The news trickles down. About 20,000 dead (as on 27 March, 7653 dead and 11746 missing), 4,50,000 rendered homeless, looming nuclear catastrophe, power breakdown, disrupted train schedules, lack of clean drinking water yet not a whimper of disgruntlement, a curse, or despair among the 13 crore Japanese people. What one hears is of one victim helping the other, sharing their food and bed, weeping on the shoulders of each other. The unbreakable-s are picking up the broken pieces to rebuild their lives again. The world when looks at the horrendous tragedy ponders: what makes the Japanese people resilient? Is it their Buddhist socio-cultural beliefs? Do they have some inbuilt genetic trait which others do not have? Or is it some other factor?
Ms. Nobuko Horibe, Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Asia-Pacific zone, says, “We Japanese live on about 20 per cent land; the rest being mountainous. This living environment necessitates us to be considerate to others and keep good harmony in a community. From kindergarten to elementary school and onward, your performance is measured by how your group performs; and if you are better than other members you are expected to help others, so that no one in the group is left out.” Explaining further, she says, “Japanese are not expressive people, they show restraint and are polite. Thinking of others and selflessness first is considered a virtue. In trouble, they look after each other. They also tend to internalise anger and sorrow. Yes, closely-knit social norms and systems may be stifling at times, but it works well in emergencies,”(B. Suri, “Dignity in the Face of Tragedy” The Hindu, march 26, 2011) This makes sense indeed. Amidst the thriving individualistic ethos, Japanese people kept alive and nurtured the sense of fraternity, human belongingness to each other and sense of one’s wellbeing is entwined with the wellbeing of the other. This is, according to positive psychologists, one of the primary indices of happiness and resilience.
When comparing Japanese attitude with that of Indian in similar situations, one wonders: what might be the Indian mindset? Indeed we saw people consoling each other, helping each other. But more than this what we saw in similar situations, is how people turned cruel to each other, robbing meagre help that dripped into hungry bowls, and even people going about unconcerned, even by the very people who professedly are social workers and political bigheads. We saw a pathological psyche at work. Doesn’t this make us ponder: What is it that by which we are nurturing ourselves? What values and convictions do our young imbibe?
The present social systems seem be nurturing an egoistic, narcissistic personality. An egoist is a person: who wants everything for him/herself; who gets pleasure in possessing and not in sharing; who is greedy because his aim is having, and in more he has more he feels he is worthwhile; who is antagonistic towards all others: his customers whom he wants to deceive, his workers whom he wants to exploit. He has no end to his wishes. He must be envious of those who have more and afraid of those who have less. These are repressed to feel good about oneself and good in front of others, and break forth in the face of human tragedies when humans are most vulnerable. This calls for a rethinking, a new way of nurturing in our families, educational institutions and other centres where our children learn to see other persons not objects for pleasure, a threat, but as extensions of ourselves.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Spectacle to Watch
Dear Friends,
Please read through the content of this. It is calling us to be alert and send positive vibrations all around us. Specially the areas affected by earthquakes, tsunamis, violence etc.
Jose Pulickal
19th March 2011 (Super Moon)
Rare celestial event will happen on 19th March 2011.
At that time, the full moon will appear and the distance to the nearest position to earth.
This phenomenon can only happen once every 18 years.
On March 19, 2011, the moon will be at the closest distance to Earth at the same time almost simultaneously with the peak of the full moon.
Based on astronomical data, on the same day at 19:10 GMT distance of 356,577 kilometers of the moon with the earth. An hour earlier, the peak full moon occurred on March 19 at 18:11 GMT.
In astrological terms, that position is known as a super moon or super extreme moon that is believed by some as a sign of disaster for the living beings on earth.
Genesis distance of the moon closest to earth (perigee) is a monthly event, although the distance varies with the period average of 27.3 days.
Similarly, the events of the full moon with a period of about 29.5 days.
Because of differences in that period, the emergence of the same perigee with full moon can only occur once 18 years.
The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).
...
The quake occurred as the Earth's crust ruptured along an area about 250 miles (400 kilometers) long by 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide, as tectonic plates slipped more than 18 meters, said Shengzao Chen, a USGS geophysicist.
Japan is located along the Pacific "ring of fire," an area of high seismic and volcanic activity stretching from New
Zealand in the South Pacific up through Japan, across to Alaska and down the west coasts of North and South America.
The quake was "hundreds of times larger" than the 2010 quake that ravaged Haiti, said Jim Gaherty of the LaMont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
In an article posted by Kit Karson, a renowned psychic, concerning a phenomenon known as ‘Super-Moon’,
she predicted the possibility for “extreme” weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, natural disasters, even some sort of major economic shock.
Overnight, Japan was hit with an 8.9 earthquake, the 5th largest ever recorded on Earth!
Tsunami warnings have been posted for practically the entire Pacific Ocean basin.
Strong aftershocks continue in Japan, where the devastation is unbelievable.
A few days ago, they were hit with a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.
With the ‘Super-Moon’ peak period still to come, between March 19-22, what else can we expect?
Did the upcoming ‘Super-Moon’ cause the massive 8.9 earthquake in Japan? Who can say?
The term ‘Super-Moon’ was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle.
