There are as many ways to live a life as there are people. We are all unique. Every one of us. Yet we share a lot in common. This is one of the most difficult paradoxes or dilemmas for all of us. How much do we want to emphasise our differences and how much our commonalities? Let’s start with uniqueness. We have a highly developed immune system whose purpose is to identify absolutely everything that is “not me”. Whether that is a virus, a bacterium, a piece of wood or a thorn, a tissue or organ donated to us by somebody else, a cancer cell, infact simply anything that does not carry the perfectly unique stamp of “me”. What the immune system does is identify any of these “not me” things then try to remove them. There are an incredibly complex set of mechanisms involved in these apparently simple processes and they are all running absolutely all the time. Without a healthy immune system we get sick and we die. Uniqueness, and the protection of that uniqueness is essential to life.
There’s more to uniqueness however than our physical bodies. The non-physical part of us (let’s call that the “self”) is also unique. Where do we find this thing called the “self”? Well, first of all, its not a “thing”. The self exists within the body. Or does it exist within the mind? (oops! that’s going to lead to a hunt for the mind – it’s in the brain somewhere, isn’t it? Em, actually, no! Mostly yes, but not entirely!) Some have used the term “embedded” or, even, “embodied” to convey the idea that the self cannot be understood except within the context of the individual body. (I’ll return to that later because that takes us off down the track of consciousness studies and the mind-body problem – and that’s too long a digression for here!) It’s true that as a medical student the first patient I ever met had a body but no self. He was dead. Had been for a long time. When I studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh the first three years of the course was called “Medical Sciences” and in Year 2 we studied Anatomy. The first patient I met was on the dissection table and smelled very strongly of formalin. It was another two years before I met a live patient. What does that tell you about the way doctors are trained to think? (actually, most Medical Schools are more enlightened now and introduce the young students to live patients from the outset. However, the body-focussed, in fact, pathology-focussed approach still reigns supreme.)
But let’s return to living human beings. A living human being has not only a unique physical body but has unique ways of perceiving (sensing) , of thinking and feeling , and of behaving (acting). To sense, think and act we use our whole self – body and mind. (Ok, someone will read this and think “what about the spirit?” Can I get back to that later? It’s an interesting subject, but, hey, this dealing with the body and the mind is complicated enough so far without introducing another controversial element!)
Most of this sensing and acting goes on automatically. The thinking tends, if at all, to come a bit later. You don’t believe me? Well, it’s true. The brain has developed in such a way that the sensory inputs from the world are processed directly in the depths of the brain which automatically reacts to the information. If somebody jumps out at you at night you see and hear them, and your heart starts to race, your eyes shoot wide open, your legs and hands start to tremble and you are ready to either defend yourself or run away, all without having had to think about it. The thinking “I’m scared!”, or “What the….?!!!” happens just slightly after the brain and the body has already adjusted to the threat.
Most of what happens inside us happens automatically. And just as well really, can you imagine having to remember to breathe out every time you breathed in? Would you really want to know and constantly control what’s going on inside your bowel? I don’t think so. However, we have amazing abilities to become aware of what’s going on both inside and outside us, which allows us to make choices and so take much more sophisticated and complex actions in response to the situations which occur every day. More than this, what our minds especially give us is the ability to make sense of things.
As human beings we are the most meaning-seeking of all creatures. We always want to understand what is happening, to make sense of our experiences and we do that through an incredible device – storytelling. In fact, it could be argued that the self is a narrative construct (but, hey, there’s something else to return to later!). One of the great advantages of making sense of things is that we learn, we grow, we develop, and in the process become better able to deal with the world in which we find ourselves.
So, here is the nub of the issue and the basis of this entire site – we function automatically – like zombies – and we learn, we choose and we grow – like heroes.
Joseph Campbell, who studied myths around the world, identified key themes which occur in all mythologies . Think back to when you were a child and you were told a “Once upon a time….” story. A typical story has a main character who has to undergo a series of challenges to win the prize. For example, the prince wants to marry the princess but first of all has to slay the dragon and rid the country of the evil spell cast by the wicked witch. As he overcomes the dangers, slays the dragon, outwits the witch, and so on, he grows, he gains certain new skills and abilities – “boons” – so that in the end he has developed into the man who is worthy of the princess. Well, we are all that character. We are the main character in the stories of our own lives. We have desires we want to have fulfilled and we have the chance to develop and to grow as we deal with the various challenges and difficulties that life throws our way. In the end, we are the heroes of our tales. But what if we don’t accept the challenges? What if we don’t notice what’s possible? What if we don’t make sense of our lives and instead just default to the automatic pilot function? Then we live the life of zombies.
