Viktor Frankl survived imprisonment in a concentration camp during the holocaust. He established a school of psychological thought termed Logotherapy from his experiences both before and during this time. This really is a stellar book.
"[Everything] can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." (p.66)
"It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.....And this is his salvation in the most difficult moments of his existence, although he sometimes has to force his mind to the task." (p.73)
"[Any] attempt to restore a man's inner strength in the camp had first to succeed in showing him some future goal. [Nietzsche's words, 'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.']" (p.76)
"What we really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life -- daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right act and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment. Thus it is impossible to define the meaning of life in a general way." (p.76/77)
"When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden." (p.77)
"But there is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer." (p.78)
"A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the 'why' for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any how." (p.80)
"[Mental] health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become. Such a tension is inherent in the human being and therefore is indispensable to mental well-being." (p.104)
"[Do] not be afraid to create a sound amount of tension through a reorientation toward the meaning of one's life." (p.105)
"In a word, each man is questioned by life, and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." (p.109)
"It is...up to the patient to decide whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscious." (p.110)
The meaning of suffering:
"When we are no longer able to change a situation -- just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer -- we are challenged to change ourselves." (p.112)
"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice." (p.113)
"If it were avoidable...the meaningful thing to do would be to remove its cause. To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic." (p.113)
Logotherapy:
"As Logotherapy teaches, there are three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life. The first is by creating a work or by doing a deed. The second is by experiencing something or encountering someone; in other words, meaning can be found not only in work but also in love.....Most important, however, is the third avenue to meaning in life: even the helpless victim of a hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself, may grow beyond himself, and by so doing change himself. He may turn a personal tragedy into a triumph." (p.145/146)
"[The] priority stays with creatively changing the situation that causes us to suffer. But the superiority goes to 'know how to suffer' if need be." (p.148)
Frankl:
"I do not forget any good deed done to me, and I do not carry a grudge for a bad one." (p.162)
Transcend anything by making responsible choices.
"His approach to psychotherapy stressed the importance of helping people to reach new heights of personal meaning through self-transcendence: the application of positive effort, technique, acceptance of limitations, and wise decisions. His goal was to provoke people into realizing that they can and should exercise their capacity for choice to achieve their own goals." (p.164)
"The world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best." (p.164)
"The meaning of [Frankl's] life was to help others find the meaning of theirs." (p.165)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Reflections following some exercises from Kaur's book
This comes from part of the Imagine Your Death exercise. These "Letting go of Anger" exercises are killer. Actually it comes from yesterday, but I want to mention that after working for some abusive employers - abuse of power, obvious mental illness, whatever - we need something like Al Anon for families where it teaches you that it is not your fault your parent was an alcoholic. That's where I'm placing my anger in the 3 instances I'm thinking of - it's not my fault - especially one instance where I was essentially "shunned" by my employer and her assistant, for a good 8 months. Communication through notes, generally making them very ugly in my eyes. Really just the 3 of us in captured in 1's creation. Every day that I drove into work, I prayed for those women's lives to be blessed, and I prayed to be able to forgive them. Luckily, after their hideousnesses, I found myself with the most kind employers you could imagine. Truly a miracle. And even with that, even knowing that the former employer was and is a narcissistic control freak with a real mental illness, I really find it hard to let go of my anger 2 years later. ACIM would say this is my ego feeling elated to be justified in not releasing them to forgiveness. I say that my ego is feeling justified but the rest of me knows I need to forgive and let go. The other 2 instances, I understand that one former employer is just made the way she is, and doesn't care, while the other one made an attempt to patch the damage, real true damage, she had caused me. These last 2 I release. I even have moments where I release the shunner. But then I reel her back in with my thoughts. And I feed her to sharks.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Just Pictures from Bruce Trail and Tobermory - Lots of Them!!!
Chichimaun a.m. Chichimaum p.m.
Cyprus Lake trail Grotto, Grotto
Georgian Bay, between Grotto and Boulder Beach
Boulder Beach
Grotto, Grotto
Grotto, Grotto
Beautiful and Beautiful
Grotto overpass, Big Tub Harbour Tobermory
CT Scan results
Top: July 30th, 2008; Bottom: Sept.23rd, 2008
This view is taken between my leg bones or top of pelvis, whichever the case may be (most likely pelvis). On the top picture there is a large shadowy mass beginning about 1/2 cm (on screen) above the lighter shadowy mass above the spine (this belongs there), which extends up about 3 cm and across 3 cm between the bones. Above that, there is a mass that is marked at approx. real zise 7 x 5 cm.
On the bottom picture, there is now a wisp where the 7 x 5 mass was, and a very small bit of mass above the spine area.
I really have no words about this at this time, other than all the best words that there are for this and those involved. Just unbelievable. Look at that smooth CT scan.
The glow-in-the-dark cherries are gone from their area (if you click on August postings on the right and find August 1st, you can see the old CT scans); the liver and spleen are almost completely clean; all my levels (blood, etc., are balanced and good/normalized).
I really don't have words, only thanks and thoughts of thanks and tears of thanks caught in my throat and prayers of thanks running through my mind, so I'm posting pictures of our trip, recommended for healing by the way, to Tobermory. Enjoy and love love love!!!!
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