Nolle claims that this particular Super-Moon period could be especially nasty.
A Super-Moon is basically when a full-moon occurs at the same time the Moon is closest to the Earth.
This month′s may be very bad as the Moon is closer than it has been for the past 18 years.
According to Kit’s article, the Earth suffered from extreme weather during previous Super-Moon periods in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005.
Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area during a Super-Moon.
2005 was a double-Super-Moon year, with an earlier peak period in early January.
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake, and subsequent tsunami that hit Indonesia was on January 10th, right during the Super-Moon peak phase.
Richard Nolle believes that this March could be extra powerful, due to the close orbit. He even extends the potential influence period into April.
Whats even worse is that 2011 will have 3 Super-Moon periods this year! We already had one last month in early February.
I′ll tell you, I had a lousy February! I have to wonder if this cosmic event played any role in all of the Middle East uprisings?
As it is, I was expecting big trouble today in Saudi Arabia with mass demonstrations planned for a ‘Day of Rage’.
Yesterday, Saudi police and military forces broke up several demonstrations, resulting in some injuries.
Kit is predicting potential economic disruptions during this March Super-Moon period. Oil supply shortages or higher prices.
Well, we′ve certainly seen oil prices rise! She says “Stock markets may also be in for a wild ride.”
Yesterday, the Dow suffered another major sell-off, dipping below the 12,000 mark.
Markets from Asia to Europe also took big hits. Kit is also predicting “Main power outages may occur, especially if they hit densely populated areas.” Oh-oh!
Now, mind you, this phenomenon of the Super-Moon is not just some goofy astrological thing.
Although it would seem that only astrologers and psychics are paying any attention to it! There is credible science to support the Super-Moon.
Gravitational effects from the Moon do indeed have an influence on the Earth. Not only with tides, but on the planet′s crust as well.
Remember, for the most part, we are living on tectonic plates which float on seas of hot, molten magma.
Such magma may be more dense than water, but it still a fluid, and subject to being affected by the Moon’s gravity.
In terms of influence on human behavior, just visit any police station or hospital emergency room during a full-Moon period.
Statistics show that there is a connection between a full Moon and an increase in health issues, accidents and violence.
A Super-Moon period could certainly spike such incidents.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake which has rocked Japan could very well be the result of the current Super-Moon event.
With the peak period between March 19-22, I hate to say it, but the worst may not be over yet!
Psychic Kit Karson is predicting a variety of potential natural disasters.
Astrologer Richard Nolle, who coined the term Super-Moon, says that this particular period, with the Moon being extra close to planet Earth as it reaches
perigee, could extend the term of influence well into the month of April. 2011 is an unusual year, with 3 Super-Moon periods!
When is the next one? April 18-20 is the next one! Three consecutive months of Super-Moons! How much stress can Mother Earth take?
Please read through the content of this. It is calling us to be alert and send positive vibrations all around us. Specially the areas affected by earthquakes, tsunamis, violence etc.
Jose Pulickal
19th March 2011 (Super Moon)
Rare celestial event will happen on 19th March 2011.
At that time, the full moon will appear and the distance to the nearest position to earth.
This phenomenon can only happen once every 18 years.
On March 19, 2011, the moon will be at the closest distance to Earth at the same time almost simultaneously with the peak of the full moon.
Based on astronomical data, on the same day at 19:10 GMT distance of 356,577 kilometers of the moon with the earth. An hour earlier, the peak full moon occurred on March 19 at 18:11 GMT.
In astrological terms, that position is known as a super moon or super extreme moon that is believed by some as a sign of disaster for the living beings on earth.
Genesis distance of the moon closest to earth (perigee) is a monthly event, although the distance varies with the period average of 27.3 days.
Similarly, the events of the full moon with a period of about 29.5 days.
Because of differences in that period, the emergence of the same perigee with full moon can only occur once 18 years.
The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).
...
The quake occurred as the Earth's crust ruptured along an area about 250 miles (400 kilometers) long by 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide, as tectonic plates slipped more than 18 meters, said Shengzao Chen, a USGS geophysicist.
Japan is located along the Pacific "ring of fire," an area of high seismic and volcanic activity stretching from New
Zealand in the South Pacific up through Japan, across to Alaska and down the west coasts of North and South America.
The quake was "hundreds of times larger" than the 2010 quake that ravaged Haiti, said Jim Gaherty of the LaMont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
In an article posted by Kit Karson, a renowned psychic, concerning a phenomenon known as ‘Super-Moon’,
she predicted the possibility for “extreme” weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, natural disasters, even some sort of major economic shock.
Overnight, Japan was hit with an 8.9 earthquake, the 5th largest ever recorded on Earth!
Tsunami warnings have been posted for practically the entire Pacific Ocean basin.
Strong aftershocks continue in Japan, where the devastation is unbelievable.
A few days ago, they were hit with a 7.4 magnitude earthquake.
With the ‘Super-Moon’ peak period still to come, between March 19-22, what else can we expect?
Did the upcoming ‘Super-Moon’ cause the massive 8.9 earthquake in Japan? Who can say?
The term ‘Super-Moon’ was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle.
Nolle claims that this particular Super-Moon period could be especially nasty.
