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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
 Posted - 02/23/2008 : 14:44:18
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I just got a book called On Being Certain by Robert Burton. I've started reading it, and I think it contains some major insights for TMS-recovery folk. It's more scientific than Sarno and co., but also quite readable. If anyone wants to read it and discuss with me, revive this thread when you're ready. I've pasted the blurb and Amazon ordering details below:
Here is the blurb:
You recognize when you know something for certain, right? You "know" the sky is blue, or that the traffic light had turned green, or where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001--you know these things, well, because you just do.
In On Being Certain, neurologist Robert Burton challenges the notions of how we think about what we know. He shows that the feeling of certainty we have when we "know" something comes from sources beyond our control and knowledge. In fact, certainty is a mental sensation, rather than evidence of fact. Because this "feeling of knowing" seems like confirmation of knowledge, we tend to think of it as a product of reason. But an increasing body of evidence suggests that feelings such as certainty stem from primitive areas of the brain, and are independent of active, conscious reflection and reasoning. The feeling of knowing happens to us; we cannot make it happen.
Bringing together cutting edge neuroscience, experimental data, and fascinating anecdotes, Robert Burton explores the inconsistent and sometimes paradoxical relationship between our thoughts and what we actually know. Provocative and groundbreaking, On Being Certain, will challenge what you know (or think you know) about the mind, knowledge, and reason.
http://www.amazon.com/Being-Certain-Believing-Right-Youre/dp/0312359209/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203802815&sr=8-1
love, Wavy, TMS book club enthusiast
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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mcone
114 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 14:37:57
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This is a paradox indeed.
Certainty and doubt are like the twins on a seesaw. When doubt is strong, certainty is weak, and vice versa.
I've been churning through this for months - levels of certainty and doubt can fluctuate a great deal - *seemingly* in response to experience and logic, but I've always suspected (known?) something else was at play.
But how do you outlogic the feeling that thinks it knows something? By reminding yourself that's it's in your interest to let go of doubt? But then what do we do with our intuitions and our gut feelings about things (about TMS or otherwise)? If that "knowing" inner voice that doubts TMS is discredited, then can we trust it about anything else? For me, this seems like a paradox.
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weatherman
USA
184 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 15:17:54
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quote:
Originally posted by mcone
If that "knowing" inner voice that doubts TMS is discredited, then can we trust it about anything else? For me, this seems like a paradox.
Great point, in my experience the "inner voice" can be very unreliable. Especially the one that gives feelings of fear and/or panic. Most people have had the experience of undertaking a course of action that felt 100% right, but actually turend out to be a disaster -and vice versa. On a related note is the issue of dreams. They can certainly be informative, but they don't necessarily tell you how things really ARE - sometimes they tell you what you're afraid of (even if it has nothing to do with reality).
Weatherman
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." |
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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 17:50:37
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The feeling of knowing happens to us; we cannot make it happen.
This isn't true. Buddhist monks have known this for centuries. I've done it myself, because I understand how beliefs work. We are the ultimate controllers of our own reality. The conscious mind has veto power over just about everything, if you have the skill. Once you understand that you actively create your own reality through your belief structure, and the thoughts that you create ARE your reality, you are free to manipulate the structure as you see fit. You just need to take complete responsibility for all the thoughts in your mind. They don't just appear, you MAKE them. You always do.
What I'm finding really interesting is that I've always used affirmations to define my reality, I was just using really terrible ones the whole time. Most of my mental energy these days is devoted toward redefining my belief structure to create the life I want. This extends way beyond TMS recovery.
So basically, we can know anything is true once we understand how beliefs work. This is kind of a "seeing the matrix" type of deal, so it's really hard to put into words. Once you accept the idea that you can manually tweak your belief system, you can start changing things. This is the key.
For instance, you can stop being afraid of TMS symptoms. All you need to do is say to yourself over and over again "I have no fear of any TMS symptom no matter what happens" until you override your belief that you need to be afraid of it. This works. It takes persistence, but if you don't take responsibility for your own brain you're seriously lost. I was.
Author of tms-recovery.com
A collection of articles on emotions, lifestyle changes, and TMS theory. |
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scottjmurray
266 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 17:54:36
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quote:
But how do you outlogic the feeling that thinks it knows something? By reminding yourself that's it's in your interest to let go of doubt? But then what do we do with our intuitions and our gut feelings about things (about TMS or otherwise)? If that "knowing" inner voice that doubts TMS is discredited, then can we trust it about anything else? For me, this seems like a paradox.
You need to literally JAM out any doubt in your head. You have to completely override it and talk over it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again until it stops functioning as a primary thought pattern. You always control that inner voice. You are the conscious mind!
Author of tms-recovery.com
A collection of articles on emotions, lifestyle changes, and TMS theory. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 22:32:58
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In case anyone actually wants to read the book with an open mind, my point re its relevance to TMS is about how I have always felt I "know" I'm ill, based on some very realistic special effects, aka symptoms.
The whole theory of TMS is based on the fact that there is what Sarno calls a "Divided Mind," whereby unconscious motivations operate from a more instinctual level than the conscious intentions. I've been generating conscious intentions for decades, but it was acknowledging the dissonance between these and the unconscious drives creating symptoms that made the difference, for me.
At least as far as I have read, the book isn't about belief structures and co., but about how powerful the unconscious mind can be, particularly in somatically generating the exact chemicals that make one feel that one "knows" something. For example, Scott, when you assert with such certainty that you can absolutely change and control any thought in your consciousness through conscious intent, that very certainty doesn't necessarily mean it's true. In my experience, it's true until it isn't. I believed it for 30 years, and manifested huge, mind-blowing realities through conscious intention. Until I was checkmated and required to go into a more surrendered mode of feeling stuff I had been avoiding.
There isn't an absolute reality about any of this stuff, and feeling - absolutely KNOWING - there is has gotten me into trouble, sooner or later. The scientific architecture of this is quite intelligently presented in this book. Reality meanders, and we need to be flexible and open to stay clear and healthy. Life experience, both inner and outer, has humbled me hugely with regard to what I absolutely "knew."
This is not to say (Scott) that I'm afraid of my unconscious, and don't think I can override it with conscious intention. But if I keep overriding it without also allowing it to be felt and known and released, it will ultimately win. I may be able to tell it not to give me symptoms, but the same unconscious pressure can then emerge through some other distraction syndrome or addiction, like the addiction to being right.
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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On Being Certain
