Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
Table of Contents:
Current Events
Entitlements: An Invitation to “Get Real”
America is going through an interesting developmental phase, akin to the early teen years. The era of the cost of living being cheap and easy is drawing to a close, because (1) natural resources are less plentiful and cheap; (2) the expectations of the people have gone up significantly; (3) services (especially health) are more […]
Envisioning Cultural Trends
This is only the beginning of a century in which people will begin to expand and deepen their identities manifold. We have become aware of the vastness of the cosmos, the depth of time (not thousands, but billions of years!), the complexity of nature, the depth and complexity and frontiers of mind (and unconscious mental […]
Envisioning Our Children’s Needs in the 21st Century
Parents tend to rear their children with the mental and cultural tools they know about. For my parents’ generation, the goal was to get the kid raised in one piece, ideally resilient enough to go to college and get a good job. One category they didn’t know about was “validating the child’s individuality.” Sure, if […]
Exploring More Paradigm Shifts
Reading some Whitehead and other philosophies, I’m impressed again with how the paradigms are changing in some ways I didn’t talk about previously. We learn, but in contrast to the general tone or world-view in the past, we learn also that the learning is un-ending. There is almost nothing of significance that is learned definitively. […]
Feminism & Masculinism
Talking with a friend about sex roles in contemporary culture, what occurs to me is that at least in part what is at issue is the way big business in collaboration with the fashionistas in advertising continue to promote certain ideals about what is sexually desirable, in body form, cosmetics, hairdo, fashions, and so forth. […]
Finally, a Blog!
It’s been many months and I’ve been writing about a blog entry a day, but I haven’t had a way to post them. Now I do, so stand back!
Future Computers: Clever or Wise?
In a recent Time Magazine February 21, 2011, a feature article speculated on the exponential growth of computer speed, power, size of memory, and other variables. As an example, a computer named Watson beat other experienced (human) contestants in a difficult game of Jeopardy! Computers will become smarter than humans soon! (?). I’m dubious about […]
Fuzzy Boundaries
‘Tis the season where politics tends to contaminate all sorts of things. I get messages on an email list-serve that I belong to that’s supposed to deal with other topics, but on occasion people insert their political messages. I realized that for the most part we tend to “respect” others’ opinions, but what does that […]
Get a Life! Considering Pseudo-Reality
I think modern media and other devices offer an opportunity to expand and enrich our imaginations; beyond a certain point, though, they can dilute the effective experience and action of the self. The Psychology of Imagination Consider this hypothesis: Psyche is expandable to a startling extent. In addition to mere perceptions and actions, the human […]
Getting on Someone’s “List”
I was just solicited for a role that I’ve dropped almost two years ago, and really moved away from in the decade or more before that. It’s so easy to get on some-one’s list! That associates to phone solicitations, too. Although I’m gradually disconnecting from professional involvements, they are not disconnecting from me. But it […]
Getting Ready to Move to California
All has been a-flurry! We sold our house in Sun City Texas and are planning to move to mid-coastal California, San Luis Obispo, half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The railroad stops there, and we hope to use it more. So much “stuff” to pack. It’s our precious treasures! It’s our crap! It’s mixed. […]
Hello, World
Well, there you are, whether you’re aware of it or not, needing if not awaiting my efforts to change you for the better. Please forgive me for not being able to offer much more than the tiniest nibble at the ineffable monumentality of the challenge, but I’m just a little person, a member of a […]
Hey, I Got My Blog Back!
Somena Gun! I wrote a blog on my blog-writer technology and it worked! Now I’m publishing this under current events and let’s see if it works. If it does, I’ll start uploading some other blogs. I’ll try back-dating some blogs, too. My son fixed it! It turned out that it was sort of blocked but […]
Higgs Boson, Higgs Field?
So, really, now they give a high probability to having seen if not the Higgs Boson, then the odd pattern of decay particles it was calculated to generate.. and then what that refers to—this is VERY WEIRD— a "Higgs Field" that pervades the cosmos and without which nothing would be thing-ish, no mass. So I’m […]
High on Anxiety—Revisited
Gary Schwartz wrote a column in the February 14 Newsweek titled High on Anxiety. This is a most interesting problem that deserves much deeper investigation. What people do may not correlate with what is wise to do. Indeed, many subjects in psychological researchers may be the kinds of students whose idea of fun is getting […]
History of Psychotherapy
For those who might be interested, I’ve just posted several webpages that accompany a lecture I’m giving today on the history of psychotherapy. I would be open to suggestions for additions or revisions. It might be of interest to look at the many other papers I’ve written on different aspects of the art of bringing […]
Hypertrophic Technolog-osis
(This is a neologism, a made-up word, describing the problems of those who interface with technology. Hypertrophic is a big word meaning over-grown.) I have a friend who, though using handheld devices for a fair length of time, may not have been all that familiar with all options. For example: What is the real meaning […]
I Changed My Name!
Yes! And if you don’t like your name, maybe you can change your name, too! Why not? Re-invent yourself. Before that my given name was Howard, which was—how shall I say it—an okay name for the 1920s and ‘30s, but kinda dorky. Howard-the-Coward. Yuk. But I had become involved in learning more about psychodrama, and […]
Increasing Sensitivity
I’m happy to realize that even at the age of going-on-74, I am still learning. Times change and so does sensitivity to things that I had taken for granted. Around 1976 my daughter, then not-yet-eight, called to my attention in a rather stark fashion, in all innocence and love, smelling my tobacco-infused beard, “You stink, […]
Interspirituality
I was just reminded of the movement towards “inter-spirituality.” The late Brother Wayne Teasdale was a pioneer, among many others. Kurt Johnson, and others lead a trend—or at least a part of a trend towards this on this website: https://unity.earth/ which is a workshop that weaves together a number of related endeavors! Other new endeavors […]
Interspirituality (Cultural Trends Part 3)
Interspirituality is a few steps beyond tolerance, which evolved into inter-faith dialogue. My understanding of this term is that it refers to a search for or at least an opening to an appreciation of those elements in all religions that speak to the same psychological and communal-ethical spirit. (This builds on a blog of July […]
Interspirituality: The Next Step
I’ve just been reading a book, The coming interspiritual age, by Kurt Johnson & David Robert Ord (Vancouver: Namaste, 2012—just published!) It explains at length—delightfully!—just why now’s the time! I do sense a shift from spirituality based on content to spirituality based on process—but more about that anon. The books was a Christmas present from […]
Involuntary Hospitalization, Inadequate Funding for the Severely Mentally Ill
In the early 1970s a major shift occurred politically regarding the status of the acute and chronically severely mentally ill—especially those with active uncontrolled schizophrenia or active bipolar illness. Many were responding to the medications they were given in the hospital, becoming more stable, so it seemed that it was unnecessary to keep them in […]
It’s Complicated
Inner Whiner to God: Why does it have to be so complicated? God (aka The Becoming Everything, among other sobriquets): “It’s not complicated from my perspective.” Actually, credit where credit is due: This gem was said to me offhanded by my son, David. He didn’t realize how great it was at first! Other things […]
Just Kick ‘Em Out (?)
I know a nice lady who suggested that we should "rise up and dump the tea into the harbor. Kick out everyone in Washington and start all over." Well, I considered this and please forgive me, but I do have a suspicious bone in my body. The problem is that the people who would then […]