Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
Types of Knowledge
There is a spectrum here. There’s stuff I know pretty much with certainty and then stuff I pretty well know but I could tolerate being corrected. Then there’s stuff I sort of know and I can go back and retrieve other memories and shore this up. Sort of “yes, that was when… and the book […]
Posted in Follies, Psychology, Spirituality and Philosophy | No Comments
Laziness versus Death Wish
Freud posited a death wish, Thanatos (in Latin)—what word did he use? These other instincts beyond sexuality were needed as the theory grew: It wasn’t possible to explain everything in terms of the sex drive. But I think these terms are misleading, even were we to accept that there’s more than a germ of truth […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Follies, Psychology | No Comments
Challenging Psychiatry
I have been re-thinking my profession in preparation for giving a talk on the changes it has gone through over the last fifty to a hundred years. The title is “We Don’t Do That Anymore,” but alas, we do, at least some things that maybe we shouldn’t. I’ll post it on my website when I’ve […]
Posted in Current Events, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry | No Comments
Vitality Enhancement
This is my term for a very valid activity. This phrase is needed. Of course it’s also recreation, but that category has been co-opted by two activities that may offer illusory gratifications. One is competition, which often is so focused on the winning that the fun is lost. The second gratification is vicarious. There’s a […]
Posted in Play and Spontaneity, Psychological Literacy, Psychotherapy and Psychiatry, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
Consciousness-Raising
(This was written more than a week ago, too) The first point is to recognize that people can participate in raising their own consciousness. This is not a small step. Most folks take their own view of life, the world, people, themselves, pretty much for granted. It is what it seems to be. But of […]
Posted in Follies, Mind-Spectrums, Psychological Literacy, Spirituality and Philosophy | No Comments
Inanition
This word is defined as a loss of vitality. It can be from malnutrition, perhaps mixed with physical exhaustion, but the term also speaks to a state of vitality—or the loss of momentum thereof—of an individual, group, organization, or even political dynasty. The word seems fit as I notice trends in culture, certain fashions dying […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Essays and Papers, Spirituality and Philosophy, Whassup? | No Comments
Dream Realities
I had a vivid dream a week or so ago: It was an early morning dream; those seem to be more vivid. I thought about it, dreams in general, memory, the way things can seem real enough to catch you up in dealing with them, and, in short, the deeper nature of reality. Dreams do […]
Posted in Autobiographical, Psychology, Wisdom-ing | No Comments
Out in Left Field
This is ambiguous: perhaps a put-down, perhaps an expression of guarded admiration and wonder. A friend, a poet, said that she was told by a friend that she was “out in left field.” I responded: “Well, maybe left field is a good place to live. It’s a “place” or state of mind in which one […]
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Camp Chipaway
In my family a name sometimes captures a spirit. Allee and I call our home the “Home for Assistance in Living.” My son David came up with a new name for his office: “Camp Chipaway”! His motto is "A little bit more each day." We may adopt this name too for our world. We may […]
Posted in Foolin Around, Play and Spontaneity | No Comments
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 […]
Posted in Current Events, Essays and Papers, Play and Spontaneity | 1 Comment