Tuesday, 23 July 2013

Losing Everything ...

Losing a battle or losing everything we thought we possessed will bring us moments of sadness. But when those moments pass, we will discover the hidden strength that exists in each of us, a strength that will surprise us and increase our self-respect."

- Coelho
- Manuscript Found in Accra

Monday, 22 July 2013

Book Report - As A Man Thinketh

As A Man Thinketh
- James Allen

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

... mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance..."

Thought And Character

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts."

Effect Of Thought On Circumstances

Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state."

Effect Of  Thought On Health And The Body

At the bidding of unlawful thoughts the body sinks rapidly into disease and decay; at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness and beauty."

Thought And Purpose

A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts."

The Thought-Factor In Achievement

All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts."

Visions And Ideals

He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it."

Serenity

The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him."


Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Book Report - The Road Less Traveled

The Road Less Traveled
- A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth
BY M. Scott Peck, M.D.
- Author of The Different Drum

... I make no distinction between the mind and the spirit, and therefore no distinction between the process of achieving spiritual growth and achieving mental growth. They are one and the same."

... this process is a complex, arduous and lifelong task. Psychotherapy, if it is to provide substantial assistance to the process of mental and spiritual growth, is not a quick or simple procedure."

I: DISCIPLINE

Problems and Pain
Delaying Gratification
The Sings of the Father
Problem-Solving and Time
Responsibility
Neuroses and Character Disorders
Escape from Freedom
Dedication to Reality
Transference: The outdated Map
Openness to Challenge
Withholding Truth
Balancing
The Healthiness of Depression
Renunciation and Rebirth

II: LOVE

Love Defined
Falling in "Love"
The Myth of Romantic Love
More About Ego Boundaries
Dependency
Cathexis Without Love
"Self-Sacrifice"
Love Is Not a Feeling
The Work of Attention
The Risk of Loss
The Risk of Independence
The Risk of Commitment
The Risk of Confrontation
Love Is Disciplined
Love Is Separateness
Love and Psychotherapy
The Mystery of Love

III: GROWTH AND RELIGION

World Views and Religion
The Religion of Science
The Case of Kathy
The Case of Marcia
The Case of Theodore
The Baby and the Bath Water
Scientific Tunnel Vision

IV: GRACE

The Miracle of Health
The Miracle of the Unconscious
The Miracle of Serendipity
The Definition of Grace
The Miracle of Evolution
The Alpha and the Omega
Entropy and Original Sin
The Problem of Evil
The Evolution of Consciousness
The Nature of Power
Grace and Mental Illness: The Myth of Orestes
Resistance to Grace
The Welcoming of Grace
Afterword

"there can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; and there can be no peace (and ultimately life) without community."

Friday, 12 July 2013

Grace ... The Evolution of Consciousness

I believe that the conscious is the seat of psychopathology and that mental disorders are disorders of consciousness. It is because our conscious self resists our unconscious wisdom that we become ill. It is precisely because our consciousness is disordered that conflict occurs between it and the unconscious which seeks to heal it. In other words, mental illness occurs when the conscious will of the individual deviates substantially from the will of God, which is the individual's own unconscious will." #RLT

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

The Miracle of Health

There is a force, the mechanism of which we do not fully understand, that seems to operate routinely in most people to protect and encourage their physical health even under the most adverse conditions." #RLT