Podcasts about Fritz Perls

From genius discovery to UFO battles: The man who found trauma in the body Wilhelm Reich made one of psychology's greatest discoveries: The body remembers what the mind forgets. Trauma doesn't just live in thoughts and memories - it's held in muscle tension, breathing patterns, and physical armor that protects us from unbearable feelings. Then he went completely insane. This episode follows Reich's journey from Freud's most promising student to a paranoid exile shooting orgone energy at alien spacecraft. But here's the twist: His early insights about somatic trauma were revolutionary. They laid the foundation for every body-based therapy that actually works. https://gettherapybirmingham.com/the-weird-history-of-psychotherapy-part-3-wilhelm-reich/ https://gettherapybirmingham.com/what-are-wilhelm-reichs-character-styles/ https://gettherapybirmingham.com/wilhelm-reichs-analysis-of-fascism-enduring-wisdom-and-controversial-reception/ https://gettherapybirmingham.com/the-curious-case-of-wilhelm-reich/ https://gettherapybirmingham.com/john-c-lilly-when-dolphins-drugs-and-the-deep-end-of-consciousness-collided-in-the-psychedelic-70s/   You'll learn about: Character armor: how the body holds emotional pain The knife incident that got him expelled from psychoanalysis Orgone energy, cloudbusters, and weather control experiments Einstein's basement test that debunked Reich's cosmic theories The FBI raid that destroyed his life's work How his somatic discoveries live on in modern trauma therapy Discover the untold story of how trauma therapy evolved from Freudian analysis to revolutionary body-based healing approaches that preceded "The Body Keeps the Score" by decades. This evidence-based deep dive explores the pioneering work of Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung, and Fritz Perls who discovered that trauma lives in the body long before modern neuroscience proved them right. Learn why your physical symptoms might be stored emotional memories and how the therapeutic revolution of the 1960s changed psychology forever. What You'll Learn: Why Reich was expelled from psychoanalytic institutes for discovering "character armor" How Jung's archetypal psychology laid groundwork for modern therapy approaches The real story behind Fritz Perls and the birth of Gestalt therapy Why America abandoned somatic approaches for cognitive behavioral therapy How trauma gets trapped in muscles, creating chronic tension and pain The scientific evidence behind body-based trauma treatment Perfect for: Mental health professionals, trauma survivors, psychology students, anyone interested in the history of psychotherapy, and those seeking alternatives to traditional talk therapy. Evidence-Based Content: Drawing from peer-reviewed research, historical documents, and the foundational texts of somatic psychology, this episode traces the scientific evolution from Freudian psychoanalysis through modern neuroscience-backed trauma therapy. Keywords: trauma therapy, somatic therapy, body keeps the score, Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, PTSD treatment, psychology history, mind-body connection, character armor, nervous system healing, experiential therapy, depth psychology Hosted by experts in trauma-informed care with clinical experience in EMDR, brainspotting, somatic experiencing, and Jungian analysis. Resources: Visit gettherapybirmingham.com for articles on somatic trauma mapping, Jungian therapy, and evidence-based body-centered healing approaches. Discover the untold story of how trauma therapy evolved from Freudian analysis to revolutionary body-based healing approaches that preceded "The Body Keeps the Score" by decades. This evidence-based deep dive explores the pioneering work of Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung, and Fritz Perls who discovered that trauma lives in the body long before modern neuroscience proved them right. Learn why your physical symptoms might be stored emotional memories and how the therapeutic revolution of the 1960s changed psychology forever. What You'll Learn: Why Reich was expelled from psychoanalytic institutes for discovering "character armor" How Jung's archetypal psychology laid groundwork for modern therapy approaches The real story behind Fritz Perls and the birth of Gestalt therapy Why America abandoned somatic approaches for cognitive behavioral therapy How trauma gets trapped in muscles, creating chronic tension and pain The scientific evidence behind body-based trauma treatment Perfect for: Mental health professionals, trauma survivors, psychology students, anyone interested in the history of psychotherapy, and those seeking alternatives to traditional talk therapy. Evidence-Based Content: Drawing from peer-reviewed research, historical documents, and the foundational texts of somatic psychology, this episode traces the scientific evolution from Freudian psychoanalysis through modern neuroscience-backed trauma therapy. Keywords: trauma therapy, somatic therapy, body keeps the score, Wilhelm Reich, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, PTSD treatment, psychology history, mind-body connection, character armor, nervous system healing, experiential therapy, depth psychology Hosted by experts in trauma-informed care with clinical experience in EMDR, brainspotting, somatic experiencing, and Jungian analysis. Resources: Visit gettherapybirmingham.com for articles on somatic trauma mapping, Jungian therapy, and evidence-based body-centered healing approaches.  

Today, we're opening the vaults to share a rare and remarkable recording from Esalen's rich historical archive: a 1967 lecture and live demonstration by none other than Dr. Ida Rolf, the pioneering founder of Structural Integration—more commonly known today as Rolfing. But what is Rolfing? Often described as intense (and sometimes even painful), Rolfing is a powerful form of bodywork that focuses on the manipulation and realignment of connective tissue—fascia—to promote structural balance and physical freedom. Ida Rolf believed that by methodically reorganizing the body's structure in gravity, not only could chronic pain and postural issues be resolved, but profound emotional and psychological healing could also occur. This archival gem features Dr. Rolf in her element—lecturing with intellectual precision, delivering her insights with wit and candor, and guiding a live demo with such vivid specificity that, even without visuals, you feel transported into the room beside her. It's a masterclass in both bodywork and presence. A little backstory: Ida Rolf first came to Esalen in the 1960s at the invitation of famed Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls, who would become one of her earliest champions. According to The Upstart Spring, Rolf worked on Perls daily for a week. On the seventh day, during a neck session, he passed out—briefly. When he came to, he recounted a deeply buried trauma: a therapist twisting his neck under anesthesia decades earlier. The memory, and its accompanying tension, had haunted him for years. He credited Rolf's work with helping to release it. After that, Perls became an ardent supporter of Rolfing, and Ida returned to Esalen again and again. Esalen Institute would become the West Coast hub for her method, just as it had for Gestalt therapy. This episode is a rare opportunity to hear Dr. Rolf in her own voice, offering not just a window into the origins of Rolfing, but a taste of the charisma, intellect, and force of will that helped her change the way we think about the body, healing, and human potential.

How to Stop Self-Sabotage & Reclaim Your Power when Your Partner Won't Change -with Dr. Ray Doktor In this episode, Lora Cheadle welcomes Dr. Ray Doktor, a life and relationship coach, to explore the deep emotional work required to heal from betrayal. Together, they unpack why men often struggle to express emotions, how women can stop waiting for a partner's “potential,” and the self-sabotaging patterns that keep people stuck. Top 3 Takeaways: Healing Starts with You – Infidelity shakes your sense of self, but recovery begins by turning inward and rebuilding your relationship with yourself. Wishful Thinking vs. Reality – Many women hold onto their partner's “potential,” but true healing comes from accepting who they really are, not who you wish they could be. Men and Emotional Avoidance – Many men avoid deep emotional work, opting for quick-fix pleasure (cheating, drinking, distractions) over true healing. A thriving relationship requires both partners to grow together. Bio: Ray Doktor, Psy. D. works as a modern day relationship & rapid breakthrough coach. For the last 25 years, he's successfully helped over 6k clients breakthrough limited beliefs and challenges to have better relationships, improved family life, and more success! A pioneer in the field of bridging psychology and Eastern philosophies to technologies, science, and spirituality, Dr. Ray has conducted workshops in the United States, Netherlands, Brazil, and England. He shared the same stages with Marianne Williamson, Bruce Lipton, John Gray, and Eckhart Tolle. Dr. Ray received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology, earned a master's degree in counseling psychology, and an undergraduate degree in human behavior. Other advanced training includes: hypnotherapy, Gestalt therapy, guided imagery, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), qigong, PSYCH-K, meditation, sound healing, and somatic experience. His most profound mentorship involved traveling the world and assisting renowned psychologist Dr. Morris Netherton–a pioneer in his field and colleague of Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, and Norm Shealy. And yes, his real last name is Doktor. Everyone gets a laugh about it, so he is used to it. Ready to heal your body and mind after betrayal? Download your free Betrayal Recovery Toolkit at BetrayalRecoveryGuide.com and book a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Lora today! Special Announcement! Don't miss Lora Cheadle's new book, "It's Not Burnout, It's Betrayal: 5 Tools to FUEL UP & Thrive," This essential guide differentiates between burnout and betrayal, offering five transformative steps to recovery. Available on Amazon. www.itsnotburnoutitsbetrayal.com Get your free downloadable guide on the “The Top Three Ways You Betray Yourself Every Day, and How to Stop” at www.burnoutorbetrayal.com. If you're ready to Rise Up & Reign as the creator and queen of your life, let's talk. I will walk by your side and give you the perspective, permission, and wisdom needed to turn your betrayal experience into something constructive, empowering, and transformative in all the right ways.  Learn more at www.loracheadle.com and follow me across all social! Download your Sparkle After Betrayal Recovery Guide at www.BetrayalRecoveryGuide.com, a guide designed to help you take the first steps in feeling better, so you can reclaim your power, own your worth, and start putting yourself, and your life, back together again. About Lora: Lora Cheadle is a betrayal recovery coach, attorney, and TEDx speaker who helps women heal from betrayal on an energetic, emotional, and ancestral level—while also providing legal guidance to help them navigate the practical complexities of infidelity and relationship transitions. She empowers women to rise from the ashes, reclaim their identity and self-worth, break free from repeating patterns, and step into their power with confidence, clarity, and grace. After being shattered by her husband's fifteen years of infidelity, Lora knows firsthand what it takes to transform devastation into an invitation for healing, freedom, and joy. Her unique approach blends deep emotional healing with tangible legal and life strategies, guiding women beyond betrayal into lives of unapologetic confidence and purpose. As the founder of Life Choreography Coaching & Advocacy, Lora provides comprehensive legal, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual support on demand. She believes that infidelity doesn't have to be the end of the dream you poured your heart and soul into—it can be the beginning of a life filled with sovereignty, connection, and joy. Licensed to practice law in California and Colorado, Lora is also a trauma-aware coach, clinical hypnotherapist, somatic attachment therapist, and advanced integrated energy practitioner. She is certified in yoga, mindfulness, group fitness, and personal training, bringing a holistic perspective to healing. She is the author of FLAUNT! Drop Your Cover and Reveal Your Smart, Sexy, & Spiritual Self (an International Book Awards Finalist and Tattered Cover Bestseller) and It's Not Burnout, It's Betrayal: 5 Tools to FUEL UP & Thrive. She also hosts the podcast FLAUNT! Create a Life You Love After Infidelity and Betrayal. Based in Colorado, Lora is an adventure-seeker who loves travel, a great book, and saying yes to life's magic. Get the support you need to find your footing, begin making sense of it all, and feel better fast. As an attorney, betrayal recovery expert, and survivor of infidelity I can help you find the clarity and confidence to create a life that you love on the other side of betrayal. Book Your Session Here: https://calendly.com/loras-schedule/coaching-session Thank you to BetterHelp for sponsoring this podcast! Take charge of your mental health and get 10% off your first month of therapy at https://BetterHelp.com/FLAUNT  READY TO START A BETTER CHAPTER?  Step into the future you've always dreamed of with the power of transformative rituals with the Mindful Subscription Box. Get a monthly box full of crystals, aromatherapy, and other spiritual tools worth $120. You deserve high-quality gems, crystals, oils, and mindfulness tools for self-care that truly work. It's a monthly dose of self-love delivered right to your door! Go to www.Mindfulsouls.com  and use Discount Code LORA25 for 25% off your order!

Entfessle das volle Potenzial deiner Kommunikation!In dieser Episode von NLP Lernen mit myNLP und Dr. Mario Grabner tauchen wir in das Meta-Modell der Sprache ein – ein bahnbrechendes Werkzeug, das von den NLP-Begründern Richard Bandler und John Grinder entwickelt wurde. 

Explore the fascinating world of ritual and animism in psychology! This in-depth look covers the evolution of human consciousness, psychotic experiences, and therapeutic approaches. From James Frazer's "The Golden Bough" to Julian Jaynes' bicameral mind theory, discover how our understanding of the human psyche has evolved. Learn about the changing nature of psychosis in America and how it reflects societal shifts. Dive into the works of Jung, Edinger, and Neumann to understand the role of animism in psychological development. Perfect for psychology students, therapists, and anyone interested in the intersection of spirituality and mental health.   #PsychologyOfRitual #AnimismExplained #ConsciousnessEvolution #PsychologyOfRitual #AnimismExplained #ConsciousnessEvolution #JulianJaynes #BicameralMind #JamesFrazer #GoldenBough #PsychosisInAmerica #JungianPsychology #TherapeuticApproaches #SpiritualPsychology #MentalHealthAwareness #CollectiveTrauma #SymbolicThinking #RitualHealing   What is the Psychology of Ritual and Animism? Ritual and animism are distinct but related concepts that offer insights into the workings of the emotional and preconscious mind. While they are often associated with religious or spiritual practices, they can also be understood as psychological processes that serve important functions in human development and well-being (Edinger, 1972; Neumann, 1955). Animism can be defined as the attribution of consciousness, soul, or spirit to objects, plants, animals, and natural phenomena. From a psychological perspective, animism involves "turning down" one's cognitive functioning to "hear" the inner monologue of the world and treat it as alive. This process allows individuals to connect with the preconscious wisdom of their own psyche and the natural world (Tylor, 1871). Ritual, on the other hand, is a structured sequence of actions that are performed with the intention of achieving a specific psychological or social outcome. In depth psychology, ritual is understood as a process of projecting parts of one's psyche onto objects or actions, modifying them, and then withdrawing the projection to achieve a transformation in internal cognition (Moore & Gillette, 1990). It is important to note that animism and ritual are not merely primitive or outdated practices, but rather reflect a natural state of human consciousness that has been suppressed or "turned off" by cultural and environmental changes, rather than evolutionary ones. This natural state can still be accessed through various means, including psychosis, religious practices, and intentional ritualistic behaviors (Grof, 1975). In times of extreme stress or trauma, individuals may experience a breakdown of their normal cognitive functioning, leading to a resurgence of animistic or ritualistic thinking. This can be seen in the delusions and hallucinations associated with psychosis, which often involve a heightened sense of meaning and connection with the environment (Jaynes, 1976). Similarly, many religious and spiritual traditions incorporate practices that deliberately induce altered states of consciousness, such as meditation, chanting, or the use of psychoactive substances. These practices can help individuals access the preconscious wisdom of their own minds and connect with the living world around them (Eliade, 1959). Even in secular contexts, engaging in intentional ritualistic behaviors, such as art-making, dance, or storytelling, can serve a similar function of integrating the emotional and preconscious aspects of the psyche. By creating a safe, structured space for self-expression and exploration, these practices can promote psychological healing and growth (Turner, 1969). James Frazer and "The Golden Bough" James Frazer (1854-1941) was a Scottish anthropologist and folklorist who made significant contributions to the study of mythology, religion, and ritual. His most famous work, "The Golden Bough" (1890), was a comparative study of mythology and religion that identified common patterns and themes across cultures. Frazer's work was influenced by the concept of animism, which had been introduced by Edward Tylor (1832-1917) as a primitive form of religion. Frazer saw ritual as a means of controlling the supernatural world through sympathetic magic, which operated on the principles of homeopathic magic (the belief that like produces like) and contagious magic (the belief that things that have been in contact continue to influence each other) (Frazer, 1890). The title of Frazer's work, "The Golden Bough," was a reference to the mythical golden bough in the sacred grove at Nemi, Italy. According to the myth, the priest of the grove had to defend his position against challengers, and the successful challenger plucked the golden bough and replaced the priest. Frazer saw this story as a symbol of the cycle of death and rebirth in nature and in human society (Frazer, 1890). Frazer's work was significant in highlighting the prevalence of animistic thinking across cultures and throughout history. He observed that many cultures engaged in practices that attributed consciousness and agency to natural objects and phenomena, such as trees, rivers, and celestial bodies (Frazer, 1890). While Frazer's interpretations of these practices were shaped by the ethnocentric assumptions of his time, his work laid the foundation for later anthropological and psychological studies of animism and ritual. By identifying common patterns and themes across cultures, Frazer helped to establish the comparative study of religion as a legitimate field of inquiry. However, Frazer's work has also been criticized for its reliance on secondary sources and its lack of fieldwork, as well as for its oversimplification and overgeneralization of complex cultural phenomena. His evolutionary view of human thought, which posited a progression from magic through religion to science, has been challenged by later scholars who emphasize the coexistence and interplay of these different modes of thinking (Tylor, 1871). Despite these limitations, Frazer's work remains an important touchstone in the study of animism and ritual, and his insights continue to influence contemporary debates about the nature of religion and the evolution of human consciousness. Julian Jaynes and the Bicameral Mind Julian Jaynes (1920-1997) was an American psychologist and philosopher who proposed a controversial theory about the evolution of human consciousness in his book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" (1976). Jaynes argued that the human mind had once operated in a state of bicameralism, where cognitive functions were divided between two chambers of the brain. In this state, the "speaking" right hemisphere issued commands, which were experienced as auditory hallucinations, while the "listening" left hemisphere obeyed. Jaynes proposed that the breakdown of this bicameral mind led to the development of consciousness and introspection (Jaynes, 1976). According to Jaynes, the bicameral mind was a normal and universal feature of human cognition until about 3,000 years ago, when a combination of social, environmental, and linguistic changes led to its breakdown. He argued that the development of written language, the rise of complex civilizations, and the increasing use of metaphorical language all contributed to the emergence of self-awareness and inner dialogue (Jaynes, 1976). Jaynes' theory has been criticized for its lack of direct archaeological or biological evidence, as well as for its reliance on literary interpretation rather than empirical data. Some scholars have argued that Jaynes' interpretation of ancient texts and artifacts is selective and biased, and that his theory oversimplifies the complex processes involved in the development of consciousness (Wilber, 1977). However, Jaynes' work has also been praised for its originality and its interdisciplinary approach, which draws on insights from psychology, anthropology, linguistics, and history. His theory has inspired a wide range of research and speculation about the nature of consciousness and the role of language in shaping human cognition (Huxley, 1945). From the perspective of animism and ritual, Jaynes' theory offers an interesting perspective on the experience of "hearing" the world speak. The bicameral mind can be seen as a metaphor for the animistic experience of perceiving the natural world as alive and conscious, and of receiving messages or commands from a higher power (Otto, 1917). Jaynes himself drew parallels between the bicameral experience and certain forms of religious or mystical experience, such as prophecy, possession, and divine inspiration. He argued that these experiences reflect a residual capacity for bicameral cognition, which can be triggered by certain environmental or psychological factors (Jaynes, 1976). However, Jaynes also emphasized the differences between bicameral and conscious cognition, and he argued that the development of consciousness marked a significant evolutionary shift in human history. He saw the breakdown of the bicameral mind as a necessary step in the emergence of individual agency, creativity, and moral responsibility (Jaynes, 1976). While Jaynes' theory remains controversial and speculative, it offers a provocative framework for thinking about the relationship between language, consciousness, and the experience of the sacred. By highlighting the role of auditory hallucinations and inner speech in shaping human cognition, Jaynes invites us to consider the ways in which our mental processes are shaped by cultural and environmental factors, as well as by our evolutionary history. The Changing Nature of Psychotic Experience in America Research has shown that the content and themes of psychotic experiences in America have shifted over time, reflecting the underlying insecurities and forces shaping the collective psyche. Before the Great Depression, psychotic experiences were predominantly animistic, with people hearing "spirits" tied to natural phenomena, geography, or ancestry. These experiences were mostly pleasant, even if relatively disorganized. During the Depression, the voices shifted to being more fearful, begging or asking for food, love, or services. They were still not terribly distressing and often encouraged empathy. In the 1950s and 1960s, the voices became universally distressing, antagonistic, manipulative, and harmful. Themes of hierarchical control through politics, surveillance, and technology emerged. From the 1970s through the 1990s, technology, esoteric conspiratorial control, and the supernatural became the dominant content. Surveillance, coercion, and control were central features. These changes in the nature of psychosis reflect the evolution of collective trauma and the manifestation of unintegrated preconscious elements in the American psyche. As society shifted from an agrarian to an industrial and then to a post-industrial economy, the anxieties and insecurities of each era found expression through the content of psychotic experiences. Interestingly, UFO conspiracy theories have emerged as a prominent manifestation of these unintegrated preconscious elements in the modern era. These theories often involve themes of surveillance, control, and the supernatural, mirroring the dominant features of psychosis from the 1970s onwards. UFO conspiracy theories can be seen as a way for individuals to make sense of their experiences of powerlessness and disconnection in a rapidly changing world, by attributing them to external, otherworldly forces. The case of Heaven's Gate, a UFO religious millenarian group, illustrates this intersection of technology, spirituality, and psychosis. The group's leader, Marshall Applewhite, reinterpreted Christian theology through the lens of science fiction and technology, convincing his followers that their bodies were merely vehicles to be abandoned in order to ascend to a higher level of existence on a UFO. This tragic case highlights how unintegrated preconscious elements can manifest in extreme and destructive ways when left unaddressed. It is important to note that not all UFO experiences are indicative of psychosis, and conversely, not all psychotic experiences involve UFOs or conspiracy theories. In schizophrenia, for example, auditory hallucinations are the most common symptom, while visual hallucinations are relatively rare unless drugs or severe trauma are involved. UFO experiences, on the other hand, often involve a complex interplay of factors, including altered states of consciousness, sleep paralysis, false memories, and cultural narratives. Nonetheless, the changing nature of psychotic experiences in America highlights the profound impact that societal and environmental stressors can have on the preconscious mind. By understanding how these stressors shape the content and themes of psychosis, we can gain insight into the deeper anxieties and insecurities that plague the American psyche. This understanding can inform more comprehensive and compassionate approaches to mental health treatment, which address not only the symptoms of psychosis but also the underlying social and cultural factors that contribute to its development. Moreover, by recognizing the continuity between psychotic experiences and other expressions of the preconscious mind, such as dreams, visions, and altered states of consciousness, we can develop a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of mental health and well-being. Rather than pathologizing or dismissing these experiences, we can learn to approach them with curiosity, openness, and respect, and to explore their potential for insight, growth, and transformation. Ritual as a Psychological Process The work of anthropologists Victor Turner (1920-1983) and Robert Moore (1942-2016) has shed light on the psychological dimensions of ritual and its role in personal and social transformation. Turner's concepts of liminality (the transitional state in ritual where participants are "betwixt and between") and communitas (the sense of equality and bond formed among ritual participants) highlight the transformative potential of ritual. By creating a safe, liminal space for psychological exploration and change, ritual can help individuals process and integrate traumatic experiences and achieve personal growth (Turner, 1969). Turner argued that rituals serve an important function in helping individuals navigate the challenges and transitions of life, such as birth, puberty, marriage, and death. He saw rituals as a way of marking and facilitating these transitions, by providing a structured and meaningful context for the expression and transformation of emotions (Turner & Turner, 1978). Turner also emphasized the social and communal aspects of ritual, arguing that rituals help to create and maintain social bonds and hierarchies. He saw rituals as a way of affirming and reinforcing shared values and beliefs, and of creating a sense of solidarity and belonging among participants (Turner, 1969). Moore, in his books "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover" (1990) and "The Archetype of Initiation" (2001), emphasized the importance of ritual in modern society for personal development and social cohesion. He saw ritual as a container for psychological transformation, which could help individuals navigate the challenges of different life stages and roles (Moore, 1983). Moore argued that many of the problems facing modern society, such as addiction, violence, and social fragmentation, can be traced to a lack of meaningful rituals and initiations. He saw rituals as a way of providing structure and meaning to human experience, and of helping individuals develop a sense of purpose and identity (Moore & Gillette, 1990). Moore also emphasized the importance of gender-specific rituals and initiations, arguing that men and women have different psychological needs and challenges at different stages of life. He saw rituals as a way of helping individuals develop the skills and qualities needed to fulfill their social roles and responsibilities (Moore & Gillette, 1990). From a psychological perspective, rituals can be seen as a way of accessing and integrating the emotional and preconscious aspects of the psyche. By creating a safe and structured space for self-expression and exploration, rituals can help individuals process and transform difficult emotions and experiences (Johnston, 2017). Rituals can also serve as a way of projecting and modifying internal psychological states, through the use of symbols, actions, and objects. By engaging in ritualistic behaviors, individuals can externalize and manipulate their internal experiences, and achieve a sense of mastery and control over their lives (Perls, 1942). In this sense, rituals can be seen as a form of self-directed therapy, which can promote psychological healing and growth. By engaging in rituals that are meaningful and resonant with their personal experiences and values, individuals can develop a greater sense of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-efficacy (Rogers, 1961). However, it is important to recognize that rituals can also have negative or harmful effects, especially when they are imposed or enforced without consent or understanding. Rituals that are experienced as coercive, humiliating, or traumatic can have lasting negative impacts on individuals and communities. Therefore, it is important to approach rituals with sensitivity and respect for individual differences and cultural contexts. Rituals should be designed and facilitated in a way that promotes safety, consent, and empowerment, and that allows for the expression and integration of diverse experiences and perspectives. Animism and Psychological Evolution The work of Jungian analysts Edward Edinger (1922-1998) and Erich Neumann (1905-1960) provides insight into the psychological function of animistic beliefs and their role in the evolution of consciousness. Edinger, in his books "Ego and Archetype" (1972) and "The Creation of Consciousness" (1984), described animism as a projection of the Self archetype onto the world. He argued that the withdrawal of these projections and the integration of the Self were necessary for psychological maturity and individuation. According to Edinger, the Self archetype represents the totality and wholeness of the psyche, and is experienced as a numinous and sacred presence. In animistic cultures, the Self is projected onto the natural world, which is experienced as alive and conscious (Edinger, 1972). Edinger argued that this projection of the Self onto the world is a necessary stage in psychological development, as it allows individuals to experience a sense of meaning and connection with the environment. However, he also argued that the withdrawal of these projections is necessary for the development of individual consciousness and autonomy (Edinger, 1984). Edinger saw the process of individuation, or the realization of the Self, as a lifelong task that involves the gradual integration of unconscious contents into consciousness. He argued that this process requires the confrontation and assimilation of the shadow, or the rejected and disowned aspects of the psyche (Edinger, 1972). Edinger also emphasized the importance of symbols and archetypes in the process of individuation, arguing that they provide a bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind. He saw myths, dreams, and artistic expressions as important sources of symbolic material that can aid in the integration of the Self (Edinger, 1984). Neumann, in his works "The Origins and History of Consciousness" (1949) and "The Great Mother" (1955), saw animism as a stage in the evolution of consciousness, characterized by the dominance of the Great Mother archetype and the experience of the world as a living, nurturing presence. Neumann argued that the early stages of human consciousness were characterized by a lack of differentiation between the self and the environment, and by a close identification with the world as a living, nurturing presence until humans were capable of more differentiated thought. Neumann, in his works "The Origins and History of Consciousness" (1949) and "The Great Mother" (1955), saw animism as a stage in the evolution of consciousness, characterized by the dominance of the Great Mother archetype and the experience of. Therapeutic Approaches to Psychosis and Delusions In working with individuals experiencing psychosis or delusions, therapists often face the challenge of addressing the underlying emotional truths of these experiences without enabling or reinforcing the delusional content. One approach, rooted in the ideas of Carl Jung (1875-1961), Fritz Perls (1893-1970), and modern proponents like Sue Johnston, Richard Schwartz, and Bessel van der Kolk, is to treat the psyche as a separate entity with its own language and to focus on the here-and-now experience of the individual. Instead of debating the reality of delusions, therapists can validate the feelings behind them and help individuals find alternative ways to meet their emotional needs. For example, a therapist might say, "You feel alone and persecuted. That must feel terrible. What do you need to feel better?" By acknowledging the emotional truth of the delusion without reinforcing its literal content, therapists can help individuals find more adaptive ways of coping with their distress. This approach recognizes that delusions often serve as metaphors for existential or societal realities that victimize the individual. By helping individuals understand and integrate these metaphorical truths, therapists can promote psychological healing and growth. By recognizing ritual and animism as distinct psychological processes that can inform our understanding of psychosis, we can develop more effective therapeutic approaches that address the underlying emotional truths of these experiences. Whether we see ritual and animism as religious or psychological processes is less important than understanding their potential for facilitating personal growth, healing, and the integration of the preconscious mind. Bibliography Brewster, F. (2020). African Americans and Jungian Psychology: Leaving the Shadows. Routledge. Doe, J. (2023, April 15). Personal communication. Jung, C. G. (1959). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton University Press. Moore, R., & Turner, D. (2001). The Rites of Passage: Celebrating Life's Changes. Element Books. Nakamura, K. (2018). Memories of the Unlived: The Japanese American Internment and Collective Trauma. Journal of Cultural Psychology, 28(3), 245-263. Smith, J. (2021). The Changing Nature of Psychosis in America: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 130(2), 123-135. Somé, M. P. (1993). Ritual: Power, Healing, and Community. Penguin Books. Further Reading Abramson, D. M., & Keshavan, M. S. (2022). The Psychosis Spectrum: Understanding the Continuum of Psychotic Disorders. Oxford University Press. Duran, E., & Duran, B. (1995). Native American Postcolonial Psychology. State University of New York Press. Grof, S., & Grof, C. (1989). Spiritual Emergency: When Personal Transformation Becomes a Crisis. Jeremy P. Tarcher. Hillman, J. (1975). Re-Visioning Psychology. Harper & Row. Kalsched, D. (2013). Trauma and the Soul: A psycho-spiritual approach to human development and its interruption. Routledge. Kirmayer, L. J., Gone, J. P., & Moses, J. (2014). Rethinking Historical Trauma. Transcultural Psychiatry, 51(3), 299-319. Metzner, R. (1999). Green Psychology: Transforming Our Relationship to the Earth. Park Street Press. van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking. Watkins, M., & Shulman, H. (2008). Toward Psychologies of Liberation. Palgrave Macmillan. Woodman, M., & Dickson, E. (1996). Dancing in the Flames: The Dark Goddess in the Transformation of Consciousness. Shambhala Publications.

