Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Fitness, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Meditation, Men, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: 988, dreams, Finland, mental health, National Sleepy Head Day, Seven Sleepers, sleep, sleeping, Sūrah Al-Kahf, Yoga Sutra 1.10, Yoga Sutra 1.38, Yoga Sutra 2.20
Many blessings to everyone and especially to the “sleepyheads” and anyone dreaming of and working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).
Stay hydrated, y’all!
“Until today, we still read about the story of these young men. These young men weren’t prophets of Allah. They weren’t messengers of Allah. They didn’t receive revelation. No angels came to them with an army. These were a group of young men, simply by the strength of their [faith in the six articles of faith] and [God-consciousness] Allah [glorified and exalted be He] gave them an amazing miracle.”
— commentary on Sūrah Al-Kahf (19:9 – 26) quoted from “The People of the Cave”
Here’s a riddle that comes in the form of a series of questions:
- What do some people (myself included) love to do in the wee hours of the morning, but not so much at night?
- What do most Americans lack in good amounts?
- What do humans need to survive (and, truthfully, to do anything)?
The answer(s): Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.
Sleeping — or resting, in general — is connected to our parasympathetic nervous system and is an active part of how we digest anything we consume (including media). This is also connected to our ability to create; manage stress; and recover from illness, trauma, and/or overexertion. There are physiological changes that happen (in the body and the mind) that primarily happen while we sleep. Finally, when we sleep, we might dream — and, according to the Yoga Sūtras, there are benefits to focusing on our dreams.
Yet, sleeping (and being a “sleepyhead”) often get a bad rap — unless you are in Finland today (which is National Sleepy Head Day).
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.
Are You Sleeping, Again?
Are You Sleeping In?
Click here for a quick note about dreaming.
Yoga Sūtra 1.10: abhāvapratyayālambanā tamovrittirnidrā
— “[Deep or dreamless] Sleep is the mental activity based on the absence of other mental content.”
Yoga Sūtra 1.38: svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṁ
— “Or by meditating on the knowledge gained from dreams and sleep, one acquires stability of mind.”
Please join me for a 65-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Sunday, July 27th) at 2:30 PM. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07272021 National Sleepy Head Day”]
Extreme heat can not only make people lethargic and unmotivated, it can also lead to extreme agitation and anxiety-based fear. We may find it hard to think, hard to feel (or process our feelings), and/or hard to control our impulses. If you are struggling in the US, help is available just by dialing 988.
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### ARE YOU SLEEPING (ENOUGH)? ###
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: 988, Bill Hayes, brain, Christopher Nolan, David Hume, Dr. Gerald Edelman, Dr. Oliver Sacks, dreaming, dreams, face blindness, Health, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ludwig van Beethoven, meditation, mental health, mind, Muriel Elsie Landau, proprioception, prosopagnosia, Rodolfo Llinás, Samuel Sacks, spirituality, wellness, yoga, Yoga Sutras 1.5-1.7
Peace and blessings to all, and especially to those commemorating the Martyrdom of the Báb!
This is the “missing” post for Wednesday, July 9th. Some links will take you to sites outside of WordPress (and are marked accordingly). You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
SHADOWS
“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.”
— the character “Cobb” (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) quoted from the movie Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan
Every once in a while, we begin the practice in “your body’s favorite sleeping position” and I will ask how you can know “that you’re starting a yoga practice in your body’s favorite sleeping position versus dreaming that you’re starting a yoga practice in your body’s favorite sleeping position”. Of course, each of us has ways that enable us (we believe) to tell our waking lives from our sleeping lives.
But those ways are dependent on our sense of self.
What if, however, we aren’t the one that is dreaming? What if we are living inside someone else’s dream? How would we even know?
In Christopher Nolan’s science fiction thriller Inception (which premiered July 8, 2010), characters refer to a “totem” the status or presence of which indicates a dream state versus a waking state. In real life, however, we may not have a “spinning top” or “loaded die” — we only have our mind… and our sense of self.
“If a man has lost a leg or an eye, he knows he has lost a leg or an eye; but if he has lost a self—himself—he cannot know it, because he is no longer there to know it.”
