Adam Blatner

Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner

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Enhanced Simulations

The German language “Zeitschrift fur Psychodrama”  (Zeitschrift  translated  literally is time-writing, that is, a Journal). The latest issue deals with general sociological concerns from many standpoints. The problem this poses is that it opens wide the implications of Moreno’s vision and throws into question the narrow bounds of professionalism monitored by the Board of Examiners. […]

Evil—Reconsidering the Problem

There are several kinds of evil. One is mere misfortune that may even be the acts of many people colluding in a venture that fails, such as some of the economic “bubbles” that have afflicted Europe and America for several centuries. Another involve “acts of God” that are really Mother Earth—Gaia—who hardly knows humans exist, […]

Expanding Ur Life

For those who might want to enjoy and expand their perspectives, check out the other web-blog postings on this site. (For those as busy as my wife, never mind. Who has time?) For those who are in-between and want something more substantial than the boob tube to stimulate their mind, I volunteer to be your […]

Fruit of the Soul

I like mandalas, and this one by Leslie Kell titled “Fruit of the Soul” appeared on the cover of a little magazine titled Austin All Natural in August, 2012. The lower figure shows an enlarged view of the center of this piece. Lovely, and I want to acknowledge Ms? Kell as one of many who […]

Good versus Evil

Ah, that it were that simple. Of course “we” are the good guys—or at least that’s how most folks think: “Or at least we are defending “our” superior way of life against “them.” They can be hostile aliens bent on world domination and/or just eating us; terrorists or merely subversives; degenerate people in our own […]

Hell: A Helluva Concept

Speaking from the role of child psychiatrist, I think the concept of hell is a form of emotional abuse no less than beating a child with the buckle of a belt or a stick is physical abuse. It is a nasty, unnecessary idea that is part of a culture that reared children primarily through the […]

How My Mind Works

I got into a mental eddy: I took off on the word, “akimbo,” and my wife looked it up on Wikipedia. The etymology of the word was expounded and I found myself fascinated with how uninterested I was in this information. Apparently there are many people, however small the percentage, who care about etymology. And […]

Humans and Machines

I want to consider the idea of humans and machines: I don’t want to be too quick to dismiss the value of machines—they are tools that extend human potentials. That in many ways our society is infused with machines, computers, robots, etc. is not the problem—nor that it is likely to become more so. The […]

If Not Resurrection or Reincarnation, What?

A respected acquaintance noted his belief in reincarnation. Got me thinking:  First, what about several other scenarios?: One, dissolve into the Great Becoming-ness, having contributed your life to that process, adding a little creativity here, posing a bit of a problem there, perhaps giving to the becoming-ness of children and grandchildren, directly or indirectly. Weeds […]

Imagination (a Personal Reflection)

I’m blogging various thought complexes in between my home-making tasks of laundry, drying, folding, preparing foods, hanging up clothes, keeping track of my various papers, reading library books, waking up, going to sleep—and those are peripheral to my core identity, which is manufacturing ideas for God. (Well, these other mundane tasks are less peripheral than […]

Imperfect Creativity

Okay, these are estimates I’ve just made up out of the blue, but the point is to wonder about how the creative process operates in the world. So, consider that creativity generates 2,409 new breakthroughs or generative ideas per minute (or second?) on this planet: 48% on re-thinking are either absurd or face overwhelming obstacles. […]

Inspirational Song Snippets:

I have been inspired and sustained by a number of songs, idealistic songs, such as these: You who have dreams, if you act, they will come true! To turn your dreams to a fact: It’s up to you!      — song, Stout-Hearted Men, from 1930s’s movie, “New Moon”—Sigmund Romberg From the 1939 song sang by […]

Interesting Friends

I have some heavy-duty friends I mainly communicate with via email. I just reflected that I’m honored to know these people. There are many—women and men. We talk of many things, not like Alice in Wonderland, but of theology and personality development. For example: One friend writes: “As to the authorship of the Bible scholars […]