A Super-Moon is basically when a full-moon occurs at the same time the Moon is closest to the Earth.
This month′s may be very bad as the Moon is closer than it has been for the past 18 years.
According to Kit’s article, the Earth suffered from extreme weather during previous Super-Moon periods in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005.
Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area during a Super-Moon.
2005 was a double-Super-Moon year, with an earlier peak period in early January.
The 9.0 magnitude earthquake, and subsequent tsunami that hit Indonesia was on January 10th, right during the Super-Moon peak phase.
Richard Nolle believes that this March could be extra powerful, due to the close orbit. He even extends the potential influence period into April.
Whats even worse is that 2011 will have 3 Super-Moon periods this year! We already had one last month in early February.
I′ll tell you, I had a lousy February! I have to wonder if this cosmic event played any role in all of the Middle East uprisings?
As it is, I was expecting big trouble today in Saudi Arabia with mass demonstrations planned for a ‘Day of Rage’.
Yesterday, Saudi police and military forces broke up several demonstrations, resulting in some injuries.
Kit is predicting potential economic disruptions during this March Super-Moon period. Oil supply shortages or higher prices.
Well, we′ve certainly seen oil prices rise! She says “Stock markets may also be in for a wild ride.”
Yesterday, the Dow suffered another major sell-off, dipping below the 12,000 mark.
Markets from Asia to Europe also took big hits. Kit is also predicting “Main power outages may occur, especially if they hit densely populated areas.” Oh-oh!
Now, mind you, this phenomenon of the Super-Moon is not just some goofy astrological thing.
Although it would seem that only astrologers and psychics are paying any attention to it! There is credible science to support the Super-Moon.
Gravitational effects from the Moon do indeed have an influence on the Earth. Not only with tides, but on the planet′s crust as well.
Remember, for the most part, we are living on tectonic plates which float on seas of hot, molten magma.
Such magma may be more dense than water, but it still a fluid, and subject to being affected by the Moon’s gravity.
In terms of influence on human behavior, just visit any police station or hospital emergency room during a full-Moon period.
Statistics show that there is a connection between a full Moon and an increase in health issues, accidents and violence.
A Super-Moon period could certainly spike such incidents.
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake which has rocked Japan could very well be the result of the current Super-Moon event.
With the peak period between March 19-22, I hate to say it, but the worst may not be over yet!
Psychic Kit Karson is predicting a variety of potential natural disasters.
Astrologer Richard Nolle, who coined the term Super-Moon, says that this particular period, with the Moon being extra close to planet Earth as it reaches
perigee, could extend the term of influence well into the month of April. 2011 is an unusual year, with 3 Super-Moon periods!
When is the next one? April 18-20 is the next one! Three consecutive months of Super-Moons! How much stress can Mother Earth take?
Monday, March 14, 2011
I in search of favorite psychotherapy
My Favourite Counselling Theory – What’s special and what appeals to me? Honestly, do I know the answer? I do not pretend to know; firstly, because of the limited knowledge that I have about them. Freud for instance has written over 32 books and articles (or more); or Jung has written around over hundreds of articles and books. Even if one intents to read them all considering the limits of language one wonders whether one can ever grasp the depth of the mind of the writer. Secondly, the little that I managed to get hold of perplexes me; I feel more ignorant. A novice sitting at the shores of the ocean of psychological science (read as therapies) sees a hue through the psychoanalytic, another through humanistic and still another through cognitive prisms. Every one of them seems to be true and beautiful. Yet nothing by itself seems to be telling a complete story. These at most seem to be pieces of a large and intricate jigsaw.
Something deep tells me there must be still something more needed to further towards a resolution. C.G. Jung for instance speaks in his auto-biography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections that he living in the end of the nineteenth century is conscious of the having his root somewhere in the middle ages (1983), and later he came up with his theory of collective unconscious. The biologists and the evolutionists would explain it away through genetic carriers. But then, is that all to it? What about the thousands of years of people’s unbroken tradition of rebirth, karma and so on (Jung do indeed was aware of such theories and one may wonder whether Jung went implied more than he wrote)? Are we merely connected; and realising that connectedness do we find meaning to our current existence? Can we pass on our religious beliefs as unscientific and not empirically verifiable? Or are we to find that hidden secret crevice where through one can subsume to that reality of our past and the future? Aren’t our anguish, trauma and anxiety – the so called psychic pathologies of the present an invitation to move further toward that truth which leads to the ultimate resolution of all pathologies and life’s dilemmas leading to fully realising, realised (in the immediate present) lives? When I read the Carl Rogerian constructs, I am even more puzzled at our incapacity to relate at the depth. We seem look at persons and relate with them in the bits and pieces of the views of the theories and constructs presented to us.
The Gestaltian preoccupation with relational and flexural nature of the “now” reality (from Lewin’s of Field theory) considers only what is happening to the person in the here and now to resolve the present ‘figure’, and it may bring equilibrium to the person and so it may seem apparently appealing, but it winks at the depth and complexity of human life in its entirety including the past, present and future. It perhaps does not lead persons to fuller and deeper life and resolutions. The Existentialist psychologists among whom F.S. Pearls claims to be one (1969) initially intended to take persons to meaning. However, unlike their founding philosophers, they limit itself to choices that persons should make in freedom to resolve the issues of human existence.