— quoted from The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
Born today (July 9th) in 1933, Dr. Oliver Sacks was a neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and best-selling author who was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), for services to medicine, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours on November 26, 2008, and received a number of awards and honorary degrees from several professional associations, universities, and colleges. He was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP), as well as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Literature); a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences; a Honorary Fellow at the Queen’s College, Oxford; and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Class IV—Humanities and Arts, Section 4—Literature.
With the exception of a four year period, from 1939-1943 — when he and his older brother (Michael) were evacuated and sent to boarding school to escape the Blitz during World War II, Oliver Sacks was born in raised in Cricklewood, a town in North London, England. He was the youngest of four children born to two Jewish doctors. His father, Samuel Sacks, a Lithuanian Jewish doctor. His mother, Muriel Elsie Landau, was one of the first female surgeons in England — and she would sometimes bring “work” home with her.
Given his childhood, it is not surprising that Dr. Sacks had an early interest in chemistry and that, in 1958, he earned a medical degree from The Queen’s College, Oxford. He migrated to the United States soon after he received his degree and, after completing an internship and residency in California, he moved to New York City where he began to make a name for himself.
Dr. Sacks published 18 books and hundreds of articles and essays consumed by scientist as well as lay people. His books included two memoirs (Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood and On the Move: A Life), as well as Everything in Its Place, a posthumously collection of essays. He became a household name when his 1973 book Awakenings — which chronicled his work with survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness encephalitis lethargica epidemic — was turned into an Academy Award-nominated movie starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. Some of his other books were also turned into feature films, animated shorts, plays, and an opera. His work also inspired the creation of dance pieces, find art, and music.
Throughout his career, Dr. Sacks wrote about everything from music to color blindness to sign language to migraines to hallucinations to gratitude to his own experience with prosopagnosia (also known as “face blindness”) — which was also the diagnosis of “the man who mistook his wife for a hat”. Finally, he wrote about his own experience with death and dying.
Since yesterday was all about Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and her work related to death and dying and living, part of me wants to skip right to the end — because Dr. Oliver Sacks’s experience with death and dying was just as interesting as his experience with life. But, since his life was so interesting, I am resisting the urge to skip to the end!
SCIENCE (& PHILOSOPHY)
Yoga Sūtra 1.6: pramāṇa viparyaya vikalpa nidrā smṛtayaḥ
— “[The five types of mental activity] are correct knowledge, misconception, imagination, sleep [or knowledge found in deep sleep] and memory.”
While the subjects about which Oliver Sacks wrote may seem very different on the surface, what connected all of his work was the brain (and the way the brain works). These are also subjects that have fascinated me since I was a young child.
Similar to Dr. Sacks, my fascination probably started because I grew up with medicine in the household. My father has a PhD in neurology and physiology and so I grew around him teaching medical students about the brain and the nervous system. Then I started reading about psychoanalysis. Fast forward to my adulthood and, when I started practicing yoga, I (eventually) discovered that Patanjali devoted a lot of the Yoga Sūtras to how the brain/mind works and how we can work the brain/mind.
While there are some obvious differences between Western science and Patanjali’s philosophical discourse related to how afflicted/dysfunctional thought patterns lead to suffering — which can manifest physically as well as mentally, emotional, and/or energetically — it is also interesting to note the ways in which modern science dovetails with ancient science when it comes to perception, understanding, and the ways in which our mind-bodies process sensation/information (when we’re awake and when we are asleep).
“Rodolfo Llinás and his colleagues at New York University, comparing the electrophysiological properties of the brain in waking and dreaming, postulate a single fundamental mechanism for both—ceaseless inner talking between cerebral cortex and thalamus, a ceaseless interplay of image and feeling irrespective of whether there is sensory input or not. When there is sensory input, this interplay integrates it to generate waking consciousness, but in the absence of sensory input it continues to generate brain states, those brain states we call fantasy, hallucination, or dreams. Thus waking consciousness is dreaming—but dreaming constrained by external reality.”
