My Perfection Posts
https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2024/06/perfection-posts.html
Dear Mary,
And so, this presumed "will of God" becomes our will as well, and we feel not only justified, but obligated to punish others, or ourselves.
And vice is its own punishment.
Concerning your memory of my experience with Jenny...Your question is a big one!
How to escape the double binds that characterize the psyche's seemingly inescapable entrapment of itself?
In hindsight (and I'm not sure if hindsight is the best way to approach it), I think that my early-life anxiety and depression were, to some extent, inscrutably genetic, but were probably evoked (or exacerbated) by an unrelenting desire to KNOW what was going on in me - and around me in the world.
The quest for control - especially when one is feeling out-of-control - is quite compulsive.
Over time, I think that my ability to loosen up (and lighten up) on my desire to KNOW (and to "control things") brought me to the place where I live today, a place in which I harbor two fundamental beliefs.
1.) We are embedded in The Magnum Mysterium, and 2.) it is therefore a relief to know that definitive knowing is unknowable. But!!! What FUN it can be to explore the boundless mystery of it all! (We humans LOVE to work on solving mysteries.)
That said, it is clear to most people who have been blessed by first hand knowledge of love that LOVE IS, and that the existence of LOVE is a transcendent certainty within the overarching mystery of it all.
John 1
Let all thoughts of punishment -- and any presumption of the propriety of punishment -- wither on the vine.
Punishment -- like finger-wagging... no matter how well-justified it may seem -- just isn't useful.
1 John's observation has been useful - both for what it reveals as a prose statement, but also for what it points out -- clearly, intelligibly, and believably -- that people who have not developed into some kind of "merger" with love are unduly subject to an overwhelmingly compelling belief that punishment is an essential component of any conception of The Divine Milieu.
If something is out of whack in a person's life, we assume that God is getting us back "in whack" by punishing us.
And so, this presumed "will of God" becomes our will as well, and we feel not only justified, but obligated to punish others, or ourselves.
"That'll show 'em!!!"
"I'll give you something to cry about!"
I no longer believe any of that retribution-vengeance-vindictiveness-angry-jealous-God crap.
The fact is: we persuade FAR more people with honey than vinegar.
Trump is EVERYTHING wrong with conservative Christianity's impulse to "get even."
Virtue is its own reward.
And vice is its own punishment.
We are not punished for our sins.
We are punished by them.
Having said that, I want to emphasize that - although I enjoy reading across the full spectrum of the world's scripture - I believe that all inspired wisdom books make genuine contributions to human experience and human questing.
And I believe that it is self-entrapping -- as well as misleading/bewildering -- to believe that ANY human document contains incontrovertible proof of Absolute Truth.
One thing I admire about Mormonism (even though I think Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were -- in significant ways -- sex abusers and scam artists) is that they never "closed" scripture -- never "sealed scripture" within a finite "canon."
Instead, they believed (as I do) that God/Universe can and does inspire anyone - anytime - anywhere - to be oracular conduits of newly revealed truth.
Maimonides: Homo Sapiens Ability To Deceive Itself
Having said that, I think I was greatly helped in my personal tribulation by turning (especially in my later years) to all manner of creative outlets -- essay writing, meme creation, fiction, poetry and, most especially, music. (For kinetic people, don't overlook DANCE!)
Paradoxically, it is also true that my belief in Christianity - particularly Catholic Christianity - was a remarkable anchor during those fifteen (frequently) tormented years in the front part of my life.
In my view, few "psycho-spiritual tools" are as useful as "reading widely" and with an eye to synthesizing what one takes in.
How To Save "Conservative" "Christians" From Themselves: An Experiment In Reading About Notable Human Beings
"50 Books Every Man Should Read Before He's 50" /// "My Favorite Books"
It is also a splendid auxiliary tool to purchase a pair of over-the-ear headphones -- not "ear buds," although they can be helpful too.
I recommend getting some quality over-the-ear headphones. Right out of the gate, quality earphones will add at least one brand new - and inspiring - dimension to what you hear.