In this final episode in our Gestalt series we take a close look at one of the central notions of Gestalt philosophy - creative indifference, exploring its relevance to the curious case of freedom. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. When the body says no by Gabor Máté Creative process in Gestalt therapy by Joseph Zinker Tao te Ching by Lao-tzu I and thou by Martin Buber Schöpferische Indifferenz by Salomon Friedländer If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Simon MacHale and Daniel Shafrir for their help and support in creating this content.

Read the longform article at:https://gettherapybirmingham.com/healing-the-modern-soul-part-2/   The Philosophy of Psychotherapy The Corporatization of Healthcare and Academia: A Threat to the Future of Psychotherapy The field of psychotherapy is at a critical juncture, facing numerous challenges that threaten its ability to effectively address the complex realities of the human experience. Chief among these challenges is the growing influence of corporate interests and the trend towards hyper-specialization in academic psychology, which have led to a disconnect between the profession and its roots, as well as a lack of understanding of the physical reality of the body, anthropology, and the history of the field. In this article, we will explore the ways in which the corporatization of healthcare and academia is impacting psychotherapy, and argue that in order for the profession to remain relevant and effective, it must embrace a more holistic and integrative approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit. This requires a renewed commitment to developing a coherent concept of self, a shared language and understanding of implicit memory, and a vision of psychotherapy as a means of empowering individuals to become more effective at being themselves in the world and, in turn, better at transforming the world for the better. The Corporatization of Healthcare and Academia The influence of corporate interests on healthcare and academia has had a profound impact on the field of psychotherapy. The pressure to maximize profits and minimize costs has led to a shift away from comprehensive diagnosis and towards a reliance on quick fixes like medication and brief, manualized therapies. This trend is particularly evident in the way that psychiatry has evolved over the past few decades. Psychiatrists used to spend an entire hour with their patients doing psychotherapy, but now the majority of the profession relies solely on drug therapy. In fact, a staggering 89% of psychiatrists used only drug therapy in 2010, compared to just 54% in 1988 (Mojtabai & Olfson, 2008). Patients are often left feeling frustrated and unheard, with many giving up on medication after their psychiatrist writes a script in the first and last five minutes of their first session. The same forces are at work in academia, where the cost of education has skyrocketed and the focus has shifted towards producing "products" rather than fostering critical thinking and innovation. Adjunct professors, who often lack the expertise and experience to teach psychotherapy effectively, have replaced tenure-track faculty, and students are graduating with a narrow understanding of the field that is ill-suited to the realities of private practice (Collier, 2017). The result is a profession that is increasingly disconnected from its roots and the physical reality of the body. Anthropology, humanities and the history of the profession, which offer valuable insights into the nature of the human experience and the evolution of psychotherapy, are largely ignored in favor of a narrow focus on cognitive-behavioral interventions and symptom reduction pushed largely to help psychopharm companies' bottom lines (Frances, 2013). The current academic publishing system is also broken. Academics work hard to come up with original ideas and write papers, only to give their work away for free to publishers who make trillions of dollars in profits while the authors get no compensation (Buranyi, 2017). Peers often cite papers to support their own points without actually reading them in depth. And the "best" journals frequently publish absurd psychology articles that would make you laugh if you said their main point out loud, but hide their lack of substance behind academic jargon (Sokal, 2008). Meanwhile, students spend years in graduate school being forced to research what their advisor wants, not what's truly innovative or needed to advance the field. After a decade of study and compromise, the pinnacle achievement is often creating a new 30-question screener for something like anxiety, rather than developing therapists who can actually discern and treat anxiety without needing a questionnaire. The system fails to properly vet or pay therapists, assuming they can't be trusted to practice without rigid manuals and checklists. This hyper-rationality, the madness arising from too much logic rather than too little, is very useful to moneyed interests like the Department of Defense in how they want to fund and control research. Large language models and AI are the pinnacle of this - spreadsheets sorting data points to mimic human speech, created by people so disconnected from a real sense of self that they believe you can turn people into robots because they've turned themselves into robots (Weizenbaum, 1976). But psychology and therapy can't be reduced to hard science and pure empiricism the way fields like physics can (at least until you get to quantum physics and have to rely on metaphor again). We can't remove all intuition, subjective experience and uncertainty (Rogers, 1995). The reproducibility crisis in psychology research shows the folly of this over-rationality (Open Science Collaboration, 2015). Studies that throw out any participant who dropped out of CBT treatment because it wasn't helping them are not painting an accurate picture (Westen et al., 2004). Developing a Coherent Concept of Self A History of the Self Our understanding of the self has evolved throughout history: Ancient Greek Philosophy (6th century BCE - 3rd century CE) Socrates introduces the idea of the self as a distinct entity, emphasizing self-knowledge and introspection (Plato, trans. 2002). Plato's concept of the soul as the essence of the self, distinct from the physical body (Plato, trans. 1997). Aristotle's notion of the self as the unity of body and soul, with the soul being the form or essence of the individual (Aristotle, trans. 1986). Medieval Philosophy (5th century CE - 15th century CE) St. Augustine's concept of the self as a reflection of God, with the inner self being the source of truth and self-knowledge (Augustine, trans. 2002). St. Thomas Aquinas' synthesis of Aristotelian and Christian concepts of the self, emphasizing the soul as the form of the body (Aquinas, trans.1981). Renaissance and Enlightenment (16th century CE - 18th century CE) Descartes' famous "cogito ergo sum" ("I think, therefore I am"), establishing the self as a thinking, conscious being (Descartes, trans. 1996). Locke's idea of the self as a blank slate shaped by experience and the continuity of consciousness (Locke, trans. 1975). Hume's skepticism about the self, arguing that it is merely a bundle of perceptions without a unified identity (Hume, trans. 2000). Romantic Era (late 18th century CE - mid-19th century CE) The self is seen as a creative, expressive force, with an emphasis on individuality and subjective experience (Berlin, 2013). The rise of the concept of the "self-made man" and the importance of personal growth and self-realization (Trilling, 1972). 20th Century Philosophy and Psychology Freud's psychoanalytic theory, which posits the self as composed of the id, ego, and superego, with unconscious drives and conflicts shaping behavior (Freud, trans.1989). Jung's concept of the self as the center of the psyche, integrating conscious and unconscious elements (Jung, 1959). Existentialism's emphasis on the self as a product of individual choices and actions, with the need to create meaning in a meaningless world (Sartre, trans. 1956). The rise of humanistic psychology, with its focus on self-actualization and the inherent potential of the individual (Maslow, 1968). Postmodernism's deconstruction of the self, challenging the idea of a unified, coherent identity (Jameson, 1991). Contemporary Developments (late 20th century CE - present) The influence of neuroscience and cognitive science on the understanding of the self as an emergent property of brain processes (LeDoux, 2002). The impact of social and cultural factors on the construction of the self, with the recognition of multiple, intersecting identities (Gergen, 1991). The rise of narrative theories of the self, emphasizing the role of storytelling in shaping personal identity (Bruner, 1990). The influence of Eastern philosophies and contemplative practices on Western concepts of the self, with an emphasis on mindfulness and interconnectedness (Epstein, 1995). Psychotherapy and the Concept of Self Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) - Psychoanalysis: Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, conceived of the self as being composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id represents the primitive, instinctual drives; the ego mediates between the demands of the id and the constraints of reality; and the superego represents the internalized moral standards and values of society. Freud believed that the goal of psychotherapy was to bring unconscious conflicts and desires into conscious awareness, allowing the ego to better manage the competing demands of the id and superego (Freud, trans. 1989). Carl Jung (1875-1961) - Analytical Psychology: Jung, a former collaborator of Freud, developed his own theory of the self, which he saw as the central archetype of the psyche. Jung believed that the self represented the unity and wholeness of the personality, and that the goal of psychotherapy was to help individuals achieve a state of self-realization or individuation. This involved integrating the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche, including the persona (the public face), the shadow (the repressed or hidden aspects of the self), and the anima/animus (the inner masculine or feminine) (Jung, 1959). Alfred Adler (1870-1937) - Individual Psychology: Adler, another former collaborator of Freud, emphasized the importance of social relationships and the drive for superiority in shaping the self. He believed that individuals develop a unique lifestyle or way of being in the world based on their early experiences and relationships, and that the goal of psychotherapy was to help individuals overcome feelings of inferiority and develop a healthy, socially-oriented way of living (Adler, trans. 1964). Fritz Perls (1893-1970) - Gestalt Therapy: Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy, saw the self as an ongoing process of self-regulation and self-actualization. He believed that the goal of psychotherapy was to help individuals become more aware of their present-moment experience and to take responsibility for their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Perls emphasized the importance of contact between the self and the environment, and the need to integrate the different aspects of the self into a cohesive whole (Perls et al., 1951). Internal Family Systems (IFS) - Richard Schwartz (1950-present): IFS is a more recent approach that sees the self as being composed of multiple sub-personalities or "parts." These parts are seen as having their own unique qualities, desires, and beliefs, and the goal of IFS therapy is to help individuals develop a greater sense of self-leadership and inner harmony. The self is seen as the core of the personality, with the capacity to lead and integrate the different parts (Schwartz, 1995). As Schwartz writes in the introduction to his book on IFS, the model was heavily influenced by Gestalt therapy and the work of Carl Jung. Schwartz aimed to create a non-pathologizing approach that honored the complexity and wisdom of the psyche. IFS shares Jung's view of the self as the central organizing principle, surrounded by various archetypes or subpersonalities. It also draws on the Gestalt emphasis on present-moment awareness and the need for integration of different aspects of the self. However, IFS offers a more user-friendly language than classical Jungian analysis, without the need for extensive explanations of concepts like anima/animus. In IFS, a patient can quickly identify different "parts" - for example, a protector part that taps its foot and bites its nails to avoid painful feelings. By directly engaging with and embracing that part, the patient can access the vulnerable feelings and memories it is protecting against, fostering self-compassion and integration over time. The IFS model is an example of how contemporary approaches are building on the insights of depth psychology while offering more transparent, experience-near practices suitable for a wider range of patients and practitioners. It reflects an ongoing effort to develop a cohesive yet flexible understanding of the self that remains open to unconscious processes. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - Aaron Beck (1921-2021) and Albert Ellis (1913-2007): CBT, developed by Beck and Ellis, focuses on the role of thoughts and beliefs in shaping emotional and behavioral responses. CBT sees the self as being largely determined by the individual's cognitions, and the goal of therapy is to help individuals identify and modify maladaptive or irrational beliefs and thought patterns. CBT places less emphasis on the unconscious or intrapsychic aspects of the self, and more on the conscious, rational processes that shape behavior (Beck, 1979; Ellis & Harper, 1975). Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) - B.F. Skinner (1904-1990): ABA, based on the work of Skinner and other behaviorists, sees the self as a product of environmental contingencies and reinforcement histories. ABA focuses on observable behaviors rather than internal states or processes, and the goal of therapy is to modify behavior through the systematic application of reinforcement and punishment. ABA has been widely used in the treatment of autism and other developmental disorders, but has been criticized for its lack of attention to the inner experience of the self (Skinner, 1953; Lovaas, 1987). What is Self? One of the key challenges facing psychotherapy today is the lack of a coherent concept of self. The self is a complex and dynamic entity that is shaped by a range of internal and external factors, including our experiences, relationships, and cultural context (Baumeister, 1987). Unfortunately, many contemporary models of therapy fail to adequately capture this complexity, instead relying on simplistic and reductionistic notions of the self as a collection of symptoms or behaviors to be modified (Wachtel, 1991). To develop a more coherent and holistic concept of self, psychotherapy must draw on insights from a range of disciplines, including psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and the humanities (Sass & Parnas, 2003). This requires a willingness to engage with the messy and often paradoxical nature of the human experience, recognizing that the self is not a fixed entity but rather a constantly evolving process of becoming (Gendlin, 1978). The psychoanalyst Carl Jung's concept of the self as the central archetype, connected to the divine and the greater unconscious, offers a useful starting point for this endeavor. Jung believed that by making the unconscious conscious and dealing with ego rigidity, individuals could embody a deeper sense of purpose and connection to the universe (Jung, 1959). While we may not need to fully embrace Jung's metaphysical language, his emphasis on the dynamic interplay between conscious and unconscious processes, as well as the importance of symbol, dream, and myth in shaping the self, remains highly relevant today (Hillman, 1975). Other approaches, such as Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and somatic experiencing, also offer valuable insights into the nature of the self. IFS sees the self as a core of compassion, curiosity, and confidence that is surrounded by protective parts that arise in response to trauma and other challenges. By working with these parts and fostering greater integration and self-leadership, individuals can develop a more coherent and authentic sense of self (Schwartz, 1995). Similarly, somatic experiencing emphasizes the role of the body in shaping the self, recognizing that trauma and other experiences are stored not just in the mind but also in the muscles, nerves, and other physical structures (Levine, 1997). Models like IFS, somatic experiencing, and lifespan integration are appealing because they see the self as a dynamic ecosystem that is always evolving and striving for integration and actualization (Boon et al., 2011; Ogden et al., 2006; Pace, 2012). They don't try to label and categorize everything, recognizing that sometimes we need to just sit with feelings and sensations without fully understanding them intellectually. Lifespan integration in particular views the self as a continuum of moments threaded together like pearls on a necklace. Traumatic experiences can cause certain "pearls" or ego states to become frozen in time, disconnected from the flow of the self-narrative. By imaginally revisiting these moments and "smashing them together" with resource states, lifespan integration aims to re-integrate the self across time, fostering a more coherent and flexible identity (Pace, 2012). In contrast, the more behavioral and manualized approaches like CBT and ABA have a much more limited and problematic view. They see the self as just a collection of cognitions and learned behaviors, minimizing the role of the unconscious and treating people more like programmable robots (Shedler, 2010). If taken to an extreme, this is frankly offensive and damaging. There has to be room for the parts of the self that we can feel and intuit but not fully articulate (Stern, 2004). Ultimately, developing a coherent concept of self requires a willingness to sit with the tensions and paradoxes of the human experience, recognizing that the self is always in communication with the world around us, and that our sense of who we are is constantly being shaped by implicit memory and other unconscious processes (Schore & Schore, 2008). It requires remaining open to uncertainty and realizing that the self is never static or finished, but always dynamically unfolding (Bromberg, 1996). Good therapy helps people get in touch with their authentic self, not just impose a set of techniques to modify surface-level symptoms (Fosha et al., 2009). Understanding Implicit Memory Another critical challenge facing psychotherapy today is the lack of a shared language and understanding of implicit memory. Implicit memory refers to the unconscious, automatic, and often somatic ways in which our past experiences shape our present thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Schacter et al., 1993). While the concept of implicit memory has a long history in psychotherapy, dating back to Freud's notion of the unconscious and Jung's idea of the collective unconscious, it remains poorly understood and often overlooked in contemporary practice (Kihlstrom, 1987). This is due in part to the dominance of cognitive-behavioral approaches, which tend to focus on explicit, conscious processes rather than the deeper, more intuitive and embodied aspects of the self (Bucci, 1997). To effectively address the role of implicit memory in psychological distress and personal growth, psychotherapy must develop a shared language and framework for understanding and working with these unconscious processes (Greenberg, 2002). This requires a willingness to engage with the body and the somatic experience, recognizing that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are deeply rooted in our physical being (van der Kolk, 2014). One way to think about implicit memory is as a kind of "photoshop filter" that our brain is constantly running, even when we are not consciously aware of it. Just as the center of our visual field is filled in by our brain based on the surrounding context, our implicit memories are constantly shaping our perceptions and reactions to the world around us, even when we are not consciously aware of them. This is why it is so important for therapists to be attuned to the subtle cues and signals that patients give off, both verbally and nonverbally. A skilled therapist can often sense the presence of implicit memories and unconscious processes long before the patient is consciously aware of them, and can use this information to guide the therapeutic process in a more effective and meaningful direction (Schore, 2012). At the same time, it is important to recognize that implicit memories are not always negative or pathological. In fact, many of our most cherished and meaningful experiences are encoded in implicit memory, shaping our sense of self and our relationships with others in profound and often unconscious ways (Fosshage, 2005). The goal of therapy, then, is not necessarily to eliminate or "fix" implicit memories, but rather to help individuals develop a more conscious and intentional relationship with them, so that they can be integrated into a more coherent and authentic sense of self (Stern, 2004). The Future of the Unconscious Many of the most interesting thinkers in the history of psychology understood this symbolic dimension of implicit memory, even if their specific theories needed refinement. Freud recognized the dynamic interplay of conscious and unconscious processes, and the way that repressed material could manifest in dreams, symptoms, and relational patterns (Freud, trans. 1989). Jung saw the unconscious as not just a repository of repressed personal material, but a deep well of collective wisdom and creative potential, populated by universal archetypes and accessed through dream, myth, and active imagination (Jung, 1968). Jung urged individuals to engage in a lifelong process of "individuation," differentiating the self from the collective while also integrating the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche (Jung, 1964). Reich connected chronic muscular tensions or "character armor" to blocked emotions and neurotic conflicts, pioneering body-based interventions aimed at restoring the free flow of life energy (Reich, 1980). While some of Reich's later work veered into pseudoscience, his core insights about the somatic basis of psychological experience were hugely influential on subsequent generations of clinicians (Young, 2006). More recently, emerging models such as sensorimotor psychotherapy (Ogden & Fisher, 2015), accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP; Fosha, 2000), and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR; Shapiro, 2017) aim to access and integrate implicit memories through body-based and imagistic techniques. By working with posture, sensation, movement, and breath, these approaches help patients bring nonverbal, affective material into conscious awareness and narrative coherence. Process-oriented therapies such as Arnold Mindell's process work (Mindell, 1985) offer another compelling framework for engaging implicit memory. Mindell suggests that the unconscious communicates through "channels" such as vision, audition, proprioception, kinesthesia, and relationship. By unfolding the process in each channel and following the flow of "sentient essence," therapists can help patients access and integrate implicit memories and in turn catalyze psychological and somatic healing. These contemporary approaches build on the insights of earlier clinicians while offering new maps and methods for navigating the realm of implicit memory. They point towards an understanding of the self as an ever-evolving matrix of conscious and unconscious, cognitive and somatic, personal and transpersonal processes. Engaging implicit memory is not about pathologizing the unconscious so much as learning its unique language and honoring its hidden wisdom. At the same time, this is tricky terrain to navigate, personally and professionally. As therapist and patient venture into the uncharted waters of the unconscious, it is crucial to maintain an attitude of humility, compassion, and ethical integrity (Stein, 2006). We must be mindful of the power dynamics and transference/countertransference currents that can arise in any therapeutic relationship, and work to create a safe, boundaried space for healing and transformation (Barnett et al., 2007). There is also a risk of getting lost in the fascinating world of the unconscious and losing sight of external reality. While depth psychology and experiential therapies offer valuable tools for self-exploration and meaning-making, they are not a replacement for practical skills, behavioral changes, and real-world action. We must be careful not to fall into the trap of "spiritual bypassing," using esoteric practices to avoid the hard work of embodying our insights and values in daily life (Welwood, 2000). Ultimately, the future of psychotherapy lies in integrating the best of what has come before while remaining open to new discoveries and directions. By combining scientific rigor with clinical artistry, cognitive understanding with experiential depth, and technical skill with ethical care, we can continue to expand our understanding of the self and the transformative potential of the therapeutic relationship. As we navigate the uncharted territories of the 21st century and beyond, we will need maps and methods that honor the full complexity and mystery of the human experience. Engaging with the unconscious and implicit dimensions of memory is not a luxury but a necessity if we are to rise to the challenges of our time with creativity, resilience, and wisdom. May we have the courage to venture into the depths, and the humility to be transformed by what we find there. Empowering Individuals to Be Themselves The ultimate goal of psychotherapy, in my view, is to empower individuals to become more effective at being themselves in the world and, in turn, better at transforming the world for the better. This requires a fundamental shift in the way that we think about mental health and well-being, moving beyond a narrow focus on symptom reduction and towards a more holistic and integrative approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit. To achieve this goal, psychotherapy must embrace a range of approaches and techniques that are tailored to the unique needs and experiences of each individual. This may include somatic therapies that work with the body to release trauma and promote healing, such as somatic experiencing, sensorimotor psychotherapy, or EMDR (Levine, 1997; Ogden & Fisher, 2015; Shapiro, 2017). It may also include depth psychologies that explore the unconscious and archetypal dimensions of the psyche, such as Jungian analysis, psychosynthesis, or archetypal psychology (Jung, 1968; Assagioli, 1965; Hillman, 1975). And it may include humanistic and experiential approaches that emphasize the inherent worth and potential of each person, such as person-centered therapy, gestalt therapy, or existential psychotherapy (Rogers, 1995; Perls et al., 1951; Yalom, 1980). At the same time, psychotherapy must also be grounded in a deep understanding of the social, cultural, and political contexts in which individuals live and work. This requires a willingness to engage with issues of power, privilege, and oppression, recognizing that mental health and well-being are intimately connected to the broader structures and systems that shape our lives (Prilleltensky, 1997). It also requires a recognition that the goal of therapy is not simply to help individuals adapt to the status quo, but rather to empower them to become agents of change in their own lives and in the world around them (Freire, 1970). Therapists as Agents of the Post-Secular Sacred One way to think about this is through the lens of what depth psychologist David Tacey calls the "post-secular sacred" (Tacey, 2004). Tacey argues that we are moving into a new era of spirituality that is grounded in a deep respect for science and reason, but also recognizes the importance of myth, symbol, and the unconscious in shaping our experience of the world. In this view, the goal of therapy is not to strip away our illusions and defenses in order to reveal some kind of objective truth, but rather to help individuals develop a more authentic and meaningful relationship with the mystery and complexity of existence. This requires a willingness to sit with the discomfort and uncertainty that often accompanies the process of growth and transformation. It also requires a recognition that the path to wholeness and healing is not always a straight line, but rather a winding and often circuitous journey that involves confronting our deepest fears and vulnerabilities (Jung, 1959). Therapists of Agents of the Post Secular Sacred Riddle in the Garden by Robert Penn Warren My mind is intact, but the shapes of the world change, the peach has released the bough and at last makes full confession, its pudeur had departed like peach-fuzz wiped off, and We now know how the hot sweet- ness of flesh and the juice-dark hug the rough peach-pit, we know its most suicidal yearnings, it wants to suffer extremely, it Loves God, and I warn you, do not touch that plum, it will burn you, a blister will be on your finger, and you will put the finger to your lips for relief—oh, do be careful not to break that soft Gray bulge of blister like fruit-skin, for exposing that inwardness will increase your pain, for you are part of this world. You think I am speaking in riddles. But I am not, for The world means only itself. In the image that Penn Warren creates in "Riddle in the Garden" is a labyrinth leading back to the birth of humans in the garden of Eden.  