— quoted from the commentary/notes in An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks
MUSIC, BEETHOVEN, & MEMORY
“‘Every act of perception,’ [Dr. Gerald] Edelman writes, ‘is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination.’”
“Many composers, indeed, do not compose initially or entirely at an instrument but in their minds. There is no more extraordinary example of this than Beethoven, who continued to compose (and whose compositions rose to greater and greater heights) years after he had become totally deaf. It is possible that his musical imagery was even intensified by deafness…. There is an analogous phenomenon in those who lose their sight; some people who become blind may have, paradoxically, heightened visually imagery.”
— quoted from Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Dr. Oliver Sacks
Serendipitously (because the initial impulse had nothing to do with this practice), I did a deep dive into the amygdala on Tuesday night and started learning how the cells many of us associate with fear-based reactions actually processes all sensation and pays particular attention to anything the mind/brain thinks is relevant to survival. This can be things we might (consciously) consider good/positive/safe as well as things we might (consciously) consider bad/negative/dangerous. This process also contributes to how we form and retain memories — all of which also comes up in various texts related to the Yoga Philosophy.
Research has shown that imagining yourself doing something over a period of time can actually help you do the thing better — as long as you’re imagining yourself doing the thing in the best way possible (i.e., doing things the correct way). For instance, you can benefit from imagining yourself practicing yoga… the right way.
What is the wrong way to practice (or imagining yourself practicing)? Any way that is not mindful.
Remember, movement is good for the mind-body and part of what can make yoga good movement is the repetition — which the brain/mind also appreciates.
MORE MUSIC
“There is certainly a universal and unconscious propensity to impose a rhythm even when one hears a series of identical sounds at constant intervals… We tend to hear the sound of a digital clock, for example, as ‘tick-tock, tick-tock’ – even though it is actually ‘tick tick, tick tick.’”
“There are, of course, inherent tendencies to repetition in music itself. Our poetry, our ballads, our songs are full of repetition; nursery rhymes and the little chants and songs we use to teach young children have choruses and refrains. We are attracted to repetition, even as adults; we want the stimulus and the reward again and again, and in music we get it.”
“Music is part of being human”
— quoted from Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Dr. Oliver Sacks
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT BELOW FOR A POST ABOUT MUSIC & THE MIND.
Creating: Music for This Date II (the “missing” Wednesday post)
ONE MORE NOTE ABOUT DEATH & DYING & LIVING
“A MONTH ago, I felt that I was in good health, even robust health. At 81, I still swim a mile a day. But my luck has run out — a few weeks ago I learned that I have multiple metastases in the liver….
I feel grateful that I have been granted nine years of good health and productivity since the original diagnosis, but now I am face to face with dying. The cancer occupies a third of my liver, and though its advance may be slowed, this particular sort of cancer cannot be halted.
It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me. I have to live in the richest, deepest, most productive way I can. In this I am encouraged by the words of one of my favorite philosophers, David Hume, who, upon learning that he was mortally ill at age 65, wrote a short autobiography in a single day in April of 1776. He titled it My Own Life.
‘I now reckon upon a speedy dissolution,’ he wrote. ‘I have suffered very little pain from my disorder; and what is more strange, have, notwithstanding the great decline of my person, never suffered a moment’s abatement of my spirits. I possess the same ardour as ever in study, and the same gaiety in company.’”
— quoted from the essay “My Own Life” by Oliver Sacks (published in The New York Times, Feb. 19, 2015)
For most of his life, Dr. Oliver Sacks was pretty quiet about his personal life. For most of his career, he didn’t write about being gay or about the fact that he was celibate for 35 years. However, in his 2015 autobiography On the Move: A Life, he wrote about how his friendship with Bill Hayes, a contributor to The New York Times, whom he met 2008, evolved into a long-term partnership. Their partnership lasted until Dr. Sacks died in 2015.
Just as was the case with everything else he found interesting, Dr. Sacks wrote an essay about the fact that he was dying. It was published in The New York Times a little over six months before he died. It is, in some ways, an obituary. It is also letter of gratitude and thanksgiving, for a life well lived.
