tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post4624615820441268396..comments2024-03-28T12:10:26.197-07:00Comments on One Cʘsmos: .... To Be Continued. But Only Forever....Gagdad Bobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-72400315836296603332009-10-22T06:48:16.600-07:002009-10-22T06:48:16.600-07:00Too much Ryan Howard.
Julie:
The books come up r...Too much Ryan Howard.<br /><br />Julie:<br /><br />The books come up randomly within a given category.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-112165385726922942009-10-21T21:00:34.772-07:002009-10-21T21:00:34.772-07:00How bout' them Phils?How bout' them Phils?spankynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-59873479847228943632009-10-21T18:37:24.932-07:002009-10-21T18:37:24.932-07:00Retriever,
One reason I love poetry (reading it, I...Retriever,<br /><i>One reason I love poetry (reading it, I can't write it worth anything)</i><br /><br />I beg to differ...juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-32476066266844478142009-10-21T18:16:30.110-07:002009-10-21T18:16:30.110-07:00I like your warning about the danger of "over...I like your warning about the danger of "overly saturating the subject and leaving no space for the imagination to roam and make its own connections." Need to remember it... <br /><br />One reason I love poetry (reading it, I can't write it worth anything)is because of all it can say and point to in so few words. Echoes of rhyme and meter, myriad associations stirred up, motion stopped as by a strobe, mind pinging here, there, never in a straight line...<br /><br />On language expressing the inexpressible: When one loves writing and talking, when language is a playground, there's a danger of staying forever on the wrong side of the depths. As one wriggles and hops like a waterbug on the surface, a whole universe lies below. Hints of "eternity, placelessnes, non-contradiction, etc" only sometimes found in moments of meditation or prayer when the horseflies stop stinging at last and one is only the crash of the wave (instead of ceaselessly following the other bathers). In theory. <br /><br />In practice I wriggled rebelliously when my boss the nun began all staff meetings with meditation (and I would try and fail) . Unable to escape my own words and thoughts and checking out the cute Jesuit novice across the way. <br /><br />Hence devouring poetry. Other people's words can wipe away the chalk scrawl obscuring the board. I thought of Burnt Norton by T.S. Eliot when I read your post:<br /><br />"Time present and time past<br />Are both perhaps present in time future,<br />And time future contained in time past.<br />If all time is eternally present<br />All time is unredeemable.<br />What might have been is an abstraction <br />Remaining a perpetual possibility<br />Only in a world of speculation.<br />What might have been and what has been<br />Point to one end, which is always present.<br />Footfalls echo in the memory<br />Down the passage which we did not take<br />Towards the door we never opened<br />Into the rose-garden. My words echo<br />Thus, in your mind.<br /> But to what purpose<br />Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves<br />I do not know.<br /> Other echoes<br />Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?..."<br /><br />Good description of people surviving and reliving trauma. The whole floating above one's body to the ceiling "Is that me down there writhing in pain?" and wandering lonely as a cloud the rest of one's life, detached and not feeling it. What saves? If the conventional secular or medical solutions cannot? Rom 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."<br /><br />When you talk about repetition of words expressed the deepest agony or joy, I thought of how people use the Rosary.Retrieverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036341287285545932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-21640416712506004812009-10-21T17:55:34.882-07:002009-10-21T17:55:34.882-07:00Hey Bob - do the books in the store come up random...Hey Bob - do the books in the store come up randomly, or do you change them the way you used to change the music?<br /><br />Just curious, because the one showing on my screen just now is "Affect Regulation and the repair of the Self."juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-65529364946720994642009-10-21T15:16:35.494-07:002009-10-21T15:16:35.494-07:00"By the way, mind parasites communicate direc..."By the way, mind parasites communicate directly unconscious to unconscious, which is why the therapist must closely monitor what sorts of things are being spontaneously provoked in him as he listens -- images, fantasies, etc."<br /><br /><br />There's the saying that the mugger looks for the person who is a victim, who is unaware of their surroundings, cowering, furtive, as the ideal target to victimize... what is that, but a long distance communication? It makes sense as well, that if imagery conveys ideas and general understanding, which further consideration can convey into words and clearer understanding... then the roughly opposite, an interior understanding or fixated mental image (fear, etc), would find it's way into your words, actions, posture and movements which together convey an overall image....<br /><br />I deleted the rest of what I was writing, chasing my textual tail through several paragraphs and getting nowhere, and everywhere, fast... but that's one of those ideas that spawns....Van Harveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08470413719262297062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-19298459345406217332009-10-21T14:30:43.588-07:002009-10-21T14:30:43.588-07:00Yes. There is always ambivalence -- resistance an...Yes. There is always ambivalence -- resistance and alliance, collaboration and sabotage.