The person centred therapy’s assertion of the basic goodness of humans, and that a person develops to be “fully functioning” persons with the qualities of openness to experience, living in the here and now, “organismic trusting”, freedom, and creativity (Rogers, 1990) if given the ideal conditions such as unconditional positive regard and “organismic valuing”, instils hope and is redeeming. But who can give such ideal conditions? Where on earth can we find such conditions? Even if a therapist provides such ideal condition, the moment that one gets out of that island of the therapy room, s/he enters into the vast ocean of everything opposite. When we think further of the construct of in-congruency we immediately led to think of client’s in-congruency as transferred on to the counsellor and vice versa; humanities incongruence is passed on to one another and to our progenies. thus, going by the assumptions of the person centred therapy, the whole of humanity travails under the weight of its own making. The whole humanity longs for a therapy; this is what religions call redemption, mukthi, or by any other term. Consequently, we look for a saviour. Thus shouldn’t the religion (read as God) be considered the substratum of all human sciences?
This is in no way to negate therapies or that they are out of bound and has no role in helping people to find release and wellness rather they, I feel, as I said in the opening paragraph, are tail, trunk, ears or stomach of the elephant.
Nevertheless, I need to answer the question: which therapy do I like? And why? I am fascinated by all of them. All of them, because in each we see the pieces of the jigsaw and wonder at the mystery of human psyche. I look for something that would assimilate and is open to that which would be coming in the future. One such theory, according to my limited understanding is Jungian therapy.
Jung is perhaps the first to argue that psychotherapy should separate itself from psychiatry and lay man should learn the psychology and practice psychotherapies (1983). That is to say one should not limit oneself to psychopathologies. He contended that there is logic in pathologies and the inner world of the so called sick persons makes sense to the diligent. Thus Jung called for a relationship to the person and relate with him in more or less equal terms in therapy. He like the existentialists advocated for an approach where one does not straight jacket persons and their conditions. He, as we find in his autobiography, attended to and addressed the interior, exterior, and “spiritual” (including collective inheritance) aspects of the person. Only when one addresses the issues holistically the person sees his own richness and move towards more integrate and creative lives. A thought more on the “spiritual aspects”:
Jung was living at a time when spirituality, better, religion was considered as taboo by his peers. His mentor Freud considered religion as producing pathological mind. Adler was disinterested in the spiritual aspects. Jung though was convinced of God, spirituality etc. he dared not to speak about them. However, religion dominated a good part of his personal life. He towards at the end of his life when interviewer asked him, “Do you believe in God?” he said, “It’s difficult to say. I do not believe. But I know.” When you know you do not require a faith; God was an immediate experience for him. He elaborated further that as a natural consequence of the former, God intervention as a redeemer is also known to him. God intervenes in the person’s life in an inexplicable way. In his practice Jung says he had seen such interventions. Albeit he had made attempts to find causal relationships with psychiatry and psychology without adequate results. Perhaps the inability to grasp this inexplicable phenomenon led the modern psychology’s attempts to integrate spirituality as therapeutic method to shy away from speaking of God. Or at the most they spoke of a “god image” to keep god experience within empirical bound (see Villanova University annual conference (2008) Fred Luskin, "The Psychology of Forgiveness"). Nevertheless, God-experience remains as an enigma and as well as a treasured experience of large number of persons.
Another element of Jungian therapy that is fascinating is his grappling with the occult. He seemed to have the experiences of the souls of the dead. In fact he wrote about saying that his experiences with the dead are real and seem to be playing a role on the psyche of human beings. I trace that passage from his autobiography, “The “newness” in the individual psyche is an endlessly varied recombination of age old components. ... Our ancestral components are only partly at home with our present psyche.” Consequently, those who are with us no more seem to have a grand influence on our present psyche.
That leads to another belief that more than eighty per cent of the humans treasure: life after death. That it is beyond empirical experimentation, the concept of life after death is shrouded myths, imageries and faint insinuations. Though unverifiable, life after death seems to be a real experience motivates people to live, sane, and meaningful lives in the midst of constraining or even tragic experiences. A Conviction about life after death may open up new and deeper therapeutic avenues. In this venture Jung, though stands alone, shows the way.
Still more fascinating is Jungian understanding of collective unconscious. As I said earlier, this is not merely sediment of the centuries of the flow of human history in human unconsciousness, but it has existentialistic consequences. For instance, I wonder why some people caught up in a cycle of the tragedies of life are not able to break free to bloom for instance the “dalits” even after decades of economic and socio-political progressive efforts? Looking from the Jungian collective-unconscious perspective, perhaps we can say that the centuries of oppression are finding its influence and recreating the past oppressed and depressing minds. The mind has to grapple with these realities and integrate to sprout new and more liberating consciousness.
To cut things short, there is no field of human experience that did not attract Jung whether be it dreams, god-experience, para-psychological phenomena, religious symbols, art, architecture (in fact, we have Jung at around the age of 75 builds a villa for himself and considers that as an unfolding of his psyche – a self realisation) or any other. Jung realised human life is a mystery and every phenomenon has a place in understanding a person. His problems are not merely product of a private psyche but the psyche of the entire society of the past and present. This opens up new and creative ways of approaching counselling. Perhaps that insinuates my secret attraction for Jungian therapy.
