Personal Research

Author: bill

  • The Puppy and its Trainer

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    There’s a world of difference between a dog that is off the leash and a dog that is trained to be off the leash  —  Don Sullivan To explain why people act counter to their own interests, Freud used the metaphor of a horse and its rider [unconscious and conscious motivational systems]. I will use…

  • The Truth Wants to Make You Free

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    “Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions— not outside.” —-Marcus Aurelius I often try to get pessimistic, self-critical clients to give themselves more encouraging suggestions. For example, I told Barry: "Act as if the people you are going to meet at the party like…

  • The Irreversible Change

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    We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us, nor spare us — Marcel Proust Mental Disorders diminish the quality of a human life. Some — such as Bipolar Disorder — have a biological etiology, and are appropriately treated with medication. However, when the problem is…

  • Loving the Truth

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      The truth is cruel, but it can be loved and it makes free those who have loved it.  — George Santayana The poetic psychiatrist, R. D. Laing, asserted: “There is a lot of suffering in life. But the only suffering that can be avoided is the suffering that results from trying to avoid suffering.” We…

  • Perseverance and Self-Efficacy

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    If one remained as careful at the end as at the beginning there would be no failure  —  Lao Tsu In contrast to ordinary language in which a word may mean different things in different contexts or to different people, technical terms have a single definition so there is less chance for miscommunication. Self-Efficacy refers…

  • Determinism and Free Will

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    The human nervous system has become so complex, that it is able to affect its own states, making it functionally independent of its genetic blueprint, and of the objective environment. A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening "outside" just by changing the contents of consciousness.  — Csikszentmihalyi Volition [also…

  • The Truth Wants to Make You Free!

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    The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. – Steve Wright At some point in the evolution of biological creatures, consciousness emerged. When using their rational, problem-solving faculties, adult humans have powers that are not available to animals and young children. Consciousness, including consciousness of the self, comes with opportunities…

  • Self-Sabotage

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    We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us, nor spare us — Marcel Proust Disorders diminish the quality of a human life. Some — such as Bipolar Disorder — have a biological etiology, and are appropriately treated with medication. However, when the counter-productive emotional reactions…

  • For the Delight of Heaven

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    You should have a message in each pocket, so that you can read one or the other, according to your needs. In the right pocket are the words: “I am but dust and ashes” in the left are words: “For my sake was the universe was created."  — 19th century Hasidic adage What is the truth…