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-57446655449527327252009-10-21T13:56:43.672-07:002009-10-21T13:56:43.672-07:00So it’s an intentional desire to be helped, then? ...So it’s an intentional desire to be helped, then? Despite outward appearances?Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-69633014407201197892009-10-21T13:50:49.599-07:002009-10-21T13:50:49.599-07:00By the way, mind parasites communicate directly un...By the way, mind parasites communicate directly unconscious to unconscious, which is why the therapist must closely monitor what sorts of things are being spontaneously provoked in him as he listens -- images, fantasies, etc. I think I've mentioned the story of a female patient who provoked in me the impulse to punch her. Then, in taking her history, it turned out that she had been in half a dozen abusive relationships!Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-79828193355380163132009-10-21T13:48:04.576-07:002009-10-21T13:48:04.576-07:00Oy yes. They leak out all over the place, leaving...Oy yes. They leak out all over the place, leaving little hints and clues. And like anyone else, they want to be understood, even while being afraid of it. A major exception would be sociopaths, who don't want to be understood at all.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-82193344426856332502009-10-21T13:44:56.228-07:002009-10-21T13:44:56.228-07:00“You might say that what I was trying to express h...“You might say that what I was trying to express had to invent the means -- and even the person! -- to express itself.”<br /><br />This reminds me. Bob, when you do psychoanalysis with a patient with mind parasites…let me narrow that down… I can't, never mind. Does the part of the unconscious underneath the parasites (the true self?) try to sneak out little clues to you as the Doctor? I mean, as the Doctor you are picking up clues. My question is, are (any of them) left for you intentionally?Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-66589441675368390582009-10-21T13:28:52.549-07:002009-10-21T13:28:52.549-07:00I remember reading a book some 15 years ago called...I remember reading a book some 15 years ago called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568217900?ie=UTF8&tag=onecosmos-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1568217900" rel="nofollow">Mapping the Terrain of the Heart: Passion, Tenderness, and the Capacity to Love</a>. At the time, I thought it was a pretty sophisticated book, although I can't vouch for it now, since it's been too long...Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-6195212268608069392009-10-21T13:23:47.175-07:002009-10-21T13:23:47.175-07:00Very true. Your primary relationship is a kind of...Very true. Your primary relationship is a kind of crucible that tests your true limits and your real capacity for intimacy. This is why it provides the opportunity to face and break through your limits. Most relationships don't die for lack of intimacy, but unconscious fear of it. People unconsciously think relationships just die, when it's usually murder.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-58937498011681944282009-10-21T13:19:12.821-07:002009-10-21T13:19:12.821-07:00Bob,
Funny you should say that. I'm doing a...Bob,<br /><br /> Funny you should say that. I'm doing all three. My Lady and I are getting serious. I surprised myself with just how hard it is to be close to someone. No that's not right. Being close to someone highlights just how messed up you really are. Funny that. God Bless All!Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03149296283560293988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-8838704724715416752009-10-21T13:08:25.696-07:002009-10-21T13:08:25.696-07:00What I find interesting in my own experience of th...What I find interesting in my own experience of the Weird (I mean come on, does it get any weirder than this monkey-suit?)concerning depression and trauma comes back to two words: sweet surrender.<br /><br />How is it possible that I could have a state of transcendent, mystical unity one day (brought on through prayer, meditation, and Grace) only to be followed the next by crippling self hatred and agony? It made absolutely no sense. Then I learned the secret word- DEATH. <br /><br />Yes, DEATH.<br /><br />Used to be that when the machine kicked into extreme suffering mode I would flail about like a fish on my bed, shaming myself as a putz, a demon, a droogie (glass o' the milk, Alex?). I mean, if one day I am in Love and the next I am crowned in a tragedy that leaves me whining like a little girl with a skinned knee, there must be something wrong with me, right? <br /><br />But then I got inventive. I decided to see what would happen if I let the torpor take over, if I let the sadness and inconscience sweep over me, without resisting. I would say "Alright, I surrender to you, Lord. You are Almighty, and I take full responsibility for this pain. I make no excuses for how it came unto me, and I am sick of fighting with it. As long as I need to lay here here in this state of DEATH, I accept."<br /><br />You see, I saw the death as a good thing. It was a surrender. I sweetly gave myself back Her Greatness, and She turned the demon on its head. The Energy filled my body and I became Light and Goodness. The pain of suffering turned into heavenly Bliss, and I layed there for three hours- the same I normally would have in a state of despair- in Love, Excellence, and Purity. There was no where to go, nothing to do, nothing to achieve. <br /><br />Just this. And this is lovely.