This is your choice. What kind of life do you want? The life of a hero? Or the life of a zombie?
So being a hero, partly means being conscious of your decisions. Right?
Oh yes, that’s cetainly part of it, sugar mouse. It’s about not going about on autopilot but being actively engaged in life
Off topic, but didn’t see anywhere else to put this. I’ve “tagged” you in my most recent blog entry. *smile*
Astonishing. A doctor who is interested in life.
Life is spontaneous, unpredictable, at times an instigator of the most incredible triumphs and other times the backdrop to the most crushing defeats and tragedies.
But for those who have looked up only once and seen a sunrise or sunset, heard the silence of the quiescent awe of the small forest animals at the impending doom of a thunderstorm or held a loved one in their arms, or decided to fight against the restrictions and oppression of unreasoning condemnation, these people are heroes.
Zombies, on the other hand, bred by the tens of thousands in “education” factories do not know of these things and seek only the blind conformity and safety of thought control and the obliteration of creativity. I begin to see
why these others fear Homeopathy to the point of unreasoning hysteria. It poses a threat to them because it exposes the choice to be hero or zombie – a choice that they have already made but wish to deny.
You had expressed an interest in artworks? If your whimsy takes you, check out my latest blog entry, but have some spare time when you do. =^..^= *smile*
Have you seen the musical tesla coils? I posted about them, I think they are NEAT! (But if I were to see them in person, I’d be very, very wary.) Thought it might catch your interest.
KatK – that’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen!
Heh, oddly fascinating though, eh? You’d never get a chance to study lightening again and again so close-up, as a layman… It’s neat, but I’d stay a very careful distance from it. “Beauty from afar.” *nod*
What is “me”?
Is it “my brain”? No, the phrase means brain of mine.
Is it “my heart”? No, it means heart of mine.
Is it “my body”? No, it means body of mine.
“Me”, or “Self”, is a concept so clear of doubt. Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, has any doubt on her/his “self”. One can experience amnesia and has doubt over her/his name, identity, parents, etc. But nobody has confusion about “self”.
The knowledge of “self” is obtained not through mediators or intermediaries between the subject and the object, but rather of a unity between the subject and the object.
(If there is a mediator between the two, than the perception of the subject can be distorted, hence the object’s knowledge of the subject would be imperfect)
The “Self” is an immaterial concept. Since it is immaterial, it is not bounded by time and space, thus would make the need for a mediator irrelevant. (Space is the one that makes things apart, thus separation is a concept of matter).
And since the dimension of “matter” is the lowest (in hierarchy) of all existence, the “self” controls the body.
A hero is a person that understands this concept accordingly, thus the “self” has full control on the material body.
A zombie is a person that has the “self” weakened and unable to control the material body.
This is not entirely true. There are stroke victims, that do not know their own limb. I read (It was either in Omni or Discover magazine years ago I think. The magazine that had monthly “medical mystery” features.) about the studies of a highly acclaimed neurologist, who found that pouring water in one of the ears would temporarily allow the person to recognize their own limb. I cannot recall, right or left. It had to do with the side of the brain affected by the stroke. It was the same for all the people with the condition.
Not only this, but there are other illnesses that can take away your awareness of self. And, what if the person has no ability to realize there is a unity between body and soul? What of those people, who are only aware of their own wants and needs, whose realization of “self” does not allow them to value others, and how others feel? (Psychopaths) What do you make of the Lakota Instructions for Living found linked below, damartriadi?
http://katkmeanders.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/the-core-of-how-i-choose-to-live/
I spent some time trying to find the name of the disorder the stroke patients had, with no luck. I will give more details, in the hopes that it triggers a memory in Bob so that he can perhaps find information on what I mean. The patients failed to recognize their own arm, always the same arm. Instead of saying “That is my arm” they would claim it was someone else’s arm. The strokes were uncommon. The neurologist was from India I do believe, he was Indian. In his study of the condition, he found that pouring cold water in the ear on the opposite side where the stroke occured would bring some moments (about ten minutes if I recall correctly) of lucidity to the patient, during which they recognized their own arm.
This is the same fellow helping patients with phantom limb pain with a special contraption set up with mirrors. One case, the fellow felt his missing hand clenching into his palm, fingernails drawing blood. Of course pain medicine didn’t cure his pain. The neurologist set up a box with mirrors, (I don’t remember if he had the patient put his remaining arm into the box or not) and had him look into a special viewing area, where it seemed he saw his missing limb. He then asked him to unclench his hand. This illusion, this tricking of his mind, brought him relief from the phantom pain. Does this trigger a memory Bob, do you know the fellow I am speaking of now?
