Category Archives: Psychoeducational

Psychoeducational

Stages Of Psyche Socio Development

Posted by Ken Fields on October 31, 2009 at 9:54 pm.

In a previous post I touched on the subject of developmental stages. A lot has been said, and can be more said, about these developmental tasks, challenges, crisis, milestones… Stages of biological development are fairly observable; psyche and socio logical development is less so. Although most of the these posts will focus on Psyche Logos, the developmental stages of Socio Logos are analogous in structure.

You don’t have to agree with this; just consider what if….

There is a  structure to our psyche-socio development; there are 7 phases, stages, arenas….classrooms…

What if….consciousness manifests and develops itself through experiences in 7 Classrooms-each classroom with 7 Grade Levels and each grade level having 7 Lessons. Whether it is personal consciousness or national consciousness, or solar consciousness, there is a process of ongoing metriculation into the next grades, and the next classrooms, over time.

Time becomes an element to consider; how long are the seven lessons  of the seven grades  in the seven classrooms…..That information is somewhat dependent on Time Consciousness. Personal time consciousness operates within the days to decades framework. But, national consciousness can operate within decades to centuries, and solar consciousness ages to eons.

What if…..our solar consciousnes has just entered 4th Grade in the 5th Classroom, and our national consciousness is about to leave fourth grade and enter 5th Grade,  in the 2nd Classroom – different curriculums for sure, although there are 7 Themes which permeate developmental stages at whatever level it is operating…..

Our personal consciousness is so colored by the national consciousness (and the solar consciousness) that developmental themes at the personal level, to be rightly understood, must include the context of national consciousness.

National Time Consciousness is a calendar kind of thing…..What year is it? According to who?

So, let’s say it’s the year 2012. As a national entity, the age is “20″ and there remains 89 years as a twenty year old. Then a birthday, and then the national consciousness matures from a twenty year old to a twenty one year old in 2101.

Let’s say it’s the year 4056….The national identity is that of a 40 year old, with 45 more years until the forty year old becomes a 41 year old…

Just as a person changes, matures, grows, develops, adjusts, compensates, creates….from when they were 20 years old to when they are 40 years old, so too national identity, national consciousness, was born…grows, develops…..decays, and dies. Through 7 Grades of 7 Classrooms.

Let’s focus on this year: 2009,  a few months from 2010. One year difference. A lot can happen in one year, from the personal consciousness point of view; but, not much happens from the solar consciousness point of view. Some significant developments can occur within the national psyche during a year, but most of the real national changes happen over several years, and decades.

Your an adolescent. No matter how old you are personally, nationally, you, as an integral member of a society that claims itself to be in the year 2009, have a national age, which fits within the schema of psyche-socio developmental stages.  As an integral part of  socio-national  consciousness, you (the national self you, not the personal self you), were born 20 years (centuries) ago; you’re a twenty year old. Everybody in the nation is a 20 year-old. Anybody who says “this is the year 2009″ is an adolescent, from the national self consciousness perspective.  Adolescence.

Well, actually, the twenty year old is in that nebulous dangerous mind altering period, stage, phase, classroom of decaying adolescence and the emergence of early adulthood, the blossoming of which, from the national consciousness point of view,  will take many hundreds of years….if it does not fall ill or die in some invasion,   or become  poisoned or plauged….and morphed into distortions or even the antithesis of its original Logos.

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Psychoeducational

Socio Logos

Posted by Ken Fields on October 30, 2009 at 7:15 pm.

There are a lot of words that end in “logy” as in sociology, biology, geology, neurology, etc., etc…The suffix “logy” is generally interpreted to mean “the study of or the science of.” However, as has been posted, that word “logy” is Logos which is defined as “ the word by which the inward thought is expressed; the inward thought itself.”

There is thought behind Bio, Geo, Neuro…and the many prefixes to a word that ends in “logy.” Let’s take a look at “socio-logy.”

Socio originates from the Latin (socius) and translates into Modern English as “companion.”  There is a complex relationship between Psyche, ie., soul or mind, and Scoio, the companion, or companions. The complexities of our world, and our personal life, is due in large part to the interaction of Psyche and Socio, the mind and companions, the individual, and the collective.  But, let’s not forget Bio, as in our body….