<br /><br />Now the pain still tries come on from time to time, but I just reframe it. "I am going to die now, " I'll say, and go and lay down in perfect acceptance of the illusion. Then the illusion falls away and the Holy Spirit ignites my eyes, renders my soul worthy, dreams me a Beauty. <br /><br />Yes! Yes! Can you feel it? She is here!Gazrielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-36268786205973153982009-10-21T13:08:18.544-07:002009-10-21T13:08:18.544-07:00Pacing would definitely be an autistic or obsessio...Pacing would definitely be an autistic or obsessional defense mechanism.<br /><br />James:<br /><br />Therapy, medication, and reparative relationships are the only ways I know of.Gagdad Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14249005793605006679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-21473252795121568752009-10-21T12:56:43.601-07:002009-10-21T12:56:43.601-07:00The pacing and the photographic memory, that is.The pacing and the photographic memory, that is.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-5252404602240995592009-10-21T12:55:55.314-07:002009-10-21T12:55:55.314-07:00The “repeating words” reminds me of my middle brot...The “repeating words” reminds me of my middle brother’s pacing. This was when he was maybe 13 or so... as a result of a trauma at school. This is the brother with the photographic memory. This ability used to be better when he was younger. Wonder if those two things are related.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10589423819039764711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-75518675028589623232009-10-21T11:38:21.753-07:002009-10-21T11:38:21.753-07:00Going back to James' question (and bearing in ...Going back to James' question (and bearing in mind that I can only talk from my own, completely non-professional and non-impartial observations), I think the best means of change must include some combination of Grace and effective therapy, combined with medication where indicated. But really it depends on the trauma, doesn't it?<br /><br />Also, to some degree I can't help wondering how much an individual's nature comes into play. Some people are willing to do whatever it takes to get past the trauma. Others may see a problem but don't <i>really</i> want to do the necessary work, perhaps because the status quo has a perverse sort of comfort for being familiar, while breaking past it requires some dissassembly and a great deal of unknown changes. Still others may see the problem, but feel so helpless in its grasp that they're paralyzed, or maybe (for at least one person I know, this is a possibility) they simply don't have the cognitive ability/ alacrity/ dexterity to metabolize the trauma. And maybe that factor is made worse by the very young age at which it happened.<br /><br />In other words, it's different for everyone, depending on circumstances and personality. That said, even given the differences most people fall into identifiable categories and some kind of help is available.<br /><br />Another question to consider is what one expects to get out of the process. If the expectations are unrealistic (i.e. "my life would be <i>perfect</i>, if only..."), disappointment is bound to follow and maybe all the work will have been in vain.<br /><br />There are a lot of variables to consider, so there really isn't an easy answer for the question. imho, and for what that's worth.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-48801911142125554572009-10-21T10:46:55.639-07:002009-10-21T10:46:55.639-07:00I agree with James. It *is* hard to change at fund...I agree with James. It *is* hard to change at fundamental levels. We live in a time when there are, by far, more options for "healing trauma" than ever before. Who knows, some of them are probably even effective! <br /><br />My experience is that the earlier and more sustained the trauma (even if not necessarily a "dramatic"/violent trauma) the more difficult it is to change it. <br /><br />Any thoughts?slackosophernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-929880144143186622009-10-21T10:19:27.406-07:002009-10-21T10:19:27.406-07:00Speaking of blogging, which no one was, it also re...<i>Speaking of blogging, which no one was, it also reminds me of how I first had to create an audience for my writing, or will all of you folks into being</i><br /><br />No, no, no - you've got it completely backward. I (and a few others) had some unspoken questions and confusions waiting to be remembered. Preferably with explication by various other sources, in easily digestible but densely meaty chunks. Much easier to will an explainer into being than try to pull a few thousand posts worth of info out of our own noggins.juliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975754287030568726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8580258.post-29688818481625303152009-10-21T09:57:07.192-07:002009-10-21T09:57:07.192-07:00Bob,
How does one overcome a childhood trauma? ...Bob,<br /><br /> How does one overcome a childhood trauma? Is it something that only God can do through Grace, or is there some therapy, pill, or other means to overcome it. I'm starting to understand how difficult it is for people change in meaningful ways. We are certainly not as malleable as the Marxists think we are.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03149296283560293988noreply@blogger.com