Good Vibrations: The Role Of Music In Einstein’s Thinking
Good Vibrations: The Role Of Music In Einstein’s Thinking
"Science Depends On The Religious Attitude," Albert Einstein's Writings On Religion
Religious and Philosophical Views Of Albert Einstein
Religious and Philosophical Views Of Albert Einstein
Who Woulda Thunk It?!? Shakespeare, Einstein, J. B. S. Haldane And Wendell Berry Converge On Truth
"Tolkien, Lewis, Rowling and The Redemption Of The Modern World"
Biblical Literalism And Bibliolatry Are Open Invitations To Self-Righteousness, Wrath And Hatred
I think it is possible to enter deeply enough into the world of creativity that one will eventually see any ongoing endogenous torment as a kind of delusion that one (to some extent, and hopefully "entirely") can "put on the back burner" treating it as an affliction that has gotten out of hand, an affliction that has caused us to lose all perspective and proportion.
(I once read that Aquinas observed that ALL SIN is accompanied by the loss of perspective/proportion, and that a third component of all sin is loss of "splendor." Wow. Loss of splendor!)
Then, while the "pot" (that has so often boiled over in the past, burning us in the process), calmly "simmers in the background."
The real work of reading, (perhaps in part by listening to online "spoken" books) --- coupled with listening to moving music from all times and all societies (but with special emphasis on discovering composers and genres that go straight to the heart) --- this kind of "input" through the eye and through the ear, and the receptive, synthesizing mechanism of the brain and the senses themselves, becomes a multifaceted "opus" (even a person's magnum opus) in comparison to which the compulsive, repetitive psycho-cerebral sludge that clogs the mind and the brain recedes and becomes an ever more vestigial "bat in one's belfry."
*****
Carl Jung mentioned that he never helped anyone "get better," at least not in the sense of enabling them to overcome psychological problems.
Instead, when his collaboration as counselor-observer-resident-
Excellent Collection Of Hyperlinked "Projection" Memes Featuring The Work Of Carl Jung
Trust the process.
And, do not keep pulling your psyche out of the ground to see if the roots are growing.
Let it be.
Don't haunt yourself.
And be gentle and forgiving with yourself.
Finally, when these "escapees" (often from their own self-entrapment) finally get to the highest vantage of their new mountain range, they can see clearly from the new peaks, and not infrequently realize that the deluded "world" that once held them thrall, was now just barely visible -- many, many valleys away -- and that it had become -- with the passage of time, and by virtue of using that passing time to see things in entirely new ways -- oddly amusing, so that the entirety of their erstwhile, noxious, toxic mental makeup just did not matter anymore.
They were now free to move on, to leave the past behind - not by dint of "unrelenting effort," but by exploring -- at times, randomly -- new ways forward, upward and outward... and sometimes by drilling deep.
Of course, I don't want to belittle anyone's pain.
Pain is real, and it is horrible.
But in the Buddha's view, suffering is also The First Noble Truth.
******************************
Two more things...
The "tone" of the following five-minute video about "Flow Psychology" is rather "rah-rah," but I think it is also a good introduction that provides a quick "feel" for what Flow is and how Flow can be liberating for people, even if they find themselves circumstantially trapped. https://www.youtube.
Indeed, when the founder (actually the discoverer) of Flow Psychology discovered "Flow," he did so by studying schizophrenics, learning that they inevitably felt much improved -- even well -- when becoming completely involved in any activity that necessitated their "letting go." https://www.
I won't go into that now, but I will draw your attention to Wikipedia's entry on Flow which will help flesh out the lineaments -- the gestalt -- of this mental state. https://en.wikipedia.
******************************
Lastly, I think there is often -- even routinely -- a real role for pharmaceuticals.
And as "a last resort," do not ignore or overlook electroconvulsive therapy -- ECT -- which people of our generation tend to look upon as "medieval asylum torture" (which it is NOT, despite superficial similarity).
Electroconvulsive Therapy OFTEN works when ALL ELSE proves ineffective.
*****
It may take some time to settle on the right treatment regimen for any given individual, not only because of individual biochemical peculiarity but because there are so many people in the psychological and psychiatric communities who entered the profession to sort out their own personal issues.
That said, to some extent, I think we all have cracked pots.
As Leonard Cohen observed: "It's through the cracks that the light gets in."
But it is also necessary to see the "field" clearly.
And so, people who are looking for help with their vexing, even suicidal ideation, need to talk with lots of healthcare professionals to find good people -- especially when they are looking for a good psychopharmacologist. https://
(The Cleveland Clinic might be a good place to start searching for good healers.)
