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SOTT Focus: The Truth Perspective: Diving Into the Collective Unconscious: Where Jung Went Wrong

peterson jung
Jung thought humanity shared a collective unconscious which provided the forms of myths, dreams, and fantasies. Most modern scientists reject the idea completely. But maybe they're both wrong. Jung may have gotten most of the details wrong, but there may be a kernel of truth in the idea, and while modern critics are correct to point out the holes in Jung's theory, they also throw the baby out with the bathwater in their rejection of a shared unconscious.

In addition to taking a closer look at the idea of a collective unconscious, today on the Truth Perspective we will take a brief look at Jung's method of therapy and some of its flaws. In the words of Dr. K. Dabrowski, many of Jung's notions were vague, impractical, and lacked an awareness of the multilevelness of emotional and instinctive functions.

Tune today at 12 pm EDT as we once again dive into the underworld of Jungian thought.

Running Time: 01:44:07

Download: MP3


People 2

Debunking an age-old adage: Putting yourself in someone else's shoes only gives you the impression you know them better

relationships
It does not help you work out what they are feeling or if they are lying.

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes does NOT help you understand what they are thinking, a series of 25 experiments has shown.

It debunks one of the most commonly used ways to work out what other people are thinking.

In fact, putting yourself in someone else's shoes only gives you the impression that you know them better.

Far better, to just ask them.

Document

The APA/DSM pedophilia controversy: Orientation or disorder?

Pedophilia
© imagebroker / Ulrich Niehoff / www.globallookpress.com
How does the American Psychiatric Association (APA) view pedophilia? A recent controversy leaves many people wondering about this question. Charisma Magazine, a publication geared toward evangelical Christians, was dismayed to discover that the APA had described pedophilia as a "sexual orientation" rather than a "sexual interest." The description seems to validate pedophilia, which is a sexual attraction to children, as a viable life choice.

Christian and conservative citizens quickly responded to the report, petitioning Congress and Attorney General Eric Holder to appeal to the APA to change their definition. Immediately after, the concerned groups noticed that the APA had written a news release to correct their error. The APA said that the discussion section of the newest version of the DSM-5 (a manual of psychiatric disorders that is widely used by mental health professionals) contained an error.

The APA said that the discussion about diagnostic criterion for pedophilic disorder contained an error; it should have read, "sexual interest," instead of "sexual orientation."

In the news release, the APA affirmed that they strongly support effort to criminally prosecute those who sexually abuse and exploit children and adolescents. They also support ongoing efforts to develop treatment for individuals who have been diagnosed with pedophilic disorder, with the goal of preventing future abusive acts.

Comment: If anything, the facts should make conservatives MORE concerned: if pedophilia is akin to an orientation - in the sense that pedophiles are biologically attracted to pre-pubescent children, in a similar manner to which heterosexuals are attracted to the opposite sex and homosexuals to the same sex - that implies it is persistent and difficult to change. Ironically, that might support conservative approaches to dealing with the problem: i.e., keeping track of pedophiles, making sure they don't have access to children, etc.


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SOTT Focus: The Health & Wellness Show: Interview With Dr. Valdeane Brown - Nonlinear Dynamic Thinking With NeurOptimal Neurofeedback

neuroptimal
© Zengar
Ever heard of neurofeedback, non-linear dynamics or a "bottom-up" approach towards better health? Have you ever heard of a tool that can help with optimization of the brain's automatic or unconscious behaviour? Join us on this episode of the Health and Wellness Show as we interview Dr. Valdeane W. Brown, co-creator of NeurOptimal, and learn about our favorite brain-training tool at SOTT.net.

Dr. Valdeane W. Brown is an internationally recognized "trainer of neurofeedback trainers", who has taught and consulted widely on personal and organizational transformation. With a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a background in math, physics, computer programming, philosophy, yoga, meditation and martial arts, Dr. Brown brings a presence and precision to his work. This is further informed by a profound sense of compassion, a facility with energy dynamics and a deep commitment to revealing the elegant simplicity inherent in learning and transformation.

Developer of the Five Phase Model and co-creator with his wife Dr. Sue Brown of the Period 3 Approach to Clinical Neurofeedback, Dr. Brown has realized his vision of a truly comprehensive training system in NeurOptimal. His vision in bringing NeurOptimal to the world is to make personal transformation effortless and available to all.