Finally, it is a bit of wisdom — really, several bits of wisdom — about living.
“I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers.
Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
— quoted from the essay “My Own Life” by Oliver Sacks (published in The New York Times, Feb. 19, 2015)
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07092022 Awareness of the Mind’s Awareness”]
A FINAL NOTE ABOUT MOVING
“There is a direct union of oneself with a motorcycle, for it is so geared to one’s proprioception, one’s movements and postures, that it responds almost like part of one’s own body. Bike and rider become a single, indivisible entity; it is very much like riding a horse. A car cannot become part of one in quite the same way.”
— quoted from the chapter “Muscle Beach” in On the Move: A Life by Oliver Sacks
Click on the excerpt below for my brief Kiss My Asana post and short video about proprioception.
DID YOU KNOW #2: Proprioception (A Kiss My Asana offering)
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
CORRECTION: The original post contained wrong date and class times.
### We Think, Therefore We Are, Therefore We Dream (or maybe it’s the other way around) ###
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Depression, Donate, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Volunteer, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: 988, Anna O, Bertha Pappenheim, dream interpretation, dreams, Josef Breuer, KISS MY ASANA, psychoanalysis, rabbits, Sigmund Freud, yoga, Yoga Sutra 1.10, Yoga Sutra 1.38, Yoga Sutras 1.5-1.10
Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone Counting the Omer and/or observing the third week of Pascha.
“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.”
— from a letter written by Sigmund Freud to Dr. Wilhelm Fleiss, otolaryngologist (dated 10/15/1897)
Sigmund Freud was born today in 1856. Click on the excerpt title below for more.
Grace & FTWMI: What Dreams May Come (on May 6th)
If you’re curious about what I might “dream up” next, please join me today (Tuesday, May 6th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05062020 What Dreams May Come”]
If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.
White Flag is a new app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.
If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
### How Do You Know What You Know About Yourself? ###
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Wisdom, Yoga.
Tags: dreams, National Sleepy Head Day, sleep, sleeping, Yoga Sutra 1.10, Yoga Sutra 1.38, Yoga Sutra 2.20
Many blessings to everyone and especially to the “sleepyheads” and anyone dreaming of and working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside). Stay hydrated, y’all!
Yoga Sūtra 1.10: abhāvapratyayālambanā tamovrittirnidrā
— “[Deep or dreamless] Sleep is the mental activity based on the absence of other mental content.”
Do you remember your dreams? Are they vivid? Even more importantly, do you consider your dreams?
Over the last couple of days, I have had several conversations about dreams and the idea that they are the way all the different parts of of mind (conscious, subconscious, and unconscious) communicate with each other. I don’t sleep on my dreams. I am of the mindset that we work out things in our dreams that we haven’t quite worked out in our waking hours. To be clear, that doesn’t preclude dreams of a mystical nature. However, regardless of the source of our dreams, Yoga Sūtra 2.20 signifies that the things we dream are things our mind/intellect believes we will understand. In other words, we show ourselves things we think we will understand — and we do it for a reason.
Consider that idea for a moment. What if what we dream is what we need to understand in order to move through the world with more ease and grace, more freedom and fulfillment?
Now, click on the excerpt titles below to find out about National Sleepy Head Day (in Finland).
Are You Sleeping, Again?
Are You Sleeping In?
Yoga Sūtra 1.38: svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṁ
— “Or by meditating on the knowledge gained from dreams and sleep, one acquires stability of mind.”
Please join me today (Saturday, July 27th) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “07272021 National Sleepy Head Day”]
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### Don’t Sleep On Your Dreams! ###
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Health, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Music, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Science, Suffering, Volunteer, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.
Tags: Anna O, Bertha Pappenheim, Carl Jung, dream interpretation, dreams, Electra, Josef Breuer, KISS MY ASANA, Oedipus, psychoanalysis, rabbits, Shastra, shastra kripa, Sigmund Freud, US movie, yoga, Yoga Sutra 1.10, Yoga Sutra 1.38
Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone Counting the Omer!
“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.”