It went without saying above, that the Doctor first asked his patient to clench his fist, then slowly unclench it. However the contraption was rigged up, it thoroughly tricked his mind, and gave the patient blessed relief. I did read over my post twice, to be sure it was clear, but missed that. *sigh*
Just quickly, Katk, cos I’m about to start clinic, but I’m pretty sure you’re referring to Ramachandran. I think that particular story is in his book Phantoms in the Brain – a while since I read it but I’m pretty sure that’s it.
Aha! Yes, that is him. Here is an excerpt on his findings of Body Image. (Read all of the article, it is pertinent to the ideas brought up.) I had thought that perhaps it was sometimes legs affected, but only remembered arm for certain. I do believe it is the opposite ear as to the affected side of the brain, but perhaps it is the same side. It has been a good long while since the findings were fresh in my mind.
Quote Wikipedia article, about Ramachandran’s findings, under Body Image the Neurological Phenomenon section: “Also, some patients with anosognosia, usually left-side hemiplegics who have suffered from a stroke, experience a disassociation with their paralyzed limbs. Some may be convinced that their paralyzed leg for example, is not really theirs–perhaps the leg of a stranger. They will assert that their real leg has disappeared, and in this conclusion, attempt to shove or kick their own leg out of bed. This kind of anosognosia involves lesions on the right side of the brain–notably the somatosensory and parietal cortices.”
Now for links.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilayanur_S._Ramachandran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_image
http://psy.ucsd.edu/chip/ramabio.html
It might have been Scientific American that I read about it in, as well. It also had those really hard brain teaser puzzles in it as well. One of the medical mystery articles I read about was about the illness which goes by the slang term “pig gut” among natives. Horrible suffering, that illness, the sufferer’s body swells tremendously. It is brought on by eating undercooked pork, and yams. If I recall correctly, the pork was cooked in a pit, at lower heat than recommended. Aha! Nevermind, it was Discover magazine I was thinking of, and their “Vital Signs” series. Here’s the one about Pig Gut. (Hurrah, been searching for this for some time!)
http://discovermagazine.com/1995/feb/thebeastinthebel466/?searchterm=Pig%20Gut
Thanks for the links KatK
damartriadi, thank you for this interesting comment. I always think we have something to learn when we consider different perspectives from different cultures and using different frameworks of understanding. I’m pretty keen on a non-dualistic understanding of the self and the body. In fact, I agree that the self is not a material entity and I also think it is not simply a phenomenon of the material body but this is starting to stray into consciousness studies and the old “hard question” which has still not been answered……how we escape the dualism of material and non-material in our consideration of consciousness.
The most helpful understanding I know so far is the concept that the self is a narrative construct. Maybe I’ll say more about that in another post
đŸ™‚
From my understanding of what your saying, those that live more of a Zombie refuse self and intettion, those who choose a Hero’s life embrace self and inttention.
This would mean that whoever lives the Hero’s life is choosing an intettionally effective life. So in one sense, a preson who lives a Hero’s life is living a causing life, where as the Zombie lives an effected life.
If I live a life of the Hero, I am living a life of self inttetion. I am putting a thing like my self in to something I inttend, namely mode or messure, specificity, and order.
I can’t create more energy, only direct the energy I have direction implies a meaning, goal, or purpose which is what I mean by mode or messure, the simplicity of the direction. Specificity refers to the muliplicity of the direction or the events in the chain of effection towards your goal. Order refers to the chain of movment or the movemnet in it’s spirit, from the Idea as a cause, to the Idea in the completion of it in it’s effect.
To live a causing life is to live a life the puts a thing in the likness of your self into life in mode, specificity, and order. You post really is enlightening, and simple to grasp.
thank you Zachary, yes, I’m making a plea for us to live more aware lives, make our choices more consciously and in the creation of our own selves we become the heroes of our own stories
Have you had a chance to peek at my blog today? =^..^= I got the pictures I took with my new camera up, finally. (I see they changed the upload interface. *wry*)
You’ll probably have to peek at my Flickr sets to see all the images if you go look today. (I messaged you there.) Images aren’t displaying properly on WordPress today, it seems. *sad* I hope I don’t have to re-upload/re-post any after the glitch is fixed!
Bob,
Your blog is something else.
I like the way you make it an individual choice to zombie or not. There are many societal pressures that favor the zombie approach. I’m sure you have considered this for many years.
In your opinion over the last hundred years of the western world which side has been gaining ground?
hey thanks for your positive feedback.
