.over thinking.

[Revolver_04]

over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. i think maynard is trying to tell us not to over think and over analyze this song, either you love it or you don't...

C

[asphexict]

i've looked at this statement from two opposite perspectives. one being the over thinking/analyzing causes you to loose touch with so much of what the idea is in the first place. piling up what we've analyzed through our own locked up minds which in turn shifts the basis of the idea into something else. seperating ourselves from the fundamentals of what it all originated from. like thinking too much, loosing concept of oneself and it's surroundings.
on the other hand, i can see this as trhe opposite at the same time; whereas thinking deeply and analyzing filtering through oneself can seperate you from what the idealistic ways of thinking would have you conclude. therefor being of your own mind you seperate yourself from the body of the whole in the respect of looking at it from other perspectives. so in that there is the necessity to step outside oneself to realize things as they are through your mind, by seemingly observing yourself through other ways than you may feel are just because that's how you think and that must be how it is, yeah right. i like both views.
quite frankly i doubt that there is any projection coming from the guys to not think about their music, otherwise this place would be rather pointless; whether we catch some jist of what the lyrics are in context with the original thoughts. not that i'm striking down anybody's opinion. it just wouldn't make a whole lot of fucking sense to not think within and beyond your own personal bounds with this song or any other. i thought that was kind of an effort that they project into what they do.

[seeker]

i think you assume too much based on one character. i'm a very analytical guy and i'll admit i overdo it... a lot. all day long i think and wonder and i'll admit i overdo it... a lot. but i'm not yet ready to admit insanity in any form.

on another note, in the case of john nash, his insanity was also his genius. as was in the case of salvador dali and a million other geniuses in the history of the world. so if maynard was warning you not to overdo it because it causes mental illness, he's more or less telling you to be content in accepting what you're told, which is the opposite of what tool's about. so i gotta disagree. without genius humanity advances at a sloth's pace.

now, to OVERanalyze implies too much... too much of anything can be unhealthy. when we overanalyze, we don't become mentally ill, we just carry a thought further than it's ready to go, which often results in our being wrong. this may be a little closer to maynard's intention. perhaps he's encouraging us not to overthink everything, kind of urging us to take a break and bask in a moment of mental rest. given all the symbolism that he's put out for overthinking on, i'd say it's a nice offer.

[ShackledEidolon]

I tend to think that the body is more representative of our survival needs or the things that we FEEL are needed. When we think deeply on things we seperate our body and mind and look further then what we see on a daily basis...yes on one hand when we think too much we lose what is around us but who says that these things are worth holding onto...on the other we go beyond our desire to eat greasy tasty food and go beyond our desire to have sex with super models and look at the mind directly take a look at our soul and are free of the distractions...i think that intuition withers ...its current form withers away...our senses change...and our understanding of self is the only sense...no longer do we need to intuit things about our surroundings no longer do we need to base our existence on 'logical rules' that we have been told are true...now we are looking completely inwards...intuition can wither and the body can fall aside for the duration of the excercise but at the same time it is important to be able to apply this to what ever state we are in...so it is needed to touch base with our base form at times as well...deep thinking allows us to look objectivly upon ourselves from an unbiased vantage point...one outside of our body. dont be afraid to push the envelope beyond the logical or the known...dont be afraid to go out and explore but i think what is being said is that you SHOULD look, question, explore, learn but also remember that we exist in many forms and should enjoy those as well...not to neglect any part. So it is an act of bringing the states into harmony...

[DonnieDarko]

This is the opinion page......this is the place where you are supposed to OVERTHINK and OVERANALYZE the songs. If you don't like people posting opinions, then don't read them.

[Jizzlobber]

I recon this song is about smoking weed. When you are bent on pot you over think, and over analysing.

Black then white are all I see in my infancy. You cant see everything then you get bent and
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see. Now you can see things differently..
That’s my guess

then the mellow part when maynard sings softly
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.


i think thats maynard trying to explain the feeling

[sinthasis]

Whenever I listen to Lateralus, it makes me want to go beyond what I see here and now. Maynard may very well be talking about drugs for all we know, but I see the song as a spiritual calling. In order to see things in their true light, you must over analyze them to the point of absurdity. But, when you realize what you have discovered during the process, the absurdity transforms into necessity.

"Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind; withering my intuition, leaving opportunity behind."

Your intuition is given to you by your society/culture. To see life in its most naked form, intuition needs to be erased and virtually forgotten. Only by lifting the veil of conformity can one "swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human".

What are your thoughts?

[the reverend]

Originally posted by mstajduh
I agree with sinthasis alot but...

"To see life in its most naked form, intuition needs to be erased and virtually forgotten." wtf ????