– possibly Sigmund Freud, as quoted in his New York Times obituary (09/24/1939)
Last week’s explanation of different traditions having different understandings of the meaning of shastra, might have induced fever dreams. However, the essence of the different meanings – as it relates to our practice and the concept of “grace of shastra” – is the same: Shastra is a collection of knowledge or laws of nature that are true, that have “always been and will always be” true, and that can be communicated directly. Some of the difference in meanings comes from how the knowledge or rules of nature are communicated – and to whom. Because, for some, the knowledge can only be communicated directly from the Divine to someone who has done the work to reach a certain state of enlightenment and/or awareness.
Of course, a teacher can then communicate the truth to others; however, those others must also do the work in order to truly understand the knowledge or precepts. Today, let’s consider one of the ways in which someone could initially and directly receive the truth. (Warning: Yoga Sūtra 1.10 is a bit of a caveat.)
Yoga Sūtra 1.38: svapna nidrā jñānālambanaṁ
– “Or by meditating on the knowledge gained from dreams and sleep, one acquires stability of mind.”
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted on May 6, 2020. Other than moving the very first quote (above), I have added a link and updated the class details, but the content is the same.
“The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.”
– Sigmund Freud, as quoted in his New York Times obituary (09/24/1939)
“The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.”
– from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
Let’s talk about our dreams. During this pandemic, some people have mentioned having particularly wild dreams – even when they weren’t sick. People have also talked about either remembering or not remembering their dreams, but in the opposite way than what is normal for them. I recently dreamed there was a brown rabbit sitting at the foot of my bed. It wasn’t doing anything; just hopped up and sat there for a bit. Not touching me, or biting me – not even really looking at me or wiggling its nose – just sitting there.
Prior to seeing the movie US, a dream like that would have had me running to search for Freud’s take on the symbolism of rabbits. Rather than going down that particular (and surprising) rabbit hole, let’s just stick with the work and the history.
Born today (May 6th) in 1856, Dr. Sigmund Freud was a neurologist who studied researched cerebral paralysis or cerebral palsy, as it is known today. In an attempt to better understand the workings of the brain, Freud collaborated with Dr. Josef Breuer, a physician who utilized a type of hypnosis very different from what Freud had previously studied. Breuer’s work, especially with a patient referred to as “Anna O,” laid the foundation for psychoanalysis – the development of which would lead to Freud’s legacy as the “Father of Psychoanalysis” and dream interpretation.
“…here we have another limitation to the effectiveness of analysis; after all, analysis does not set out to make pathological reaction impossible, but to give the patient’s ego freedom to decide one way or the other.”
– from The Ego and the Id by Sigmund Freud
“Psychoanalysis in the hands of the physician is what confession is in the hands of the Catholic priest. It depends on its user and its use, whether it becomes a beneficial tool or a two-edged sword.”
– Bertha Pappenheim (also known as “Anna O”)
Bertha Pappenheim (a.k.a. “Anna O” and “Only A Girl”) was a Jewish Austrian feminist, education organizer, and writer who was born into a wealthy and prestigious family. She was highly educated, cultured, and spoke multiple languages. She was immersed in a variety of cultures throughout her childhood. In her twenties, around the same time that her father became ill, she started experiencing a variety of physical and mental ailments. The ailments became worse after her father’s death. Breuer initially diagnosed her with hysteria (a pretty common diagnosis for women at that time, regardless of how they presented) and started her on a new type of hypnosis therapy. Rather than trying to cure or “correct” her, however, Breuer placed “Anna O” under hypnosis and encouraged her to talk in order to reveal the underlying causes of her symptoms. Breuer believed that the underlying causes were childhood traumas, suppressed memories, and suppressed thoughts. “Anna O’ referred to this therapy as her “talking cure” and it did in fact alleviate some of her symptoms and reduce the intensity of others. (NOTE: She discontinued her therapy with Breuer after accusing him of getting her pregnant; an accusation that is either not mentioned in either of their biographies or dismissed as a symptom of her illness. Later in life, as an educator, Pappenheim would not allow girls in her care to utilize the therapy that had become commonplace.)
