Young Indiana Jones, Freud, Jung and Adler
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Posts from the ‘Psychology’ Category
Oct 29
Sep 16
Turn the Other Cheek?
Last week in New Delhi, a radical group of Muslims bombed at market full of civilians. The Muslim militant group Indian Mujahedeen took responsibility. The group sent an email to the media five minutes before the first bomb went off. I realize this happens all the time and not just in India. The problem is that it is happening more. The other problem is that we are allowing it to happen more.
I’m safely tucked away in middle America. Not much happens here. But this is really beginning to trouble me. It’s not just because soon enough it will spread here (which it will) but it is a philosophical, spiritual problem. How do we deal with it?
In the Bible (Matthew 5:39), Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek to evil. This simple passage has changed the world in so many ways. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi practiced this core belief in their peaceful protests. Even in the face of death, they both turned the other cheek. When freedom riders were beat to death in the racist American south of the 1950′s and 1960′s, they did not fight back. Where did these people get the moral integrity to stand for peace when other stood for violence.
Obviously, the problem of evil is a very, very old one and anything can be evil to someone. However, I think we can all agree that blowing up a market full of families is truly evil. What would make someone do this? What is the psychology of these people. Is there any rationality at all? I hate these people but I want to understand.
“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” – Yoda
Jun 13
Psychiatric Drugs Help Skinny People
From the New Scientist, “Yet one culprit is rarely mentioned: the broad range of psychiatric drugs that can cause substantial weight gain. They include drugs marketed as antidepressants (such as amitriptyline, doxepin and imipramine), mood stabilisers (including lithium and valproate) and antipsychotics (including clozapine, olanzapine and chlorpromazine). After 10 years on lithium, for example, two-thirds of patients put on around 10 kilograms. And in December 2006, The New York Times published an article based on internal documents from the drug company Eli Lilly which indicated that it had intentionally downplayed the side effects of olanzapine, which it sells as Zyprexa. The company’s data showed that one-third of patients who have taken the drug for a year gain at least 10 kilograms, and half of these gain at least 30 kilograms.”
Continue reading… Also, see the PBS special FAT: What No One Is Telling You
Carl Jung and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
The next issue of What Is Enlightenment? is going to an interesting one. Here is the excerpt: “In one of WIE’s most eclectic issues yet, we trace the profound influence that the 20th-century luminaries Carl Jung and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin have had on the way we see ourselves and our world, and how their perspectives are shaping our collective destiny today. Plus, we take a closer look at the idea of the “divine feminine,” critique the artwork of Adi Da Samraj, explore the relationship between time and eternity, and speak with a bodybuilding legend on his pursuit of self mastery. Featuring Ken Wilber, Frank Zane, Helen LaKelly Hunt, Andrew Cohen, and more.”
Oct 18
Sigmund Freud Committed Suicide
Yes, it’s true. After writing about how we still practice ‘blood rites’, it got me wondering who are some of the more well known victims. These are some of the people that either cracked under the weight or were just done with living and took their own lives. Who knows what caused these people break. I guess the Russian poet, Vladimir Mayakovsky, who committed suicide in 1930 summed it up best, “I don’t recommend it for others”.
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Celebrity Suicide
There is an interesting (and shocking) article over at Mental Floss. The author writes, “I was surprised and saddened last week to read of the reported suicide attempt by actor Owen Wilson. Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums are staff favorites here, and we’re definitely hoping and wishing for Wilson’s full recovery. But as I started thinking about the comedy star, and mulling over the constant stress of his profession, it made me realize just how pervasive suicide attempts are among high-profile people. Here are some selected 20th century celebs who attempted suicide, but managed to turn their lives around.”
Apr 3
An Interview with June Singer
Back in 1998 I interviewed one of my favorite Jungian authors, June Singer, for the old Jung Index web site. The interview is no longer available on the internet and it would be a shame to lose it. The format of the interview was collaborative – over email – so many people participated and were able to ask questions. So, here is the original interview from November 1998 – a tribute a great woman, who brought Jung’s psychology within my reach.
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