Jose Pulickal
Something deep tells me there must be still something more needed to further towards a resolution. C.G. Jung for instance speaks in his auto-biography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections that he living in the end of the nineteenth century is conscious of the having his root somewhere in the middle ages (1983), and later he came up with his theory of collective unconscious. The biologists and the evolutionists would explain it away through genetic carriers. But then, is that all to it? What about the thousands of years of people’s unbroken tradition of rebirth, karma and so on (Jung do indeed was aware of such theories and one may wonder whether Jung went implied more than he wrote)? Are we merely connected; and realising that connectedness do we find meaning to our current existence? Can we pass on our religious beliefs as unscientific and not empirically verifiable? Or are we to find that hidden secret crevice where through one can subsume to that reality of our past and the future? Aren’t our anguish, trauma and anxiety – the so called psychic pathologies of the present an invitation to move further toward that truth which leads to the ultimate resolution of all pathologies and life’s dilemmas leading to fully realising, realised (in the immediate present) lives? When I read the Carl Rogerian constructs, I am even more puzzled at our incapacity to relate at the depth. We seem look at persons and relate with them in the bits and pieces of the views of the theories and constructs presented to us.
The Gestaltian preoccupation with relational and flexural nature of the “now” reality (from Lewin’s of Field theory) considers only what is happening to the person in the here and now to resolve the present ‘figure’, and it may bring equilibrium to the person and so it may seem apparently appealing, but it winks at the depth and complexity of human life in its entirety including the past, present and future. It perhaps does not lead persons to fuller and deeper life and resolutions. The Existentialist psychologists among whom F.S. Pearls claims to be one (1969) initially intended to take persons to meaning. However, unlike their founding philosophers, they limit itself to choices that persons should make in freedom to resolve the issues of human existence.
The person centred therapy’s assertion of the basic goodness of humans, and that a person develops to be “fully functioning” persons with the qualities of openness to experience, living in the here and now, “organismic trusting”, freedom, and creativity (Rogers, 1990) if given the ideal conditions such as unconditional positive regard and “organismic valuing”, instils hope and is redeeming. But who can give such ideal conditions? Where on earth can we find such conditions? Even if a therapist provides such ideal condition, the moment that one gets out of that island of the therapy room, s/he enters into the vast ocean of everything opposite. When we think further of the construct of in-congruency we immediately led to think of client’s in-congruency as transferred on to the counsellor and vice versa; humanities incongruence is passed on to one another and to our progenies. thus, going by the assumptions of the person centred therapy, the whole of humanity travails under the weight of its own making. The whole humanity longs for a therapy; this is what religions call redemption, mukthi, or by any other term. Consequently, we look for a saviour. Thus shouldn’t the religion (read as God) be considered the substratum of all human sciences?
This is in no way to negate therapies or that they are out of bound and has no role in helping people to find release and wellness rather they, I feel, as I said in the opening paragraph, are tail, trunk, ears or stomach of the elephant.
Nevertheless, I need to answer the question: which therapy do I like? And why? I am fascinated by all of them. All of them, because in each we see the pieces of the jigsaw and wonder at the mystery of human psyche. I look for something that would assimilate and is open to that which would be coming in the future. One such theory, according to my limited understanding is Jungian therapy.
Jung is perhaps the first to argue that psychotherapy should separate itself from psychiatry and lay man should learn the psychology and practice psychotherapies (1983). That is to say one should not limit oneself to psychopathologies. He contended that there is logic in pathologies and the inner world of the so called sick persons makes sense to the diligent. Thus Jung called for a relationship to the person and relate with him in more or less equal terms in therapy. He like the existentialists advocated for an approach where one does not straight jacket persons and their conditions. He, as we find in his autobiography, attended to and addressed the interior, exterior, and “spiritual” (including collective inheritance) aspects of the person. Only when one addresses the issues holistically the person sees his own richness and move towards more integrate and creative lives. A thought more on the “spiritual aspects”:
Jung was living at a time when spirituality, better, religion was considered as taboo by his peers. His mentor Freud considered religion as producing pathological mind. Adler was disinterested in the spiritual aspects. Jung though was convinced of God, spirituality etc. he dared not to speak about them. However, religion dominated a good part of his personal life. He towards at the end of his life when interviewer asked him, “Do you believe in God?” he said, “It’s difficult to say. I do not believe. But I know.” When you know you do not require a faith; God was an immediate experience for him. He elaborated further that as a natural consequence of the former, God intervention as a redeemer is also known to him. God intervenes in the person’s life in an inexplicable way. In his practice Jung says he had seen such interventions. Albeit he had made attempts to find causal relationships with psychiatry and psychology without adequate results. Perhaps the inability to grasp this inexplicable phenomenon led the modern psychology’s attempts to integrate spirituality as therapeutic method to shy away from speaking of God. Or at the most they spoke of a “god image” to keep god experience within empirical bound (see Villanova University annual conference (2008) Fred Luskin, "The Psychology of Forgiveness"). Nevertheless, God-experience remains as an enigma and as well as a treasured experience of large number of persons.