Life itself is a swelling of inflammation from a wound or a need in both blisters and in peaches. You cannot have one part of the process without accepting all of it. The swelling in the growth of the fruit is also the swelling in the growth of a blister of pain. The peach must swell and become a sweet tempting blister or else no one would eat it and expose the "inwardness" of the seed to grow more trees.  exists to be eaten to die. We eat the peach to grow the next one. Not to touch the “suicidal” peach is not to touch life itself. For to live is to be hurt and to grow. To touch the peach is to become part of the world like Adam and Eve found out. It hurts it blisters us turning us into fruit.  For Penn Warren it is the separation of the self from the world of divine connection with nature that creates our need for meaning. This need is the reason that patients come to therapy. God tells us that “I am the lord your God” but Penn Warren tells us “I am not”. For “The world means only itself”. This process only has the meaning that we allow ourselves to give it. This is not a riddle, Penn Warren tells us.  It is only something we have to deal with but cannot not solve. The world means only itself. There is no gimmick or solution to the problem of being human.  In other words, the process of becoming more fully ourselves is not always easy or comfortable. It requires a willingness to confront the pain and suffering that is inherent in the human condition, and to recognize that growth and healing often involve an alchemical kind of death and rebirth. But it is precisely through this process of facing our fears and vulnerabilities that we can begin to develop a more authentic and meaningful relationship with ourselves, with others, and with the world around us. Ultimately, the goal of psychotherapy is not to provide answers or solutions, but rather to create a space in which individuals can begin to ask deeper questions about the nature of their existence and their place in the world. It is to help individuals develop the tools and capacities they need to navigate the complexities of life with greater courage, compassion, and wisdom. And it is to empower individuals to become more effective at being themselves in the world, so that they can contribute to the greater whole and help to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all. The Future of Psychotherapy The corporatization of healthcare and academia poses a serious threat to the future of psychotherapy, undermining its ability to effectively address the complex realities of the human experience. To remain relevant and effective in the face of these challenges, the field must embrace a more holistic and integrative approach that recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit. This requires a renewed commitment to developing a coherent concept of self, a shared language and understanding of implicit memory, and a vision of psychotherapy as a means of empowering individuals to become more effective at being themselves in the world and, in turn, better at transforming the world for the better. It also requires a willingness to engage with the full complexity and paradox of the human experience, recognizing that growth and healing often involve a kind of death and rebirth, and that the path to wholeness is not always a straight line. As the psychologist Carl Jung once wrote, "The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are." Psychotherapy and the Dialectic of Self and World As we have explored throughout this essay, the self does not exist in a vacuum, but is always in dynamic interaction with the world around it. Our sense of who we are, what we value, and what is possible for us is shaped by a complex interplay of internal and external factors, from our earliest experiences of attachment and attunement to the broader social, cultural, and political contexts in which we are embedded. In many ways, psychotherapy can be seen as a process of exploring and working with the dialectical tension between self and world, between our innermost longings, fears, and aspirations and the often harsh realities of the environments we find ourselves in. When we enter therapy, we bring with us not only our own unique histories, personality structures, and ways of being, but also the internalized messages, expectations, and constraints of the world around us. For many individuals, these internalized messages and constraints can feel suffocating, limiting their sense of possibility and agency in the world. They may find themselves feeling stuck, trapped, or disconnected from their authentic selves, playing roles and wearing masks that no longer fit who they really are. In the face of external pressures to conform, to achieve, to fit in, the self can become fragmented, disempowered, or lost. The task of psychotherapy, then, is to help individuals rediscover and reclaim a sense of self that feels vital, authentic, and empowered, while also developing the skills and capacities needed to navigate the complexities of the world with greater flexibility, resilience, and integrity. This requires a delicate balance of supportive and challenging interventions, of validating the individual's unique experience while also gently questioning and expanding their assumptions about what is possible. On one end of the spectrum, an overly supportive or myopic approach to therapy can run the risk of enabling individuals to remain stuck in limiting patterns and beliefs, reinforcing a sense of helplessness or dependence on the therapist. While providing a warm, empathic, and nonjudgmental space is essential for building trust and safety in the therapeutic relationship, it is not sufficient for fostering real growth and change. Individuals need to be challenged to step outside their comfort zones, to experiment with new ways of being and relating, and to take responsibility for their choices and actions in the world. On the other end of the spectrum, an overly challenging or confrontational approach to therapy can be experienced as invalidating, shaming, or even retraumatizing, particularly for individuals with histories of abuse, neglect, or marginalization. Pushing individuals to "toughen up," to adapt to oppressive or toxic environments, or to simply accept the "reality" of their situation without questioning or resisting it can lead to a kind of false or forced adaptation, a loss of self that is no less harmful than remaining stuck. The key, then, is to find a middle path between these extremes, one that honors the individual's inherent worth, agency, and potential while also recognizing the very real constraints and challenges of the world they inhabit. This requires a deep understanding of the ways in which power, privilege, and oppression shape our experiences and identities, as well as a willingness to grapple with the existential questions of meaning, purpose, and authenticity that arise when we confront the gap between who we are and who we feel we ought to be. In practice, this might involve helping individuals to: Develop a clearer and more coherent sense of self, one that integrates the various parts of their personality, history, and identity in a way that feels authentic and meaningful to them. Identify and challenge limiting beliefs, assumptions, and patterns of behavior that keep them stuck or disconnected from their true desires and values. Cultivate greater self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-acceptance, learning to embrace the full range of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences with curiosity and kindness. Develop the skills and capacities needed to communicate effectively, set healthy boundaries, and navigate relationships and social situations with greater ease and confidence. Explore and experiment with new ways of being and relating in the world, taking risks and stepping outside their comfort zones in service of their growth and healing. Engage critically and creatively with the social, cultural, and political contexts that shape their lives, developing a sense of empowerment, agency, and social responsibility. Connect with a deeper sense of meaning, purpose, and spirituality, one that transcends the ego and connects them to something greater than themselves. Ultimately, the goal of psychotherapy is not simply to help individuals adapt to the world as it is, but to empower them to become active agents of change, both in their own lives and in the larger systems and structures that shape our collective reality. By developing a stronger, more integrated, and more authentic sense of self, individuals can begin to challenge and transform the limiting beliefs, oppressive power dynamics, and dehumanizing narratives that keep us all stuck and disconnected from our shared humanity. In this sense, psychotherapy is not just a personal journey of healing and self-discovery, but a deeply political and moral enterprise, one that calls us to envision and create a world that is more just, compassionate, and sustainable for all. As therapists, we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to support individuals in this process, to bear witness to their pain and their resilience, and to help them find the courage, clarity, and creativity needed to live a life of purpose, integrity, and connection. As the existential psychiatrist Viktor Frankl once wrote, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." By creating a space for individuals to explore and expand their capacity to choose, to respond to the world with authenticity and agency, psychotherapy can play a vital role in the ongoing dialectic of self and world, of personal and collective transformation. May we rise to the challenge and opportunity of this sacred work, and may we never lose sight of the inherent beauty, complexity, and potential of the human spirit as it unfolds in the therapy room and beyond. https://youtu.be/iAof2cim5Wk References Adler, A. (1964). The individual psychology of Alfred Adler: A systematic presentation in selections from his writings (H. L. Ansbacher & R. R. Ansbacher, Eds.). Harper & Row. Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Erlbaum. Aquinas, T. (1981). Summa theologica (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). Christian Classics. Aristotle. (1986). De anima (On the soul) (H. Lawson-Tancred, Trans.). Penguin. Assagioli, R. (1965). Psychosynthesis: A manual of principles and techniques. Hobbs, Dorman & Company. Augustine of Hippo. (2002). Confessions (R. S. Pine-Coffin, Trans.). Penguin. Baumeister, R. F. (1987). How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 163-176. Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford Press. Berlin, I. (2013). The roots of romanticism (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. Boon, S., Steele, K., & Van der Hart, O. (2011). Coping with trauma-related dissociation: Skills training for patients and therapists. W. W. Norton & Company. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. Basic Books. Boyd, D. (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press. Bromberg, P. M. (1996). Standing in the spaces: The multiplicity of self and the psychoanalytic relationship. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 32(4), 509-535. Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Harvard University Press. Buber, M. (1958). I and thou (R. G. Smith, Trans.). Scribner. Buranyi, S. (2017, June 27). Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jun/27/profitable-business-scientific-publishing-bad-for-science Burkeman, O. (2012). The antidote: Happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking. Faber & Faber. Carr, N. (2010). The shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains. W. W. Norton & Company. Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2009). Connected: The surprising power of our social networks and how they shape our lives. Little, Brown and Company. Collier, R. (2017, December 12). Half of psychology studies fail reproducibility test. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2015.18248 Comas-Díaz, L. (2012). Multicultural care: A clinician's guide to cultural competence. American Psychological Association. Cozolino, L. (2014). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing social brain (2nd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. Dalai Lama, & Ekman, P. (2009). Emotional awareness: Overcoming the obstacles to psychological balance and compassion. Times Books. Descartes, R. (1996). Meditations on first philosophy (J. Cottingham, Ed. & Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1641) Doctorow, C., & Wang, H. (2020, September 28). How to destroy surveillance capitalism. OneZero. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59 Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1975). A new guide to rational living. Prentice-Hall. Epstein, M. (1995). Thoughts without a thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective. Basic Books. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company. Fosha, D. (2000). The transforming power of affect: A model for accelerated change. Basic Books. Frances, A. (2013). Saving normal: An insider's revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life. William Morrow. Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press. (Original work published 1946) Freud, S. (1989). The ego and the id. W. W. Norton & Company. (Original work published 1923) Fromm, E. (1955). The sane society. Rinehart & Company. Gawande, A. (2009). The checklist manifesto: How to get things right. Metropolitan Books. Gendlin, E. T. (1978). Focusing. Bantam Books. Gergen, K. J. (1991). The saturated self: Dilemmas of identity in contemporary life. Basic Books. Goodman, D. M., & Freeman, E. E. (2015). Psychology and the art of compassion: Issues in transpersonal psychology. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 47(2), 192-207. Goodman, R. D., Williams, J. M., Chung, R. C.-Y., Talleyrand, R. M., Douglass, A. M., McMahon, H. G., & Bemak, F. (2004). Decolonizing traditional pedagogies and practices in counseling and psychology education: A move towards social justice and action. In R. L. Carter (Ed.), Handbook of racial-cultural psychology and counseling: Vol. 2. Training and practice (pp. 147-160). Wiley. Greenberg, L. S. (2002). Emotion-focused therapy: Coaching clients to work through their feelings. American Psychological Association. Greenberg, L. S., & Goldman, R. N. (2019). Clinical handbook of emotion-focused therapy. American Psychological Association. Griffith, J. L., & Griffith, M. E. (2002). Encountering the sacred in psychotherapy: How to talk with people about their spiritual lives. Guilford Press. Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the brain: Birth, death and transcendence in psychotherapy. State University of New York Press. Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 lessons for the 21st century. Spiegel & Grau. Hillman, J. (1975). Re-visioning psychology. Harper & Row. Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., Owen, J., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Utsey, S. O. (2013). Cultural humility: Measuring openness to culturally diverse clients. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60(3), 353-366. Hook, J. N., Farrell, J. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Van Tongeren, D. R., & Utsey, S. O. (2016). Cultural humility and racial microaggressions in counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 269-277. Hopwood, C. J., & Bleidorn, W. (Eds.). (2018). The Oxford handbook of personality and social psychology. Oxford University Press. Hume, D. (2000). A treatise of human nature (D. F. Norton & M. J. Norton, Eds.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1739-1740) Jameson, F. (1991). Postmodernism, or, the cultural logic of late capitalism. Duke University Press. Jung, C. G. (1959). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton University Press. Jung, C. G. (1964). Man and his symbols. Dell. Jung, C. G. (1968). Analytical psychology: Its theory and practice (The Tavistock lectures). Vintage Books. Jung, C. G. (1973). C. G. Jung letters: Volume 1, 1906-1950 (G. Adler, Ed.; R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton University Press. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Delacorte Press. Kihlstrom, J. F. (1987). The cognitive unconscious. Science, 237(4821), 1445-1452. Knill, P. J., Levine, E. G., & Levine, S. K. (2005). Principles and practice of expressive arts therapy: Toward a therapeutic aesthetics. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. LeDoux, J. (2002). Synaptic self: How our brains become who we are. Viking. Levine, P. A. (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma. North Atlantic Books. Locke, J. (1975). An essay concerning human understanding (P. H. Nidditch, Ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1689) Lovaas, O. I. (1987). Behavioral treatment and normal educational and intellectual functioning in young autistic children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55(1), 3-9. Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.). (2003). Handbook of art therapy. Guilford Press. Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). Van Nostrand Reinhold. May, R. (1969). Love and will. W. W. Norton & Company. McNiff, S. (1981). The arts and psychotherapy. Charles C. Thomas. McWilliams, N. (2004). Psychoanalytic psychotherapy: A practitioner's guide. Guilford Press. Mearns, D., & Cooper, M. (2005). Working at relational depth in counselling and psychotherapy. Sage. Mindell, A. (1985). River's way: The process science of the dreambody. Routledge & Kegan Paul. Mitchell, S. A. (1988). Relational concepts in psychoanalysis: An integration. Harvard University Press. Mojtabai, R., & Olfson, M. (2008). National trends in psychotherapy by office-based psychiatrists. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(8), 962-970. Nietzsche, F. (1967). The will to power (W. Kaufmann & R. J. Hollingdale, Trans.). Vintage Books. (Original work published 1901) Norcross, J. C., & Goldfried, M. R. (Eds.). (2005). Handbook of psychotherapy integration (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company. Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. W. W. Norton & Company. Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251), aac4716. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716 Pace, P. (2013). Lifespan integration: Connecting ego states through time (5th ed.). Lifespan Integration. Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. Guilford Press. Pariser, E. (2011). The filter bubble: What the internet is hiding from you. Penguin Press. Perls, F., Hefferline, R. F., & Goodman, P. (1951). Gestalt therapy: Excitement and growth in the human personality. Julian Press. Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child (M. Cook, Trans.). Basic Books. (Original work published 1937) Plante, T. G. (Ed.). (2007). Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness. Praeger. Plato. (1997). Phaedo (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper & D. S. Hutchinson (Eds.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 49-100). Hackett. (Original work published ca. 360 BCE) Plato. (2002). Apology (G. M. A. Grube, Trans.). In J. M. Cooper & D. S. Hutchinson (Eds.), Plato: Complete works (pp. 17-36). Hackett. (Original work published ca. 399 BCE) Pollan, M. (2018). How to change your mind: What the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence. Penguin Press. Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company. Post, B. C., & Wade, N. G. (2009). Religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: A practice-friendly review of research. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(2), 131-146. Prilleltensky, I., & Fox, D. (1997). Introducing critical psychology: Values, assumptions, and the status quo. In D. Fox & I. Prilleltensky (Eds.), Critical psychology: An introduction (pp. 3-20). Sage. Reich, W. (1980). Character analysis (3rd, enlarged ed.; V. R. Carfagno, Trans.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (Original work published 1933) Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person: A therapist's view of psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin. Rogers, C. R. (1995). A way of being. Houghton Mifflin. Sartre, J.-P. (1956). Being and nothingness: An essay on phenomenological ontology (H. E. Barnes, Trans.). Philosophical Library. Sass, L. A., & Parnas, J. (2003). Schizophrenia, consciousness, and the self. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29(3), 427-444. Schacter, D. L., Chiu, C.-Y. P., & Ochsner, K. N. (1993). Implicit memory: A selective review. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 16, 159-182. Schore, A. N. (2012). The science of the art of psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company. Schore, J. R., & Schore, A. N. (2008). Modern attachment theory: The central role of affect regulation in development and treatment. Clinical Social Work Journal, 36(1), 9-20. Schwartz, R. C. (1995). Internal family systems therapy. Guilford Press. Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. Siegel, D. J. (1999). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are. Guilford Press. Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. Macmillan. Sokal, A. (2008). Beyond the hoax: Science, philosophy and culture. Oxford University Press. Sokal, A. D. (1996). Transgressing the boundaries: Toward a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity. Social Text, (46/47), 217-252. Stein, M. (2006). The principle of individuation: Toward the development of human consciousness. Chiron Publications. Stern, D. N. (2004). The present moment in psychotherapy and everyday life. W. W. Norton & Company. Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Wiley. Tacey, D. J. (2004). The spirituality revolution: The emergence of contemporary spirituality. Brunner-Routledge. Tervalon, M., & Murray-García, J. (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117-125. Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Westview Press. Trilling, L. (1972). Sincerity and authenticity. Harvard University Press. Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3-17. van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking. Vieten, C., Scammell, S., Pilato, R., Ammondson, I., Pargament, K. I., & Lukoff, D. (2013). Spiritual and religious competencies for psychologists. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 5(3), 129-144. Wachtel, P. L. (1991). From eclecticism to synthesis: Toward a more seamless psychotherapeutic integration. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 1(1), 43-54. Wallin, D. J. (2007). Attachment in psychotherapy. Guilford Press. Warren, R. P. (1998). The collected poems of Robert Penn Warren (J. Burt, Ed.). Louisiana State University Press. Weizenbaum, J. (1976). Computer power and human reason: From judgment to calculation. W. H. Freeman and Company. Westen, D., Novotny, C. M., & Thompson-Brenner, H. (2004). The empirical status of empirically supported psychotherapies: Assumptions, findings, and reporting in controlled clinical trials. Psychological Bulletin, 130(4), 631-663. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambhala. Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books. Young, C. (2006). One hundred and fifty years on: The history, significance and scope of body psychotherapy today. In J. Corrigall, H. Payne, & H. Wilkinson (Eds.), About a body: Working with the embodied mind in psychotherapy (pp. 14-28). Routledge.   #Psychotherapy #CorporateInfluence #HolisticHealing #AuthenticSelf #ImplicitMemory #PostSecularSacred #MentalHealthTransformation #IntegrativePsychotherapy #EmpoweringIndividuals #PsychotherapyChallenges #jung #philosophy #PsychotherapyInCrisis #MentalHealth #Self #eikonosphere #ImplicitMemory #Empowering #AuthenticSelf #capitalism 

In this episode continuing our gestalt series, we take a closer look at two contact interruptions, or rather contact moderations: Confluence and deflection. Both have to do with the permeability of our boundaries, both are forms of creative adjustments, and as such are vital to our being-in-the-world, and both, when they become fixed and rigid forms of behaviour stand in our way of living freely in the here and now. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. When the body says no by Gabor Máté Gestalt and process by Peter Dreitzel If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Simon MacHale and Daniel Shafrir for their help and support in creating this content.

Interview begins @ 5:58 Annie Lamott and Neal Allen invite us into the heart of their relationship, where creativity, curiosity, and vulnerability intertwine. Annie introduces Neal's latest book, "Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic," while Neal shares insights into Annie's newest work, "Somehow: Thoughts on Love." As we delve into their dynamic, we're reminded of Annie's infamous KFKD radio – a familiar concept for anyone acquainted with her writings – and how Neal's exploration of the inner critic seamlessly complements Annie's work. Reflecting on the early days of their relationship, Annie and Neal recount moments of openness and vulnerability, testing the waters of acceptance and understanding. Their willingness to confront their deepest wounds and expose them to the world underscores their authenticity and likability. Neal challenges the corrosive nature of identity politics, emphasizing the importance of transcending rigid notions of identity to foster genuine connection. In a candid discussion, Annie shares her experience with cancel culture and the anxiety it breeds in our social landscape. Together, we explore the implications of cancel culture on personal relationships and societal discourse, pondering the importance of genuine communication and compassion. As we journey deeper into their relationship, Annie and Neal offer a masterclass in marriage, highlighting the value of acceptance, curiosity, and patience. They demonstrate how years of spiritual and psychological work pave the way for navigating conflicts with grace and understanding. Midway through the interview, Annie steps away, allowing Neal and John to explore the realm of the inner critic. Through an active Gestault exercise, Neal provides a firsthand example of confronting the superego and shedding the layers of defensiveness that obscure our true selves. Together, we explore the perception that shame and the superego serve as sufficient motivators for progress, while also examining the divisive nature of identity politics and its impact on our culture. Neal offers insights into the role of defensiveness in protecting against vulnerability, urging us to embrace authenticity over superficiality. Bio: Anne Lamott is the author of twenty books, including the New York Timesbestsellers Help, Thanks, Wow; Dusk, Night, Dawn; Traveling Mercies; and Bird by Bird, as well as seven novels. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame and Neal Allen is a spiritual coach, workshop leader, and author who began his transformative journey about ten years ago. Bob Birnbaum, introduced him to the teachings of notable figures like Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, and Adyashanti, as well as spiritual practices such as Eckhart Tolle's neo-Buddhism and Hameed Ali's Diamond Approach. His exploration deepened into self-realization, guiding him through phases of shedding personal narratives and societal beliefs, embracing the absurd, and confronting the concept of death, which included volunteering at hospice and dealing with personal loss. These experiences have profoundly shaped his practice and writings, including his books "Shapes of Truth: Discover God Inside You" and "Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic." www.shapesoftruth.com Website for The Sacred Speaks: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com WATCH: YouTube for The Sacred Speaks https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOAuksnpfht1udHWUVEO7Rg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/ @thesacredspeaks Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesacredspeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesacredspeaks/ Brought to you by: https://www.thecenterforhas.com Theme music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com

In this episode we continue our gestalt series, and delve further into the world of polarities, observing how we fracture ourselves into a mind and a body. The body then takes the role of the disowned self. Since freedom starts with the individual, I believe that healing the fractured self is a vital step that can help us pave the way to a free society. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy by Joseph Zinker Body Process by James I. Kepner If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Simon MacHale and Daniel Shafrir for their help and support in creating this content.

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, using the Gestalt lens to look at the development of the individual and society and the relationship between the two. Today we focus on polarities: the yin and yang of our existence. Enjoy Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy by Joseph Zinker Body Process by James I. Kepner If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Simon MacHale and Daniel Shafrir for their help and support in creating this content.

