Media-Tag: lecture

When we have learned the existentially valid mode of being in the world, we will be healed of our problems. Because our Mode of being in the world is in harmony with the fundamental order of existence, as defined by God Love/Intelligence. Sanity is living in harmony with Love/Intelligence. We have certain manners of thinking, which may manifest in psychosomatic disturbances. Problems are lessons designed for our edification. Problems help us learn to live more intelligently. There are grave conditions where the meaning is so obscure, or when the patient is so deeply involved in the situation, that there is no way of approaching the problem via phenomenological analysis, leaving only the traditional ways of alleviating the suffering, as unsatisfactory as they may be. The more we can learn to live in harmony with the fundamental order of the universe, the more protection we obtain from the common inflictions suffered by most of humanity. Everything has a meaning, though not all meanings may be discerned. If a patient is ready to face a meaning and if there is the humility to face up to the meanings, the problem can disappear, though the realization of spiritual reality. One surgery is commonly followed by another, because the problem though alleviated, is not solved, until it is understand what the problem came to teach. Medicine knows well that there is no direct relationship between a bacterial invention and the manifestation of the disease. There is an intermediate step, which is called receptivity. The question is where does receptivity come from?

The mind and the body are one. There is no separation. Metapsychiatry treats modes of being in the world. Adjustment is an operational function it can be done. Adaptation can be done. Lifestyles are chosen. Modes of being in the world are expressions of our basic assumptions values and education/culture which produce the way we see life. How can we understand an individual’s Mode of being in the world? A: Phenomenological analysis: the analysis of what seems to be. Everything that happens to us on life has a meaning. What is a meaning? A: The mental equivalent of a phenomenon, of what appears to be. A headache is a phenomenon. He that seeks reasons only finds excuses. We are not interested in causes of phenomena but in the meaning of phenomena. A meaning is always a thought that underlies a particular phenomenon. Nothing causes physical symptoms, but a thought can take on the form of a physical symptom. We seek the meaning of a phenomenon with patients. If the mind and the body are one, the mind cannot cause a headache, but a thought can take on the form of a headache. Transcending cause and effect reasoning. Language is a language and our habits of thinking interpret reality. Interpretation vs. phenomenological discernment. When we discern a meaning we see what a patient thinks really is. After we identify the meaning, the symptom will get worse, with a trace of humility will come embarrassment. What is healthy?

You cannot heal a physical problem where it is manifesting itself – We are not treating people, organisms, emotions, symptoms, relationships – We are treating modes-of-being-in-the-world.

Psychosomatic Medicine – Psychosomatic means a physical illness brought on by a mental state – Somatopsychic perspective pain/illness => emotional disturbance – High emotional states may result in physical reactions that in-turn manifest in physical illness/structural damage – “the good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, I accomplish” – It is common to deny that physical symptoms have any thing to do with mental states – Example: spinal fusion for spinal arthritis; willfulness = should thinking; conflicts with grandchildren; try not to think about what should be and what shouldn’t be; don’t insist on anything; watch thoughts; watch words; become completely “shouldless”; 2 weeks later, the patient is healed and three years later there are no symptoms – Emotions are not the culprit in psychosomatic medicine, modes-of-being-in-the-world, which comprises the way an individual perceives life, its values and what its habits of thought are, are the culprit – Mind and body are not separate entities – the body is the mind and the mind is the body – mind manifests itself as thought, emotion, symptoms, and physical structures – thoughts vs. emotions.

What is the meaning of the tendency to think in terms of feelings? We think feelings are primary. Psychotherapeutic Errors: If you feel right, you will be healthy. By changing your behavior you can be healthy or by changing your feelings you can be healthy. We cannot change our feelings. Behavior and feelings are by-products of our thought processes (epiphenomenon). Our mode-of-being is determined by our thought processes. Thought processes are determined by our perceptions, how we see things. Perceptions are determined by our values and preconceptions. It is not true that we can see what is going on. We see our thoughts or somebody else’s’ thoughts. We interpret what we see. Bible: As man thinketh in his heart, so he seeth. As thou seest, so thou beest. Buddha: We are what we think, having become what we have thought. The aim of Metapsychiatry is to help people see better. We see with our thoughts. Valid thoughts. What makes sense? What fits in with our preconceived ideas. Source of thoughts. Man does not produce thoughts. Mental climate. Intelligent and valid ideas come from divine mind. Intelligent and valid ideas come to us through inspiration. Invalid thoughts come from the “sea of mental garbage”. Noosphere. (culture, civilization, education, history = preconceptions.) Firmament is the separation between valid and invalid ideas (Ocean of Love Intelligence and Sea of Mental Garbage) Three R’s (Recognition, Regret, Reorientation)

