Wisdom and Your Unfortunate Mortality

I have some good news and some bad news.

 First the bad news: You are getting older. As you celebrate one more birthday, you are bound to notice that time marches on, and ,inflexibly, you continue to march toward old age. I hate to be the bearer of such reality, but it must be pointed out.

But now the good news: You are getting wiser with each passing year. I think it is fortunate and no accident that wisdom seems to accumulate with your lifetime of experience. Wisdom is actually a form of intelligence that you cannot acquire any other way than by living. It enhances your judgment and common sense; just what you need for going down the road on the journey we all are assigned. The longer you live, the wiser you get.

When I reached my seventieth birthday, I made an announcement at my Rotary Club. I said, “ Now that I have reached 70, it is reassuring to know that I am not going to die young.” In other words, I had some consolation, that in achieving my senior years, I would have time to figure out what it means to be old. I reasoned that people who die young might have got caught without a chance to come to terms with mortality.

This is an expanding market, where more and more elderly citizens will have to deal with aging, one way or another. By the year 2020, there will be more people 60 and older than there has ever been on the planet. The population is already top heavy with senior citizens looking for answers about how to live later life to the fullest.

The problem is that there is a psychological resistance by some to the reality of being mortal. It is found in the cultural resistance to aging. Think: Wrinkle creams and plastic surgery, meant to delay the reminders of the plain old reality we have to look at in the mirror.

Others philosophically think pushing back against the tide of aging is simply a matter of handling the mounting years with dignity: “Stay young and beautiful as long as you can.” “ You’re only as old as you feel.” This, I think, represents a philosophy provisionally embraced by those who have yet to face illness and loss that often comes with aging. More unbending reality.

The healthcare industry misleads us by supporting a fantasy that maybe we can soon replace every ailing part of the body, as if our body were a car kept running forever with continual replacement parts. It is not unnatural to imagine that, unless we are hit by a train, we can live forever, and conquer every disease.

Yet if some people lived forever, they would still not figure out what QUALITY of life really means. With no hint of mortality, there would be little motivation to find meaning in the latter half of life. I am lobbying for a deepened sense of life in contrast to the superficial unexamined life. I seek quality not quantity, where single moments of meaningful experiences are prized. 

"Life eternal", as a Christian concept, is not, I think, an experience in chronological time. The Greeks have a word" kairos" which means meaningful time, the right moment. It begins in the NOW when there are opportune moments of engagement or beauty with family and friends that transcend chronological time. Who knows where it ends?

These are not easy ideas to cope with, requiring all the wisdom we can muster.

       

My Blog is My New Publishing Outlet

As of April, 2017, I will no longer be seen on the pages of the Ft Myers News-Press. But , to continue to have an outlet for my thoughts, I am choosing to express myself here. I especially hope that friends and colleagues will occasionally visit these pages, read and react to what I have to say. 

  Now it seems inevitable that I would have to use this medium of communication I have patiently waded through the set-up process to learn just how things work. I will give you some basics for navigating the swamp located at this end of the blogesphere, in case you are a newbie, like me.
   When you first arrive at the edge of the blog spot, you will see my "published" articles, by date, situated on the  side of the main page (most recent appear first). You should not have to log into anything to see this, once you have followed the web address, https://WilliamRMorrow.blogspot.com. If you use the https:// part , all our communication is encrypted to meet the requirements of this day in age.   At the end of each of my postings, you will see a place for your contribution, "Post a comment" and a blank box in which to write your reactions, contributing ideas, comments, questions. Everyone who then visits my blog will see your comments. If you want your  comments to be private, you should not post here, but send me an email in the usual way: wmorrowmft@embarqmail.com.    On the right side of the main page is the "Blog Archive" of previous posts by me, which may not show up until you click on one. Though there will be more with time, rght now there are just a few, and they will all be visible as described above.   There may be other useful things around the page to click on, but as a basic blogcommentator you probably wont need them. There is a way for you, the visitor, to create a direct path to this blog so you can access it readily, but I haven't figured that out yet. Good luck and let me know your feedback. I want it to be user friendly.May you always stand on solid ground, but don't be afraid to get your feet wet! This could be fun as well as enlightening for both of us.

