Confabulated reality

My self image as an OAP in retirement is as a writer. But my Presbyterian conditioning views fiction as a waste of time and thus to be avoided. But there are at least two types of fiction – the more or less titillating, gossipy, kitchen-sink drama type and, contentiously, the serious and thought provoking type that fools itself into thinking that it deals with ‘facts’ about ‘reality’.

As a solemn presbyterian writer I dally with the second type of fiction. My perspective is essentially scientific (best working hypothesis in the light of evidence presently available) but it is influenced by existentialism and postmodernism where cultural relativism reduces all ‘truths’ to myths and magic.

SO – in retirement, I decided to  rationally and systematically investigate the subjective stuff that is deposited in my attention centre by both the conscious and unconscious mindbrain: and I compare what I find with the theories and models of cutting edge thinkers working collaboratively in the disciplines of, amongst other things, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, behavioural economics and mindfulness meditation.

I deliberately ignore my tendency towards rational, conscious control. The self conscious ‘I’ is not deciding what to do. The method is to hang loose until the unconscious delivers some thoughts and feelings, and then to write about them. I have been doing this for several years. There is a compilation of short stories that describes the method in some detail http://toonloon.bizland.com/compilations/muse-flows-in-the-zone/

What has become apparent is the ability of my mindbrain to confabulate. Fresh inputs from the sense organs are churned with memories; and stories are created to link them together in agent driven patterns – the Lord works in mysterious ways! – and how!

You can experience this effortless ability to confabulate for yourself: pick seven words from a dictionary at random and create a story using them. Details of the technique are given here http://naesaebad.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/seeing-patterns.html and some of my fictional outputs are available here http://s3.spanglefish.com/s/285/documents/existential/six-words.docx

Here is an example:

>>>>>

Seven random words: Theatre: confirmed, averse, cellmate, DJ, enthusiastic, faggots

Theatre

The charismatic prisoner confirmed that he would not be averse to his cellmate having the star part in the prison’s new theatrical production.

The plot revolves around a DJ who is insatiably enthusiastic about faggots.

(35 words)

>>>>>