By the time Freud (who never met Bertha Pappenheim) started collaborating with Breuer, he had pretty much given up on the possibility of hypnosis being a consistently viable treatment for his patients. Breuer’s method, however, was different and so Freud began to encourage his patients to speak freely about whatever came up in whatever manner it came up. He referred to this stream of consciousness as “free association” and eventually concluded that dreams were the key to the subconscious and repressed memories. His clinical experience evolved into the development of psychoanalysis.
“Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.”
– Sigmund Freud
Keep in mind that during the bulk of this work on a new form of treatment, Freud himself was experiencing symptoms that, had he been a woman, would have led to a diagnosis of hysteria. Naturally, he started using his new treatment on himself and ultimately codified a system of symbols and dream interpretation that supported his theories about sexual development and its correlation to maturity; an understanding of “wish fulfillment” and the desires of the ego and super ego; his seduction theory, which explained certain neurosis as the result of repressed sexual trauma and abuse; and postulation of the Oedipus Complex, which he said manifested as “castration anxiety” in men and “penis envy” in women. (NOTE: Freud firmly dismissed Dr. Carl Jung’s discussions of an “Electra complex,” positing that there was one issue experienced by different genders in different ways, as opposed to multiple issues which could be experienced by any gender.)
As I started reading Freud at a tender age, I could go on like this all night… especially since the history is just as interesting as the clinical concepts. But, at some point I need to go to sleep – perchance to dream. And if you ask me if you’re in my dreams, the answer may surprise you. (Or not: after all, a little over half of small business professionals dream about work and the vast majority who dream of work, put those dreams into action when the wake. Keep that in mind next time you think I dreamed up a sequence.)
“Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.”
– from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
If you’re curious about what I might “dream up” next, please join me for a 90-minute virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Saturday, May 6th) at 12:00 PM. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05062020 What Dreams May Come”]
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.)
“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.”
– from a letter written by Sigmund Freud to Dr. Wilhelm Fleiss, otolaryngologist (dated 10/15/1897)
### SOMETIMES THE APPLE STAYS CLOSE TO THE TREE ###
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
Tags: Anna O, Bertha Pappenheim, Carl Jung, dream interpretation, dreams, Electra, Josef Breuer, Matthew Sanford, Oedipus, psychoanalysis, rabbits, Sigmund Freud, US movie, yoga
(“Ramadan Mubarak, Blessed Ramadan!” to anyone who is observing Ramadan. I typically talk about Ramadan at the end of the season, so keep your eyes open.)
“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.”
– possibly Sigmund Freud, as quoted in his New York Times obituary (09/24/1939)
“The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.”
– Sigmund Freud, as quoted in his New York Times obituary (09/24/1939)
“The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.”
– from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
Let’s talk about our dreams. During this pandemic, some people have mentioned having particularly wild dreams – even when they weren’t sick. People have also talked about either remembering or not remembering their dreams, but in the opposite way than what is normal for them. I recently dreamed there was a brown rabbit sitting at the foot of my bed. It wasn’t doing anything; just hopped up and sat there for a bit. Not touching me, or biting me – not even really looking at me or wiggling its nose – just sitting there.
Prior to seeing the movie US, a dream like that would have had me running to search for Freud’s take on the symbolism of rabbits. Rather than going down that particular (and surprising) rabbit hole, let’s just stick with the work and the history.
Born today (May 6th) in 1856, Dr. Sigmund Freud was a neurologist who studied researched cerebral paralysis or cerebral palsy, as it is known today. In an attempt to better understand the workings of the brain, Freud collaborated with Dr. Josef Breuer, a physician who utilized a type of hypnosis very different from what Freud had previously studied. Breuer’s work, especially with a patient referred to as “Anna O,” laid the foundation for psychoanalysis – the development of which would lead to Freud’s legacy as the “Father of Psychoanalysis” and dream interpretation.
“…here we have another limitation to the effectiveness of analysis; after all, analysis does not set out to make pathological reaction impossible, but to give the patient’s ego freedom to decide one way or the other.”