The Psychology of Politics

I am planning an article for next month's column on the psychology of politics. A lot has been written about the personality, etc of D. Trump, and I have already written a column about the psychology of populism (mobilizing fear, anger, hatred) See: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17718035/The%20Power%20of%20the%20Shout.docx

 I have thought about doing something on the polarization of political points of view. Much of this phenomenon is a psychological way of dealing with the human inability to deal comfortably with ambiguity, and a need for certainty. At least this accounts for some strongly held political stances.
Racist/non-racist, pro-abortion/pro-rights, for and against gay marriage, etc. are examples. I am not the first person to write about how there are valid arguments on both sides of the issue, so I want to think about the psychology of politics from a fresh point of view.
 For quite awhile I have wanted to write about " Are We Smarter Than Our Congressmen?", but there is not much objective material , for example, on the IQ's of individual congressmen. I would start with the fact that the general population believes strongly in climate change, yet congress has repeatedly refused to take any action. I suppose much of the entrenchment is political response to lobbyists, and the need for individual congressmen/women to engage in "political speak" which might be different than what they privately believe. Is there a psychological issue here? I mean the two-minds theory which gets them off the hook. They can't really be that dumb about climate change, can they? But this issue may have to wait. I could not get my local former congressman to respond.
  So what is a focus of psychology of politics which is current? It changes every day. If I go with the polarization issue, there is some new TED talk stuff on tolerance for the "other" point of view, but it doesn't seem to plow much ground. I like the idea of facing our own inner (and maybe unacknowledged ) need for black-white thinking, but where to take it? I don't want to just moralize. Psychology, as a discipline, should be more factual, and observe, for example, psychological development of the person's participation in a democratic process. Yet it can't be too theoretical, and for the majority of the readership of the column, probably needs to be a little bit "pop" psychology, as an article on "Are We Smarter....." would be.
   Maybe something like,"Your Vote and Mine: Are We at Odds?" or "Voting as a Human Act: Are There Any Grey Areas?

 


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Psychology of Populism

 “Populist Psychology in American History”

As I looked at the play of American political history, I learned some things about how surges of populist psychology have shaped our country. That is, mass, usually unnamed movements, powered by something that clicks in the mind of otherwise diverse people. Corrective movements and policies have emerged out of times of upheaval. The democratic process seems to “naturally” involve expression of emotion, both good and bad. It turns out that the corrective forces are not all rational, and do not all come from so-called reformers in government. Often there is a disconnect between rational discussion of social needs and the strong emotional movements that eventually changed things. I mean things that we now take for granted, such as Social Security, anti-trust laws, and the 8-hour workday. Often, in an historical look-back, following a surge of people power activity, the creative part (if there was one!) of the movement gets channeled into social reforms that eventually benefit not only the disaffected, but also their children and grandchildren. Us.

An example is the presidential campaign of William Jennings Bryant in 1896. He mobilized the farmers of the Midwest who had felt trampled and ignored by bankers and industrialists in the East. Some say that the story of the Wizard of Oz was written to allegorically portray the powerful forces in that election. Bryan’s party was actually called the Populist Party. He lost to William McKinley, but the reforms he argued for became national policy during the next forty years of American history.

Another example was the surge of white supremacy following the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves. Whites, especially in the South thought they were being sold out, and formed their own populist groups in the manner of the psychological development I have described. The Klu Klux Klan is one of those groups that survives to today, and captures the strong and bigoted racial emotions lurking in some of our good citizens. It is hard to see the benefit of such a populist movement, but perhaps it gives a contemporary voice to those who can’t otherwise express themselves.

At the same time the story of Huey Long, governor of Louisiana in 1924, and later a U. S. Senator is also a story of the South. When he saw the plight of persons in the Great Depression, he set out to get them relief, pushing for a tax on Louisiana’s Big Oil to fund social programs. Unlike right-wing populism of William Jennings Bryan, this seemed to be leftist oriented populism.

Occupy Wall Street, and, to some extent, Sen. Bernie Sanders campaign against the one-percenters is an example of a more left leaning populism.  

“Populist Psychology and the AuthoritarianPersonality”

Appearing in Vox digital news commentary, an article by Amanda Taub has put out some apparently well-researched data about the authoritarian personality. Conclusions from the data show the aspects of people whose personalities tend toward the authoritarian. Authoritarianism is explained by Taub as a current behaviorally-measured psychological attitude that explains the “popularity “ of Donald Trump’s style of politics. Naming the phenomenon as authoritarianism, she shows why it is surging as a political movement, generally unnamed, and a form of right-wing populism. Moreover, this sweeping political movement is explained in terms of the specific psychological elements involved in authoritarianism.

 Persons who feel threatened by “outsiders” (like immigrants, terrorists, or gays) will show their desire for a strong protector/leader who is seen as someone able to “protect them from the changes they fear”. The desire for order in a confusing and alien world around them will propel them to look to a strong leader.  This is termed an authoritarian attitude, characterized by the need for respect of authority, traditional values, and punitive response to offenders.

 She cites political science theorists who have done some survey research, much of it based on the National Election Survey data which has been collected in every national election since 1992. Taub summarizes the psychological profile of the type of people willing to give their power to a leader who has simple and strict answers, and who can allay the fears “with force”. Some of those who fit the profile are already considered authoritarian personalities; others respond similarly to emotional threat when things are more stressful.