Inspired man is different from a computer. Spontaneous: Sponte Tua = Out of thy will. Illnesses can be fashionable. When an idea becomes prevalent in our environment, we become afraid of and our fear energizes the idea, giving it power to manifest. “That which I fear most has come upon me.” The better we understand things, the simpler they get. Children are influenced by three factors in parental consciousness: 1) What you cherish; 2) hate; 3) fear. Healthy parenting is impossible, based on good intentions and self sacrificing love, unless you understand the three elements of consciousness. In order to be healthy, we must cherish that which is existentially valid and we must be compassionate enough to be free of hate and we must seek to be fearless. How can we become fearless? Perfect love casteth out fear. He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him, for God is love.

Ceaseless prayer is learning to see everything in the context of divine love intelligence, maintaining a transcendent perspective. Phenomenological perceptivity: open minded confrontation with that which reveals itself from moment to moment; the open mind requires a wide mental horizon, one uncluttered by preconceptions, prejudices and calculative thinking. As therapists, all we are doing is maintaining an open mind and awaiting for the meaning to reveal itself. The therapist can not heal. The therapist can do nothing. The Truth heals. The therapist is a medium via which the truth can reach the patient’s consciousness. Healing is grace manifest. What satisfaction is there in being a psychotherapist? Seeing God in action; Seeking ego gratification from our work; The metapsychiatric therapist seeks the joy of beholding, seeing God in action.

The question Why? What is the meaning?… Fever/Chills is a phenomenon. The meaning is fear. Healing comes from showing the patient that there is no reason to fear. Children manifest…; Each symptom has a meaning to a particular individual. The Three R’s (Recognition; Regret; Reformation); Fear is the most prolific source of disease; The secret of fearlessness is perfect lovingness. Young lady case: Admiration vs. Love; Admiration is self-confirmatory and pathogenic (if feels good, but you can’t get enough); Love is God-confirmatory and is health promoting (Love is an appreciation of the essential qualities of an individual, so it reinforces the awareness of the good of God in an individual.) Love provides us a genuine sense of self worth. Self confirmatory ideation vs. Self worth (Healthy self-esteem); Seeing the problem (Psychotherapy) vs. Seeing the meaning of the problem (Metapsychiatry = 1st “R”); Problems can appear to be very serious and difficult to deal with; Cause vs. Ignorance; Finding a cause makes a problem real; Children manifest the mental climate of the home; What is ceaseless prayer? How can we do ceaseless prayer with all that we have to do?

When the Right Man does the wrong thing, even the wrong thing will work the right way. What is the Right Man? The Right Man sees himself as a manifestation of divine love intelligence; The Wrong man acts from an interactive perspective (self and other). Q: What is a do gooder? A: The Wrong Man trying to do the right thing. The Right Man is a be-gooder and it is our purpose in life to become the Right Man.

What is theistic existentialism? What is the meaning of existentialism’s lack of popularity? Heidegger, a former student of theology, became a philosopher, who hid God in obscure language. There is embarrassment in admitting that we are interested in God. Gabriel Marcel (French Catholic Philosopher); In psychiatry and medicine God is totally absent; We call theistic existentialism Metapsychiatry, which means beyond psychiatry; We study the relevancy of God consciousness to mental health and healing; Breathing life into the valley of dry bones; Experience has proven the approach very helpful. Scientific approaches to understanding man; Definition of a specialist; Man exists in the context of God and may not be understood outside of his context. Maple tree and leaf analogy; God is the creative power and intelligence that sustains man. Psychiatry does not study man; it studies man’s sicknesses. Metapsychiatry’s primary interest is in understanding healthy man. Under what conditions can man be healthy? Operationalism is just looking how to handle man, as an object; Humanism is looking to make man more capable of exiting in groups, he moralizes man; (I can get along with my fellow man by wanting to.) Being generous (humanistic) to be nice. Juan Xa sage; When the Wrong Man does the right thing, the right thing goes the wrong way.