Gestalt Psychotherapy is an often under-discussed, yet widely practiced form of therapy that was developed in the 40s and 50s by a psychoanalyst Fritz Perls, his wife Laura Perls and Paul Goodman. Gestalt therapy came to prominence during the counterculture movement of the 60s and focused on an individual's experience of the present moment, their relationship with their therapist, and the psychological adjustments people make in response to their environmental and social context.Today, on the podcast to discuss Gestalt psychotherapy is Sarah Paul. Sarah is a tutor of humanistic psychotherapy at the Metanoia institute in London, a UKCP registered gestalt psychotherapist and a certified couples counsellor. She has been working with people therapeutically for more than 15 years and aside from her psychotherapy experience, she is also experienced in working with individuals with severe mental health difficulties, homelessness and substance misuse problems.In today's episode we discuss Gestalt psychotherapy, its historical origins, some of the core principles of the Gestalt approach, its strengths and weaknesses, the barriers people have to changing, Sarah's own approach to psychotherapy, some of the challenges of training as a therapist, and much more.Interviewed by Dr. Alex Curmi, a consultant psychiatrist and UKCP registered trainee psychotherapist - Give feedback here - thinkingmindpodcast@gmail.com Follow us here: Twitter @thinkingmindpod Instagram @thinkingmindpodcastIf you would like to enquire about an online psychotherapy appointment with Dr. Alex, you can email - alexcurmitherapy@gmail.comJoin Our Mailing List! - https://thinkingmindpod.aidaform.com/mailinglistsignupSUPPORT: buymeacoffee.com/thinkingmind

Welcome, we have the distinct honor of sitting down with the visionaries behind Cognitive Coaching, Art Costa and Bob Garmston. Art and Bob have significantly shaped the landscape of coaching in education, and we owe them a tremendous debt for laying the groundwork that has influenced countless educators worldwide.In the early 1980s, Art and Bob embarked on a journey that would revolutionize coaching in education. Art Costa, with a background deeply rooted in cognition and intellectual development, had studied under the guidance of luminaries such as Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Hilda Taba, J. Richard Suchman, Reuven Feuerstein, and others. His extensive experience in supervision models set the stage for what would become Cognitive Coaching.Bob Garmston's path was equally influential, drawing inspiration from mentors like Caleb Gattegno, Fritz Perls, Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, and, most recently, John Ginder. Together, Art and Bob brought their parallel backgrounds to create a methodology that seamlessly melds their distinct perspectives.Join us as we unravel the fascinating origins of Cognitive Coaching, a marriage of professional experiences that has become an indispensable tool for educators. Art Costa and Bob Garmston share their insights, anecdotes, and the transformative journey that led to the creation of Cognitive Coaching—a methodology that has stood the test of time and continues to empower educators globally. I'd love to hear your feedback about my weekly Coaching Conversations. Please consider leaving a rating or review and subscribing to our channel.To learn how to join our next institute, click here. 

CounselingExamHave you ever wondered what the famed psychotherapy pioneers Viktor Frankl and Fritz Perls would discuss if given a chance? Prepare to have your curiosity piqued as we host a lively conversation between these two legends of psychotherapy. We dive deep into their distinctive methodologies - Frankl's Logotherapy, which stresses finding purpose in life, and Perls' Gestalt Therapy, which emphasizes self-awareness and personal responsibility. As the episode unfolds, an intriguing consensus emerges: the fusion of existential meaning and gestalt awareness could be a potential route to healing.In an enlightening second half, we explore the intriguing technique of exaggeration in therapy and how it can help uncover the more profound implications of a client's non-verbal behavior. As therapists, we share a common objective - enabling our clients to lead purposeful and responsible lives. This episode is not merely an exploration of therapeutic techniques but a reflective journey into our pursuits of meaning, purpose, and compassion in life. So kick back, tune in, and let this episode inspire you to live with greater awareness, purpose, and compassion.If you need to study for your NCMHCE narrative exam, try the free samplers at: CounselingExam.comThis podcast is not associated with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or any state or governmental agency responsible for licensure.

NationalCounselingExamEver wondered what the famed psychotherapy pioneers Viktor Frankl and Fritz Perls would discuss if given a chance? Prepare to have your curiosity piqued as we host a lively conversation between these two legends of psychotherapy. We dive deep into their distinctive methodologies - Frankl's Logotherapy, which stresses finding purpose in life, and Perls' Gestalt Therapy, which emphasizes self-awareness and personal responsibility. As the episode unfolds, an intriguing consensus emerges: the fusion of existential meaning and gestalt awareness could be a potential route to healing.In an enlightening second half, we explore the intriguing technique of exaggeration in therapy and how it can help uncover the more profound implications of a client's non-verbal behavior. As therapists, we share a common objective - enabling our clients to lead purposeful and responsible lives. This episode is not merely an exploration of therapeutic techniques but a reflective journey into our own pursuits of meaning, purpose, and compassion in life. So kick back, tune in, and let this episode inspire you to live with greater awareness, purpose, and compassion.If preparing for your National Counseling Exam visit NationalCounselingExam and try our samplers completely free of charge! It's a fantastic way to identify any areas you might want to review. and brush up on.This podcast is not associated with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or any state or governmental agency responsible for licensure.

Surprises that come with abrupt disruption can threaten the worldview relied on to make sense of the world. So what happens when not much makes sense anymore? In this episode, Ukranian theologian and passivist Ihor Kozlovsky talks about his experience recovering from torture and illegal imprisonment to share how to move through trauma that has become so ubiquitous in the world today. The episode features an intro with Liliya Sayvch, HR professional who hosted an expert panel on July 4th, 2023 to discuss how to remain Unbroken in tradition and spirit.Mr. Kozlovsky was one of the panel experts. He speaks in Ukranian and interpreter Olesia provides the translation. This conversation is important because dark emotions and trauma can negatively impact decisions, leadership thinking, and our humanity at a time when being human is the primary differentiator from technology.To provide a bit of an overview you'll hear:4:08 Liliya Sayvch provides an update and sets the context for the discussion9:00 3 things coming out of the expert panel on July 4th, 2023 that motivated the deeper conversation in this episode.11:42 How has Mr. Kozlovsky processed his experience and made sense of his experience?20:51 What kind of dark emotions stay with you and what can they teach?25:46 What motivates soldiers? Hate or love?28.31 When you are in dark places in your mind or surroundings how do you pull yourself out?33:41 The three levels of intellectual abilities for overcoming trauma.39:05 Finding a coherent sense of ourselves in the world around us.40:51 What can Ihor's experience teach humanity about being compassionate and living on one planet?46:42 Having survived a torturous experience do you retrieve meaning from the past or start anew?1:00 The fourth layer of intellectual ability - social1:06 Why these conversations matter today1:11 The source: Emotional health and its relationship to polarization and conflict. A higher leadership call.Ihor Kozlovsky references Fritz Perls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_PerlsLinks to Ihor Kozlovsky's story:https://babel.ua/en/amp/news/98187-a-ukrainian-historian-religious-scholar-and-former-prisoner-of-the-dpr-ihor-kozlovsky-diedhttps://df.news/en/2023/09/06/acclaimed-religious-scholar-researcher-and-former-political-prisoner-ihor-kozlovsky-dies/Support this podcast with the Tips Jar!!Contact or follow host Dawna Jones on one or more of these channels:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnahjones/Twitter: EPDawna_JonesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightful_dawna/Navigating Uncertainty Newsletter: https://dawnajones.substack.com/Medium: @dawnajonesWebsite: dawnajones.com (still almost ready to relaunch!)Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Die Arbeiten des Psychoanalytikers Wilhelm Reich sind Grundlage vieler Körperpsychotherapien. Wie war der Einfluss Reichs auf Fritz Perls und auf die Entwicklung der Gestalttherapie? Was meint positive Aggression und was meint Selbstregulierung? Diese und weitere Fragen beantwortet Jürgen Kendziora in dieser Podcastfolge. Jürgen Kendziora ist Gestalttherapeut, ausgebildet vor fast 50 Jahren. Er ist außerdem Musiker und vielseitig kreativ Schaffender. Wir wünschen dir viel Spaß beim Anhören und hoffen, dass es dir gefällt! ________________________ Wenn du mehr über Jürgen Kendziora erfahren möchtest: https://www.juergen-kendziora.de ________________________ Mehr Infos zum Podcast und dem Eichgrund Institut für Integrative Gestalttherapie: www.gestalttherapie-podcast.de www.eichgrund.de

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, using the Gestalt lens to look at the development of the individual and society and the relationship between the two. Today we focus on polarities: the yin and yang of our existence. Enjoy Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Creative Process in Gestalt Therapy by Joseph Zinker Body Process by James I. Kepner If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Simon MacHale and Daniel Shafrir for their help and support in creating this content.

Gestalt therapy, founded by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman in the 1940s, is an experiential form of psychotherapy that focuses on individuals' personal responsibility and experience in the present moment. The therapy uses creative and active techniques to increase self-awareness and self-acceptance. Here are some exercises and techniques employed in Gestalt therapy:If preparing for your National Counseling Exam visit NationalCounselingExam and try our samplers completely free of charge! It's a fantastic way to identify any areas you might want to review. and brush up on.This podcast is not associated with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or any state or governmental agency responsible for licensure.

Maya Benning-Codina is currently a Certified Sex Addiction Therapy – Candidate and specializes in supporting women struggling with relational challenges. Maya also has experience and success in helping her clients grow in awareness of themselves and their needs so they can communicate that with their partner to foster growth in intimacy in their relationships. In addition to trauma and parts work, Maya utilizes cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques, gestalt, and narrative therapy. Maya has extensive career counseling experience that she utilizes to help clients that may feel stuck in their career, are struggling with their work, or are looking to switch the path that they are on. Maya is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and she has worked with veterans, individuals with severe psychopathology, and people with disabilities. She holds a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University and a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of South Florida. She is a native English speaker and speaks advanced German (although not a native speaker). Her favorite psychologists are Carl Jung, because of his work and focus on individuation, dream analysis, personal archetypes and whole person therapy and Fritz Perls, as the father of Gestalt Therapy, which focuses on one's conscious observer and inner awareness to tap into the whole self not only symptoms. She is a strong advocate for the promise of hope and everyone's ability to make positive and sustainable life changes. She offers an empathetic, genuine, and compassionate therapeutic relationship to help foster trust and promote growth that her clients truly feel. Maya provides services via Telehealth as well as in person in our Wheaton office and can be contacted via her email: maya@willowclinical.com https://www.willowclinicalservices.com/index.php  

Gestalt therapy, founded by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman in the 1940s, is an experiential form of psychotherapy that focuses on individuals' personal responsibility and experience in the present moment. The therapy uses creative and active techniques to increase self-awareness and self-acceptance. Here are some exercises and techniques employed in Gestalt therapy:If you need to study for your NCMHCE narrative exam, try the free samplers at: CounselingExam.comThis podcast is not associated with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) or any state or governmental agency responsible for licensure.

Asymmetrical.Of necessity it is —But need not stay so.* * *Welcome back to UnMind, the podcast in which we tap into Design Thinking to inform our approach to Zen practice and daily life in modern times, especially in America. After the last series posted at midsummer last year — five episodes in which we summarized thirty-two prior segments on the intersection of Design Thinking and Zen — we decided to take a much-needed hiatus to reconsider the overall direction of the podcast itself. The prior three segments on the Three Treasures of Buddhism — Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha — were the inaugural series of the reboot, examining what we would refer to as their “design intent.” That is, how “Buddha practice,” interpreted primarily as time in meditation, is designed; what effect it is intended to have; and the same analysis applied to Dharma and Sangha. These ancient concepts are subject to misunderstanding in a culture underpinned by Judaic and Christian memes. I chose to approach them from a “form follows function” perspective, an established meme in Design circles. An evolutionary biologist tells me this is reversed in biology: function follows form, sans Designer.In the next series of segments we will take up various pairs of associated concepts to likewise hopefully shed some light on the connections between them that I glean from both Zen and Design angles. With this week's installment we will examine the most dispositive and determinative — and often fraught — relationships within the professional field of Design as well as that of formal Zen training, those you enjoy with your mentors. AKA the teacher-student/student-teacher relationship.In “Follow the Meander – An Indirect Route to a More Creative Life,” by Keisei Andrew Dietz, a long-time member of Atlanta Soto Zen Center (ASZC) who is a creativity and branding consultant as well as an excellent writer, he relates that following a long and feckless interview of my teacher, Matsuoka Roshi, by an FBI interrogator, the Enemy Alien Board of WWII in 1944 concludes by recommending:The Board particularly wants to point out to the Department that in their opinion this subject is a dangerous alien enemy.In the years leading up to the declaration of war with Japan, incoming Zen priests were suspected of being spies, as was eventually the entire Japanese population, which led to their infamous internment. When you read the text of the interview, especially if you knew Sensei, you can see that he was just honestly answering loaded questions by questioning why he would do any such thing as the interrogation suggested, such as going to Mexico, if such an order came from Japan. Why would he? That the interrogator concluded that Sensei posed a threat is truly laughable. His intent in coming to America was entirely altruistic, bringing the compassionate teachings of Zen and its practical method of meditation, zazen, to the people of his adopted country. The FBI agent did not understand that Sensei was, indeed, a “dangerous alien enemy,” but on a whole ‘nother level. His mission to America was indeed dangerous, in that it was intended to inculcate — in those Americans who became his students — an independence of thought, combined with an interdependence of action, that is truly subversive to any governmental effort to propagandize, or brainwash, its citizens. Political or ideological systems require dependent thought and codependent action on the part of their subscribers to be effective. Thus, introducing Zen to any society is the most subversive thing you can do. But no harm no foul. Sensei harbored no ill will. Zen's subversive influence has little to do directly with the social dimension, other than as a side-effect, but instead operates on the personal level. The nesting spheres model puts this in context (see diagram). Matsuoka Roshi would often say, “The Zen person has no trouble following the sidewalks.” In other words, it is not necessary to be nonconformists on the social level, e.g. fomenting a political movement as such, because Zen practitioners constitute such radical anomalies on the personal level. The propagation of Zen in America is taking place on a near-subliminal level, like the innovative selling of Tupperware through invitational parties in peoples' homes, instead of through retail stores. Zen followers do not usually make a public display of their practice, and its values do not provide a basis on which we would mount a campaign to reform society in our image. The real revolution begins at home, remaining virtually undetectable on the surface. True independence is as alien to conventional society as you can get. After all, society itself is subject to the three cardinal marks of Buddhism's dukkha: impermanence, imperfection, and insubstantiality. Further, any society's intentional evolution is exacerbated by human venality, as we witness on a daily basis here in the USA and all over the globe. Zen's embrace of this kind of humility is illustrated in the closing lines of an ancient Ch'an poem, Hokyo Zammai—Precious Mirror Samadhi, by Tozan Ryokai, founder of Soto Zen in 9th century China:Ministers serve their lords; children obey their parentsNot obeying is not filial; failure to serve is no helpWith practice hidden, function secretly like a fool like an idiotJust to continue in this way is called the host within the hostVery Confucian, the take on serving and obeying in the first two lines, but this does not amount to an unthinking endorsement of mindless conformity. “Fool” here is akin to “God's fool,” which does not constitute a pejorative but indicates the highest praise. The term “idiot” in the modern idiom denotes “a person of low intelligence,” an “ignorant person,” or simple, abject stupidity. But the Greek root term stresses the “private person,” the aspect of simply being a layperson. The “host within the host” is the most intimate sphere of conscious awareness, being the person within the person, having little to do with any social interaction. Both can be true at the same time, as in “inner person vs. outer person.”In Andrew's estimable book, which lays out his recommended nonlinear approach to the creative life, he emphasizes the importance of finding and appreciating one's mentors. After noting that he considers himself a “subversive in training,” he quotes my latest online Dharma Byte of that time (https://storder.org/dharma-bytes/), in which I wrote about Zen and revolution:Zen is countercultural. The main social or political issue with Zen practice, fully understood, is that it leads to true independence. Not only of thinking, but even of motive. The personal revolution that zazen can bring about can also knock the supports out from under our unthinking obedience to the dictates of the culture.“Follow the meander.” Highly recommended, both the book and the process. Admittedly it is a bit odd to be quoting another writer quoting myself. But Keisei is here treating me as a mentor, his mentor, one of several he mentions in the book. His sweeping account of the meandering role of mentors includes some interesting factoids about R. Buckminster Fuller, and my encounters with the great man, including one that a fellow Institute of Design student, studying photography under the direction of Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind — two of my erstwhile and estimable mentors — captured on film (see photo).Andrew notes the starburst clock apparently emanating from my skull while talking with Bucky, an intentional capture by my photographer friend, Steve Hale. Bucky always had this effect of blowing the minds of his audience, and still does. Search and find his recorded monologs in the cloud to see for yourself. In training, in both Design and Zen, your relationships to your mentors become all-important, shaping your views of the profession, as well as the practice and meaning of Zen and meditation, respectively. Of course, there are many other fields in which this holds true, basically for any apprentice mode of training with a journeyman or master of the trade. But in Zen, mentors are regarded as familial-level relations of some degree of intimacy, such as “dharma-father” or -mother, -sister, -brother, -grandfather, -uncle, et cetera. Shakyamuni himself was said to regard others as his “children,” and not in a condescending way, and would often refer to his followers as “good sons,” if we are to believe the written record. But Buddha was also known for not suffering fools gladly — “fool” being defined as “a person who acts unwisely or imprudently” or “a silly person” — in contrast to the “fool” in the great Zen poem above, where it connotes “a person devoted to a particular activity,” in this case, the secret practice of Zen. This point was illustrated several times in Buddhism's early history, when upon one occasion — ostensibly the last major teaching that Buddha gave, now referred to as the Lotus Sutra — he was told that certain pundits had come to debate. He is said to have said something like, “They are free to go.” Even Buddha realized that he would not reach everyone with his message, and as Matsuoka Roshi would often say, “Zen is not up for debate.” Buddha also explained — when asked by his devout followers why it was that some people did not show him the respect they thought he deserved — that these recalcitrant seekers had been his students in past lives, and that he had treated them badly, and so they were unwilling to follow him in this lifetime. Master Dogen likewise admonishes senior monks not to treat juniors unfairly, a more modern variation on this same theme, from 13th Century Japan. Perhaps the most neutral comment Buddha is said to have made on the teacher-student relationship arose from a confrontation he had with a young man he met on the road. This wannabe monk pressed the Great Sage to answer the “Ten Cosmic Questions,” as they were known — such as how it all began, how it will all end — et cetera. But Buddha demurred, explaining that these questions were really beside the point, irrelevant as well as hopelessly speculative, and bore no relation to the problem at hand, that of the suffering prevalent in this life. The young man insisted that unless the Buddha answered these questions, he, the young man, could not consider him, the Buddha, to be his teacher. Buddha responded with a clarification that should be the hallmark of all mentoring relationships. He told the earnest but misguided youth that he, the young man, was under no obligation to be his student; and he, Buddha, was under no obligation to be his teacher. This resonates with a contemporary teaching from Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy, expressed in the so-called “Gestalt Prayer”: I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine.I witnessed one memorable example of such an exchange in person, while pursuing my undergraduate degree at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech. One of my most influential design mentors, the independent thinker, designer and education innovator, Ken Isaacs, had been invited to lead a special class, on the industrial design side of the program. As I was on the graphic design side, I had to jump through some hoops in order to be able to cross over and take his class. But I was determined to do so, knowing some of Ken's history, and having read a cover story in Life Magazine on his work, specifically the “Knowledge Box” that he later installed at ID+IIT (see photo). My persistence had the side effect of opening up the ID curriculum for future students to custom design their curriculum across disciplines and moving away from specialization, and so turned out to be worth the hassle, on both personal and social levels. In the eclectic class, which was held in a small auditorium in the basement of Crown Hall, the famous steel-and-glass architectural innovation by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (see photo), Ken put us through a series of mind-bending exercises he called “set-breakers.” Meaning not only thinking out of the box, but within the box, over and above and beyond the box, redefining and redesigning the box itself, so to speak. The first assignment was to “Translate yourself into terms other than verbal and present them to the class.” The second was to translate someone you knew in the class into terms other than verbal, and present that. As you might imagine, this led to considerable introspection on the personal level, and presenting a fellow student, a serious aspiring artist and my closest friend, led to some upheaval in our student-student relationship. But back to the teacher-student thing.Another student in the class, with whom I had become close, and will refer to as JJ, was the son of a colonel in the army, if memory serves. In that familiar groove of rebellion against strong parental influence, he was a sincere and decent folk-singer and guitar-player who had hitchhiked from the far West to attend ID. With the long, unruly hair to finish the portrait. His attitude was also unruly, leading him to frequently and repeatedly interrupt Ken's penetrating lectures and commentaries, with well-meaning but somewhat snarky comments of a critical nature. This he saw as his duty to truth, and speaking it to power, I assume. Finally one day, about midway through the term, Ken stopped abruptly in mid-sentence with one of JJ's remarks, and walked gracefully over to where he sat, standing in front of him. He leaned down face-to-face with his arms on the back of JJ's front-row auditorium chair and said, very quietly and sympathetically, that he could try to address all of JJ's problems directly, and would probably be able to help him out with them. But in order to do that, it would consume all of his time and — indicating the rest of us with a sweep of his head — he would have to turn his back on all the other students in the room. And that, unfortunately, he could not in good conscience do that. So he said I have no choice but to ask you to leave. Talking with JJ later, it was apparent that he had learned his lesson, a painful one, but too late.In the next segment we will continue this discussion of the all-important mentoring relationship of teachers to students, and that of students to teachers, pivoting to the asymmetrical relationship in Zen training. * * *Elliston Roshi is guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and abbot of the Silent Thunder Order. He is also a gallery-represented fine artist expressing his Zen through visual poetry, or “music to the eyes.”UnMind is a production of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Atlanta, Georgia and the Silent Thunder Order. You can support these teachings by PayPal to donate@STorder.org. Gassho.Producer: Shinjin Larry Little

My guest today is Dr. Mel Borins  who is a Family Physician in private practice, and is on active staff at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto, Canada. He is a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.For over two decades, he has been active and instrumental in training Physicians in Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Stress Management and Communications.Dr. Mel Borins is the author of Go Away Just for the Health of It,  An Apple a Day: A Holistic Health Primer and A Doctor's Guide to Alternative Medicine: What Works, What Doesn't and Why.  He has written extensively on stress management, psychotherapy, acupuncture, traditional healing, herbs and complementary medicine. What is complementary medicine? Dr. Borins says that complementary medicine is really alternative medicine, medicine that's not mainstream in terms of medical training. When he went through medical school, he did his elective in hypnosis. So that was his first exposure to something different than what he learned in medical school. Subsequently, he  attended a weekend workshop in Gestalt therapy given by George Rosner, after seeing many videos of watching Fritz Perls. And then Mel got involved in personal Gestalt work but also in a training group that that met once a week for three hours for about six years. This started the whole interest in psychotherapy and counseling and the impact that the emotions and the mind have on the physical body. After completing his medical training, Mel and wife went on a world trip for about nine and a half months. They traveled to all kinds of different countries around the world. As a result he was exposed to different kinds of healing by local healers, spiritual healers and herbalists. Mel began to see that there were other approaches in addition to modern medicine. When he got back to Toronto, he did some training in acupuncture, took some courses in spinal manipulation.We talk about the uses for acupuncture. There's some scientific research that says that it's useful for headaches, it's useful for osteoarthritis of the knee. It's useful for tennis elbow, it's useful for neck pain, it's useful for nausea and vomiting. So there is some scientific randomly assigned double blind controlled trials that show that acupuncture is actually better than sham or placebo in treating some of these conditions. Music has been a big part of Mel's life. He has done music videos, DVDs and recorded 200 songs, any of them humorous. Mel kindly sang one for us about gratitude.What does being human mean to you, I asked.Being human means to connect to other human beings through the heart, through the Spirit, through love. And being human, I think is the ability to connect and be connected to other human beings.If you liked this podcast please tell your friends about it, subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and/or write a brief note on apple podcasts, check out my blogs on Psychology Today at https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/contributors/thomas-r-verny-md

Bu bölümde Otto Rank'in psikoloji dünyasına kattığı 're-enactment' yani ”yeniden sahneleme” kavramını ve bununla birlikte neler şimdi ve burada neler yapabileceğimizi Gestalt ve psikanalitik bakış açısıyla değerlendiriyoruz.Freud'un öğrencisi olan Rank, ”doğum travması” kavramını ortaya attıktan sonra adeta Freud tarafından aforoz ediliyor ve kendi yolunu çizmeye başlıyor. Buradan ilerleyen sürecinde de geçmişteki deneyimleri nevrotik olarak çözemeyeceğimizi, fakat yeniden sahneledikten sonra yaratıcı irademizi kullanabileceğimizi söylüyor. Fritz Perls de buradan da beslenerek, organizmanın büyümesinin bu yeniden sahnelemeler aracılığıyla farklılaşabilmek ve kendi bütünümüzle bütünleşerek büyüyebilmek olduğunu anlatıyor.Keyifli dinlemeler.