Another element of Jungian therapy that is fascinating is his grappling with the occult. He seemed to have the experiences of the souls of the dead. In fact he wrote about saying that his experiences with the dead are real and seem to be playing a role on the psyche of human beings. I trace that passage from his autobiography, “The “newness” in the individual psyche is an endlessly varied recombination of age old components. ... Our ancestral components are only partly at home with our present psyche.” Consequently, those who are with us no more seem to have a grand influence on our present psyche.
That leads to another belief that more than eighty per cent of the humans treasure: life after death. That it is beyond empirical experimentation, the concept of life after death is shrouded myths, imageries and faint insinuations. Though unverifiable, life after death seems to be a real experience motivates people to live, sane, and meaningful lives in the midst of constraining or even tragic experiences. A Conviction about life after death may open up new and deeper therapeutic avenues. In this venture Jung, though stands alone, shows the way.
Still more fascinating is Jungian understanding of collective unconscious. As I said earlier, this is not merely sediment of the centuries of the flow of human history in human unconsciousness, but it has existentialistic consequences. For instance, I wonder why some people caught up in a cycle of the tragedies of life are not able to break free to bloom for instance the “dalits” even after decades of economic and socio-political progressive efforts? Looking from the Jungian collective-unconscious perspective, perhaps we can say that the centuries of oppression are finding its influence and recreating the past oppressed and depressing minds. The mind has to grapple with these realities and integrate to sprout new and more liberating consciousness.
To cut things short, there is no field of human experience that did not attract Jung whether be it dreams, god-experience, para-psychological phenomena, religious symbols, art, architecture (in fact, we have Jung at around the age of 75 builds a villa for himself and considers that as an unfolding of his psyche – a self realisation) or any other. Jung realised human life is a mystery and every phenomenon has a place in understanding a person. His problems are not merely product of a private psyche but the psyche of the entire society of the past and present. This opens up new and creative ways of approaching counselling. Perhaps that insinuates my secret attraction for Jungian therapy.
Jose Pulickal
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
A Cry of a Salt Merchant
Cry! Cry! Cry! To sell some sacks of Salt
Buy! Buy! Buy! To get some packs in Malt
Why? Why? Why? In me there any fault
Running, running to catch the train
After a heavy work in the rain
With full of strain and
On my shirt full of stain! To meet my wife
There go! There go fast the train
Here me! Here me waste my brain
No sleep no sleep around the train because
I am going to see my sweet heart in the lane
So far so far I was a sane, because
She said there no gain
Waking, waking in the morning train
In the early morning full of fog
No rest no rest for me any time, because
I am going to awake my wife, but
Her words are like knife
My life was not very safe
There go there go the train fast from where
I came!
I am a lucky merchant, for I need not go to the sea
For the salt water
Because my eyes are full of tears! Tears! Tears!
Come fast Come fast I will convert you in to salt!
Waste! Waste! Waste only my cry was the best!
By Jegan son de Antony
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Anatomy of the Corrupt Indian Society
... The world is a dangerous place to live not because
of the people who are evil but because of the people who do not do anything about it. – Albert Einstein
The 2-G spectrum scam, the Commonwealth Games scam, Telgi scam, Satyam scam, Bofors scam, the Fodder Scam, the Hawala scam, the IPL scam, Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam, Money for raising question in Parliament scam, … we have lost count of them. We wake up every morning to hear and see ever newer scams even in places and from people we never expect. Scams do not seem to shock Indians any more. Endless debates and protest meetings are organized for months, and at the end of it all an investigation by CBI, by a retired Chief Justice or JPC have anesthetized our minds not only to believe that something is being done to protect us and our interests, but also to keep us from seeing the truth about ourselves. India should awake not only to experience the pain of the decay of the society, but to see how the deadly virus of corruption has entered and is thriving in our system.
The present efforts to address the issue of corruption are built on the faulty premise of bad apple theory. The bad, immoral people are the cause for corruption; consequently removing the bad apple and society will be corruption free. Discovering the corrupt people and punishing them would deter others from resorting to it. However, this does not seem to happening. The psychology professor of Princeton University, Dr John M. Darley finds the bad apple theory preposterous for the simple reason that this theory assumes that everything else in the system is alright and is functioning healthy. Writing about increasing corporate corruption he says: “... it is simply a useful fiction that enables those who hide behind it to avoid the more thoroughgoing implications of ... transgressions” (Brooklyn Law Review, 70, 1178). In India and in any country even agencies of identifying the corrupt elements and punishing them itself is under grip of the same evil. In a country where, according to a 2005 study 75 per cent of the people claim to have firsthand experience of corruption (Transparency International report, Berlin, 2005), hardly a couple of the corrupt get punished. Furthermore, the corruption is the by-product of the system and the system does not have the inner dynamism to prevent it. What at the most the present system does is to dupe us to believe that something is being done to protect the wider interests of the society.