Bio is a Greek word. It means “life.” It is the animating intelligent energy which underlies our physical form and functions…It is more than our body; it is the physicality of all animate forms, both gross and subtle, from the obvious to the molecular. Our human body, both as a person and a species,  is but one manifestation of Bio.

So, we have Bio, Psyche and Socio…Life, Mind and Companions. A threesome.  A trinity. A triangle. A gang of three……And they sometimes do beat up on each other.

Psyche Logos is often caught in the middle,  conflicted between the basic, instinctual  animalistic life drives of Bio Logos and the collective cultural conditionings of the company that makes up  Socio Logos. That’s were Therapeutae can be helpful to Psyche Logos which is so often confused about “me” and “we”

Psychelogos Therapeutae, the use of words and language to bring about healing and curing…..

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Psychoeducational

Shakespeare’s Point

Posted by Ken Fields on October 30, 2009 at 5:34 pm.

“All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:

They have their exits and their entrances;

and one man is his time plays many parts,

his acts being seven ages…”

William Shakespeare, in addition to being a master poet and playwright, was quite an astute psychologist. This excerpt from his comedy As You Like It, suggests what is  now referred to as Stages of Psychosocial Development, or simply, Developmental Stages.  Shakespeare goes on in the full passage to give witty one sentence descriptions of these seven developmental stages such as “…the infant, mewling and pucking in the nurse’s arms…” and “…the whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping unwillingly to school…”

However, what is of  more interest is his reference to 7 ages, or stages, of development. In modern terms, these seven stages are infancy, earlier childhood, later childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and later adulthood. These developmental periods are each characterized by tasks and challenges and not entirely age-based. That is, it’s not at all uncommon to find a person in their middle adulthood years  working on incompleted  adolescent tasks and challenges. This is sometimes referred to as the “mid life crisis.” The “late life crisis” is less well known, but exists.

The nice thing about psyche-social developmental stages is we can count on them….they are as structured as the motion of the sun and moon; we keep on movin’ through one phase of development, one stage,  to the next, learning, growing and becoming…..Shakespeare’s point is…..all the word is a developmental stage….

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Psychoeducational

Whole Cure Assurance

Posted by Ken Fields on October 23, 2009 at 10:35 pm.

I would rather have whole cure assurance than health care insurance.

Health care is a hot topic today. Most people realize the debate is not really about health care, or insurance reform; it’s more  about economics. Economics is an interesting word and deserves as much if not more scrutiny than the word health. Each of these two words, health and economics, have meanings, within our minds. These words have no meaning whatsoever outside Psyche. Health economics is a purely human convention.  And, if we dive down into the root Logos of Psyche,  health economics becomes wholistic household management.

Our word health is derived from the Middle English hal which translates into Modern English as “whole.” Economics is derived from  the Greek oikonimika and translates to “the science of household management” (Websters).

Health Economics > Wholistic Household Management

Insurance. Or, assurance? There is no insurance, or assurance,  against illness and disease. There are, however, for the most part, cures. And, there can be some semblance of insurance, and assurance, about cures.  Many cures  are really just care; for the most part, the core of cure is care.  Dependent on the style of household management available in the country, cures, and care, is available, to some degree or another.  Generally, in a capitalistic society, that which is needed, such as a cure, or care,  becomes a commodity, sold in the marketplace to be purchased by consumers. Competition within a capitalistic society tends to  keep commodities at market value. In a  social society, a necessary commodity  is commonly  made available to all who are in need. Competition and market value are not introduced into the equation. Although America is a capitalistic society, it is still a society and does include common social services available to all. The conflict over health care insurance reform is about where on that continuum it should be placed.

The current health care insurance reform debate in The United States of America  is a socio-cultrual conflict within the national psyche as it strives to redefine itself; call it growing pains- from adolescence to early adulthood. The ethos and logos of “care” witihin the national adolescent psyche is struggling to emerge as something re-formed in early adulthood. It’s a national developmental crisis; a national psyche-logos transformation.

Change is difficult, at best. More commonly, change is resisted, avoided, fought against…As people, we tend to prefer the familiar, no matter how ineffective or miserable it might make us. The new is an unknown, unpredicatable, anxiety producing. Fortunately, change is inevitable…and there are those who inspire us to change, to move ahead, to leave the familiar; otherwise we’d still be arguing over whether or not t o venture across the seas and nobody would have a cell phone…..

