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Something to believe in
18/12/2008 10:53 pmNot many moons ago, the muggle version of Professor Lupin was on the local radio station. Her usual specialty is Defence Against Dementors but recently she's branched out a bit
What should I believe
Turns out to be some problems with getting London on the line but still interesting listening anyway
She first came to this serpent's notice on a BBC television program called "The Mind Box" when talking about the recipe for depression and the six essential ingredients
All that was required was "holding the following six beliefs as though they were real, absolute and immutable truths"
1. No matter how good and nice I appear to be, I am really bad, evil, valueless, unacceptable to myself and to others.
2. Other people are such that I must fear, hate and envy them.
3. Life is terrible and death is worse.
4. Only bad things happened to me in the past and only bad things will happen to me in the future
5. Anger is evil.
6. I must never forgive anyone, least of all myself
Holy shit. If they were lotto numbers, Izzie would have won the jackpot
The most important thing of course was to realise that these were not eternal commandments carved in stone but beliefs that could be changed. And that was the key that eventually enabled Izzie to unlock the door and say goodbye to those dreaded Dementors.
But one thing she says in this interview that the Izzie had not given much second thought to but on thinking, knew it to be true
Young children are too busy with the joy and wonder of discovering the world that they never bother with the big meaning of life questions. It's only those who lose the twinkle and sparkle in the eyes who need to find a grand project and purpose to compensate for the loss
And it seems to be the job of parents and society to squish the twinkle. In Izzie's case, they did a pretty good job but did not quite totally succeed. The leaves of books and the leaves of trees remained as a link to an earlier more magical world that never did quite go away.
And that utterly infernal evil book "Godel, Escher, Bach - An Eternal Golden Braid" served as an incarnation and reminder of so many wonders of the world. The ma hated this thing with a passion
But back to the Diva of Dementors. She does a good job of trashing the nasty and insidious Just World theory. How many of humanity's problems are caused by the desperate need to seek meaning even when there isn't any and to then prefer a meaning that loads on the guilt rather than to admit that we cannot control everything. Catholics are especially good at this one
It is so refreshing to find such a wise and impartial Martian
What should I believe
Turns out to be some problems with getting London on the line but still interesting listening anyway
She first came to this serpent's notice on a BBC television program called "The Mind Box" when talking about the recipe for depression and the six essential ingredients
All that was required was "holding the following six beliefs as though they were real, absolute and immutable truths"
1. No matter how good and nice I appear to be, I am really bad, evil, valueless, unacceptable to myself and to others.
2. Other people are such that I must fear, hate and envy them.
3. Life is terrible and death is worse.
4. Only bad things happened to me in the past and only bad things will happen to me in the future
5. Anger is evil.
6. I must never forgive anyone, least of all myself
Holy shit. If they were lotto numbers, Izzie would have won the jackpot
The most important thing of course was to realise that these were not eternal commandments carved in stone but beliefs that could be changed. And that was the key that eventually enabled Izzie to unlock the door and say goodbye to those dreaded Dementors.
But one thing she says in this interview that the Izzie had not given much second thought to but on thinking, knew it to be true
Young children are too busy with the joy and wonder of discovering the world that they never bother with the big meaning of life questions. It's only those who lose the twinkle and sparkle in the eyes who need to find a grand project and purpose to compensate for the loss
And it seems to be the job of parents and society to squish the twinkle. In Izzie's case, they did a pretty good job but did not quite totally succeed. The leaves of books and the leaves of trees remained as a link to an earlier more magical world that never did quite go away.
And that utterly infernal evil book "Godel, Escher, Bach - An Eternal Golden Braid" served as an incarnation and reminder of so many wonders of the world. The ma hated this thing with a passion
But back to the Diva of Dementors. She does a good job of trashing the nasty and insidious Just World theory. How many of humanity's problems are caused by the desperate need to seek meaning even when there isn't any and to then prefer a meaning that loads on the guilt rather than to admit that we cannot control everything. Catholics are especially good at this one
It is so refreshing to find such a wise and impartial Martian