The gross moral decadence is another theory that we resort to explain away this phenomenon. In India where most of the citizens who believe in faith of kali yuga, this theory deadens the will to change. Though objective moral principles arguably exist, practically, when it is come to individuals it is the subjective apprehension and application of the moral principle that matters. The grasp and application of the moral principle depends on the conscience of the individual. The individual often does not apply the moral principles objectively apart from his subjective experience. Kohlberg whose extensive studies on the moral development of an individual states that to follow objective morality (the highest moral development) persons has to assume a “veil of ignorance” as if they have not undergone the unjust treatment. This seemed improbable and even Kohlberg called this a “theoretical stage” and temporarily dropped this final stage, i.e. Universal Principle moral development stage from his research ("The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment" The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 70, No. 18: 630–646). A person who is himself a victim of corruption often resorts to corruption believing that it is not unjust. The victim does not rise over his experience and think objectively of corruption and feels justified in his conscience when he resorts to corruption.
To understand the psychological process of corruption four relevant phenomena need to be considered: the available data (See for instance the Crime Record Bureau reports) or even a simple social observation points to an increase in corruption, suicide rate and social violence. These have a correlation with increasing anxiety, depression, feeling of incompetency, and dissatisfaction with life. Secondly, the growing middle class who are educated seems to be more prone to these issues than the underprivileged people. The spread effect of corruption is third phenomenon. Every section, whether rich or poor – be it an autorickshow driver or a multimillionaire, and every social agency seems to be gradually swept into corruption. Fourthly, because of the blatant character of the dishonest practices, they seem suicidally stupid. They will be eventually detected, with the inevitable disgrace that this will bring about for the culprits. How can even educated people involve in such stupid activity? There are no simple answers. All these phenomena are interrelated to the Indian socio-economic system that creates a pathological mind.
Indian mind has been nurtured for the last four or five decades on two psychological premises. The first is the belief that the aim of life is happiness, that is, maximum pleasure, defined as the satisfaction of any desire or subjective need a person may feel. Secondly, egoism, selfishness and greed, as the system needs to generate them in order to function, lead to harmony and peace. Unconsciously though may be, it is on the edifice of these two premises the current Indian dream is built.
The governments, mass communication media, and industries have relentlessly manipulated and controlled us to believe that maximum happiness lies in the things and services we can enjoy. Our feelings, thoughts and tastes are being moulded by these agencies to fit a system we have created. A perceptive analysis will reveal that the clandestine objective of these agencies is not the real good of the individual but the promotion of the system which stands on the economic principle of creating demand. They manipulated us to believe that the satisfaction of the pleasure drive is not only the privilege of a minority but it is available for every Indian. Even the commonest men and women dream of having what the industries and mass media promotes for the ultimate resolution of their misery. From peripheral perspective such dreams are harmless and even projected as progressive. What is the harm in it? It helps them to work harder and achieve even unachievable, they argue. But then, Not only the premise of maximum happiness is faulty, but studies tell us that the real purchasing power of the commoners especially during the recent years has steadily declined. Income has been shifting away from the majority towards the wealthy minority. The premise that the maximum happiness can be got from the things one possess is faulty for the simple economic principle that fulfilment wants create ever newer wants. The newer wants is often perceived as musts for happiness.
Crave for maximum happiness by maximum fulfilment of needs leads to and promotes egoism. An egoist is a person: who wants everything for him/herself; who gets pleasure in possessing and not in sharing; who is greedy because his aim is having, and in more he has more he feels he is worthwhile; who is antagonistic towards all others: his customers whom he wants to deceive, his workers whom he wants to exploit. He has no end to his wishes. He must be envious of those who have more and afraid of those who have less (See Eric Fromm 1976, To have or To be, 16). These are repressed to feel good about oneself and good in front of others. Corruption generally occurs when the personal interest dominates over the general interest or interest over others. For an egoistic person the personal interest is more important than the wider interest of the society. He does not bother who is harmed or what the consequences are as long as his needs are met. Egoism is necessity in a system where the personal satisfaction of the needs – i.e. manufactured goods and services, as essence of happiness.
Both the egoistic character and the maximum happiness dream that the system produces create a corrupt society. In other words, the widening gap between the perceived present and the future needs and the means to fulfil them through honest ways surely leads to unethical ways of acquiring means to fulfil them. And the egoistic character that the system propagates reinforces it.
of the people who are evil but because of the people who do not do anything about it. – Albert Einstein
The 2-G spectrum scam, the Commonwealth Games scam, Telgi scam, Satyam scam, Bofors scam, the Fodder Scam, the Hawala scam, the IPL scam, Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam, Money for raising question in Parliament scam, … we have lost count of them. We wake up every morning to hear and see ever newer scams even in places and from people we never expect. Scams do not seem to shock Indians any more. Endless debates and protest meetings are organized for months, and at the end of it all an investigation by CBI, by a retired Chief Justice or JPC have anesthetized our minds not only to believe that something is being done to protect us and our interests, but also to keep us from seeing the truth about ourselves. India should awake not only to experience the pain of the decay of the society, but to see how the deadly virus of corruption has entered and is thriving in our system.
