Posted by mila on May 9, 2001, at 21:43:31
In reply to Re: psychosis and existential stuff, posted by kid47 on May 9, 2001, at 12:39:34
hi Kid,
you seem to me to be a thirsty person who denies himself 8 full glasses of water everyday, keeping himself on dry diet.
if existential issues seem to be at heart of your illness, then you've got what is called 'creative illness'. which is not an illness, in a sense, that there is nothing wrong with you, as there is nothing wrong with being thirsty. It's time for you to be creative and answer your call. Find yourself someone who can coach you in unleashing your creativity in philosophical arena. It's time you started taking existential, or core issues seriously. anything goes, taking a course or two in college, where you'd be asked to think independently and submit original papers, seeing someone who practices existential or phenomenological analysis (do you know the difference), writing your philosophical autobiography as a legacy for your children, etc. to start going, and to avoid inventing the wheel, familiarize yourself first with what has already been done in research about human nature. Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy: a theory construction approach by Joseph F. Rychlak might be an excellent beginnig. Beware, however, this text is not for a layperson, it is for someone who really has penchant for serious thinking, for serious questions, and seroius answers.
if you want to put yourself in hands of higher power, do it. Do as you want. the higher power seems to reveal itself in your life in form of 'plaguing you with concerns of what you as a human really are'. These questions definitely have a higher power over you, if you chose the word 'plagued' to characterize the way they manifest themselves in your life. this is your call. how come you haven't been answering it? reading answers by others to their call, or following the way they come in touch with higher power won't do the trick for you, as you have already discovered.
there is nothing 'bullet proof' about physical theories, and i do not mean larger theories swallowing smaller ones, like einstein's thinking swallowed newton's one. I mean, if you follow the development of modern physics, you must have noticed an astounding influx of young talents to what seemed to be a dead field in the last 5-7 years. The theories they come up with are tremendous in just how they differ from what was thought about the nature of the physical reality before. tip: Tuesday editions of The New York Times have Science Times insert. Check it out for regular updates on the latest in physics, philosophy and everything in between. you can access them online, if you cannot get the paper.
it also might be helpful for you to know that existentialism or phenomenology ARE experimental sciences today. They come under names of transcendental phenomenology and existential phenomenology today, and experimental research (empirical investigation) in this area mostly is done by psychologists, ethicists, and psychiatrists.
For scientific reinforcement of teachings of Bible, or other religious texts, or dogmas for that matter, that won't require 'leap of faith' see , for exmple, Maps of Meaning: Architecture of Belief (1999), by Jordan B. Peterson, Ph.D. ( I am doing research with him 'on human nature' at UofT starting this September)
you make a choice first by counting your choices. two choices, believe or not believe is not enough, come up with more than that. Then choose. then you'll choose out of abundance and fit to your tastes, not out of poverty, fear, and desperation.
Consider yourself lucky that you have already got good standing in electical engineering, now move on to philosophy, then bridge the two by exploring what's human. reading advice: The Interpreted World, by Ernesto Spinelli.
Just realize, that you must be an intellectual and emotional giant, if higher forces chose to plague YOU with concerns about human nature. People like you are quite rare, but then again, world is full of unrealized geniuses. Your choice.
Good to know you, kid. I am a recovering electrical engineer myself. Have been plaqued by existential questions, ugh... since age 14 or so. tried to escape into hard science first, but when became creative there (innovation in electical design), was swept into the sea of psychology and technology of innovative process itself. The rest is history.
Grow Big, kid. discover everything there is about happiness, death, and the remainder of life. Do not restrict yourself, to listening, say. do not reduce yourself to reading, write. Do nor resign yourself to logic and gut feelings, discover Heart. sure it will take some time to adjust your life to its beat. as Twain said so nicely, "A lie can run around the world six times while the truth is still trying to put on its pants" :)
push the grass apart and lay your finger on God's heart.
best
mila
poster:mila
thread:5880
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010417/msgs/5923.html