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Nerga as Obsession
October 20, 2012
4:57 am
Madison, WI, USA
Gnoll
Forum Posts: 75
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September 24, 2012
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Hi fellow Gnolls,

 

It occurred to last night that the gnollish word nerga, did not mean acquiring pointless, undo possessions with no real use in life other than to take up space.  Not that these possessions aren't "needless complication" in our lives, but that isn't what nerga really refers to.  What it really talks about is the tendencies of any given human, in the right evironmental circumstances can become obsessed about anything.

 

I knew the concept spoke to me when I first read it, but feel, I didn't really know why, until now.  The tendency to obsess over things is strong with me, as I like to over think the hell out of things and this can and often does lead to some imbalances in my life, even with respect to healthy eating.  This is something I struggle with and constantly need to work at and I sometimes (or oftenEmbarassed) forget this. 

 

Jen W.

"Often we forget . . . the sky reaches to the ground . . . with each step . . . we fly."  ~We Fly, The House Jacks

October 22, 2012
9:56 am
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First-Eater
Forum Posts: 2045
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February 22, 2010
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Jen:

Nerga means "needless complication" in any form.  

It can certainly refer to physical objects with no obvious purpose, or which are far more elaborate than necessary to perform their desired function.  However, nerga can also refer to excessively complicated future plans -- or, as in your own case, to the processes of overthinking and obsession, which are the needless complication of concepts.

Gnolls are strongly focused on goals, because they must be.  As Aidan says, "Your bad ideas starve in about two weeks."  This extreme focus can result in a lack of imagination...for the relevant discussion, see pp. 122-123 of TGC.

JS

October 22, 2012
1:11 pm
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Halifax, UK
Gnoll
Forum Posts: 364
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June 5, 2011
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Absolutely! I've been a little quiet here, of late, but things have been moving along. As it happens, I've given up meat! I say given up, rather, not focussing upon.

I've not got veg*an, far from it. I've stated often that paleo living can easily be done on fish alone. Growing bored of meat, I decided to put my life where my mouth is and ... eat shell/fish.

I live on an island where we are surrounded by water. We have a bountiful sea all around and that's what I am going to live primarily on.

I found meat required planning to make it interesting. Yes, fillet steak needs nothing more than itself to be interesting, but I am a man of only reasonable means, and fillet steak is not an affordable daily thing. That planning required an obsessive focus. The nth degree to make an really fly meal, every time, out of something which is actually just muscle.

I've lived for long periods of my life where fish was my primary protein and I think I've always been happiest like that. I can freestyle more with fish - just pick some up and let the imaginative side of my creativity flourish. Meat seemed to douse that.

So, here, nerga was both the bane and the release of my culinary creativity - the bane, intense focus and near obsessive rigidity; the release, the freedom to just eat and let my imagination go. I can do this with fish.

Wish me well ...

I will still be eating meat, every so often, like when we go out ... or when I go to that neat restaurant in town that serves a very generously side piece of fillet steak on a volcanic rock, just seared and ready for me to "cook" exactly how I like it ... which is, take it off the slab and eat it raw 🙂 Actually, I like a raw slice and just sear for the briefest second one side, then the other, then eat while it's still cooking - this is a very different sensation.

So, yes, I hope this little tale tells of both the positive and negative side of nerga. Needless complication can easily occur by inflexible focus and obsession. Release yourself by simply walking away from that which binds you up and walk in freedom in something that releases your imagination and creativity.

Living in the Ice Age
http://livingintheiceage.pjgh.co.uk

October 23, 2012
5:07 am
Indiana
Gnoll
Forum Posts: 37
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September 20, 2012
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Paul-

 

That seems very logical to me.  Here in the Midwest of the USA we have farmers all around us (albeit most of them raise grain fed stuff, meh) and so getting a grassfed entire cow, ewe, ram, pastured pig, etc is incredibly easy. We've been hacking up a not-really-pastured but quite tasty pig that we got for barter from a food - and I discovered we still had an intact goat leg in one of the freezers yesterday! Yay! 

 

Sea fish/shellfish?  Not so much (I'm certain we'll be finding a nice inland spot to fish 'soonish'), but as I have money and am not afraid to use it to buy what I can't stab, we indulge in high quality stuff when we can. I envy your seafood-proximity!

 

My almost-retired nerga's been finding food and pain/'brain crash' connections.  Thankfully I've figured out a lot of my pain triggers (nightshades), brain crash triggers (soy + soy fed meat) and 'eat until you puke' triggers (coconut anything).  My current obsession is finding out safe and less-painful ways for me to get activity and sanely build some of the muscle that I starved away last year.

November 9, 2012
3:24 am
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First-Eater
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February 22, 2010
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Paul:

I've always had an easier time cooking meat than fish, so I guess I'm your opposite in that regard.  I also live near a major cattle-grazing region, so I have good access to quality grass-finished beef (I'm picking up a side next week.)

E Craig:

My nerga is bicycle and ski gear.  I have less of it than many, but probably more than I should!  

I justify it by the fact that I use it so often: I ride one of my bicycles basically every day that it's possible (i.e. no snow on the roads, not snowing or raining).

JS

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