The present efforts to address the issue of corruption are built on the faulty premise of bad apple theory. The bad, immoral people are the cause for corruption; consequently removing the bad apple and society will be corruption free. Discovering the corrupt people and punishing them would deter others from resorting to it. However, this does not seem to happening. The psychology professor of Princeton University, Dr John M. Darley finds the bad apple theory preposterous for the simple reason that this theory assumes that everything else in the system is alright and is functioning healthy. Writing about increasing corporate corruption he says: “... it is simply a useful fiction that enables those who hide behind it to avoid the more thoroughgoing implications of ... transgressions” (Brooklyn Law Review, 70, 1178). In India and in any country even agencies of identifying the corrupt elements and punishing them itself is under grip of the same evil. In a country where, according to a 2005 study 75 per cent of the people claim to have firsthand experience of corruption (Transparency International report, Berlin, 2005), hardly a couple of the corrupt get punished. Furthermore, the corruption is the by-product of the system and the system does not have the inner dynamism to prevent it. What at the most the present system does is to dupe us to believe that something is being done to protect the wider interests of the society.
The gross moral decadence is another theory that we resort to explain away this phenomenon. In India where most of the citizens who believe in faith of kali yuga, this theory deadens the will to change. Though objective moral principles arguably exist, practically, when it is come to individuals it is the subjective apprehension and application of the moral principle that matters. The grasp and application of the moral principle depends on the conscience of the individual. The individual often does not apply the moral principles objectively apart from his subjective experience. Kohlberg whose extensive studies on the moral development of an individual states that to follow objective morality (the highest moral development) persons has to assume a “veil of ignorance” as if they have not undergone the unjust treatment. This seemed improbable and even Kohlberg called this a “theoretical stage” and temporarily dropped this final stage, i.e. Universal Principle moral development stage from his research ("The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment" The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 70, No. 18: 630–646). A person who is himself a victim of corruption often resorts to corruption believing that it is not unjust. The victim does not rise over his experience and think objectively of corruption and feels justified in his conscience when he resorts to corruption.
To understand the psychological process of corruption four relevant phenomena need to be considered: the available data (See for instance the Crime Record Bureau reports) or even a simple social observation points to an increase in corruption, suicide rate and social violence. These have a correlation with increasing anxiety, depression, feeling of incompetency, and dissatisfaction with life. Secondly, the growing middle class who are educated seems to be more prone to these issues than the underprivileged people. The spread effect of corruption is third phenomenon. Every section, whether rich or poor – be it an autorickshow driver or a multimillionaire, and every social agency seems to be gradually swept into corruption. Fourthly, because of the blatant character of the dishonest practices, they seem suicidally stupid. They will be eventually detected, with the inevitable disgrace that this will bring about for the culprits. How can even educated people involve in such stupid activity? There are no simple answers. All these phenomena are interrelated to the Indian socio-economic system that creates a pathological mind.
Indian mind has been nurtured for the last four or five decades on two psychological premises. The first is the belief that the aim of life is happiness, that is, maximum pleasure, defined as the satisfaction of any desire or subjective need a person may feel. Secondly, egoism, selfishness and greed, as the system needs to generate them in order to function, lead to harmony and peace. Unconsciously though may be, it is on the edifice of these two premises the current Indian dream is built.
The governments, mass communication media, and industries have relentlessly manipulated and controlled us to believe that maximum happiness lies in the things and services we can enjoy. Our feelings, thoughts and tastes are being moulded by these agencies to fit a system we have created. A perceptive analysis will reveal that the clandestine objective of these agencies is not the real good of the individual but the promotion of the system which stands on the economic principle of creating demand. They manipulated us to believe that the satisfaction of the pleasure drive is not only the privilege of a minority but it is available for every Indian. Even the commonest men and women dream of having what the industries and mass media promotes for the ultimate resolution of their misery. From peripheral perspective such dreams are harmless and even projected as progressive. What is the harm in it? It helps them to work harder and achieve even unachievable, they argue. But then, Not only the premise of maximum happiness is faulty, but studies tell us that the real purchasing power of the commoners especially during the recent years has steadily declined. Income has been shifting away from the majority towards the wealthy minority. The premise that the maximum happiness can be got from the things one possess is faulty for the simple economic principle that fulfilment wants create ever newer wants. The newer wants is often perceived as musts for happiness.
Crave for maximum happiness by maximum fulfilment of needs leads to and promotes egoism. An egoist is a person: who wants everything for him/herself; who gets pleasure in possessing and not in sharing; who is greedy because his aim is having, and in more he has more he feels he is worthwhile; who is antagonistic towards all others: his customers whom he wants to deceive, his workers whom he wants to exploit. He has no end to his wishes. He must be envious of those who have more and afraid of those who have less (See Eric Fromm 1976, To have or To be, 16). These are repressed to feel good about oneself and good in front of others. Corruption generally occurs when the personal interest dominates over the general interest or interest over others. For an egoistic person the personal interest is more important than the wider interest of the society. He does not bother who is harmed or what the consequences are as long as his needs are met. Egoism is necessity in a system where the personal satisfaction of the needs – i.e. manufactured goods and services, as essence of happiness.
Both the egoistic character and the maximum happiness dream that the system produces create a corrupt society. In other words, the widening gap between the perceived present and the future needs and the means to fulfil them through honest ways surely leads to unethical ways of acquiring means to fulfil them. And the egoistic character that the system propagates reinforces it.
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