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Psychoeducational

Eco Logos

Posted by Ken Fields on October 23, 2009 at 10:38 am.

Eco, the root of the word economics, and ecology, is of Greek origin, oikos, and translates into English as “house.” Logos, as you may recall from a previous post, is “the word by which the inward thought is expressed; the inward thought itself.”

What is “house?”

Well, it’s a shape with a form and a function;  it’s a structure, a dwelling, a shelter. There are little houses, and big houses. There are one roomed houses, and multi-roomed houses. There are houses with no yard, small yards, big yards, and huge yards.

Houses are generally inhabited.

A beehive is a house. The yard extends for miles.

A nest is a house. The yard extends beyond counties and even state lines.

The human nest, the human hive, the human house has many rooms and yards…..

Logos is what Psyche attributes to “house.”  For most, “house” is the four walls holding up a celing which covers 2 bedrooms, a bath, living room and kitchen. House may or may not include the yard. It certainly does not include the neighborhood. “My House” is not the same as “my neighborhood; but it could be,  just a larger version. Some old cultures use languages that don’t make distinctions between my house and your house, or their house….the community itself is the house.

Because a house, at whichever level you want to think about it, is likely inhabited, there is an inherent need for organization and management. The more inhabitants, the more complex the interactions and interdependencies. The modern science of ecology is about the organization and management of  interactions and interdependencies within adaptive systems.  Its a complicated science.  A nuclear house hold of two parents and three children is an ecological system and often already too complicated; the thought of managing an ecological system, i.e., a “house,” which encompasses a community…..or even a state, a nation, a continent, a planet….a solar system, or any ecosphere, can be overwhelming.

Eco Logos.

The meanings ascribed to house.

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Psychoeducational

Homo Sapiens Are…

Posted by Ken Fields on October 22, 2009 at 8:44 pm.

…sexual beings. We are homo sapien sexual. The word “homo” translates from  Latin as “man.” Man is a word derived from a very old language and refers to Mind. The word “sapien” is Latin and means “wise.” The term “homo sapiens” refers to the modern species of humans – the word homo, in this context, is not gender specific. We are all the same…all human, and presumably wise.   The term “homosexual” as it is used in modern culture is really a misnomer, for we are all homosexual in that we  engage in sexual activity within our own species.

Hetero is a word of Greek origin meaning “other” or “different.” So, heterosexuality is really sexual activity with that which is other or different. It’s easy to see how we come to perceive men and women as different and ascribe the term heterosexual to that difference. But, men and women are also of the same species…men and women are both homo, i.e., homo sapiens, and in that regard are, homo-sexual, because homo sapiens are sexual.

In the broadest terms, heterosexuality is sex outside of homo sapiens – sex with another or different species. Whereas, homesexuality, is sex amongst the same species.

Perhaps we would all be better off if we just threw out the old words “homo” and “hetero” and simply referred to our species as humankind and our sexual activity, regardless of gender orientation, as humansexual. If we want to ascribe same sex encounters, or relationships, perhaps some new word or phrase would be helpful- and fun. Making up words, and ascribing meaning to those words, is something Mind does very well. So,  something simple like “hehesex or “sheshesex” instead of “gay” or “lesbian.” Traditional “heterosex” could be “heshesex”, or, if you prefer, “shehesex.” Or, how about a same gender relationship is Ho-man Relationship and opposite gender relationship is Oh-man Relationship.  After all, it is our language; we can, and do, make up words, and ascribe meaning to them.

Anthurium



Psychoeducational

The Ethos Of America

Posted by Ken Fields on October 21, 2009 at 10:43 pm.

In a previous post, it was suggested that the word Logos is defined as “the word by which the inward thought is expressed; the inward thought itself.” We might say that Logos gives rise to Ethos. Ethos, the basis of the word ethics, is Greek in origin and defined as “an accustomed place or habitation; hence, habit, custom, character.” (Websters). The American ethos is its character, it’s habitual set of customs and beliefs, values and goals, which is derived from its inward thought, its inward ideas, and ideals.