– from The Ego and the Id by Sigmund Freud
“Psychoanalysis in the hands of the physician is what confession is in the hands of the Catholic priest. It depends on its user and its use, whether it becomes a beneficial tool or a two-edged sword.”
– Bertha Pappenheim (also known as “Anna O”)
Bertha Pappenheim (a.k.a. “Anna O” and “Only A Girl”) was a Jewish Austrian feminist, education organizer, and writer who was born into a wealthy and prestigious family. She was highly educated, cultured, and spoke multiple languages. She was immersed in a variety of cultures throughout her childhood. In her twenties, around the same time that her father became ill, she started experiencing a variety of physical and mental ailments. The ailments became worse after her father’s death. Breuer initially diagnosed her with hysteria (a pretty common diagnosis for women at that time, regardless of how they presented) and started her on a new type of hypnosis therapy. Rather than trying to cure or “correct” her, however, Breuer placed “Anna O” under hypnosis and encouraged her to talk in order to reveal the underlying causes of her symptoms. Breuer believed that the underlying causes were childhood traumas, suppressed memories, and suppressed thoughts. “Anna O’ referred to this therapy as her “talking cure” and it did in fact alleviate some of her symptoms and reduce the intensity of others. (NOTE: She discontinued her therapy with Breuer after accusing him of getting her pregnant; an accusation that is either not mentioned in either of their biographies or dismissed as a symptom of her illness. Later in life, as an educator, Pappenheim would not allow girls in her care to utilize the therapy that had become commonplace.)
By the time Freud (who never met Bertha Pappenheim) started collaborating with Breuer, he had pretty much given up on the possibility of hypnosis being a consistently viable treatment for his patients. Breuer’s method, however, was different and so Freud began to encourage his patients to speak freely about whatever came up in whatever manner it came up. He referred to this stream of consciousness as “free association” and eventually concluded that dreams were the key to the subconscious and repressed memories. His clinical experience evolved into the development of psychoanalysis.
“Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.”
– Sigmund Freud
Keep in mind that during the bulk of this work on a new form of treatment, Freud himself was experiencing symptoms that, had he been a woman, would have led to a diagnosis of hysteria. Naturally, he started using his new treatment on himself and ultimately codified a system of symbols and dream interpretation that supported his theories about sexual development and its correlation to maturity; an understanding of “wish fulfillment” and the desires of the ego and super ego; his seduction theory, which explained certain neurosis as the result of repressed sexual trauma and abuse; and postulation of the Oedipus Complex, which he said manifested as “castration anxiety” in men and “penis envy” in women. (NOTE: Freud firmly dismissed Dr. Carl Jung’s discussions of an “Electra complex,” positing that there was one issue experienced by different genders in different ways, as opposed to multiple issues which could be experienced by any gender.)
As I started reading Freud at a tender age, I could go on like this all night… especially since the history is just as interesting as the clinical concepts. But, at some point I need to go to sleep – perchance to dream. And if you ask me if you’re in my dreams, the answer may surprise you. (Or not: after all, a little over half of small business professionals dream about work and the vast majority who dream of work, put those dreams into action when the wake. Keep that in mind next time you think I dreamed up a sequence.)
“Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.”
– from The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
If you’re curious about what I might “dream up” next, feel free to join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom today (Wednesday, May 6th) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM. Please use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You will need to register for the 7:15 PM class if you have not already done so. Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify.
Kiss My Asana, the yogathon that benefits Mind Body Solutions and their adaptive yoga program is officially over. But, I still owe you two posts and you can still do yoga, share yoga, help others by donating to my KMA campaign.
You can also check out the all-humanity, Kick-Off gathering featuring insights from MBS founder Matthew Sanford, conversation with MBS students, and a mind-body practice for all. If you’re not familiar with MBS, this will give you a glimpse into the work, the people, and the humanity of the adaptive yoga program which I am helping to raise $50K of essential support.
“Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise.”
– from a letter written by Sigmund Freud to Dr. Wilhelm Fleiss, otolaryngologist (dated 10/15/1897)
### SOMETIMES THE APPLE STAYS CLOSE TO THE TREE ###
A Joyful Practice 