people in emotionally distinct ways. There is even a name for this phenomenon: genius loci.

either that or feng shui .

gesundheit

 

[smcder]

One should chalk this up to personal mythology or human instinct, or the power of suggestion. But I've always felt distinct "vibes" from certain geographical locations. I think it's almost a given that certain natural or even man-made settings tend to affect people in emotionally distinct ways. There is even a name for this phenomenon: genius loci.

A few examples of locations that tweak my vibe-meter:

-The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. Feels like a shrine and I could swear the spirit of old Percival is still present.
-Jefferson's Monticello. One of the most powerful I have experienced.
-Cheyenne Mountain Colorado, and really quite a few places in Colorado.

There must be hundreds more such locations out there I have not had the privilege of visiting.

Dachau when I was 16.