Reply #291: Pitchforks and torches

[symbolman]

of the Pop Psychology crowd? :)

I worked in a mental asylum, actually two of them over the span of a year, one of my jobs was to monitor the patients who really didn't communicate as they went about their ways for physical pain, made me an empath, I have trouble in crowds now as I can "see" pain and how it might progress in groups of individuals, and that hurts ME..

Had to read all of their case histories and know them as well as I could as part of the job..

That being said I think that considering the spectrum of humanity his work makes sense.. It reminds me of an audio Equalizer, each person has a percentage of each modality, like setting your IPod to "Rock" or "World Beat"...

Plus it's in flux, say a person takes a course in Martial arts, then their physical prowess mode goes up, maybe the abstract thinking mode as well, when they realize that "the thorn is there to protect the rose" or whichever spiritual or Zen teaching goes along with the class.

Speaking of symbolism and spirituality I always loved Joseph Campbell's rationalization for the existence of God. The fact that a person will dive into water to save a drowning victim when the self preservation mode is considered the most powerful force in many creatures - goes beyond instinct in a human, and I find it beautiful and enlightening to have him make that observation :)

Thanks for reminding me of that work, I'm going to have a look at it again, now that I've aged a little more, funny how as you age everything can change, and you get the choice of being jaded or enlightened there as well :)