The American logo is, of course, the flag. But, the Logos, the inward thought, is more along the lines of The Declaration of Independence and, more specifically, the seminal sentence within that declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

There are some problems with this. First, the idea of independence is an illusion. The reality is actually interdependence.  Nothing in the world is really independent. Everything in the world is really interdependent. Independence is a rather adolescent concept. Interdependence is a more mature point of view. This is validated by modern quantum physics, and the science of ecology; and with a little observation, interdependence can be validated by direct experience.

The second problem is the idea  “pursuit of happiness,” more specifically, the word “pursuit.” Pursuing happiness will yield about as much success as chasing a rainbow. If the guiding principle, the programming, the ethos,  is pursuit, then the actual achievement or attainment of happiness is in contradiction. We have not been “programmed” to achieve or attain happiness, only to pursue it. The ethos of the American psyche, the habit and custom of the American mind, is not geared to have happiness, but to endlessly pursue it. The idea of radiating happiness, sharing happiness, being happiness, is even more foreign.

The third issue about the American ethos is that there are additional unalienable rights beyond life, liberty and the “pursuit” of happiness. The Declaration states “….certain unalienable rights, that among them are…..”

What are those other unalienable rights?

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Psychoeducational

Talk Therapy – The Rap

Posted by Ken Fields on October 19, 2009 at 10:18 pm.

Therapist > The Rapist. Talk Therapy is a rap. Of course, a lot of talk therapy is actually listening. Listening is one of the most critical elements in not only effective therapy, but good communication. Based on listening, talk becomes much more poignent and relevant.

The trouble with talking is that we use words to represent a vast complex web of experience. Words are often feeble representatives. If one person says to another “I’m feeling depressed” or “I had such a great time last night” we think we know what they mean by assuming our unique, individual psyche is pretty much the same as theirs. We think “depressed” or “great time” for them is the same as it would be for us. Of course, that may not be the case.

“The single biggest problem in communication

is the illusion that it has taken place.”

- George Bernard Shaw

It’s been said that we have two ears to listen and one mouth to speak, and we should use them as such in about that proportion. The art of listening is what makes talk therapy work at all and the more skilled a person is in listening, the better they are at real talk therapy. More importantly, listening is the key ingredient in good relationships, both personal and professional.

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.

– Ernest Hemingway

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Psychoeducational

Ideological Depletion

Posted by Ken Fields on October 18, 2009 at 11:24 am.

There is a lot of violence in the world; has been for a very very long time. Whether it is in the psyche, in the mind, as self belittling internal dialogue, in the home as domestic violence, in the country as fights, shootings, rape and murder, or in the world as war….it is a symptom of impoverished competence and skill, a depletion of ideas and ideals.  As Isaac Asimov, the popular science fiction writer is noted to have said:

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. ”

Although there is a tendency to point fingers at others as the culprits, it’s wise to remember the passage popularized by Walt Kelly:

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

And if we are reminded of the new testament passage to love our enemies, which is ourselves, and the wise advice from Sun-Tzu in The Art of War to keep our friends close, and our enemies closer…

What would happen if we can came to see a part of ourselves as enemy-like, and yet love that part, keeping it close?

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Psychoeducational

“The Mind Is Its Own Place…”

Posted by Ken Fields on October 18, 2009 at 12:48 am.

Another of my favorite quotes is by the English poet John Milton, from his classic Paradise Lost:

“The mind is its own place and, in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”

The mind uses language, words, internal dialogue and mental pictures to form its “reality.” Psychotherapy, especially talk therapy,  relies very heavily on language and words. But, general communication and relationship does as well.

Words are not the only medium of communication. What is typically referred to as non-verbal communication is actually visual communication and a great deal of the messages we send, and receive, are visual, not verbal. Visual communication is quite potent. A bold gesture with one finger can cause a person to become infuriated. A shy smile can make a person happy. A single  image is worth a thousand verbalizations….

Words, as symbols, both visual and auditorial (i.e., the written word and the spoken word),  and purely visual images, such as a photograph, a painting, or even one’s own imagination, have noticeable influence  on  thoughts, moods, feelings and behaviors. But, more interesting is how psyche, how the mind, translates  images and words into meanings . For it is that process by which psyche  becomes the captain of her own domain and can choose to view a glass as half empty, or half full……

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