Arthur,
As long as you're not compromising, I'm all for your going along with my
meanderings.
Whether or not we continue after physical death is still a matter of
belief, and you're well aware that I believe there is no death to
mind/consciousness. But this is not the issue. Peace of mind is, and
dignity most definitely must set the precedent if compassion will not. I
don't know if religion is playing the largest oppositional role here,
but I suspect so according to what I've read. This should not be a
religious concern, but it's the world we live in.
Most religions speak for God, saying it is God's decision alone, but
fail to allow for the possibility that the individual is part of God,
perfectly capable of interpreting God's Will to arrive at peace, and
also at physical life's conclusion. God does not ask us to suffer in
order to experience creation. That's not a deity worth consulting, nor
could they be real for asking such a torturous thing.
I've said this before: I believe any God manifesting any negative
attributes could never possibly have become God.
Natalia
Arthur Cordell wrote:
I will go along with all that you suggest as long as you go along with
those who want greater choice over their life. As a long time
supporter of Dying With Dignity I wonder how you feel about such an
approach to end of life choices.
http://www.dyingwithdignity.ca/
arthur
*From:* [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Darryl
or Natalia
*Sent:* Monday, July 19, 2010 8:03 PM
*To:* RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION
*Subject:* Re: [Futurework] Here's to mental health at 90!
That lovely lady's body would be suffering all the more if not for her
wise active mind. She's fortunate to have put it to good use to
eventually ease the transition to the next life.
Do you ever wonder how much easier this transition from active mind to
frailty to physical death would be if people could learn to accept
altered states as a natural function of their time on Earth? If they
had a shaman, spiritual or psychotherapist guide them through these
changes, is it possible they could unravel some buried stuff and
sojourn into new realms with dignity in tact rather than be branded
with senility?
As I glance at a list of Salish spirit quest altered states of
consciousness symptoms, described by Ludwig in the context of trance
and possession, 1968, I start to wonder:
1) alterations in thinking; including predominance of archaic modes of
thought, blurring of cause effect distinction, cognitive ambivalence
2) disturbed time sense
3) loss of conscious control and inhibition which may be relinquished
in order to gain a greater, culturally defined power
4) change in emotional expression towards affective extremes ranging
from ecstasy to profound fear
5) body image changes; feelings of depersonalization, derealization,
dissolution of boundaries between self and environment, often
associated with dizziness, weakness, blurred vision and analgesia
6) perceptual distortions,; hallucinations, illusions, visual imagery,
hyper-acuteness of perceptions, synaesthetic experiences
7) change in meaning; attachment of increased or specific significance
to subjective experience or external cues, leading to thrilling
feelings of insight, and revelation of "truth" which then carries an
unshakable conviction
8) sense of ineffable; the essence of the personal experience is felt
not to be directly communicable; and this is often explained by
varying degrees of amnesia
9) feelings of rejuvenation; of renewed hope or of rebirth
10) hyper-suggestibility: a propensity to accept, or to respond
uncritically to statements of an authority figure via identification,
or to cultural and group expectations.
Imagine walking someone through the first parts to have them weave
through the latter--without the feelings of grief and loss over ego
self. Picture them being with someone who knew what to watch for, and
who could interpret what was seen or felt, without being overbearing
or subjective. Western culture would call these altered states
psychogenic, most often observed in hypnosis, religious revelation or
hysterical dissociation. Christians call it something else (like
demonic possession), and yet differences are about cultural rather
than psychological or neurophysiological states. But the term 'trance'
designates a state of double consciousness, between limiting state of
awareness of personal self and dream-like state of the para-personal
self. The "neuropsychological basis of the trance or possession state
is the dissociation of the self, which loses its experiential unity
and is converted into a secondary dual system of relational
experience." This "capacity to attain altered states of consciousness
are a universal property of the human central nervous system, but
their prevalence is the function of socio-cultural variables" says
Wolfgang G. Jilek, M.D., author of /Indian Healing, Shamanic
Ceremonialism in the Pacific Northwest Today/. There may be a reason,
a personal motivation for induction of these states by seniors, and
we're dismissing/misdiagnosing their landmark passage as signs of demise.