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, using the Gestalt lens to look at the development of the individual and society and the relationship between the two. Today we focus on Retroflection: the psychological mechanism which I use to divert the energy that I wish to direct towards to the environment back onto myself. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. Owning your own shadow by Robert A. Johnson If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir for his help and support in creating this content.

In this Mini Musings episode I share with you the map that inspired Threshold Moments. The Cycle of Awareness map was created by Don and Amba Stapleton PhD. I share this map at the beginning of most of my trainings because I find it highly orienting. When I feel lost, this map helps me see where I've been, where I am and where I'm going. If only it could let me know how long I'll be in any one stage! Maybe grab an astrologer for that? I hope this is as helpful to you as it is to me. Peace and blessings, Sarah   The Cycle of Awareness is usually drawn in a circle

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, using the Gestalt lens to look at the development of the individual and society and the relationship between the two. Today we continue focusing on Introjection as a contact interruption, how are introjects formed, and how they contribute to the preservation of the status quo. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir for his help and support in creating this content.

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, today we focus on Introjection as a contact interruption, how are introjects formed, and how they contribute to the preservation of the status quo. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir and Simon MacHale for their help and support in creating this content, for this episode and for all other episodes.

“The years, of which I have spoken to you, when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life. Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.”   ― C.G. Jung, preface for The Red Book: Liber Novus   James Hillman: I was reading about this practice that the ancient Egyptians had of opening the mouth of the dead. It was a ritual and I think we don't do that with our hands. But opening the Red Book seems to be opening the mouth of the dead.   Sonu Shamdasani: It takes blood. That's what it takes. The work is Jung's `Book of the Dead.' His descent into the underworld, in which there's an attempt to find the way of relating to the dead. He comes to the realization that unless we come to terms with the dead we simply cannot live, and that our life is dependent on finding answers to their unanswered questions. Lament for the Dead, Psychology after Jung's Red Book (2013) Pg. 1     Begun in 1914, Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's The Red Book lay dormant for almost 100 years before its eventual publication. Opinions are divided on whether Jung would have published the book if he had lived longer. He did send drafts to publishers early in life but seemed in no hurry to publish the book despite his advancing age. Regardless, it was of enormous importance to the psychologist, being shown to only a few confidants and family members. More importantly, the process of writing The Red Book was one of the most formative periods of Jung's life. In the time that Jung worked on the book he came into direct experience with the forces of the deep mind and collective unconscious. For the remainder of his career he would use the experience to build concepts and theories about the unconscious and repressed parts of the human mind.  In the broadest sense, Jungian psychology has two goals.    Integrate and understand the deepest and most repressed parts of the the human mind    and    Don't let them eat you alive in the process.    Jungian psychology is about excavating the most repressed parts of self and learning to hold them so that we can know exactly who and what we are. Jung called this process individuation. Jungian psychology is not, and should not be understood as, an attempt to create a religion. It was an attempt to build a psychological container for the forces of the unconscious. While not a religion, it served a similar function as a religion. Jungian psychology serves as both a protective buffer and a lens to understand and clarify the self. Jung described his psychology as a bridge to religion. His hope was that it could help psychology understand the functions of the human need for religion, mythology and the transcendental. Jung hoped that his psychology could make religion occupy a healthier, more mindful place in our culture by making the function of religion within humanity more conscious.    Jung did not dislike religion. He viewed it as problematic when the symbols of religion became concretized and people took them literally. Jungian psychology itself has roots in Hindu religious traditions. Jung often recommended that patients of lapsed faith return to their religions of origin. He has case studies encouraging patients to resume Christian or Muslim religious practices as a source of healing and integration. Jung did have a caveat though. He recommended that patients return to their traditions with an open mind. Instead of viewing the religious traditions and prescriptive lists of rules or literal truths he asked patients to view them as metaphors for self discovery and processes for introspection. Jung saw no reason to make religious patients question their faith. He did see the need for patients who had abandoned religion to re-examine its purpose and function.    The process of writing The Red Book was itself a religious experience for Jung. He realized after his falling out from Freud, that his own religious tradition and the available psychological framework was not enough to help him contain the raw and wuthering forces of his own unconscious that were assailing him at the time. Some scholars believe Jung was partially psychotic while writing The Red Book, others claim he was in a state of partial dissociation or simply use Jung's term “active imagination”.    The psychotic is drowning while the artist is swimming. The waters both inhabit, however, are the same. Written in a similar voice to the King James Bible, The Red Book has a religious and transcendent quality. It is written on vellum in heavy calligraphy with gorgeous hand illuminated script. Jung took inspiration for mystical and alchemical texts for its full page illustrations.   It is easier to define The Red Book by what it is not than by what it is. According to Jung, it is not a work of art. It is not a scholarly psychological endeavor. It is also not an attempt to create a religion. It was an attempt for Jung to heal himself in a time of pain and save himself from madness by giving voice to the forces underneath his partial psychotic episode. The Red Book was a kind of container to help Jung witness the forces of the deep unconscious. In the same way, religion and Jungian psychology are containers for the ancient unconscious forces in the vast ocean under the human psyche.     Lament of the Dead, Psychology after Carl Jung's The Red Book is a dialogue between ex Jungian analyst James Hillman and Jungian scholar Sonu Shamdasani about the implications the Red Book has for Jungian psychology. Like the Red Book it was controversial when it was released.    James Hillman was an early protege of Jung who later became a loud critic of parts of Jung's psychology. Hillman wanted to create an “archetypal” psychology that would allow patients to directly experience and not merely analyze the psyche. His new psychology never really came together coherently and he never found the technique to validate his instinct. Hillman had been out of the Jungian fold for almost 30 years before he returned as a self appointed expert advisor during the publication of The Red Book. Hillman's interest in The Red Book was enough to make him swallow his pride, and many previous statements, to join the Jungians once again. It is likely that the archetypal psychology he was trying to create is what The Red Book itself was describing.    Sonu Shamdasani is not a psychologist but a scholar of the history of psychology. His insights have the detachment of the theoretical where Hillman's are more felt and more intuitive but also more personal. One gets the sense in the book that Hillman is marveling painfully at an experience that he had been hungry for for a long time. The Red Book seems to help him clarify the disorganized blueprints of his stillborn psychological model. While there is a pain in Hillman's words there is also a peace that was rare to hear from such a flamboyant and unsettled psychologist.    Sonu Shamdasani is the perfect living dialogue partner for Hillman to have in the talks that make up Lament. Shamdasani has one of the best BS detectors of maybe any Jungian save David Tacey. Shamdasani has deftly avoided the fads, misappropriations and superficialization that have plagued the Jungian school for decades. As editor of the Red Book he knows more about the history and assembly of the text than any person save for Jung. Not only is he also one of the foremost living experts on Jung, but as a scholar he does not threaten the famously egotistical Hillman as a competing interpreting psychologist. The skin that Shamdasani has in this game is as an academic while Hillman gets to play the prophet and hero of the new psychology they describe without threat or competition.    Presumedly these talks were recorded as research for a collaborative book to be co authored by the two friends and the death of Hillman in 2011 made the publication as a dialogue in 2013 a necessity. If that is not the case the format of a dialogue makes little sense. If that is the case it gives the book itself an almost mystical quality and elevates the conversation more to the spirit of a philosophical dialogue.    We are only able to hear these men talk to each other and not to us. There is a deep reverberation between the resonant implications these men are seeing The Red Book have for modern psychology. However, they do not explain their insights to the reader and their understandings can only be glimpsed intuitively. Like the briefcase in the film Pulp Fiction the audience sees the object through its indirect effect on the characters. We see the foggy outlines of the ethics that these men hope will guide modern psychology but we are not quite able to see it as they see it. We have only an approximation through the context of their lives and their interpretation of Jung's private diary. This enriches a text that is ultimately about the limitations of understanding.   One of the biggest criticisms of the book when it was published was that the terms the speaker used are never defined and thus the book's thesis is never objectivised or clarified. While this is true if you are an English professor, the mystic and the therapist in me see these limitations as the book's strengths. The philosophical dialectic turns the conversation into an extended metaphor that indirectly supports the themes of the text. The medium enriches the message. Much like a socratic dialogue or a film script the the authors act more as characters and archetypes than essayists. The prophet and the scholar describe their function and limitations as gatekeepers of the spiritual experience.    Reading the Lament, much like reading The Red Book, one gets the sense that one is witnessing a private but important moment in time. It is a moment that is not our moment and is only partially comprehensible to anyone but the author(s). Normally that would be a weakness but here it becomes a strength. Where normally the reader feels that a book is for them, here we feel that we are eavesdropping through a keyhole or from a phone line downstairs. The effect is superficially frustrating but also gives Lament a subtle quality to its spirituality that The Red Book lacks.     Many of the obvious elements for a discussion of the enormous Red Book are completely ignored in the dialogue. Hillman and Shamdasani's main takeaway is that The Red Book is about “the dead”. What they mean by “the dead” is never explained directly. This was a major sticking point for other reviewers, but I think their point works better undefined. They talk about the dead as a numinous term. Perhaps they are speaking about the reality of death itself. Perhaps about the dead of history. Perhaps they are describing the impenetrable veil we can see others enter but never see past ourselves. Maybe the concept contains all of these elements. Hillman, who was 82 at the time of having the conversations in Lament, may have been using The Red Book and his dialogue with Shamdasani to come to terms with his feelings about his own impending death.    Perhaps it is undefined because these men are feeling something or intuitively, seeing something that the living lack the intellectual language for. It is not that the authors do not know what they are talking about. They know, but they are not able to completely say it.  Hillman was such an infuriatingly intuitive person that his biggest downfall in his other books is that he often felt truths that he could not articulate. Instead he retreated into arguing the merits of his credentials and background or into intellectual archival of his opinions on philosophers and artists. In other works this led to a didactic and self righteous tone that his writing is largely worse for. In Lament Hillman is forced to talk off the cuff and that limitation puts him at his best as a thinker.    In his review of Lament, David Tacey has made the very good point that Jung abandoned the direction that The Red Book was taking him in. Jung saw it as a dead end for experiential psychology and retreated back into analytical inventorying of “archetypes”. On the publication of The Red Book, Jungians celebrate the book as the “culmination” of Jungian thought when instead it was merely a part of its origins. The Red Book represents a proto-Jungian psychology as Jung attempted to discover techniques for integration. Hillman and Shamdasani probe the psychology's origins for hints of its future in Lament.   HIllman and Shamdasani's thesis is partially a question about ethics and partially a question about cosmology. Are there any universal directions for living and behaving that Jungian psychology compels us towards (ethics)? Is there an external worldview that the, notoriously phenomenological, nature of Jungian psychology might imply (cosmology)? These are the major questions Hillman and Shamdasani confront in Lament.Their answer is not an answer as much as it is a question for the psychologists of the future.    Their conclusion is that “the dead'' of our families, society, and human history foist their unlived life upon us. It is up to us, and our therapists, to help us deal with the burden of “the dead”. It is not us that live, but the dead that live through us. Hillman quotes W.H. Auden several times:   We are lived through powers that we pretend to understand.  - W.H. Auden   A major tenant of Jungian psychology is that adult children struggle under the unlived life of the parent. The Jungian analyst helps the patient acknowledge and integrate all of the forces of the psyche that the parent ran from, so they are not passed down to future generations. A passive implication of the ethics and the cosmology laid out in Lament, is that to have a future we must reckon with not only the unlived life of the parent but also the unlived life of all the dead.    It is our job as the living to answer the questions and face the contradictions our humanity posits in order to discover what we really are. The half truths and outright lies from the past masquerade as tradition for traditions sake, literalized religion, and unconscious tribal identity must be overthrown. The weight of the dead of history can remain immovable if we try to merely discard it but drowns us if we cling to it too tightly. We need to use our history and traditions to give us a container to reckon with the future. The container must remain flexible if we are to grow into our humanity as a society and an aware people.    If you find yourself saying “Yes, but what does “the dead” mean!”  Then this book is not for you. If you find yourself confused but humbled by this thesis then perhaps it is. Instead of a further explanation of the ethical and cosmological future for psychology that his book posits I will give you a tangible example about how its message was liberatory for me.    Hillman introduces the concepts of the book with his explanation of Jung's reaction to the theologian and missionary Albert Schweitzer. Jung hated Schweitzer.  He hated him because he had descended into Africa and “gone native”. In Jung's mind Schweitzer had “refused the call”  to do anything  and “brought nothing home”. Surely the Africans that were fed and clothed felt they had been benefited! Was Jung's ethics informed by racism, cluelessness, arrogance or some other unknown myopism? A clue might be found in Jung's reaction to modern art exploring the unconscious or in his relationship with Hinduism. Jung took the broad strokes of his psychology from the fundamentals of the brahman/atman and dharma/moksha dichotomies of Hinduism. Jung also despised the practice of eastern mysticism practices by westerners but admired it in Easterners. Why? His psychology stole something theoretical that his ethics disallowed in direct practice.    Jung's views on contemporary (modern) artists of his time were similar. He did not want to look at depictions of the raw elements of the unconscious. In his mind discarding all the lessons of classicism was a “cop out”.  He viewed artists that descended into the abstract with no path back or acknowledgement of the history that gave them that path as failures. He wanted artists to make the descent into the subjective world and return with a torch of it's fire but not be consumed by it blaze. Depicting the direct experience of the unconscious was the mark of a failed artist to Jung. To Jung the destination was the point, not the journey. The only thing that mattered is what you were able to bring back from the world of the dead. He had managed to contain these things in The Red Book, why couldn't they? The Red Book was Jung's golden bough.    Jung took steps to keep the art in The Red Book both outside of the modernist tradition and beyond the historical tradition. The Red Book uses a partially medieval format but Jung both celebrates and overcomes the constraints of his chosen style. The Red Book was not modern or historical, it was Jung's experience of both. In Lament, Hillman describes this as the ethics that should inform modern psychology. Life should become ones own but part of ones self ownership is that we take responsibility for driving a tradition forward not a slave to repeating it.   Oddly enough the idea of descent and return will already be familiar to many Americans through the work of Joseph Campbell. Campbell took the same ethics of descent and return to the unconscious as the model of his “monomyth” model of storytelling. This briefly influenced psychology and comparative religion in the US and had major impact on screenwriters to this day. Campbells ethics are the same as Jung's. If one becomes stuck on the monomyth wheel, or the journey of the descent and return, one is no longer the protagonist and becomes an antagonist.  Campbell, and American post jungians in general were not alway great attributing influences and credit where it was due.    Jung was suspicious of the new age theosophists and psychadelic psychonauts that became enamored with the structure of the unconscious for the unconscious sake. Where Lament shines is when Hillman explains the ethics behind Jung's thinking. Jung lightly implied this ethics but was, as Hillman points out, probably not entirely conscious of it. One of Lament's biggest strengths and weaknesses is that it sees through the misappropriations of Jungian psychology over the last hundred years. Both of the dialogue's figures know the man of Jung so well that they do not need to address how he was misperceived by the public. They also know the limitations of the knowable.    This is another lesson that is discussed in Lament. Can modern psychology know what it can't know? That is my biggest complaint with the profession as it currently exists. Modern psychology seems content to retreat into research and objectivism. The medical, corporate, credentialist and academic restructuring of psychology in the nineteen eighties certainly furthered that problem. Jung did not believe that the descent into the unconscious without any hope of return was a path forward for psychology. This is why he abandoned the path The Red Book led him down. Can psychology let go of the objective and the researchable enough to embrace the limits of the knowable? Can we come to terms with limitations enough to heal an ego inflated world that sees no limits to growth?   I don't know but I sincerely hope so.    I said that I would provide a tangible example of the application of this book in it's review,  so here it is:   I have always been enamored with James Hillman. He was by all accounts a brilliant analyst. He also was an incredibly intelligent person. That intellect did not save him. Hillman ended his career as a crank and a failure in my mind. In this book you see Hillman contemplate that failure. You also see Hillman attempt to redeem himself as he glimpses the unglimpseable. He sees something in the Red Book that he allows to clarify his earlier attempt to revision psychology.    Hillman's attempt to reinvent Jungian psychology as archetypal psychology was wildly derided. Largely, because it never found any language or technique for application and practice. Hillman himself admitted that he did not know how to practice archetypal psychology. It's easy to laugh at somebody who claims to have reinvented psychology and can't even tell you what you do with their revolutionary invention.   However, I will admit that I think Hillman was right. He knew that he was but he didnt know how he was right. It is a mark of arrogance to see yourself as correct without evidence. Hillman was often arrogant but I think here he was not. Many Jungian analysts would leave the Jungian institutes through the 70, 80s and 90s to start somatic and experiential psychology that used Jung as a map but the connection between the body and the brain as a technique. These models made room for a direct experience in psychology that Jungian analysis does not often do. It added an element that Jung himself had practiced in the writing of The Red Book. Hillman never found this technique but he was correct about the path he saw forward for psychology. He knew what was missing.    I started Taproot Therapy Collective because I felt a calling to dig up the Jungian techniques of my parent's generation and reify them. I saw those as the most viable map towards the future of psychology, even though American psychology had largely forgotten them. I also saw them devoid of a practical technique or application for a world where years of analysis cost more than most trauma patients will make in a lifetime. I feel that experiential and brain based medicine techniques like brainspotting are the future of the profession.    Pathways like brainspotting, sensorimotor therapy, somatic experiencing, neurostimulation, ketamine, psilocybin or any technique that allows the direct experience of the subcortical brain is the path forward to treat trauma. These things will be at odds with the medicalized, corporate, and credentialized nature of healthcare. I knew that this would be a poorly understood path that few people, even the well intentioned, could see. I would never have found it if I had refused the call of “the dead”.    Lament is relevant because none of those realizations is somewhere that I ever would have gotten without the tradition that I am standing on top of. I am as, Isaac Newton said, standing on the shoulders of giants. Except Isaac Newton didn't invent that phrase. It was associated with him but he was standing on the tradition of the dead to utter a phrase first recorded in the medieval period. The author of its origin is unknown because they are, well, dead. They have no one to give their eulogy.    The ethics and the cosmology of Lament, is that our lives are meant to be a eulogy for our dead. Lament, makes every honest eulogy in history become an ethics and by extension a cosmology. Read Pericles eulogy from the Peloponesian war in Thucydides. How much of these lessons are still unlearned? I would feel disingenuous in my career unless I tell you who those giants are that I stand on. They are David Tacey, John Beebe, Sonu Shamdasani, Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, Karen Horney, and Hal Stone. Many others also.   I would never have heard the voice of James Hillman inside myself unless I had learned to listen to the dead from his voice beyond the grave. It would have been easy for me to merely critize his failures instead of seeing them as incomplete truths. Hillman died with many things incomplete, as we all inevitably will. Lament helped me clarify the voices that I was hearing in the profession. Lament of the Dead is a fascinating read not because it tells us exactly what to do with the dead, or even what they are. Lament is fascinating because it helps us to see a mindful path forward between innovation and tradition.    The contents of the collective unconscious cannot be contained by one individual. Just as Jungian psychology is meant to be a container to help an individual integrate the forces of the collective unconscious, attention to the unlived life of the historical dead can be a kind of container for culture. Similarly to Jungian psychology the container is not meant to be literalized or turned into a prison. It is a lens and a buffer to protect us until we are ready and allow us to see ourselves more clearly once we are. Our project is to go further in the journey of knowing ourselves where our ancestors failed to. Our mindful life is the product of the unlived life of the dead; it is the work of our life that is their lament.   

We continue in our series on Gestalt therapy, viewing the self through the lens of the the philosophy of Gestalt, and exploring how we can extrapolate from that understanding of self as a creative dynamic process to society at large. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir and Simon MacHale for their help and support in creating this content, for this episode and for all other episodes.

Nos acompañan hoy dos grandes lideres espirituales, Mamo Adolfo Chaparro y Mamo Calixto Suárez, representantes del pueblo indígena Arhuaco, de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, al norte de Colombia. Nos aportaran su visión indígena para concienciar de las necesidades vitales planetarias para el futuro de la humanidad. En el espacio la Botica de Palmira nuestra terapeuta Belén Andreu nos hablará de los beneficios del ayuno intermitente para nuestra salud emocional. Carolina Davico de Supermercados Ecológicos Naturasí nos trae la promoción "Descubre Extremadura bio". Teatro café Tilín Telón para los más peques, noticias e iniciativas humanitarias con nuestra querida Sophie...y nos despedimos con una oración Gestalt de Fritz Perls...

We continue in our series about Gestalt therapy, exploring the origins and formation of neuroses. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir for his help and support in creating this content, for this episode and for all other episodes.

Jamie and Dhammarato talk about obstacles to enjoying the present moment. #anapanasati #mindfulnessofbreathing #beinginthemoment See the video version of this call on YouTube. ►YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz6Z62nUktg Weekly Sangha calls, everyone is welcome.  ►The Sangha US - https://join.skype.com/uyYzUwJ3e3TO ►The Sangha UK - https://join.skype.com/w6nFHnra6vdh To meet Dhamma friends, hang out, or volunteer—join our Discord Sangha. Everyone is welcome. ►Discord - https://discord.gg/epphTGY 00:00:00 Child development and neuroplasticity: dukkha, dukkha-nirodha 00:04:30 Growing up a victim; following the rules: go along to get along 00:09:10 Monkey mind; the crowd inside having an argument; Fritz Perls; Eric Berne 00:14:57 Samādhi and concentration: wristwatch analogy; rhythm of samsāra; reaction times 00:20:08 The Tathāgatha: the one who is here in the present moment 00:24:21 Long deep breaths; training in sati; ASMR and piti (body, mind, and feelings) 00:32:54 Seeing the path; revenge; hell; rules: wake up, looking at what you're doing, make a change 00:39:24 Strong sati, less effort; waking up and feeling good about the day 00:48:00 Most Westerners don't get enough sleep; give it a rest 00:53:16 Hear the dialogue and put an end to it 00:55:20 Absorption based on the hindrances; the four types of clinging and fear 00:57:50 Four modes of clinging and four instincts: self-preservation, materialism, the herd, the territory 01:06:36 This is the introduction to ānāpānasati

Ce este coachingul și ce este psihoterapia? Sunt cele două procese interschimbabile, au acestea două utilități complet diferite, sau sunt complementare? În România, încă ridicăm din sprânceană când auzim că cineva merge la terapie și asta poate produce rezistență și rezervă în cei care încă nu s-au angajat într-un astfel de proces. Pe de alta parte, în mediul profesional și sportiv, coachingul este de ani de zile un instrument accesat de cei care vor să-și ducă potențialul și performanța la nivelul următor. Discutăm în episodul de astăzi cu Veronica Brejan, coach și cofondator Neuromindfulness Institute și Carmen Sidon, coach și psihoterapeut în formare, pentru a afla ce poate face pentru noi coachingul și în ce contexte este recomandat mai degrabă un proces de psihoterapie. Resurse: 1. Albert Ellis and Gloria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZiHT7nFNg 2. Carl Rogers and Gloria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee1bU4XuUyg 3. Fritz Perls and Gloria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it0j6FIxIog

In this episode we explore the concept of polarities, in particular health and illness as well as security and exploration with an attempt to reconcile between seemingly opposing human needs. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir for his help and support in creating this content, for this episode and for all other episodes.