But the quest for the right drug, or the right drug combination, needs to be conducted methodically with the help of people who really know psychopharmacology and are patient enough to find the right drug (or drugs) -- often by a prolonged process of trial and elimination.
One good friend had an "overnight" stabilization of (and a categorical improvement in) her tormenting psycho-spiritual circumstances by taking Abilify - a drug originally categorized as an anti-psychotic, but now a drug that is used for other intractable psychopathologies as well.
In addition to other resources, I always use Drugs. com when examining any new drug, whether for myself or others. https://www.drugs.com/abilify.html
And do not overlook, Drug.com's "User Reviews." They may be unscientific, but they provide some kind of of real world "handle," some kind of "real life" database.
Remember!
If all else fails, check out the proven track record of electroconvulsive therapy (aka ECT). https://my.clevelandclinic.
A good friend who was COMPLETELY at wit's end with bipolar disorder finally "got her life back" due to her astonishing persistence.
When the usual number of ECT sessions did not work for her -- her caregivers had told her it would likely requre a half dozen "volt jolts" in order to feel categorical benefit -- she "kept coming back for more."
But, in fact, it took about 60 sessions.
To this day, Paulene says she is boundlessly grateful to "be herself again."
But she is also quick to point out that she "really misses the mania."
At a garden party, Paulene -- a beautiful, blonde woman -- circulated from one table to the next asking people if anyone wanted to squeeze her breasts.
And so, in light of "the gathering weirdness," she persevered in ECT because she knew it was her LAST hope.
I may be able to arrange for a conversation between Pat Shannon's niece, Mary, and the two people I know who came back from the "netherworld."
But to begin, try to combine (or synthesize) some of the above suggestions and to start with carefully selected pharmaceuticals, knowing that it may be a long process of trial and error to find the right treatment regimen.
As Franklin Delano Roosevelt used to say while trying to extract the nation from The Great Depression: "Do something!"
Love
Alan
PS Please send me your snail mail address. Thanks@
What I saw in my girlfriend's face was the simultaneous manifestation of "good impulse" and "evil impulse" as ontological realities, both of them quietly coexisting in a state that may have been a manifestation of what oriental religion calls "non-duality," or, perhaps it was a startling wake-up call that the "either/or" boxes of western religious and philosophical reality are what is truly illusory, and once you see through that illusion, you cannot "buy into dualism" any longer because dualism is just not "up to the task" of providing a real framework for understanding Reality experienced as it is in non-Duality.
"The cat is out of the bag" and the "toothpaste" cannot be put back in the tube.
The realization that the fundamentally illusory nature of Western dualism -- i.e., the ascribed, radical division of reality into black/white, good/bad, spirit/matter, dark/light, God/Devil, yin/yang, lingam/yoni re-constellates the bedrock understanding of Reality's Roots, making it both difficult (and sometimes a very long process) to reconstruct a suitable framework on which to "hang" any "self-respecting" non-dual Reality. 
In both Buddhism and Hinduism, "non-duality" refers to the philosophical concept of realizing a unity beyond the separation between self and other, subject and object, essentially seeing the interconnectedness of all things as a single reality, often described as the ultimate truth or ground of being; in Hinduism, this is most prominently expressed through the Advaita Vedanta school, where the individual self (Atman) is understood to be identical with the universal reality (Brahman), while in Buddhism, the concept of "emptiness" (Shunyata) represents this non-dual nature of existence.
Key points about non-duality in Buddhism and Hinduism:
- This major Hindu philosophical school emphasizes the non-dual nature of reality, where the individual self (Atman) is not separate from the universal consciousness (Brahman).
- In Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism, "Shunyata" describes the emptiness of inherent existence, meaning that nothing exists independently and all phenomena are interconnected and interdependent.
- Both traditions view non-duality as a state of realization that transcends the limitations of ordinary perception, where the illusion of separation between self and other dissolves.
Important aspects to consider:
- While the core concept of non-duality is shared, different schools within both Hinduism and Buddhism may have nuanced interpretations and approaches to realizing this state.
- Both traditions utilize meditation practices as a primary means to cultivate non-dual awareness.
No comments:
Post a Comment