I've long suspected that a lot of what's going on with cognitive
impairment has to do with mind taking a trek/break from chiefly
psychological pain and restraints. I suspect that at the first signs
of it, people ignore the warnings to search for peace within. Seniors
generally will become frightened and seek out allopathic remedies,
which may or may not be the answer. In my observations, this usually
marks the beginning of the end because the drugs are so harmful, and
require other drugs to alleviate the adverse effects. Then, it's
diarrhea city. Every elderly patient I've observed, be it with
Alzheimer's or depression, post-stroke or what have you, has been
bombarded with mind numbing anti-depressants or systems depressants
that typically lead to hip fractures/falls that wouldn't likely have
happened had the patient stayed home, got meals delivered, and were
allowed time to work it out themselves or with some nursing or
counseling. Sure, you have those who might set the house on fire, but
I'll bet they are more in the numbers of those who are iatrogenic
victims than not.
I've wondered how much rigidity and such things as giving away one's
personal power over time have to do with later brain impairment or
demise. Usually permanent physical condition arises out of a
predisposition for it, yet it's always different with each patient.
But if that person had been able to know themselves, others and their
world better in a more connected or fulfilling light, would it have
been easier for them? There's often a pattern of a major resentment or
trauma that should have been addressed. Blockages that can cause very
real symptoms that can all too easily easily be assigned a clinical
name. And once they hand over their own well being to the care of
others and pharmaceuticals, they may never learn that looking at life
differently will yield different results. They've never been taught
the tools, or the resources in naturopathic remedies, and though
spirituality might take them there, their steady diet of religion or
resentment thereof fails to direct them. I believe religions should be
taught in school. All religions and spiritual beliefs, so that people
would know choice. Biggest thing going, along with science and
technology, and kids are forced to learn dogma from within limiting
parental purlieus, or worse still, from a religious school they may be
attending. Atheism should also be taught, not just left fore kids to
adopt without knowing the theory.
We all have to dream and experience freedom for our mind's well-being.
In material life, immediate gratification without consequences would
obviously lead to miscreant actions. Aside from all of the
physiological documented evidence one could present, I suspect night
dreams are the mind's coping strategy for daytime maintenance of high
energy, low frequency physicality. If we didn't have the escape from
the physical on a (preferably) nocturnal basis, our minds would go
nuts from chronic imagined imprisonment--not so much physical but
psychical. In aging, our dream recall tends to diminish, resulting in
less conscious processing of subconscious experience. People with
vivid recall don't seem to experience this lessening, but they may
become victims of their own fear-based interpretations as the line
between conscious and subconscious crosses or merges. Most
psychologists could help these people to some extent, but getting the
help they need in time never happens.
Just thoughts. Not professional. What do you think?
Natalia
Ray Harrell wrote:
"I have to go visit a 90 year old Jewish lady whose brain is not
downsized. It's just her body. What a waste."
Hey Natalia, I was sad before I went. She is bright and worked
full time up until she was 88. She raised a daughter on her own.
The daughter became so self reliant that in her late teens she hiked
all over Europe and a lot of Asia, was a member of the Bread and
Puppet Theater and worked through college to a PHD in Social Work.
She rescued a couple of Indian children from the wars in Central
America and raised them as a single mother. Because they are Indian
she brought them to our community and participated with them in our
ceremonials and rituals. Meanwhile she is known as an angel to the
police because she would step right in front of a policeman's gun to
protect a child in a drug dealers apartment. She is now retired
but has gone back to school and is continuing to do her profession
privately.
What an amazing little woman with an amazing mother who smiled a huge
smile and spoke beautifully with a mind that speaks for someone much
younger than her 90+ years. So much knowledge in so frail a body.
It was a gift to me today.
Thank you Miriam,
Wado Edoda.
REH
* *
*From:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Michael
Gurstein
*Sent:* Sunday, July 18, 2010 1:50 PM
*To:* 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION'
*Subject:* [Futurework] FW: [p2p-research] newsweek on The Creativity
Crisis
-----Original Message-----
*From:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Michel
Bauwens
*Sent:* Sunday, July 18, 2010 4:03 PM
*To:* Peer-To-Peer Research List
*Cc:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* [p2p-research] newsweek on The Creativity Crisis
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html
--
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Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
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