Are you saying we shouldn't use our intuition? Without intuition, there is no bird to sing the song. Having thought without intuition, is like having day without night.



I think what he's saying goes back to the "Believe in Nothing" phrase Tool use so often. A persons intuition is given to them by other people and society so "to see life in its most naked form" you must not have any preconceptions or beliefs that you may have picked up from other people and society because it changes your perception.

[Smokin joe]

in my opinion, the more you over-analyze and separate the body from the mind, you get science. That's it for me. I mean, we've overanalyzed EVERYTHING and we're still learning shit. It's really amazing, we're learning things at such an accelerated rate, yet there's a point where things get too small, and things get too big. It's really a crazy existance out there.

There's nothing wrong with overanalyzing something, but you do separate the body from the mind. It's tough for me to think what that means for me right now, but maybe something like the new discovery of the music appreciation part of the brain (i think), it turns out it's the same area as, like, study habits or something, and some other things that music stimulates, but now we have the PROOF.

joe

[dissociation]

i believe the key to understanding this song relates to the album itself. it's a step into introversion up to this song (see the consciousness expansion thread). this song is a semi-reflection of what the narrator has been doing.

black then white... infancy... = he saw things only in black & white at first

red and yellow then came to be... = he began to look deeper into existance


he goes on to describe how he thinks. "as below, so above and beyond i imagine..." he realizes this, however, with the chorus ("over-thinking, over-analyzing..."). i personally don't believe he's making a statement to the public, but instead explaining what he's going through.

he practically repeats the first verse and chorus to explain how he does it more than once.

the entire "middle section" is him speaking of what he has come to understand about himself and life itself.

and the "last section" is him stepping out of this introverted and deep thinking state to become one with humanity and nature - to share what he's learned. it's obviously symbolic with the descriptions of his body (being that it's like an entire other world when you're so deep in thought).

and so, the narrator finally "spirals" back into reality.

[Smokin joe]

Originally posted by Smokin joe
new discovery of the music appreciation part of the brain (i think), it turns out it's the same area as, like, study habits or something, and some other things that music stimulates, but now we have the PROOF.

i'm just adding to this. this proves the mozart theory, that listening to mozart is supposed to help your grades i guess. so that would make sense since music and attention/studying (i could be wrong) are in the same part of the brain.

joe - ooooooooh man...

[seeker]

actually, mozart theory has been disproven. sorry i can't tell you where to look for more info; i'm sure if you're interested you can find something.

and as i understand it, each brain is mapped differently as it developes. consequently, while some brains may have the music/learning centers in the same place (and even this doesn't necessitate interaction) not all will.

[drum_dood]

i'm pretty sure this song, for me anyways, is about losing yourself in the rhythm of a song. finding a deeper meaning what you hear danny playing. listen to the drums in the backgroung of the part, "i embrace my desire to feel the rhythm...to feel unconnected"-that is the most insane 6/8 drum beat i've heard! i think the song means to lose yourself in a spiral with the music as your guide...whether you're on drugs or not. personally, i'd just hit the hydro and then lose myself in the song...

[Traveller]

To me the song "Lateralus" is about stepping beyond the bounds of habitual conditioned conciousness(black and white)to see the infinite connection we all share to the divine. But to do this we have to not over think, over analyze because this separates us from the one moment(feed my will to feel this moment)where we feel this connection. We have to find a way to feel connected enough to "step aside and weep like a widow" one who has lost everything that makes them secure. then we can allow the channel to "feel the rythym, fathom the power, witness the beauty, bathe in the fountain......"
Embrace the random.

[flipmojo]

Originally posted by DonnieDarko
This is the opinion page......this is the place where you are supposed to OVERTHINK and OVERANALYZE the songs. If you don't like people posting opinions, then don't read them.

LOL... Anyone who replied to this, with more than a few sentences, is the butt. Trying to defend over-analyzing, as not over-doing-it, is hilarious.

No one wants to hear rambling. Spiral out, not in circles on the same plain.

[abefrohmn]

I was told that this song is actually about a little bit of everything, which I imagine is probably the closest to to the turth.

But as far as the whole

over-thinking, over anylizing
seperates the body from the mind,
withering my intuition,
I must feed my feed my will to feel the moment,

part goes, that kind of reminds me of having an anxiety disorder. When you're all wound-up, you kind of feel like your off in this little bubble within yourself. I either have to take some good drugs or get some decent sex in order dispell that sensation in me. Because when your busy over-thinking and trying to reason out something that wasn't meant to be reasoned (life) it's very consternating. Intuition is what was meant to be our compass in the kosmos.