“Hypn      Hypnosis and Dowsing, Further Thoughts

    How natural is the experience of hypnosis? It is as natural as the hunt for a water source in a parched land.

    OK, so that doesn’t tell you much when I am setting out to tell you more about the subject of clinical  hypnosis as a naturally occurring and healing phenomenon. The connection, as I promise to explain below, is between the old farmer’s wierd waterwitching stick and arm muscles that move involuntarily. This revelation should become the basis for a new episode of TV’s “The Mentalist”.

   I am talking about how even non-verbal hypnosis involves suggestion to the muscle movements of the arm. The fine and subtle art of suggestion may also be applied to other parts of the body for health producing purposes.

    Psychological experiments show a form of self-hypnosis, so natural that the average person doesn't know that he/she is responding to unconscious cues. Hypnosis produces small muscle movements of the arm, called ideomotor movements. The subject usually denies that he is exerting any control over these movements. The experiments show the influence of suggestion, and tend to debunk the notion of some outside force on the farmer’s stick. I like debunking when it broadens the understanding of hypnosis!

   Psychology professor Ray Hyman, at the University of Oregon, conducted “dowsing” or “water witching” research experiments with volunteer students. After the prof demonstrated a walk across the floor with a dowsing rod, which moved when arriving at a certain spot (where supposedly there was water beneath the floor), students were asked to try it. The students found to their amazement that they could repeat the same demo, and see the rod movement over the same spot. All subjects denied “emphatically” that they were exerting any conscious effort. The experiment showed that the idiomotor muscle movements of the arm are generated outside the conscious volition of the subjects, yet arising wholely from inside the minds of these subjects. 

    The practice of dowsing is a very old method of locating underground water with a wand, usually for the purposes of where to dig a well. This wierd practice may still be seen in some areas of the country, with strong believers who attribute the movements of the dowsing wand or rod to the properties of the wand itself.

Kinesiologists use this principle to test arm movements that they say reveal a true answer to a question that asks for a yes or no answer. Theoretically, resistance to an outsiders pressure on the subject's arm muscle reveals a "truth" not revealed in verbal communication.  the operator can determine which arm movement is strong or weak.

    The thing is, there is a great deal of unacknowledged suggestion here. I have seen it demonstrated at a Rotary meeting, where the educated audience is largely impressed.

    In their book, Water Witching, Hyman and Evon Vogt claim that dowsing is basically a ritual pattern which is intended to reduce anxiety about the uncertainty of locating a well, especially in areas with ground water  problems. Hyman (1992), writing further about ideomotor action, concluded from his experiments that "under a variety of circumstances, our muscles will behave unconsciously in accordance with an implanted expectation." The source of the muscle movement is wholly within the person holding the "divining rods". Clearly mind-body interaction!

    This is fascinating to me because I like to use hypnosis to implant suggestions for the purpose of healing. With such an above described mind-body interaction, I think some physical healing can and does happen. This is based on the fact that not only muscles, but other organs of the body respond to suggestion. In fact, some negative suggestion probably occurs to our health detriment, without  conscious realization or acknowledgement. Some patients may, for example, be subject to the subtle suggestions of health-care providers who do not know how to engender hope.

I also believe that a therapist does not have to be directly involved in the enactment of certain healing rituals which can also have the same effect. Those wishing to benefit simply must independently participate in the ritual, whatever it might be: assigned by a priest, shaman, or practitioner of non-traditional or alternative medicine.

    Religious ritual should be included in any discussion here. I have a strong opinion about how physical healing can be a beneficial result of simple healing services of worship, which occur regularly in many faith traditions.

    What if we could harness this power of the unconscious to stimulate the immune system? Some family doctors of modern medicine are realizing that there are rudimentary methods of non-verbal communication with patients, which help the healing process. An example of this is the routine exam where the doctor touches the patient in a non-threatening manner, such as to apply the stethoscope to check the heart.

    Human beings possess within themselves a legitimate source of healing, without having to believe in any magic  or superstition. It is not superstitious to participate in ritual that is a part of one’s faith tradition, designated as a “healing ritual”.

    Is dowsing still used to locate water? I asked Richard Jackson, co-owner of Water Medic in Cape Coral what he thinks of this old-time method of preparation for digging a water well. Although he is a well professional, he actually owns a dowsing rod. He uses more modern methods now if he has to locate underground water, but he keeps the dowsing tool around. For him, it is more like a piece of history than a serious instrument . He confesses he has played with it, and believes that it works. “The old-timers didn’t have the equipment that we do now”, he says.

    “ If you go back in time, it was better than nothing”, says Jackson, showing some respect for the method. He was not skeptical, and, on questioning, seemed to attribute the power of the dowsing rod to something operating outside the person . How does he thinks it works, I asked? “Maybe magnetism”, he replied. I was not ready to debate him about this. Why should I question his belief with the new science I had discovered?