It was every parent’s worst nightmare. Sixteen years old and in possession of my father’s car for the first time, I decided to speed as fast as I could down a winding road. I knew my father wouldn’t have wanted me to race, but I held a curve doing 100. In fact, I did itContinue reading “Can You Rebel All the Way to Self-Actualization?”
Category Archives: Meeting the Voices in My Head
How Linus Created the World
At Least the One Inside Your Head You remember Linus, the comic strip character who drags his blanket around? His blanket is helping him transition from being a baby to someone who can take care of himself. Linus has learned he can’t count on someone always being there when he cries. So, he’s begun toContinue reading “How Linus Created the World”
What is the Evidence that You Are Plural?
A Review of “Many Minds, One Self” By Schwartz and Falconer I have an image of being a practical, no-nonsense kind of therapist to uphold. A certain sort of underserved clientele flock to me because they think the mental health world is glutted with flakiness. Should I really be telling them that they are inhabitedContinue reading “What is the Evidence that You Are Plural?”
Burdens and the Peddlers That Traffic in Them
If the inside of my own head is any indication, we all carry psychological burdens. If that’s not bad enough, we try to trade one burden for another and end up carrying them both. I got one of my burdens when I was about eight years old, riding the school bus. No one would sitContinue reading “Burdens and the Peddlers That Traffic in Them”
Shame and the Rebel
Part 7g of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult The Rebel regards my Feelings as entirely within the concept it has of myself, so it doesn’t have much of a problem with them; with one exception, the feeling of Shame. As far as the Rebel is concerned, Shame isContinue reading “Shame and the Rebel”
The Rebel’s Constituency
Part 7f of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Like any oppositional leader, the Rebel claims to speak for the marginalized, in this case, the Innermost Child. If you remember, the Innermost Child is the original part of me, but it’s still there. It feels things that are notContinue reading “The Rebel’s Constituency”
Continuous Revolution
Part 7e of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Revolution gives over to tyranny. Having won the right to untuck my shirt from my Simulated Parents, I needed to continue marching against my Simulated Peers or they would be the next oppressors. Usually people exert some independence, but getContinue reading “Continuous Revolution”
The Story of the Shirt Tail
Part 7d of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult When I was in sixth grade, the Student Council succeeded in getting some parts of the school’s dress code revised. This was in 1968 and I guess the faculty couldn’t resist the overwhelming tide of change any longer, so theyContinue reading “The Story of the Shirt Tail”
Nature’s Problem and Its Solution
Chapter 7c of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult Nature has a problem. It needs to stir the pot. It wants you to get out, take chances, spread your seed, and do stuff. Furthermore, it needs you to be a little different from everyone else, so the species canContinue reading “Nature’s Problem and Its Solution”
The Self Concept
Chapter 7b of Meeting the Voices in My Head and Searching for an Inner Adult The mission of the Rebel is to claim certain feelings, beliefs, and practices as my own, distinct from others. It establishes the boundaries of the Self and assiduously patrols them. It guards my individuality and protects me from losing myContinue reading “The Self Concept”