You know, I think if you look back at any time in history there’s a battle going on for freedom isn’t there? Pretty much every form of society human beings have experimented with have been “dominance” based where there are hierarchies and controls and the societies are held together through power plays of a few over masses. But then along come those things which break a few chains! Like the printing press. And literacy programmes. And so on.
I’m really a very positive person and have huge belief in human potential. Although you could look at the rise of command and control in many societies you can also see these new tools of self-expression and free connection. I mean how would you and I have come across each other before these tools were developed?
I think we have more chances to learn, more chances to explore and more chances to connect with others than ever before. That encourages me.
Take your own blog for example. What a great example of sharing your view (your hero view) of your lifeworld. As we stumble across each other’s lifeworlds we discover both differences and similarities. That can be intoxicating I find. It strengthens my view of my uniqueness and it strengthens my view of my connectedness – both at the same time. I love that. But most of all, my writing, my photography, like yours, allow me to consider my own life anew – that’s the wake up point isn’t it? To express, to reflect, to connect and to share…..wow, what a great time to be a hero! Now, get me right, the forces of zombiefication (I know, there’s no such word…..well there is now!) are as intense now as they’ve been at any time in history. But knowing that. And discussing it. Well…..there’s the hope again
Great analysis Bob.
I’ve been thinking that every time there is an advance in “Heroism” be it social or technology based the powers that be react to stifle and control the disturbance. The rate of change seems to have increased and they had lost some control until the rise of control over our media, that was a big set back.
The internet now seems our best bet, so far it is still making progress, got my fingers crossed.
My fingers are crossed too….makes typing a bit tricky though!!
Seriously though, I’m glad you share my optimism.
A hero, of course đŸ™‚
But there are days when I just want to slouch into the sofa in front of the TV and turn into a zombie đŸ™‚
http://www.markvernon.com/friendshiponline/dotclear/
Bob have you read any of Mark Vernons work -his book after atheism is worth a look. ……
Re body image/sensing I really recommend this …..http://www.sandrablakeslee.net/index.asp?PG=3
Sandra Blakeslee has written a very lucid account of the science of body maps which i believe is relevant for a lot of medicine in the grey zone! (She was the co author with Ramachnandran.)
A good interview with Sandra Blakeslee can be found on brainsciencepodcast.com which has some very interesting material and I find the science relating to the insula and its role in intereoception fascinating.
ian
i am not sure if this should go here . Ken Robinson talks about creativity and individuality and how institutional education tends to kill it. You have probably already seen it but its a brilliant funny talk which you won’t tire of ……
ian
Thanks for these Ian – inspiring and life-enhancing
Sorry I didnt know where to put this request: I am very interested in your blog and wonder if I could read it not in subject but in chronological order (unless you advise me to read by category). However, I cant find your archives. Can you post that Widget?
Another unrelated thing: have you noticed that many wordpress bloggers who write similar blogs choose Mistylook theme? I had it myself but felt I needed to change it until I get myself a nice picture for it. Since youre a doctor, I wonder if you can help me understand this. I mean, what would Mistylook have to attract all those like-minded people??
I will be commenting on the pages and posts when I get to know you better. I just found your blog less than an hour ago. But so far I like what I found đŸ™‚ Thank you.
@xeper……just added the archives widget at your request! Thanks for asking. I do think it’s a good idea. I didn’t know other similar blogs used Mistylook but I’ll tell you why I chose it – I wanted a customisable header because I like to use my own photography and I wanted pages as well as posts because there are certain key messages on which the whole blog is founded. Then I wanted the largish posting area so that the photos look good and so that the line length of the text was readable (not too short, not too long). Finally, I wanted simplicity. I like a clean, uncluttered design. I reckon all of those factors are important for me and as far as I know there may be many other templates deliver on these points but I don’t know them! What do you think? What are the similarities you see? Can you point me to some of the other blogs you’re thinking about and I’ll go see them and come back and con tinue this discussion?
Thanks for your kind comments so far. I’m glad you are finding some things you like and I really welcome constructive feedback and ideas for improvement
Thank you very much for the widget đŸ™‚
About similar blogs, you can check out mine (xeper.wordpress ; it is, after all, a blog “about Becoming”) and please dont mind the current format. On second thought, the other two I thought of might be much more similar to mine than to yours: one is about Ancient Egypt, which I am very interested in, she is pavementsofsilver.wordpress , and the other is interested in self-exploration zakhak.wordpress
Have you not noticed that pattern though? I mean, why would the people interested in self-exploration and “Becoming” choose the same theme???
My idea is too crazy to fully discuss here.. but I know you will get what I mean by my summary: are we really “unique” or are there a couple of models/forms that just replicate? n the model standing for Human Self Realization just happens to have the genes/memes for Mistylook.
ah, I think I see where you’re coming from, xeper. Maybe the best explanation is Jungian – synchronicity – from our collective unconscious!