Allen tells us about his formative years enlisting in the marines, Vietnam, alcohol and drugs. Thom of early struggles working as a counselor at an addiction treatment center and drinking off the clock. Both eventually found grace and recovery and now try to pay it forward. At the International Conference of Secular AA, we look at Bill Wilson’s letter through a magnifying glass. If the 12 Steps are practiced in our daily lives, Wilson suggests that we and those about us begin to find emotional sobriety. The transcendence of environmental support to self-support (Fritz Perls). The program is a “people grower.” It unshackles us, allowing us to become what we can be. Within this framework we learn that our addiction wasn’t pathological, we just got stuck on our way someplace else. Emotional Sobriety is a consciousness of freedom. On our way towards it, we “unhook” people from our dependency. More information about the event at: aasecular.org Follow us on social media. Podcast Twitter: @EmSobrietyPod Instagram: thomrutledge2 Joe C. Twitter: @Rebellion_Dogs Email Thom: thomrutledgeauthor@gmail.com Email Allen: abphd@msn.com Allen’s first book, Love Secrets Revealed: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Secrets-Revealed-Intimacy-Connection/dp/0757303978/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=love+secrets+revealed+allen+berger&qid=1650843975&sprefix=love+secrets+reve%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1 Allen’s book, 12 Essential Insights for Emotional Sobriety: https://www.amazon.com/12-Essential-Insights-Emotional-Sobriety/dp/1955415129/ Thom's book, Embracing Fear: https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Fear-Turn-Scares-Greatest/dp/0062517759/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Join Allen & Thom at our Thursday night, 7pm PST Zoom meeting on Emotional Sobriety and the Steps (login information below): https://zoom.us/j/330149513 Password: 375986 For our ongoing video series on Emotional Sobriety and the 12 Steps, visit our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEM2-kqLkfp3I4c0jy-X-g Also, please join our “Emotional Sobriety and Recovery” FB Group at the following link:

Chapitre 4 : Une abondante progéniture.Parler de la psychanalyse, c'est parler de Freud bien sûr, et le resituer dans son époque, mais c'est aussi évoquer celles et ceux qui lui ont succédé.De son vivant, Freud a côtoyé et formé énormément de professionnel•les de la santé mentale, qui ont ensuite fait vivre et évoluer la psychanalyse au fil des décennies. Qui sont ces gens et qu'ont-ils apporté à la connaissance de la psyché humaine ?•• SOUTENIR ••Méta de Choc est gratuit, indépendant et sans publicité. Vous pouvez vous aussi le soutenir en faisant un don ponctuel ou mensuel : https://metadechoc.fr/tree/•• RESSOURCES ••Toutes les références en lien avec cette émission sont sur le site Méta de Choc : https://metadechoc.fr/podcast/que-vaut-la-psychanalyse/•• SUIVRE ••Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, PeerTube, YouTube.•• TIMECODES ••01:17 : Les neurosciences confirment-elles les théories de Freud ? Théorie du frayage, plasticité cérébrale, Boson de Higgs, réflexe de Semmelweis, études neuroscientifiques.05:33 : Freud était-il un héros ? Auto-analyse, Freud était-il un charlatan ? mensonges de Freud, traitement par la cocaïne, guérison des hystériques, neurasthénie et masturbation, récits d'incestes, aveux forcés.11:10 : Alfred Adler : volonté de puissance de Nietzsche, socialiste, complexe d'infériorité, psychologue clinicien, biais d'interprétation, biais de sélection, Karl Popper.19:26 : Otto Rank et Sandor Ferenczi : le traumatisme de la naissance, désir de retour à la mère, discorde sur l'efficacité de la thérapie, psychanalyse active, exclusion.25:18 : Carl Gustav Jung : inconscient collectif, archétypes, féminin universel, anima, animus, persona, masque social, synchronicités, individuation, spiritualité, occultisme, conflit avec Freud, archétype de la pomme, analyses didactiques, le thérapeute se met en risque pendant la thérapie, influence sur le mouvement New Age, alchimie, pensée par analogie.38:33 : Wilhelm Reich : spiritualité, intuition, marxisme, libération sexuelle, énergie cosmique, énergie vitale, cuirasse caractérielle, psychologie des masses, paranoïaque, brise-nuage, orgone, critique de la pulsion de mort, thérapie biodynamique, Fritz Perls, Gestalt thérapie, théories très variées en psychanalyse, Wilhelm Steckel, angoisse de la mort, confirmation de la théorie par le patient, L'Homme au rat, la psychanalyse s'autoconfirme.46:57 : Les femmes de la psychanalyse : Lou Andréa Salomé, Anna Freud, Marie Bonaparte, Gustave Lebon, plaisir clitoridien, traduction des textes de Freud en français.52:00 : Dans les pays anglo-saxons : Ernest Jones, fuite des psychanalystes juifs en Angleterre et aux États-Unis, Melanie Klein, inconscient du nourrisson, complexe d'Œdipe, mère dévorante, fantasme de destruction du sein de la mère, Donald Winnicott, objet transitionnel, mère suffisamment bonne, John Bowlby, théorie de l'attachement affectif, Konrad Lorenz, imprégnation, psychologie cognitive. Hébergé par Acast. Visitez acast.com/privacy pour plus d'informations.

This is part one of an introduction to Gestalt therapy, I am not sure yet how many episodes I will devote explicitly to the theory behind gestalt, but as it is an important part of my life, we will surely revisit it many times. As I am training in Gestalt therapy at the moment, this is a great opportunity for me to try and consolidate what I have learnt by presenting it here. Sources reading: Gestalt therapy, excitement and growth in the human personality by Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman and Ralph Hefferline. Grass unter meinen Füssen by Bruno-Paul de Rock. Gestalt and Process, clinical diagnosis in gestalt therapy, a field guide by Hans Peter Dreitzel. If you would like to contact me directly, please write me an email to thecuriouscaseoffreedom@gmail.com Presentation and production - Orí Harmelin Bumper music - The tallest of Orders by Simon MacHale Check out Simon's music on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/71OkM6qFs6Xmc1hlOjXgIl?si=bFReoX_LSKS5EHXo4AJPlg On Bandcamp: https://simonmachale.bandcamp.com And on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVi-A_N20DbM-GIdw50THPQ A big thank you to Daniel Shafrir for his help and support in creating this content, for this episode and for all other episodes.

10 min.  Maureen & Pierre laugh about the opening line of their podcast:  What are we talking about today???!!!   Pierre and Maureen discuss acceptance and change in the context of a quote from Carl Rogers.  Maureen helps Pierre distinguish Carl Rogers from the 'pyramid dude' (Abraham Maslow) and asks about  a paradox which Rogers thought held deep meaning.  The paradox and quote:  the more a person becomes themself, the more they see themself, and others around them, change.  Discussion revolves around the importance of stillness in understanding.  How change in humans is realized. Podcast finishes up with a brief introduction of 3 psychotherapists interviews with "Gloria" as a compare and contrast study in styles of therapeutic interaction.  The three therapists are:  Carl Rogers, Albert Ellis and Fritz Perls.  Enjoy! 

Integrating Mind & Body and Past & Present for More Pleasurable Sex   Stella Resnick, PhD, has been a friend and mentor for thirty years. At a May 2, 1992 meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (informally known as “Quad S”), Dr. Stella spoke about Actualizing Sexual Potential, asking “How good can sex get?” New to the field, I was immediately enthralled by my colleague who focused on pleasure!     In this episode, Dr. Stella and I covered a range of topics, highlighting some of her significant contributions to the understanding of the role of pleasure in healthy sexuality.   Attachment, Attunement and Sexuality Attachment is how we bond; it is programmed in us from day one! The mother and infant are wired to connect; and this is foundational for his/her development. The baby automatically mimics the facial expressions of mother. If the child is wanted and born of a happy marriage, the mother smiles and looks into its eyes deeply. If, on the other hand, the baby looks like the dad … a man she dislikes … her eyes may narrow as she frowns. This is instant messaging – a body-to-body transference, and it can be intergenerational. If mother was traumatized, she likely has anxious or avoidant attachment.   As Dr. Stella said in her first book, The Pleasure Zone: Why We Resist Good Feelings & How to Let Go and Be Happy, “Intercourse is not the main event.” There is so much sensual pleasure to enjoy all over the body! Use all five senses; for example, really taste the kisses. Scent is the key when we smell our clean partner.   Sex and the Science of Mind-Reading – Empathy and the Sex Drive Discussions of sex play, mutual regulation, dysregulation, understanding or misinterpreting the other's signals … and sexual inter-neurobiology. We feel the other and want a “lubricated process.” Bodies are in tacit communication … If you're in your head, you're not in your body. Or, as Fritz Perls said, “Lose your mind and come to your senses.” Body attunement enhances empathy … discovering yourself in another's presence.   The principle of Relaxed Excitement: the secret of great sex and success in everything is to be excited, stimulated and relaxed at the same time.   The ABCs of Romance: breathing together, eye contact, smiling, and kissing.   This is a fascinating show! Dr. Resnick has much experiential wisdom, backed by her Gestalt orientation and endowed by contemporary neurobiology. She invites all to experience a greater, more playful, more creative form of love!   Go to www.DrStellaResnick.com where you'll find information about her three books The Pleasure Zone, The Heart of Desire, and Body-to-Body Intimacy. In addition, her Embodiment Exercises help to get in touch with feelings and release tension or numbness in your body.   Finally, a quote from Dr. Stella's 1988 SELF magazine “Sex without Sex”: “When pleasure is made a priority and sexual energy is channeled wisely and lovingly, you can know a new ease and joy in your intimate relationships.”  

EMAIL US - hmlib@henrymiller.org with suggestions and comments.Support Our Podcast____________An hour and a half at Peggy's home on the South Coast. We meander through many stories of life on the coast.  You will soon recognize that we of course only have time to skim off the top of many deep, consequential and memorable stories. Hopefully we'll do more some day. An hour an a half is not enough with Peggy! Please use chapter markers above.  Some chapter names: "Fritz Perls…smoked a lot of cigarettes, very direct!" "Geese, garden, cheese! Back to the land!  Belly dancing! But I was a city girl!" "Big Sur? What is that? Are artists drawn to a place like this?"  Names and notes from the conversation: Gregory and Lois Bateson, Fritz Perls, Early Esalen…the Barn. Meskalin, Acid…sexuality, Seymour Carter, Storm, Janet Letterman, Big Sur Coast Midwifery,  John Horler, Karl Lee, Honey Rose, Bunny Gries, Stephanie Healey, Horst Meier, Tony Wagner, Arica, Lucia & Jasmine, Jack Downing Arica training, Gazebo, Brita Ostrom, Theresa Bradford, Judy Share, Linda Padilla, Candice Romanov, Melanie Lerner, Patty Villa, David Abel, violin, Richard Andersen, clarinet, Café Amphora, Doug Madsen, John Larmor, Jaime Morton, Robin and Billy, Bill Rose, Hope Rose, George Leonard, Maslov, Stanley Grof…You can buy Connecting Through Touch, A Couples Massage Book online here: https://henrymiller.org/books-we-recommend/#peggySupport the show (https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XSU2P2QHX4SA6)

Remember, we welcome comments, questions and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com   S2E31 TRANSCRIPT: ----more---- Yucca: Welcome back to the wonder science-based paganism. I'm one of your hosts Yucca,  Mark: And I'm your other host, Mark. Yucca: And this episode we're coming back to the nuts and bolts. We'd like to do episodes like this every now and then where we really get into the details. And we're going to be talking about confronting our demons and working with demonology and that whole area. Okay.  Mark: Right. And to start with, we need to, we need to say you, you haven't tuned into the wrong podcast. This, this is still science-based paganism. What we're talking about is using the framework of Western demonology as a way to do powerful, personal work. That can help to remove impediments from your progress. You know, things that you have a really hard time doing. They can help to calm or quiet, critical voices that, that pop up in your head. That's those are the kinds of demons that we're talking about here. We, we're not talking about literal invisible creatures from other planes because we don't believe in that stuff. There's no evidence for it.  Yucca: But, but the framework can still be really useful and functional building on what we were talking about. In our last episode, we talked about bringing some of that enchantment back, some of that playful, fun, because it really works for our brains. We think that way we think in stories we think in metaphors and yeah. We can use that very intentionally.  Mark: Yes. And this is in some cases, this is more of, kind of the darker side of that enchantment that re-enchantment through use of our imagination process. One of the things that is really remarkable about our brains is that our brains can't really tell the difference between a vividly described story and reality. And so if we go through a process that looks and sounds and smells like summoning the demon, it'll just like you've seen in the movies. Our brain can actually believe that yes, there is a being there that has characteristics that we can, we can summon, we can bind, we can negotiate with and we can reach agreements with in order to make our lives better. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So we're we're once again, we're not saying that those beings are real they're just in your mind, but just in your mind, isn't much of a, just in your mind is really a big deal. Yucca: Well, they're, they're real in the way that Santa Claus is real, right? So not an actual man with a big beard and a belly at the north pole, but something that, that we can an idea that we relate with a personality that, that many people have a pretty deep relationship with.  Mark: Right. Yucca: And how many movies have you watched that, you know, weren't real, but you got scared, you cried, you felt those intense feelings. And there's probably a scene from a movie or a book that you can call to mind that you feel choked up. Just, just thinking about it, even though, you know, somebody completely made it up and they did. Intentionally to make you feel the way that you feel about it. That was the point, whatever the, the scene was.  Mark: Right. So what we're going to talk about today is a framework, a system, not the system, because. There are lots of different ways to get to the same sorts of emotional processes, but a system that can help you to reach an emotional state where a shift can happen.  Yucca: Okay.  Mark: And it doesn't necessarily happen during the ritual, but you may notice in the days following the ritual that suddenly. That thing that was really bothering you just doesn't seem to be bothering you so much anymore, that, that things, things changed. So let's get into it a little bit and talk about what the sorts of things are that we might envision as demons. And then how we might, we might deal with them. Yucca: Sure. Well, first of all, there's going to be different scales of what a demon is or isn't right. There could be specific. It could be about specific events. The of dreads that you have, or it could be something much long, much larger, like your anxiety or depression, things like that.  Mark: Huh. Right. And it bears thing that is non theist pagans. We generally choose not to put human-like faces onto phenomena that we relate with in a ritual sense. Some of us do some of us use gods as symbols and archetypes so that, you know, Haiti's can become the master of the underworld. And we can relate to the idea of of mortality through that symbol. But this process that we're talking about today is one where we're deliberate. We deliberately are putting faces on the. Elements of our lives that we want to see shifted and transformed. So, Yucca: very specifically of ours,  Mark: yes, Yucca: this is not about. boyfriend or girlfriend or your something else. This is really about parts of our selves that we're working with.  Mark: unless you are facilitating a ritual, that includes that.  Yucca: Of course.  Mark: And that can also be very powerful. I mean, if, because you, after all your you're the atheopagan right. You're the magical technician. It may be that you're the person that knows the process for how to work with this, but you're helping another person to confront their demon. Yucca: Sure, but there's, there's consent in that process.  Mark: Absolutely. There  Yucca: That's that's where I'm trying to get at, because later on, we're going to get into some things, some terms that might be a little bit concerning if they were outside of the context of there being full consent.  Mark: Yes. Yes. And we are big believers in full consent. That sort of thing.  Yucca: Yeah,  Mark: Well, it's one of our things. We have a lot of things. Yucca: we do. But we actually it's. It's enough of one of our things that we hadn't a whole episode on it.  Mark: Yes we did. Yucca: And it's always worth coming back to and retouching on. So.  Mark: Of course. You know, before we go further, I, I do want to mention that I wrote this process up into a blog post, which we will put the link to in the episode description so that you have sort of a guide for how to go through this process. And don't have to jot down all the notes in order to capture it from this podcast. Yucca: Unless, of course that's helpful for you, but don't feel like you need, if you're driving or something now don't feel like you need to.  Mark: Exactly. Yeah, you don't need to keep stopping the recording and then, you know, writing down notes or anything. So this, this information is available elsewhere in a written form. And I also want to mention that the, the concept of this was something suggested to me about twenty-five years ago by my friend, Alan Young, in an essay that he wrote about a pagan approach to demonology a. Now his was less of a. Of a non theist science-based approach to demonology, but it was a very interesting essay and apparently he expanded it to a book at some point and then lost it in a computer disaster. So, I don't have the essay anymore and neither does he, I had asked him for a copy when when I thought about writing this. In an atheopagan sense, but I really want to thank him for the concepts. Because I think that there's a real usefulness to using this framework for doing some of our so-called shadow work. So let's start with will, what are some appropriate things that might be useful to frame as demons that we would work with? And I can think of examples, like. Addictions,  Yucca: Okay.  Mark: Blockages. Maybe this comes to mind for me because this tends to be the sort of thing that I have a lot procrastination just deferring, doing things that need to be done out of a sense of anxiety. Those sorts of things are really challenging for our lives. They can really get in the way of our progress and they can be really hard to contend with. So this is a system that you might use to, to try to get some traction there. Are there other sorts of things that you can think of are you know, Yucca: I mean, I love those examples. I think that, that, again, it comes back to scale. There might be some, some of your examples, right? At least sounds to me, like very kind of big things, but there might be some little ones too. Like the, the anxiety around calling someone on the phone instead of the email or some of that could be one of your more minor demons than something that maybe might be a little bit of a bigger deal.  Mark: Sure. And a lot of people really don't like interacting over the phone. That's, that's something  Yucca: That's a very personal example.  Mark: ah, Okay. Yucca: I don't, this is fine. We were, as we're recording, we're looking at each other's faces and so I can get your body language. And, but over the phone, there's just, oh, it gets my heart going. There's something about it anyways. So that would be a very personal example.  Mark: sure. In any sort of. Just kind of nameless, dread, you know, most of us have things in our lives where we just kind of go, oh, I really don't want to do that. And it's the kind of thing where you have to stick it in the calendar in order to make sure that it happens. And then usually it gets bumped by a few days. Cause you still don't want to do it. And then eventually the level of anxiety about not doing it. Points the level of anxiety about doing it, and then you, you actually do it. But that's not very efficient and it's super stressful. It's a very uncomfortable way to approach those sorts of things.  Yucca: And then it just repeats over and over again.  Mark: Yeah, exactly. When you have to call your mother again.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So, yeah. Those sorts of things. So all of those  Yucca: more? On a kind of bigger level might be Fights leftover fights that happened years ago that still come back. Mark: Great. Yucca: had that, that fight with, I can think of one, another personal one, a landlord that I had 20 years ago, who ended up being, it ended up being a very terrible situation. He died 15 years ago, and yet, sometimes the arguments still comes back into my head.  You know, decades, right?  Mark: Yeah. Yucca: that would be a candidate for personify, you know, to envision a name  Mark: Mm. Yucca: release. Like we're going to talk about.  Mark: Yeah. And that can extend to familial kinds of issues as well. I mean, both of my parents are dead as well. But I still can have arguments in my head with my phone.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: And that is a sublimely un-useful extension of my time and my energy and focus. So it's those are the kinds of things that we can draw into bind into a magic circle and have a conversation with. So let's talk a little bit about what the protocol is, what, what the system is for dealing with these. And the very first one is you need to conceptualize very, very clearly. What is this demon like? And also give it a name and a title and the name and the title are really important because in demonology knowing the name of a demon gives you control. Yucca: true name, right?  Mark: true name, right? Yes. In the, in the earth sea sense of things.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: and Yucca: Dresden, if anyone got into those series, that, series.  Mark: that, that, I don't know,  Yucca: Okay.  Mark: Same kind of thing I imagine. Yeah. So a name and the name can be anything. In the blog post, I made up one, which was Xer mocks, and another was Shan Tash. And, you know, just, they can be any of these. I suggested that unless the, the, the is or relationship with a person in most cases, he want to make it a name that doesn't sound like a human name,  Yucca: Mm.  Mark: Because you're not. You're relating to this thing, even if it's the relationship with your father, for example, I would say that's a separate thing than your father himself, Yucca: Yes. right? It's it's the relationship not, you're not going to be submitting your actual father or landlord or whoever it was. Yeah.  Mark: Right, because it'll be really disappointing when they don't show up  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: among other things.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So, and the title is important because the title is the descriptor of, of what they're, what the issue is that you're working to contend with. So, you know, Shantesh thee the Lord. Procrastination for example gives you a good handle on, you know, what they're about, what their, what, what their, not only their name, but also what their function is. Yucca: at the same time, it's giving it that little bit of different newness. That is what our minds are going to grab on to. Right. It's taking it out of the mundane into that kind of special space.  Mark: Right. And if you can visualizing what they look like even drawing it, if you're an artistically oriented kind of person can be very useful. If you're not a visually oriented person or not an artistically oriented person, then, you know, imagine what the demon sounds like with their voices, like, or What they smell like? Probably not what they taste like.  Yucca: It depends on what the specific even is maybe  Mark: I guess,  Yucca: If maybe if you're, if this is working through some form of alcohol addiction or something like that, that might be a component, Right. You might be imagining the taste of the, the throw up from your hang over the next.  Mark: right. Yucca: going gonna, but whatever's going to really make it vivid to you. Whatever you're going to experience on a very deep level.  Mark: exactly. Exactly. So the next step is the summoning. Anybody who has seen any of these movies about, you know, summoning demons knows exactly how this works. Now it may take you a period of a few days to prepare for it because you might want to develop pertinent sigils that describe the the demon and also some safety and protection symbols that you would intersperse there. Yucca: And that's a topic that's actually on the list that we're going to be coming back to soon is talking about schedules and symbols and how to use those for another sort of nuts and bolts episode.  Mark: Right, right. So let's say you develop 13 symbols or thirteens a nice number, but seven is another nice  Yucca: Seven and nine are great. Yep.  Mark: Yep. And they, they describe the issues that comprise the demon and also safety and protection. And when you are ready, then you ground and center and prepare yourself as you would for any ritual and create sacred space. In your space and then draw, literally draw a magic circle. If you're doing it on like the floor of a room or on the ground, you can do it with salt or baking soda that can easily be vacuumed up afterwards. Or if you don't have very much room, you could just do it on a piece of paper.  Yucca: Okay.  Mark: And, you know, visualize where we're going to visualize the demon inside the magic circle. After the summoning. So in scribe, the sigils around the outside and then call the name and the title of the demon three times. And it's traditional to ring a bell. And now you imagine the presence of the demon inside the circle. You visualize what it looks like and what it sounds like and what it smells like. And if you have a hard, if, if you're not seeing it, if, if you don't feel like the demon is showing up, put some bait in the circle, something that will attract it. Right. And  Yucca: Your to-do list.  Mark: yes. Yucca: If it's the procrastination as your demon, put your to-do list there.  Mark: Sure. Any, anything that, that, you know, makes the demons show up. Right.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: And so when the demon appears, then you want to greet it formally and respectfully by its name and title, because you're about to enter into a negotiation. But the first step after the demon appears is to bind the demon. You tell it that it can't leave the magic circle and it must cooperate with you to be free. It has to make an agreement with you. So, you know, I bind you by the name of my mental health and my physical wellbeing. I bind you by the sigils of this circle to deal fairly and form a pact with it. Something like that, and then comes the meat of the ritual, the core of the work. And that is a conversation with the demon negotiating, an agreement about what they will do for you in exchange for being released. Now we need to talk about consent here now, right? Because this is not a very consensual sounding process. But we're talking about yourself.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: You know, you, you are consenting to this by choosing to do this process. So you, you, as a, as a, as an an individual with agency, as a sovereign person, have the right to declare boundaries about how these little sub routines in your psychology relate to you, you have the right to say. I'm not going to do this anymore. The way that you tell me to do it, I'm going to do it a different way. And we're going to make an agreement about that. Yucca: Yeah, because fundamentally it is, it's still.  Mark: That's  Yucca: It isn't actually somebody else. And that's one of the reasons we were making that clarification earlier about if it is about a relationship with the person, it's the relationship. That is the demon, not the person, even though your image of them is still part of you, but just keeping those boundaries really clear,  Mark: Very important. Really very important. Yucca: this is your giving. You're envisioning it as something as a separate entity, but still somewhere recognizing logically, no, this is me. And so I have the power to do this. Right. I ultimately am the one who gets to decide whether this is happening or not.  Mark: Yeah. Yes. I not only do I have the power to do it, but I have the right to do it. And those, those are, those are the two things that go into consent. Right. I have the authority to speak on behalf of myself and and I have the power to to make that decision. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So you have bound the demon in the circle. You can see the demon there in the circle that you've scribed on the floor or in the dirt, out in a nice natural place or on a sheet of paper, on a table top, if that's kind of the way that you need to work this. And so now is the compelling and bargaining. And so you are. Negotiating with this demon, you can speak both sides of the conversation. It might help you to speak in a different voice when you speak as the demon imagining what the voice of the demon would be like. And if the magic circle that you have is large enough, you may you may actually want to physically move. Between being in the circle, speaking as the demon and then outside the circle to speak your own part, the part of your, your essential self. Yucca: And if you don't have that space, say you're working with a circle drawn on a piece of paper at the table. You could literally change between chairs or your body just shift which direction you're looking.  Mark: Yes. Yes. And all of this is I should say all of this is very well-documented psychodrama technique from psychology the, the, the use of different chairs to speak as different parts of ourselves is Kind of a central element of Fritz Perls, gestalt therapy, for example. So this, this may sound like a weird thing to do, but actually it's a, it's a time tested technique for being able to work with the parts of ourselves that we have challenges with. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So once you've made your agreement, And that may take some time. You, you may go back and forth, but bear in mind, the demon is going to want to be let go from this magic circle, because if it isn't let go from this magic circle, then you can just walk away and go off into your life without it. And that's not what parts of our personality want to have happen. So you have that leverage and eventually an agreement can be made. Once that has happened, then you can dispel the demon. And it's important to note, there's a difference between dispelling a demon and banishing a demon. Dispelling, a demon is sending it away from you. It's free, but it has to leave you alone until you summon it. And in the blog, I suggested the following words. I dispel you. Shantesh the fear of completing my resume and send you from me until such time as I summon you three times, no fewer and no more fly for me and keep your bargain and that's so that you can have. you have a conversation with someone about this process or something, if you use the name of the demon, it won't invoke the demon, unless you use it three times in a row. Yucca: And that's something that is very common in at least a Western European mythology. And we see that in lots of inlet, the lore of lots of books and movies that summoning that three times, you say it three times. And this process. We're talking about the steps, but the steps, one of the assumptions is that that if you're using this, you probably have some connection to this already because of the movies and the books and all of the media. And so it's going to have a meaning to you because there's the cultural context. Where, if you're coming from a different background, there may be different rules or context that, that with careful thought you could apply instead of the specific rules that we're talking about.  Mark: Right. Exactly right. I mean, there are people who are of particular ethnic derivations whose whose ancestors may have had different sorts of systems for for engaging. Imagine spirits or, or or demons or any of that sort of stuff. And they may do this a little bit differently in order to, you know, acknowledge their ancestry and, and have it feel right for them. Yucca: Yeah. So as always, we're not saying this is the one way or the Right way. This is a way, but there is logic behind the way that we're describing. Yeah.  Mark: right now having dismissed the demon spend, I would say a week or so, just kind of checking out. How things feel now, you, you can erase the magic circle clean up. Probably don't as Yoko was saying before we started recording, this is probably not the time to jump right on the phone with your mother-in-law or to go and, you know, have, have brunch with her or something. This is powerful work. And it should not be undertaken lightly. And it's important that its logic be carried out precisely because the subconscious mind is tricky and it may sabotage the intention of the ritual if it isn't. So once you've done this, you can maybe take a shower or a bath, either eat a substantial meal, get yourself grounded back in ordinary reality. In, in ordinary mind space so that the work considered into you, but also so that you aren't kind of floating six inches above the ground as you go off into the world and try  Yucca: get in the car and drive somewhere. Yeah.  Mark: Right, right.  Yucca: So this whole process is a very intentional process. There's the preparation for it. There's the act, there's the doing it itself. So setting apart that time to take care of it and then the, your self care afterwards, Right,  Mark: right. right. Then the next part of this demonology process is when you notice benefits. When you notice that things are better, it's probably a good idea to summon the demon back and thank them. Because that's the way that the adversarial relationship gets eased over time. It's not just that you have this leverage over the demon because you're able to trap them. It's also that eventually you work out kind of a truce where they're just not as invasive in your life anymore. So it's respectful to that part of yourself. To go through this process, again, maybe a somewhat simpler version of it. Maybe you don't need to create new, new sigils. For example, you use the same ones that you use. And, you know, thank the demon for what it's, you know, for releasing it's hold on you and for allowing a better, more functional way of being into your life. Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: So that's something that you could do a week, two weeks a month after the fact when you begin to notice that it's actually being somewhat easier to write your resume, it's it's being easier to pick up the phone and, and talk with someone.  Yucca: Eating you up at two in the morning or three in the morning when you wake up and kind of go back to sleep.  Mark: Right,  Yucca: Yeah,  Mark: right. You're not, not still, you know, wishing that you'd said that when really perfect reply that you only thought of two years after the conflict.  Yucca: exactly.  Mark: Yeah. When you feel. You're in balance with this part of yourself, you may want to do, you may want to banish the deans. And a banishing is a permanent dispelling of a demon, which is not to be undertaken lightly because many of the parts of ourselves started out as helpful. Yucca: Hmm.  Mark: And they just kind of grew out of control and turned very controlling and ended up being counterproductive. So you may want to keep the demon around as an ally instead.  Yucca: Hm.  Mark: If there's any chance you're going to need the assistance of that demon. Again, you probably just want to dispel it rather than banish it, but a formal banishing, if you need to do that is accomplished through the creation of a seal, which is a complicated sigil containing the meaning that the demon is to be banished forever. And then you can carry that. In a wallet or a purse, or it can be put on your alter or focus and typically carrying or displaying the seal is required for a year and a day before the banishment is permanent. So remember that there are a lot of different ways to ritually approach our needs. This kind of work will appeal to some people and not to others. And that's fine. But you may you really may find that there is some, there, there is some healing benefit to be had out of personifying. The, the aspects of ourselves that are hurtful and counterproductive and undermine our, our happiness and our effectiveness in working with them in this way. Yucca: Before we, we finish up, I want to circle back around to the negotiation component because I think this is one of the areas where. If you don't have a lot of background in ritual work, if this is something that you're coming into for the first time, that there might be some tricky parts here because there's now it might actually be the critic that you're addressing in this, but there is that voice in us that often says, oh, this is silly. You're making it up. And in this situation, You're literally having a conversation, right. You're having a conversation and you are playing both sides. And so that's, it is silly, but that's okay right there letting go of that, of what it might look like from the outside. And don't worry about that. You your job is to do the ritual and have it be meaningful to you and not worry that, you know, nobody's got a hidden cam rather that they're posting this on Tik TOK or whatever with right. This is you having this interaction. And what comes to mind in this conversation might not be what you were expecting. But you can go ahead and still have that conversation. On the other hand, it might feel a little bit forced, but working through that is also going to help you work through the process itself. So, mark, are there any ideas that you have or advice for somebody who's doing this kind of internal role-play for the first time? Okay.  Mark: Well to start with, I think you're most likely to end up in Kettering Xerox, the fear of looking silly. So you may want to start there. I mean, we all have multiple demons, right. And you know, you're, there is, there is this pernicious. Thing that, that all of us have at some level, which is repression in the form of or repression presenting itself as dignity. So we don't want to do things that seem on dignified. But what it really is, is a way of keeping us from doing stuff that might be new and that we're not good at, or that feels silly when we first start doing it. And so. You know, particularly if you're new to ritual practice that really maybe, you know, the, the, the part of yourself that you want to that you want to contend with. The other circumstance that can happen during the negotiation part is that the demon can say something to you that surprised you. Even though it, even though it comes from inside you, you may be very surprised that the direction that the conversation goes. And if you find yourself baffled by this and really without a response, you can dismiss the demon and come back to this later. After you've had a chance to think about it for awhile, you know, don't, don't let yourself be put on the spot to cut some kind of a deal with this demon that you don't want to cut. Right. The good news is you are in control. You do have the opportunity to, to dismiss the demon until someone again, and. You can think about, well, what, what is that very interesting, unexpected thing mean to me? How do I, how do I contend with that? Yucca: And then you do have time to come up with that? perfect response.  Mark: Right, right.  Yucca: Yep. And journaling journaling might be one tool to help with this process. That's another tool we should really talk about, but it's a it's a classic, but it's a classic for a reason.  Mark: Yes. Yes. And I believe that there is that for exactly that reason, the the so-called book of shadows is a traditional magical ritual component. You know, when, when we do these rituals, what we're really doing is experimenting with our psyche and taking notes and rigorously documenting the experiments is. It's a scientific approach, right? It's you know, okay, here I did this thing and here is the data on how I feel about it afterwards. And, you know, two weeks later, well, actually I got my resume done and I've got four interviews and, you know, something definitely shifted for me. So, journaling and keeping track of your progress is definitely a really good idea. And it can help you to get more in touch with yourself. Yeah,  Yucca: Well, this has been a really fun one.  Mark: yeah. Yeah. I thought this was a fun conversation for sure.  Yucca: Yeah.  Mark: And as always, you know, we, we want to remind you that these processes are about being mentally healthier, being happier, being more effective. And. So, you know, be good to yourself in, in the course of doing this stuff. These, these are techniques for dealing with parts of ourselves that are, are challenging. But one of the things that is easiest or rather that is best for improving our overall wellbeing is just to be kind to yourself. So keep that in mind. Well, this has really been a great conversation. Thank you so much Jaco.  Yucca: Thank you, mark.  Mark: And we'll see you all next week on the wonders. Science-based paganism.  

