Scientism is essentially the result of dogmatism for the scientific method, which leads to gross overgeneralization about the importance or ability of the scientific method. Most speakers on the subject relay their concern of the impact that scientism has had on the field of human psychology and spirituality.
Category Archives: Existance, Reality & the Universe
Synchronicity – The rattlesnake’s message of change and balance
Quick summary: This is a story about synchronicity and the collective unconscious… this message was given to me from the collective to help the manifestation of my destiny… Carl Jung brought synchronicity to the western world (though the ideas have been alive in Taoism and forms of shamanism for a very long time). The idea is that there are meaningful coincidences in life that can be very beneficial to you if you pay attention. There are symbols that can help direct you towards your destiny. The whole idea of dream interpretation stems from Jung and this theory… the lesser-known part of the theory is that there are symbols in life as well as in dreams.
Jung’s Theory of Synchronicity, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
Quick summary: I have been reading a great book titled the ‘Tao of Psychology’ which spends a good deal of time explaining Jung’s theory of archetypes, the collective unconscious and synchronicity. My intention is to make these very abstract concepts more accessible so that more people can receive guidance by paying attention to the subjective meaning that they might assign to synchronistic events. In simple terms – life gives you signs… if you pay attention the signs can help you.
pathologizing, labels, dichotomies, existentialism and acceptance
Quick summary: I am offering a discussion concerning the drive to label and how labeling impacts suffering. There is a heated debate in the field of psychotherapy as to whether psychiatric (DSM) labels help or hurt the client’s recovery. I am commenting on what encourages our emotional reactions and behavior related to the topic.
The Oppression of Creativity and Progression – How regulation, oversight, managed care, and “Big Brother” oppress growth
Quick summary: When a person or system gains power they have the choice to use that power to implement and oversee regulations intended to bring the masses to conform to a truth which was suggested by the relevant power. ‘Knowledge’ then becomes an oppressive tool used by the power to convince people of an absolute truth with the end goal of exerting its intention on the population. The power is very often unaware that they are oppressive… in fact the power often believes that it is being helpful in that it is proliferating a helpful ‘truth’ to the masses. The problem is that when the public rigidly holds onto a truth the process of creativity is diminished (as you no longer need to create anything because the power already found ‘the truth’).There is no end to the evolution of consciousness and as such there is no end to the creative potential of consciousness (we are embodiments of consciousness = you are conscious = your creative potential is infinite). When the power imposes regulation, standards, and oversight intended to bring the population to conform to their ‘truth’ which they substantiate with ‘knowledge’ they intentionally or unintentionally hinder creativity. In short, the power says,” this is the ‘right way’ to do things based on these ‘facts’ and it is in the best interest of the public that we implement oversight to ensure everyone is doing things the ‘right way’… we will put regulation in place to ensure that there are no deviations from our set protocols.” deviations are creations – without deviations there is no creativity and therefore no progression or evolution of consciousness. There is hope… open-mindedness and acceptance can counter power as those two attributes help us to see that truth is relative and ever evolving… there are no absolute truths.
What is the meaning of Life? – To live… consciousness of consciousness in existence
I have contemplated the meaning of life and when asked what it is I usually defer to, “I don’t think that my brain is evolved to understand such things,” or “I am not sure that I am supposed to know… and I find that lack of existential responsibility to be comforting.” Today I will offer that perhaps the meaning of life is simply to live. When I say such a thing most people jump to anarchy, hedonism, and/or an existence without ethics and morality. To that I would reply that I believe that morals, ethics and structure are a part of existence, which life’s consciousness quantifies with terminology, relationship, math or language so that we reach some degree of understanding of the apparent balance of all existence. So to clarify, the meaning of life is then to live within the balance of existence… and to have life means to have a direct individual experience of this balance… to be able to experience this interconnectedness of everything from an individual perspective.
Reducing suffering – How trying to avoid or control suffering often increases suffering – When to act and when to accept without action
I will speak most on the suffering which we cause for ourselves when we distract, avoid, overwork, and over think with the good intentioned yet futile goal of attempting to control chaos, to create predictability, or to force reality into looking like our expectations.
Narrative therapy: the externalization of perception
Quick summary: By talking with a therapist and re-experiencing emotions, thoughts and emotionally significant experiences, a client can show his/herself that occurrences can be narrated and therefore separated from the concept of self… narration is freedom as we find ourselves to be the author of our own reality. Resiliency naturally emerges as our identity ceases to be determined by the plot of our lives… we are no longer automatically controlled by the plot… instead we are the author… we choose the conclusions of our conflicts.
Gestalts vs. Math and deductive reasoning
Does Gestalt theory (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts) display one of the limitations of math in general? In other words does gestalt theory show that not all reality can be quantified with mathematical equations? As far as I can see (and I am far from an expert) math is based in deductive reasoning (if all a is b and b is c then a is c). If there are no ‘truths’ (if gestalt theory displays how 1 + 1 does not always equal two) then what does this mean for all the ‘truths’ that mathematics has suggested. Is our reality a construct based on our universal agreement in mathematical ‘truths’ that might not be true? Are we creating the existence of other universes and laws of physics based on inductive reasoning that we constructed to be deductive reasoning?