Introversion

Lately I’ve come to appreciate even more Carl Jung’s ideas about introversion and extraversion, especially as I’ve watched my own fluctuations of mental “energy.” I get drained by external stimuli, distracted, overloaded, rather than energized by these sources; on the other hand, I am energized when I can process ideas through my own active creativity. […]

Journal of (Very) Speculative Philosophy

(The Officially Certified Publication of The Inter-Galactic Institute of Confabulology) Editor and Primary Author: Adam Blatner, Confabulologist Extraordinaire Issue #1   May 31, 2011 See also Issue #2,  which includes:  What it’s All About: The Hokey Pokey Theory;   Resonant Energy Fields   ;  and Soul-Concrescence Other issues include:   Fractal Metaphysics Confabulations  1    2     3     4       5     6     […]

Moreno’s “The Words of the Father”

Here’s a great video on YouTube of a sound-recording of J. L. Moreno, M.D. (1889-1974), reading from his spiritual poetry, “The Words of the Father”—accompanied by photographs of Moreno.  (Moreno wrote the poetry originally as a young man in medical school in Vienna. It was posted a few years ago by my friend Greg Tomeoni […]

Multiple Levels of Mind

Mind accesses multiple levels and dimensions, becoming what I call “deep mind” at the higher levels. But we humans also have limiting “blinders” of historically-based concepts that program our perceptions. For example, consider the history of perspective: Nobody in the 14th century  knew how to represent significant features “in perspective.” The history of perspective in […]

My Not-Overtly Sordid Past

I regret sins of thought (innocent yet toward the dark side). I have had an oppor-tunity to reflect on my youth, where my dark side had its role in my unconscious, pre-conscious, and play. I was outwardly submissive, picked on by my big brother, inwardly a conqueror, reading about conquerors of the past, and drawing […]

Mysteries in Nature

There was a lovely scene in our back meadow this morning. A little fawn scampered up to his mother and began to nurse. It took about ten minutes! After about four minutes the mommy ewe reached around and liked the baby’s bottom. What’s that about? Meanwhile the fawn is eagerly licking and thrusting its head […]

Near-Normal

This is a category I just realized describes me. There was a funny skit on the old (mid-1970s) television show, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” with the punch line for an actor who freaked out if one said “mattress” in his presence. His supervisor explained:  "Other than that, he’s perfectly normal." I have adopted this sentence […]

Nomothetic versus Idiographic Research

A group of professional friends gathered to discuss some research—the topic being those factors that were correlated with a longer life. Although the content was a little interesting, some elements more so than others, what interested me more was my own reaction of feeling slightly annoyed with the whole enterprise of psychological research. I have […]

Non-Psychotherapeutic Applications of Psychodrama

Moreno not only developed psychodrama as therapy, but the method had many non-therapeutic, non-medical-model applications, in schools, churches, businesses, etc. I’ve written about several of these. I’ve commenced working on an anthology of such non-psychotherapeutic applications, thinking about titles—Action Methods, Reality Practice, Enhanced Simulations, etc. Moreno him -self supported applications of psychodrama in education and […]

On the Popularization of Psychology (Cont’d)

People have tried to popularize theories of psychology for over a century. It occurs to me that contemporary psychology and psycho-pathology has been the province of those whom the ignorant think are supposed to know “better” due to their having “studied” many systems and hypotheses. Alas, psychology is still in the middle of its development […]

Philosophy?

Linus in the comic strip “Peanuts” is talking to Patty, Charlie Brown’s little sister: “This is what I believe: I believe that the Great Pumpkin rises out of the Pumpkin patch on Halloween night, and flies through the air bringing with him toys for all the children in the world. That’s what I believe. What […]

Pondering the Cosmos

So the Cosmos says to me, Hey, Adam, thanks for pondering me. Says I, “Well, ol’ Cosmos, sir, your cosmos-ness—by the way, what is the proper term of respectful address?— I have not yet come to many conclusions. Cosmos: Don’t worry about it, just call me Cosmos. First name basis, kid, that’s us.  So what […]

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