Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 8 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 8/9/09

Shall We Trance?

By       (Page 3 of 3 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   2 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Judith Acosta
Become a Fan
  (6 fans)

The truth is we haven't a clue about what is really attractive or beautiful. And we miss all the real opportunities for love which have far less to do with plumped lips than we'd like to think. After all, if it were just a matter of a little collagen, that would be a relatively easy fix. No one would actually have to work at intimacy, forgiveness, or sharing.

This disease has American by its chinny-chin-chin. And we're spending a fortune "fighting" it.


"I'm-1-N-1" Virus or the Centerless Self

This is the deepest expression of all the above pathologies. Because of all the others""the distortion of self and body-loathing, the sense of never being or having enough, the constant fear""we've also become exceedingly self-centered. Which is actually much more disastrous than it sounds because in our cultural psyche, there is no self and there is no solid center. We've become painfully insecure AND entitled. And when we don't get what we want""because we have no center, believe that we need that thing to fill up our emptiness, fear what may happen and loathe ourselves without it""we become violent.

The evidence for that is all over the news on a daily basis.

All these diseases, these cultural, collective delusions form a sort of intellectual and emotional breast milk for us and our children. They are the formula for how we think and how we live.

So what heals these delusions?

The first and most important antidote is Love. A spiritual Love. This is not the same as romantic love or Eros. It is the love St. Francis prays for when he says, "Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love." This love is unconditional, selfless, humble, and constant. It has also gone out of style. As if battered by the distant drum of the sixties and self-psychology, love now has to start with "I" and end with "me."

If we are to heal and be de-tranced, we will have to know and learn to experience that we are not the center of the universe. Something else is and that IT centers us. We have no center without a relationship with the creator.

The second is Faith. When we can put our faith in something beyond ourselves, there is nothing to fear. When we can trust that a God who literally loves us is running the show, we can relax in the moment. We don't have to buy anything. We don't have to run away anymore. We don't have to puff ourselves up or repeat empty aphorisms to buoy our sagging sense of self.

The third and perhaps most difficult for Americans is a Correctness of Desire. The medicine for unrestrained want, irrepressible fear, and self-loathing is gratitude.



Next Page  1  |  2  |  3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 2   Well Said 1   Touching 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Judith Acosta Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Judith Acosta is a licensed psychotherapist, author, and speaker. She is also a classical homeopath based in New Mexico. She is the author of The Next Osama (2010), co-author of The Worst is Over (2002), the newly released Verbal First Aid (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Scandals and Sociopaths: The Psychology of American Politics

I Fear, Therefore I Buy: A New American Economy

PRIMUN NON NOCERE: First Do No Harm

"What Am I Supposed to Do?" The Case for Self-Sufficiency Made Personal

Why Are We Still Trying to Conquer Nature?

Parents as Authorities?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend