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NextAdventure
USA
57 Posts |
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Peregrinus
250 Posts |
 Posted - 05/13/2013 : 06:07:55
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I read the essay and it makes a lot of valid observations. However, I disagree with what the author says about “core inner pain”. The author seems to describe it as what Eric Fromm calls the “fear of aloneness”. I believe that we are more complicated and that a lot of our emotional stress arises not from this fear but from our efforts to overcome our aloneness and sense of worthlessness. This typically involves affiliating ourselves with a tribe, assuming a new (false) identity, relinquishing our independence and denouncing some of the values that we have acquired up till then. In this process we are not fully aware of the nature of this new identity. We are forced to “fit in” to this new identity and that adaptive process can be very painful. The tribe may be based on a religion, a nationalist or ethnic movement, a political cause, a theory, or a professional athletic team. Yes, adherents to Sarno’s theory on TMS form a tribe (and that’s OK).
I have been working on an essay about identity for some time because of my interest in tribalism. I may share it with this forum if I can find a good way to do that.
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plum
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 05/13/2013 : 15:13:26
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Nextadventure, thanks for posting this and other links. Musing heavily on midlife at the moment as this is typically when this rupture occurs. I was listening to a fine lecture a few weeks back and will gladly post details if you are interested.
Peregrinus, I'd be interested in reading your essay. Hope you do indeed post it. |
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Please Read