Sponsor- We give you permission to take better care of yourself, so you can take better care of those that you care for. www.purelivingfamily.com https://www.hemphealth.shop/ - Empowering people to take control of their wellbeing Tinctures, Rollons, Pain cream, Hemp and CBD flower discount code THEO A funny story about money with Eva Gestalt therapy: a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Fritz Perls (1893–1970). It focuses on insight into gestalts in patients and their relations to the world, and often uses role playing to aid the resolution of past conflicts. An important aspect of the GT mentality is an emphasis on being creative, spontaneous, and taking risks (Wheeler & Axelsson, 2015). It is expected that healthy behavior will sometimes be in conflict with societal norms. https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Foster-Dulles-Allen-Secret/dp/0805094970 https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Learning-Years-Manchester-United/dp/0316268089/ref=pd_bxgy_img_1/142-7056092-4552500?pd_rd_w=kAHdB&pf_rd_p=c64372fa-c41c-422e-990d-9e034f73989b&pf_rd_r=FSS0D8ZFQKCYHGG2KFQE&pd_rd_r=dd6fdf51-de4b-4e01-8f4f-a7b5b9d4af02&pd_rd_wg=mykOk&pd_rd_i=0316268089&psc=1https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Learning-Years-Manchester-United/dp/0316268089/ref=pd_bxgy_img_1/142-7056092-4552500?pd_rd_w=kAHdB&pf_rd_p=c64372fa-c41c-422e-990d-9e034f73989b&pf_rd_r=FSS0D8ZFQKCYHGG2KFQE&pd_rd_r=dd6fdf51-de4b-4e01-8f4f-a7b5b9d4af02&pd_rd_wg=mykOk&pd_rd_i=0316268089&psc=1 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/purelivingfamily/support

In this episode, Rafael sits down for a conversation with Erving Polster, Ph.D. At the age of 99 years old, Dr. Polster shares some poignant moments of his long and illustrious career, as well as experiences from his personal life that contributed to his development as one of the world's leading Gestalt therapists.  Erving Polster, Ph.D., is a veteran teacher of Gestalt therapy and the author of several books. He trained with Fritz Perls in the 1950s and has been influential in the growth and development of Gestalt Theory and Methodology for over six decades. He was one of the founders of the Cleveland Gestalt Institute. He and his late wife, Miriam, co-directed the Gestalt Training Center of San Diego. His major interests have long been the transformation of psychotherapy as a curative process into psychotherapy as a communal source of orientation and guidance. In January of this year, at 98 years of age,  he published his latest book, Enchantment and Gestalt Therapy.Link to his new book Enchantment and Gestalt Therapy  click hereMore more information about WCMI or to get connected to a referral specialist click here To connect with Rafael Cortina click here 

Most of us have a voice in our heads constantly narrating our experiences. Have you ever noticed what yours is like? How it talks to you? How would you feel is someone else spoke to you the way that this voice speaks to you? Would you speak to someone else this way? Today we are going to explore how the voice in our head influences what we say, do and feel. We will learn how we can develop a new relationship with it.  "You have this deep, critical voice in your head. It is like you are living with a horrible, micromanaging boss all the time. We know what that's like if we are actually sitting next to one of those people and they are constantly barraging us, and yet we just think it is normal when it is coming from ourselves." Most of us have a voice in our heads constantly narrating ourselves  [Whispers: Why did you say that? She hates me. Get it together. Get it together.] Have you ever noticed what yours is like? How it talks to you? How would you feel if someone else spoke to you the way this voice speaks to you? Would you speak to someone else in this way? Today we are going to explore how the voice in our head influences what we say, do and feel and explore how to develop a new relationship with it. Joe, what is the voice in the head?  Joe: The voice in the head. Let's make a distinction. There's a voice in your head, which is the thing you can hear talking to yourself. It´s kind of the editor that's constantly happening, that's judging your situation, wondering what people are thinking about you, telling you what to do, telling you how to do it. I would make a distinction here that there's the voice in your head that is repetitive, and the voice in your head that is unique or inspirational.  Neurologically speaking, they say that we have about 50,000 thoughts a day that happen. That's the voice in your head. Most of those for most people, the voice is saying the same thing over and over again. You should lose weight. You should lose weight. Or why are you drinking so much coffee? Stop drinking so much coffee. It's a repetitive voice in the head.  When I am speaking about the voice in the head in the context of working with people, I am talking about the repetitive, bossy, critical voice in the head.  Brett:  Let's take a moment to help tap into their voice in the head right now. If it is 50,000 thoughts a day, it must be accessible at any time.Joe: Yeah, that's great. So a wonderful way to do this is to just be silent for the next, say, 20 to 30 seconds and stop thinking. [silence] In that time period, a thought arose, and maybe the thought was how long will this silence last or this is stupid. What makes us do this? Or I hope I didn't forget the eggs in the oven, whatever. That's the voice in the head. That's what it is. It's the constant thinking that goes on, and for most people it is very auditory. It is very word focused. For some people, it is more somatic. It is more body focused. But the grand majority of people, literally it is like they can hear the voice. Brett:  I felt both. As the silence went on, I started to feel a little bit of tension in my body, and then the thought that popped up was I wonder how much dead space we should have in a podcast before we lose people's attention.  Joe: Perfect. Both are always happening. There's somatic. That's not exactly true. There's always the somatic experiencing that's occurring. You cannot stop that, and then oftentimes there are thoughts that go with it. The tricky part is that the more you become aware of the voice in your head, the more you become aware of what it is saying. Oftentimes, when people first get confronted with the idea, they might not think they have many thoughts in their head and the voice in the head isn't very active, and then the more they pay attention to it, the more they realize it is constantly humming along back there.  Obviously, there are people who do a tremendous amount of meditation or different practices where the voice in the head is far more silent, particularly the reoccurring voice in the head is far more silent and quiet. That in itself is an interesting thing because the somatic experiencing hasn't stopped, and so to some degree it is harder to find the pain that's occurring. The voice makes it much easier to feel that pain or to see the dysfunction of the way the voice happens. It is harder to understand it or see it or work with it if it is just a somatic experience.  What I notice is the more you become aware of it, the more sensitive you are to it. The more sensitive you are to it, the more you realize what it is saying and how it is saying it. A great example of that, I did a ton of meditation in my earlier years. A point came along where the voice in the head cut by like 75%. I felt like it was gone for a while as far as the recurring negative, looping thoughts. Over time, I have noticed oh no, there are still things there that took me a while to notice. Just the thing that's always saying have you done this, have you done this, have you done this.  It's just a matter, like anything, it is subtle until you see it. The more sensitive you become to it, the more you become aware of how much it is affecting your day to day, minute to minute life.  Brett:  What makes it important or interesting to become aware of it? I imagine if I had a roommate in my head just constantly talking to me, ignorance would be bliss. What makes it worthwhile to start paying attention and noting what it is saying if what it is saying can be so self-critical and distracting?Joe: There are a couple of reasons. One is because it is the first step to a different relationship to it. In my first experience of really becoming aware of it, I was reading a psychology book on Gestalt. It was Fritz Perls, I believe, and he was talking about how there was an upper dog and an underdog in your internal dialogue. The upper dog was like the bully telling you what to do, criticizing you, and then the underdog was the one rebelling against that, which is a much more subtle, quiet voice that it often takes years for people to get in touch with and experience.  Just being aware of it, just being aware. For me, in particular, it was the should thing. I think he called it out. When you tell yourself you should do something, that's the upper dog. Just by recognizing it and seeing it every time it came, it just started to become quieter and quieter. Just the recognition of the voice in the head can change the way the voice in the head dialogues with you until you resist it, until you are like oh man, I have got to change that voice in my head. Then the voice in the head is now telling you to change the voice in your head, and that resistance makes the voice in your head persist.  But just the simple awareness of it, just like the gentle, there it is doing that thing again, can reduce it. So then the question of course is why would I want to reduce this voice in my head. There are a ton of reasons for that. A very active, negative voice in the head is in the DSM called dysthymia. The definition of low-level depression is this constant, negative self-talk. That' s one reason. Another reason is because life is just far more enjoyable and sweet when your consciousness isn't a horrible boss.  On one level, you said if my roommate was like that, I would rather just not hear them. The truth is when you have this deep, critical voice in your head, it is like you are living with a horrible micromanaging boss all the time. We know what that's like if we are actually sitting next to one of those people and they are constantly barraging us, and yet we just think it is normal when it is coming from ourselves. Just the joy and bliss of life as that voice changes or as your relationship to it changes, it totally can transform how much joy and happiness and easy and clarity you can have.  Brett:  Somebody I was talking to recently about the voice in the head, they said their voice isn't a self-critical voice, but what they do is they rehearse conversations they could have had. It seems like that is a way of being self-critical. The fact that you would rehearse a conversation you have already had about how you could do it better comes from self criticism, and then self-criticism is shaping the thoughts of what you thought you should have said. What are some of the other ways that the voice can show up in people if somebody is listening to this and they are not connecting with this idea of their being a voice in their head that's critical of themselves or the upper dog, as you put it? Joe: Constantly telling you things to do, shoulding you, wondering about what other people think of you incessantly or even just more than once, rehearsing and trying to make sure you get perfect at something before you actually go and live it. All of those are great examples of how the voice in the head can work. There's a multitude of ways it can work, and it is quite cool in the way that it finds its new home when you have spotted one. Like I said before, you can be saying the should thing, I understand that. I don't want that, so I am just going to be aware of it. Then pretty soon the voice in the head becomes the aggressor to the voice in the head itself. It's amazing how it can just find it's new natural home. In Zen, they talk about trying to use the voice in the head to get rid of the voice in the head. I am paraphrasing here, but to use the voice in the head to get out of the voice in the head is like asking a thief to be the security of your house. It doesn't work. Brett:  Yeah, the voice isn't you, and the voice speaking to the voice is also not you. All of it is just in the way of your impulse. What that kind of brings me to is one of the characteristics of the voice is that it seems to be slowing us down, either by pulling us out of the present into the past or the future, trying to solve some unsolvable puzzle, or the self-criticism in it can just inhibit us from taking steps that may be imperfect but are steps or speaking what's true for us in the moment without imposing a lot of restraints around what people might think or what might be wrong about it.  Joe: Yeah, I mean just a great way to think about this is so the voice in your head has worried about how some future things are going to go, maybe a job interview or maybe a first date. If you think about all the worrying that you did and all the scenarios that it went through and all the things you thought you were going to say and all of the ways you were going to behave, how much of that was actually pertinent, how much of that was actually useful energy, how much of that actually helped you prepare, and how much of it just did nothing and was just a waste of time. How much of it actually hurt? I see oftentimes when people are rehearsing things over and over and over again, it builds up such an anxiety around the actuality of the thing happening that they are not there in present with what's occurring in front of them when the time to rehearse is over.  Brett:  My experience of that is it also sets up for major disappointment and a shame spiral after the conversation doesn't go anything according to your rehearsal.  Joe: That's a characteristic of the voice in the head, actually, to create the reality it is trying to avoid. Give an example of a perfectionist, and having the voice in the head trying to convince you that you need to be perfect about something. That incessant nature makes it very hard to even do something really well. That's why you see so many artists get hooked on heroin or alcohol, anything that just silences the voice in their head so they can be in that flow state so they can create their best work. It's no different than doing a PowerPoint presentation or making a speech, or having a great first date. It's about being present in the moment, and being true to yourself in that moment. Brett:  In an even more diffuse way, just sitting down and looking at a blank page or a blank canvas and feeling just that slight negative emotion of like uh, whatever my brushstroke is about to be is going to be wrong. Whether or not that's even a voice. I've always felt that present in anything that I am doing to some extent and most of the time just didn't notice it, and many times just didn't take action on things that I wanted to do or would have loved to have done but just didn't notice that I didn't do them because I avoided feeling that feeling. Then I avoided feeling that I had felt that feeling, and that's why I didn't do the thing I wanted and then justified it for some other reason. I just didn't have time.  Joe: That's a great example. It could just be a feeling. Then if you stop and say hey, what's the message behind that feeling, then you will be more aware of the voice. Oftentimes for different people they will be more aware of the feeling or more aware of the voice, and they are often in concert. The voice can be really subtle, or the feeling can be seemingly very subtle, just like the voice can seemingly be very subtle. Brett:  When you start noticing this voice and you start paying more attention and noting it, what are some tips for not getting into a resistance battle with it but also not buying into everything it says, which is I guess is what we do by default when we are not noticing there's a voice_  Joe: That's the thing. The thing about having no awareness of the voice and it is happening. Even in this moment, I have awareness of the voice happening. In this moment, I don't. When we are not noticing it is happening, it is far more likely to control what we are doing. That's a really good point you just made. There are so many ways. There is a plethora of ways of working with the voice in your head. One whole category of ways to work with the voice in your head is just to ask how you relate to it. Voice in the head says you should have done better in that project, so some ways to relate to it would be okay, fine and then a subtle fuck you in response to it. Another way to relate to it is I see that you really care that I do a good job and I would love to ask you to use better management techniques with me. Another way to deal with it is to practice silence. Another way to deal with it is to love it. Another way to deal with it is to tickle it. Another way to deal with is it to really get in a massive fight with it and then see what happens when you are exhausted from that fight.  The main thing here that I really recommend is to play and to experiment. Oftentimes the underlying assumption is there is this voice. A, it is never going to change, and B, there is nothing I can do about it. C, it will always be there. What if it is like I am going to do a series of experiments with the voice in my head? I am going to play with it in different ways. I am going to laugh at it hysterically one day, and I am going to just notice it another day. I am going to love it the third day. There is so much flexibility in it, but there is something in our system that is so scared of having that voice in the head go away or to change that it convinces us that we have no flexibility or no options around the voice in the head.  Brett:  When I have heard other people describe this in other books or other work, and there is even a little bit of it in this conversation, there is an assumption that the voice itself is not valuable. It would be better if we didn't have it. Here's a bunch of strategies to get rid of it. But I am curious what value there is in that voice because often the self-criticism that I experience of how I could have done something better is real. It is just that I feel ashamed that I didn't do it that way the first time, but I actually could have done better. Maybe the voice has something valuable to say.  Joe: There is a way of hearing the voice in the head and hearing the intention behind what it is saying, and that's almost always valuable. If you assume for a minute that the voice in the head loves you and it just really has a whole bunch of crappy strategies to love you but it really loves you, then there is a way of listening to everything the voice in the head says has a deep care. It is just not doing it really well.  If I told you you are messing up this podcast, hey, you are messing up this podcast, hey, you are messing up this podcast, look. You are still being silent. You are messing up this podcast. Why aren't you saying something, Brett? You are messing up this podcast. That's not going to make a great podcast. But the deep care behind that is it really wants you to be successful and so getting into a war with the voice in the head is you can't ever win that. The question is what relationship you want with it. Another cool thing to think about is oftentimes the voice in the head is talking to itself more than it is talking to you. I am going to let that one sit for a second. It's almost projecting on to you. When the voice in the head is saying you are messing up this podcast, you are messing up this podcast, is it you or the voice in the head that's messing up the podcast? Brett:  There's something interesting in that where the voice in our heads often seems to map onto an actual person in our history or some blur of many people in our history that were caretakers or parents or teachers. A lot of the things that I say to myself in my head are things somebody else might have said to me in the past, and so I've just internally learned to say it to myself first before somebody else does it.  Joe: That's part of the care it has. It is trying to keep you out of trouble. It is trying to keep you from not being insulted, not being chastised, not having to feel the way it felt when you were three years old and being chastised. It often mimics very important figures in our life or it is reacting to very important events in our life. That's definitely how it goes, which is interesting because oftentimes if we had, let's say, a really critical mom and the mom just really criticizes us, at some point you are like you are full of it. You don't know what you are talking about. But you don't question your head that way.  If your mom is constantly like you should shave more, you should shave more, you should shave me, you are like you are the wrong generation. You don't know. But if the voice in your head says you should shave more, you should shave more, you should shave me, you are far more likely to buy into it. But you didn't even choose to program it. You didn't even choose what reality it agrees with. That was chosen for you, and yet humans constantly believe what's going on with the voice in the head, which is another way to relate to it. To actually see through the false logic of the voice in the head. The voice in the head is always contradicting itself. You were too cocky there. You were too humble there. You spoke too much. You didn't listen enough. You listened too much. You didn't speak enough. If you really start looking at how the voice in the head operates, it doesn't give you actually a place to succeed often. There's no way out. There's a problem with everything, and yet we still buy into it. To really look and find out that there's a little bit of untruth in everything the voice in the head says, everything the voice in the head says, and to find that, it gives you a lot of freedom and perspective from the voice in the head itself, the recurring negative voice in the head. Brett:  What about the truth in it? What about the times where if I did say the thing I thought to saying, then I might have lost a client or a partner or angered somebody or gotten judged? How much of it is untrue? How much of it is true?  Joe: This is an interesting question, right? So let's say you have done something that insulted a client, and let's say the best thing is to say hey, I am really sorry about that. I did that. It's not what I wanted to do. It's not how I want it to be with you, and I apologize. Then that thing you did wrong can build trust, and can actually make your relationship deeper. If you are in your head saying, wow, you screwed up with a client, and that happens once. It's not a reoccurring negative thing, and you immediately take action on it. Then whatever is happening is an effective, efficient cycle, but if you are saying it multiple times and doing nothing about it, or you are saying it 20 times and then doing something about it, that is not an efficient cycle. That's just self-abuse. There's is no need for that. It doesn't make you happier. It doesn't improve the relationship. It doesn't make them happier with you. It doesn't build trust. It doesn't add anything there. The important thing is it is reoccurring, and it is negative self-talk.  Brett:  Something I have noticed is when it is reoccurring, there is often some kind of double bind. There is like I really screwed that up. What I need to say is this, but I already said the other thing and I cannot go back on my word. Now there's sort of a fight between the different versions of the voice.  Joe: Yeah, exactly. How efficient is that? How is that helpful? Exactly. And there is a wisdom to it, and it is like what is it that you want. I want a better relationship with him, and I don't want to look like I am inconsistent. I want to be respected by this person. If you get in touch with that and you just name that, put it in a VIEW frame of mind, it is amazing to say wow, I noticed that I was being inconsistent here. It´s now how I want to be you. I always noticed I am having a hard time saying that I was inconsistent because I am scared you are going to look at me this way or this way. It is more important for me to be in my integrity than to try to look good in front of you. I apologize, and how can we proceed to build trust from here.  When the voice in the head is abusing like that, what's occurring is you are creating fear in your system. It is creating an anxiety, and then that anxiety makes you think in a binary way, either apologize or don't apologize. It doesn't give you the whole, vast array of opportunities in front of you at any moment. Also, that anxiety puts it so that you have like a false end. The only moment you can see is that moment of apologizing or not apologizing. You are not seeing the whole relationship and how it can get better over time.  That abuse, that self-abuse, turns into anxiety, and the anxiety prevents us from learning. The anxiety limits our options, the options we can conceive of. The anxiety stops us from seeing a very particular moment. That's another reason why an abusive voice in the head is not effective. Brett:  That thing you just said, that scenario where you were just speaking to the client was beautiful and I could imagine being. This has happened before where I am like what would Joe say. I am like I can't come up with what Joe would say, and I am like oh. What would I say if I was speaking so clearly from my truth that I don't feel like I have access to because a barrage of all these different voices. Then nothing gets said.  The thing you said to me the other day, which was like life is really great once you realize you are already wrong.  Joe: Yeah, there's another thing. What I did when I said what is it that I really want, and then I spoke the want. What you are doing is some version of what's the right thing to say whether it is through the projection of me or being completely high integrity. Doing the right thing, trying to make it right, is part of the anxiety. Brett:  That is the voice. That's what the voice is trying to do. It is trying to make you right. A fear of being wrong.  Joe: And that's how the voice gets more and more subtle. It sounds like a great thing. What would my highest integrity self say? That sounds like a great thing, but it is still trying to get it right. That's why I said to you that life is great when you know you are wrong because then you don't have to try to be right. Then you are just operating from that place naturally, that place of integrity naturally.  I find the much neater trick is just to say what do I want, and then speak into that want, which is far more vulnerable than trying to be right.  Brett:  Absolutely. Being right is trying to say or do the thing that is perceived by both the voice in your head and others as everybody agrees that it is right, which is an impossible task.  Joe: Totally impossible. Brett:  What you want is something that can flow and change, and it can be true in the moment and you get what you want or not what you want and then learn more. Joe: That's right. Also, there is this total freedom in identity. If you aren't worried about being right, then you don't need everyone to think you are right and you don't need to be right. There's a huge freedom in that. There's this amazing freedom in it. What's cool is that if you are there and every time you worry about being right or every time you are wrong and somebody is chastising you for being wrong, and you let that emotion move through, it disintegrates more and more of what some traditions would call the ego, but I would call just limited perspectives. It just starts to disintegrate your limiting perspective, and it allows your identity to be an internal experience of identity to be far more expansive and to need a lot less protection.  [BELL]Okay, so this is the time in our podcast when we do something just a little bit different. We take a break from the intellect and incorporate our bodies and emotions into the conversation. We do this because it helps us integrate the information better, and usually it is a bunch of fun.  We crowdsource these exercises from our community, so if you have a good one, please share it with us. When doing the exercise, take it as a treat and as an experiment. Just do the activity and see what happens. As always, enjoy yourself. [BELL] Woman's voice: Hi everyone. This is Tara. Take a big inhale. You are going to keep your eyes open for this one. Our attention is going to be on our eyes this time. On your next inhale, you can use the inhale to sort of scan if you have any tension around your eyes. You can use the exhale to release any tension around your eyes. See how much you can let your eyes just rest in their sockets. Many of us carry a lot of tension around our eyes. You can use your breath to continue letting your eyes relax. You are going to let your vision go soft so you are not going to focus on any one thing in front of you, just see how much you can let your vision go soft. Everything may go a little fuzzy. That's okay. Take another inhale.  I am going to take it one step further. With your eyes deeply resting in their sockets, see how much they can just receive the visual field in front of them. The visual field comes to them and all they have to do is they get to receive the visual field. Just notice how you feel different at the end of this than when you started.  [BELL]Joe: Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed the exercise as much as we did when we found it. Before we go back into the episode, I wanted to thank all of you who have been sharing the podcast and signing up for the VIEW course. The interest and support you guys have shown has been both overwhelming and humbling. It is a pleasure to know that we have something to offer that has been so helpful to you. All right, now let's get back into the conversation.  Brett:  I can observe that any of my internal thoughts are actually trying to avoid feeling something. The thought might be self-criticism, which is trying to gain control over myself to avoid feeling whatever I felt by not getting it right in whatever sense. But also rehearsing a conversation or just overthinking about something a project that I want to do, if I find myself in a circle or a cycle on it, it is often that I am just trying to collapse the discomfort of the unknown into some framework of known. If I am trying to do that, to some extent that's impossible. It will just be an unsolvable possible. I will just keep doing it. When if I just let myself feel the powerlessness of the unknown, then all of a sudden those thoughts go away and I am actually freed up to take action.  Joe: What's cool about what you just said is that's a fractal or a micro version of a major thing that happens, whether it be the fear of death or a fear of taking a risk. To be okay with that feeling of unknown, to be okay with I don't know what's going to happen next, which is true. We think we know what's going to happen next. We get taught over and over again. We don't. We create our world so that we think it is predictable, and then something very unpredictable happens.  Brett:  Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. Joe: I haven't heard that one.  Brett: I think it was Muhammad Ali or somebody. Don't quote me on that.  Joe: There's another one. I think it was John Lennon, which is plans are what you do while life is happening. That generally is to be in love with the feeling of confusion and mystery and unknown, and like all emotions, it seems like if we do that, then we don't make plans or if we do that, we won't be prepared. If that's happening, then the voice in the head has convinced you of that through some wonky logic. What actually happens when we get good with that is that plans happen far more naturally, organically. They flow far easier. Brett:  This brings up something else, another way that this has shown up in my life as stopping me from moving forward. If I get to the point where I am rehearsing a possible conversation, and then I feel like I have actually fully rehearsed it and then it was perfect, then all of a sudden it becomes completely uninteresting to have that conversation. A, I don't want to break its perfect image in my mind, and B, it becomes boring because there is no unknown in it. C, sometimes I will actually trick myself into thinking I actually had the conversation. It could be disastrous.  Joe: Yeah. Brett:  I can't count how many times I've been like wait a minute, didn't we talk about this. No, we didn't talk about this. Oh no.  Joe: Those are all the more subtle ways the voice in the head operates. You just kind of described maybe the voice in the head doesn't want to feel or the system doesn't want to feel rejection, and so the voice in the head starts with, let's rehearse so that you don't experience the rejection. Then the voice is like this is boring, and then the voice is like you probably had the conversation. That's how the whole thing works. There is always a way for it to insinuate itself, and the more you become aware of it, like I say, it is subtle until you see it. The more you see it, the more depth there is available.  All that is needed is to relate to it differently, and to love it and to be aware of it and not have a fight with it. Then you can moments that happen in your life that feel like big moments. Sometimes and sometimes they don't.  All of a sudden, you realize the voice in my head is so much quieter. There is so much less of it.  Brett:  What happens when you get to that point? What did it feel like when you had that 75% reduction of the voice in your head? Joe: It's different from different people. For some people, it is hardly noticeable. It is such a slow progression. What I notice is people that were like really deeply depressed and then that kicks in, and then it is just like this life changing, holy crap what just happened. Some people resist it. There is this whole thing called depersonalization disorder. The Zen call it Zen sickness It can happen, and people are like wait a second, where am I. This isn't good. I need that back.  You can have all sorts of reactions to it. When it happens and you are aware of it, and you are not fighting with it, it is incredibly joyful. Your car has just become 75% more efficient. Your energy is far more aligned with the way you want to be going, and not second guessing yourself. It is more enjoyable, and you are more in the present, all that stuff.  Again, to have a goal to get rid of the voice in your head is to not love the voice in your head, and therefore, it is a very slow process. It is far better to just love the voice in your head as it is, and not try to get rid of it and not reject it.  Brett:  It almost sounds like the framing of getting rid of the voice in the head is creating separation from it, but what we are actually going for is developing such a relationship with it that it is communicating with us so cleanly that it is just part of us, instead of compressing itself down into words and then hitting us in our logic battlefield. Joe: Yeah, it is an interesting question. Eventually, that question comes up as you are talking about what is the voice in the head and what's you. What's the difference between them? I think that's a great question to be sitting with but not to be answering. To be in that question, what's the different between me and the voice in my head actually? That in itself can change your relationship with the voice in your head. Brett:  With that to sit with, what's another practice or maybe a homework assignment to develop this relationship further with our voice? Joe: There's an infinite amount. They work differently for different people at different stages. When I see somebody, I can point more directly to what might be useful for them. Generally, there are two that come to mind. One is just tell yourself that you love yourself, maybe in a mirror, in a camera, and then listen to the response to you loving yourself, all the ways it makes you uncomfortable, all the things you say that you are not loveable for. That's all the voice in your head. if you want to excavate it, that's a great way to excavate it.  Another one, which is a more subtle trick is just to ask the question what's looking out behind my eyes right now. You'll notice that that often quiets the mind. It also kind of puts you in where your identity has moved from the voice in your head to awareness. Are you voice the in your head that's constantly talking or are you the awareness of the voice in the head talking? It asks that question, and you can do it at any time. It is a great practice in the fact you can be in a meeting, you can be in a fight, you can be going to the bathroom and you can say what's looking out behind my eyes. There's a ton of versions of that question. The most common one is who am I or what am I. That's not a question to be answered. That's a question to be in wonder. It's to be in wonder in that question. But there are a ton of little hack questions like that that are available, but I would say start with one of those.  Brett:  What about journaling? Writing down the voice in your head.  Joe: I don't have any problem. It is a great thing if you want to write what the voice in the head is saying to you. Great. Bring it into awareness. Even better, once you have done it, be an argumentative lawyer to it. Not an adversary, but an argumentative lawyer and find out what's a little untrue in each of the statements. Someone says I should lose weight. You should lose weight. According to who? What do you mean by should? Shouldn't you be the weight you are because the definition of should is what is, right? I have to lose weight because if not, I'll die early. What makes dying early bad? Who is to say that the best thing isn't for me to die early? I know that's crazy, but look for anyway in which the logic might be. Also, I should lose weight. I've been saying it for a decade. It doesn't work, so what makes me keep on saying I should lose weight. Maybe I should say I want to lose weight. What's the response to I should lose weight. Most people's response is rebellion. They don't do it. There's all sorts of ways to just start looking into and analyzing and bringing a fresh perspective into the voice in your head.  Brett:  It seems like the example you just gave, somebody asking those questions would get themselves more in touch what they are actually afraid of underneath the judgement the voice had. Joe: You can bring VIEW from the first podcast and from the course. You can bring that same methodology and point it towards the voice in your head. Being vulnerable with it. Ow, it really hurts when you tell me I should lose weight. Being impartial with it, I am not going to try to get rid of you. What´s going on? What do you really have to say? Being empathetic with it, how scared is the voice in the head to be shouting at you like this? What is it so afraid of? To feel that, to bring wonder to it. You can bring all of that VIEW to your voice in your head, and you can dialogue with it in a journal. It is a great practice.  There´s really infinite ways to deal with it, to play with it, to have fun with it, and I just encourage people to experiment, play.  Brett:  It seems like a great internal playground for VIEW, and then you might find that the same kind of VIEW conversations you start to have with the voice in your head are going to probably be somewhat similar to the conversations you might have with your first VIEW conversations with your family or your parents or your family of origin where many of the voices come from.  Joe: It will also affect all of your relationships. If you see through your own shoulds, and somebody says I really think I should, you see through their should, whereas if you believe your should, then you believe their should. If you believe your sense of rigid morality, then that is inhumane, then you will believe their sense of rigid morality that is not humane. When you see through your own voice in your head, you area bastion of freedom for people because when they are talking to you, you don't buy into their limiting perspectives.  Brett:  To wrap this up, can you ask a couple questions for our listeners to ponder, to integrate this conversation. Joe: How do you want to relate to the voice in your head? What's the most fun experience you can think to do around the voice in your head? What would it take for you to enjoy the voice in your head just as it is without want it to change?  Brett:  Perfect. Thank you, Joe. I really loved this conversation. Joe: I really liked it. It felt really alive.  Thanks for listening to the Life in View podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard today, please subscribe. We would love your feedback, so feel free to send us questions and comments. To reach us, join our newsletter, learn more about VIEW or to take a course, visit view.life