I do think every one of us is unique but I also think we share a LOT. There are many paradoxes in life, aren’t there? One of them is definitely the living on that spectrum between uniqueness/separateness at one end and commonality/belonging at the other. There’s no right and wrong along that spectrum. We all need both separateness and belonging. It’s good to connect! It’s good to express our uniqueness and to find others whose uniqueness connects so well with ours!
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Brilliant. i love it. Fantastic concept, and one that i have been struggling with for a long time. Do we allow the glorious empire in our minds to live through us? Do we allow the person we know we truly are come down into us and enrich out lives? Or do we just stay in front of the TV…
love your post, love Campbell – life is a story as you have said, one we write daily in our words ans actions – i think we have all been a zombie at some point in our lives and it is a killer of body and spirit. living a life growing each day with new hope and wonder, giving and receiving – like the act of breathing, we become the creation we were meant to be —
thanks for the treasure
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Excellent! Thank you. This is a growing movement. I’m glad I found my way here.
I’m late to this party, but I love the premise of the site.
Something struck me here. You said, “We are the main character in the stories of our own lives.”
And I’m thinking of T. S. Eliot’s response: “No, I am not Prince Hamlet, am an attendant lord, one that will do to swell a scene or two.”
I hope it is not to zombie of me to be content just to swell a scene or two. (Though I do like zombies.)
I am familiar with Amy’s writing, but only found your place thanks to some timely tweets this morning.
We share a philosophy. I recently wrote something similar: http://ht.ly/1WC80
Hi there,
I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. Interesting, informative, thoughtful and beautifully illustrated. Thank you!
Very good article
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Little did I realise it until now (although I remember coming here years ago, perhaps you influenced me) but I am preaching from a very similar hymn sheet to you. I’m starting to work with school children teaching them about improvised drama/comedy. The real keystone of good drama/comedy is narrative. Teaching them to understand and building narrative has useful (vital?) parrallels in their lifes outside of the classroom. I like to equate people to Televisions. We have many channels, some are watched by some, others watched by others. Some channels always show re-runs. Some channels take risks in their choice of programming.
What I find tricky is getting people to engage with their own stories. With young people I can kinda accept that sometimes metaphors go over their heads and that they live their lives simply enough to not have problems that stick with them yet. With adults though I’ve found they repeat themselves so much and can’t see that they aren’t progressing and that it’s their responsibility to make a change! I’d love your thoughts on helping people understand their own narratives đŸ™‚
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perceptive post (Imagination) I agree. I’ve quoted you on Twitter @colburnfa
Hi, I can’t find where to post a comment on the actual blog, so I’m commenting here about on your post about active attention.
Your timing for the post is wonderful for my blog as I’m devoting January to posts about listening. It just seems to me that we (especially I) don’t stop often enough to pay attention to the things that nourish us and the people we love. My first post title echoes yours (Paying Attention.) I’m especially glad that you tagged your post to an experience of the natural world. There’s so much healing to be had in environments we humans do NOT create.
Anyway, I’ll post a link to your post on my next one because I think the exercise could be most useful. I think I’ll try it myself; it seems like a good journaling exercise. You’ll find my blog at http://faithanncolburn.com/wordpress/.
Again, I’m commenting here about your blog post on living longer. I hadn’t thought about how I might plan differently if I were to live to be 120. I come from a family of long-lived women (not so much the men), so I’ve kind of planned on 100. Another twenty years, boy I don’t know. I agree with you that extending health would be more valuable than extending life. At 68, I’m still disgustingly healthy and I have the example of my grandmother who remained strong and vibrant until her 99th year. Lived for another year and a half, still ambulatory and intellectually aware til the end, but became weak and tired during that last 18 months.
Even healthy, I fear I would outlive my financial resources . . . and it’s really too late to plan for that. I’m not in any hurry to die. I have a lot of work I still want to do, but I don’t know how long my body can support good health. You haven’t said what you think.
Wow, Faith. Glad to know you are thriving at 68!
Me? Well, my life plan forever has been to become a doctor, then to teach, and finally, to write. I’m at the writing stage, and wouldn’t mind having the extra years to write even more than I otherwise will be able to.
Thank you for following my blog. Look forward to sharing more with you. xoxo Anais
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Very nice blog, If you get a chance check out my new blog I am developing and looking for opinions on.
Regards
-J
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We are meaning-seeking creatures. Most intently I searched for the answers to big questions since I was five. It took me 40 years from that time to actually find it.