Today's quote: "Anxiety is enthusiasm without the breath." -Fritz Perls For more information about The Dreams Course, email Steven at thedreamscourse@yahoo.com

Web: http://www.amadag.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Asociacion.Amadag Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amadag.psico/ Youtube Amadag TV: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC22fPGPhEhgiXCM7PGl68rw ¿Sabías que cada necesidad es, en sí misma, un proceso? Esto es lo que nos viene a contar el ciclo de satisfacción de las necesidades, también conocido como ciclo de contacto-retirada o ciclo de autorregulación, ya que nuestro organismo tiene un cariño natural por el equilibrio y éste se ve trastocado cuando emerge una necesidad, siendo el propio organismo el que tiende a reequilibrarse para de nuevo alcanzar la homeostásis. Este concepto inicialmente formulado por el neuropsiquiatra y psicoanalista Fritz Perls, viene a ilustrar el proceso por el cual tomamos conciencia de lo que necesitamos y hacemos lo necesario para satisfacerlo o concluir la experiencia. Es un modelo en el que tienen el mismo valor tanto las necesidades fisiológicas como las psicológicas, y que, en forma de círculo, representa la interacción que se da entre nuestro organismo y el entorno; el camino que recorre la energía desde el instante en que emerge una nueva necesidad hasta verse satisfecha o interrumpida por los diversos mecanismos de defensa que ponemos en funcionamiento.

Question of the Week This weeks question is from Quora https://qr.ae/pNyZ5J Main topic Fear, is something we have all experienced in one form or another sometime in our life. I remember when I was a little kid I was in the kitchen at night and grabbing some snacks I wasn't supposed to have and suddenly a large column candle we had on in there for smell goods and emergency lighting if the electricity went out suddenly fell off of its holder. Blam! The sense of fear that a ghost was about to start throwing me was the only thought I remember. That and the fact that I did an incredible Jesse Owens impression.  Another instance of me being in the full grip of fear was when I was at my great grandparent's house. This incredible storm was booming. You could walk around the house without the lights on because the lighting was flashing almost continuously. The windows would shake when there were close strikes. It was a truly awe-inspiring event. So much so that I took an umbrella (because it was raining) and went out to watch it. As I was out in the middle of my great grandfather's garden looking all around me as the clouds lit up and flashed and the Thunder was felt in your chest. Suddenly I started feeling oddly light. The hair on the nape of my neck was getting all tingly. All I thought was this is weird and then maybe 20 feet or so in front of me, my the world turned white. It also got very warm, very fast. The noise was deafening. After that the umbrella was dropped and from my lips came a battle cry for the cowards. UUUUUUUuuuuuuuurgh!!! I proceeded to return to the house as quickly as possible. Now these are two instances are an example of three things, Surprise, Stupidity, and Fear. Now the surprise of a candle falling and thinking it was a ghost could be garnered as ignorance. While obviously me standing out in an open field with a lightning rod in my hand during a thunderstorm is clearly stupidity. Both are also examples of unbridled fear. What is Fear?  Fear is your mind's reaction to the unknown. It is thanks to the lizard part of your brain, the amygdala, is the emotional birthplace. Well all you emotions come from the amygdala, but when fear comes into play, your lizard part of your brain actually can take control of your body. It will take full control and you run on autopilot. That is what happens when you enter the fight, flight, or freeze instincts. Your amygdala is designed to keep you safe and comfortable. Now short of being struck by lighting or seeing a bus coming at you. These days the use of fear to run from a bear is very seldom. Yet it is still there. Most people avoid feeling fear because it is rather unpleasant and so we avoid fear as much as we avoid the bear. I want to propose that fear can be a tool and a very handy tool to keep you not only safe but to help you become more successful. Fear as A Tool Now I see fear as a tool. Like every tool you can use it the right way and the wrong way. Both ways are powerful but using it the wrong way is very destructive. Wrong Uses of Fear Using fear as a tool to manipulate people is the common way most people use fear incorrectly. They threaten people with their jobs if it is a boss with no confidence in their leading style or of exposing a shameful event if it is by someone who is blackmailing someone else.  Fear can for a short time influence a person to do your bidding. Because fear can over rid free will it is a common tool for tyrants and dictators alike. Yet eventually people get tired of living in fear and they will fight back. Using fear like this erodes people away it makes them less than they can be and doesn't serve anybody even the person who is trying to control others. How to use fear to your advantage Now you can also use fear to your advantage and it can be used to accelerate your path to your goals and other success. Masting Kipp said it best. Unless you're in mortal danger, fear is a compass showing you where to go. - Mastin Kipp As I said earlier, we avoid fear. Our amygdala wants us to stay comfortable in what is familiar. Yet when you are starting a new business or anything that is out of the ordinary we are faced with the biggest barriers around. Those barriers are fear. Yeah they may be mindsets too but often those mindsets are based in fear. This is why when you will hear people say if your goal doesn't scare you it isn't the right goal. If you use fear as a compass you will soon know that you re heading in the right direction. You can also change ho you look at fear.  Fear is excitement without the breath - Fritz Perls, MD, the psychiatrist and founder of Gestalt Therapy The key is to breathe and make them deep breaths make your feeling scared into the feeling of exhilaration. All you need to do is breath, also you live longer if you breathe deep Daniel-san.

The Self-Connection Podcast: S1 E 15:A Zap of insight with Laura Dodson.Laura Dodson, a former student and eventual colleague of Virginia Satir joins the podcast today. Laura shares her wisdom through the telling of her own healing journey of shame and describes her experience working with Virginia and her own family of origin issues as essential to healing and finding peace. I found my conversation with Laura to be deeply enriching and hope that her passion, heart and wisdom shine through in this podcast.0:00 Tim provides a brief introduction to Laura Dodson. Laura did her first training with Virginia in 1963 Laura Dodson was a close friend of Virginia Satir and was by her side as she died of Pancreatic cancer in 1988.In addition to her extensive training with Virginia, Laura is also a Jungian analyst and did her postdoctoral thesis integrating Virginia's work with Carl Jung with her insights.Laura is one of the key leaders in sharing Virginia's work with the world. She has travelled to many parts of hte world including, Russia, Lithuania, and Thailand to offer training and workshops and has been doing so since the 80s.2:50 Laura does a meditation:6:00 Tim offers a brief commentary to transition into the conversation between himself and Laura.7:23 Tim asks Laura to share her own experiences of “Zap” . Laura shares about her early experiences of being a teacher and quickly transitioning to becoming a social worker as she was more interested in connecting to the inner lives of her students and family life and supporting growth at a deeper level. In this way, her life parallels Virginia as they both connected to their students' families to help support them with their learning. Laura wrote letters to the top family therapist of the time and Virginia was the only one to respond inviting her to train with her and offering something for her mind, body and soul.12:20 Laura talks about her first impressions of Virginia. She was present and expressive of what she felt and thought and Laura found this to be very exciting. She listened carefully to others. Laura worked in an adult inpatient mental health facility and she invited Virginia to come to teach, do demonstrations, and train the staff there two or three times a year over nine years.16:50 In this work, the emphasis was with families and creating community and the demonstrated successful outcomes over 5 year follow up.18:10 Laura shares that Virginia had a deep respect for others and did not allow for any blaming or shaming to occur in her work. Laura learned from Virginia to see the problem as one of coping not as one of pathology residing within a specific person which would foretell blame and shame. The intervention at the level of family and community created a sense of community around the problems that were occurring and the presenting problems could then resolve or lessen as a result of working in this way, that is, systemically.19:22 Understanding logically the futility of blame and understanding family of origin issues, and approaching emotional and family life from a stance of learned patterns and behaviors. Laura talks about Virginia's preparation in meeting a family, putting aside her concerns and agenda so she can be present and meet the individuals of the family with a sense of awe at the miracles they each are. She differentiated between peoples behavior from their essence. “We are all miracles. And I feel I am about to meet a miracle. So I feel respect and awe of that person. “ From that attitude, she would make contact and often physical touch contact to meet people. She wanted to join the family to explore what was happening and to explore choices of what other things could happen.Virginia approached people with a detective hat (sometimes literally!) , which symbolized an attitude of curiosity rather than blame. Virginia talked about blame being our first attempts at trying to understand what's happening and we don't have in our minds a broader way of looking at it. Seeing people and situations beyond blame is central to understanding how Virginia worked.Laura shares her view that people's intention and goals is not to hurt, unless its revenge for the hurt that they feel they've experienced. Revenge is not inherent in our nature but rather a reaction to pain.24:40 Tim asks how Virginia was able to have such confidence in the essence of people beyond their behavior and patterns. Virginia talked about each person have the seed of creativity within us. A problem is a block in energy. We are geared towards growth.26:00 Laura provides an example of someone suffering with Schizophrenia saying "people in this family never liked me|". Virginia would thank them for sharing and ask when they first felt that. They would go into the past and that's when the creative energy started to be blocked, the energy to solve problems was blocked because the solution or formulation is somehow they are ‘wrong, bad, dirty, evil, stupid or crazy'. Virginia would explore how differences were handled and talked about. Were they labelled as "bad". Then she would offer a new perspective, “What if we called your difference your uniqueness?” She worked to take blame and shame out of the conversation. Shame is particularly difficult because with shame we feel we should just disappear and not exist. She worked to help people see themselves as she saw them, as a miracle of life.27:42 Tim asks what Laura's experience of Zap. Laura describes growing up feeling shame about her body being tall and very thin. Laura was different in being attracted to people's emotional life which was very unlike those in her family. Laura recalls noticing tension in the family and taking on the blame and responsibility for that. “It's because of me. I did something wrong. I'm not loveable anymore. It must be my fault.”31:55 Laura recalls Virginia doing a sculpt with Fritz Perls (the founder of Gestalt therapy) role-playing her father and sitting his lap. Virginia said to her “You know something more happened to you when you were 5, something more than having long legs. You need to go find out.”Laura questioned her mother and finally found out that her father had an affair. Laura realized that what was happening in the family was not her fault. She explains that she felt relief. This was one example of a Zap moment for her.36:00 Laura shares that she had learned that shame was a reaction to anything wrong. She expanded her possibilities of how to react when something was wrong; beyond what a child would do, thinking “It's all my fault” Realizing that she was not the center of the universe as a child would think.Laura shares that her defence of pulling back and not talking, not being seen, was rooted in the shame of “I'm not ok” Before her work with Virginia, she couldn't become a woman and integrate her sensual side.39:50 Shame disconnects us from our Self, or Life force. We can apply the ideas of unravelling shame to healing from cultural trauma. Laura talks about her work in Lithuania as an experience of a nation experiencing shame. “Healing of shame applies to all systems.”45:25 We talk about Virginia's incorporation of the body, breath, movement. Tim asks Laura to share what she learned from Virginia about the importance of the body in the work of growth and healing. Laura relates her experience of Virginia dying and having an insight of what to do that came from meditation that was preverbal and body-based.49:20 Laura also shares another experience training with Virginia working with a woman who was in a car accident and walks us through the bodywork that occurred in her process of healing. “Leading by following a half a step behind.” is how Laura likes to work and how she witnessed Virginia working. She helped to help make conscious that is unconscious and almost conscious. She recalls Virginia stroking her hands and asking “if your hands could speak what would they say” so that she could come to her senses more and more.There is a relief when you can place in time and space the feeling tone that you carry within a particular context. Laura describes this as comforting and making sense of her pain. “To become familiar with that part of life that she had repressed”Virginia was very mindful not to interrupt the individual's process and encouraged her to experience her experience for herself. She was present to help Jackie find what her body was remembering. There is an art to staying out of the way and being a guide. Laura describes the importance of creating that bond between therapist and client before being able to go deep into bodywork or any healing process.58:50 Laura talks about how thrilling it can be to have a partner doing the work together and not getting in the way of it. Laura describes Freud's use of the couch with the patient lying down and facing away from the therapist as a way of doing this but analysts were not trained to show they care and to bond and to journey together was not present in Laura's experience of analysis of the time.1:00:00 We talk about the connection at the level of Self being the essential ingredient to transformation. That an overemphasis on method and technique can lose sight of this.1:01:30 We talk about the use of touch in therapy. Tim appreciates Virginia's use of the whole body and Self in therapy and Virginia's fearlessness in doing so. Laura talks about the important risk a therapist must take to speak the unspeakable, to bring to light what is felt but not yet said. The risks that a therapist takes an important ingredient according to Laura of what makes the work therapeutic and not just a casual conversation. To make the hypothesizing together and not needing to be right is an important part of being able to grow and learn in relationships.