This is a unique opportunity to hear us pick the brain of one of the most interesting, forward-thinking minds of our time as he illuminates some of the latest information about the brain and the most cutting edge neurofeedback system available. Don't miss it!

Running Time: 01:51:38

Download: MP3


Family

Loneliness on the rise among Americans, experts warn it's making us sick

lonliness
© Grandhi/Flicker
Former Surgeon General Doctor Vivek Murthy brought mental health to the forefront last September when he wrote in the Harvard Business Review that loneliness is a "growing health epidemic." Now a recent survey by health service company Cigna adds to that by showing many Americans say they sometimes or always feel alone.

The survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and older revealed some alarming findings:
  • Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).
  • One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
  • Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 percent) and that they are isolated from others (43 percent).
  • One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 percent) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 percent).

Comment: It's no surprise that loneliness is on the rise in America, and surely around the Western world, as the effects of further isolation, increased reliance on technology and increasing fear seem unabated. Neither is it a surprise that this growing loneliness would have health consequences. It's more important now than ever to increase real face to face social interactions and social bonding. Our lives may depend on it.

See also:


Brain

Study: Psychedelic drugs promote neural plasticity in rats and flies

psychedelics effect on cortical neurons
© Ly et al.This figure shows the effects of three psychedelics and one control (VEH) on cortical neurons.
Psychedelic drugs may have mind-altering powers in the physical sense, too. A new study, published June 12 in the journal Cell Reports, found psychedelics, specifically DOI, DMT, and LSD, can change brain cells in rats and flies, making neurons more likely to branch out and connect with one another. The work supports the theory that psychedelics could help to fight depression, anxiety, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"These are some of the most powerful compounds known to affect brain function, it's very obvious to me that we should understand how they work," says senior author David E. Olson, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, Davis.

The idea that depression stems from imbalanced brain chemistry remains popular, but recent studies have revealed evidence that depression manifests as structural changes in brain circuits or atrophy in parts of the brain. This doesn't mean neurons die off during depression, but that neurites retract. Neurites are the sections -- either axons or dendrites -- of a neuron that project out to bridge the gap between two neurons at the synapse to facilitate communication.

Comment: While it's encouraging that despite years of demonization, researchers are beginning to study psychedelic drugs for their medicinal potential. It seems rather anti-science to ignore, or even suppress, important research because of societal taboos. None the less, extreme caution needs to be utilized and local legal constraints need to be respected.

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Magnify

6 tales of children who remember their past lives

6 tales of children's' reincarnation
© Youtube/Weird World
The thought of reincarnation terrifies some people and pleases others. Personally, I hate the thought of having to relive an entire life all over again, it not only scares me, but it's mentally exhausting just to think about.

Judging by some of our stories, you can end up in the same culture doing the same thing - so, where is your life's lesson in that. It makes it seem that I'm going back onto a treadmill, that I cannot get off of.

We've discovered some 6 astonishing reincarnation tales, some which will give you hope, whilst others are surrounded by disturbing circumstances.


Comment: See also:


People

New study says yoga and meditation don't necessarily reduce ego

yoga pose
© Unsplash
According to Buddhist teaching, the self is an illusion. The religion preaches a fundamentally selfless worldview, encouraging followers to renounce individual desires and distance themselves from self-concern. To advance this perspective, millions of people around the world practice yoga and meditation.

But a recently published psychological study directly contradicts that approach, finding that contemporary meditation and yoga practices can actually inflate your ego.

In the paper, published online by University of Southampton and due to be published in the journal Psychological Science, researchers note that Buddhism's teachings that a meditation practice helps overcome the ego conflicts with US psychologist William James's argument that practicing any skill breeds a sense of self-enhancement (the psychological term for inflated self-regard.)

Black Magic

David 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz: Faker, crazy, or possessed?

son of sam berkowitz
Continuing the discussion in my last post, I'd like to look at one particular serial killer - David Berkowitz, aka the Son of Sam, who terrorized New York City in 1976 and 1977 - and see if the spirit-possession hypothesis fits the facts of the case.

First, here are the relevant parts of Berkowitz's biography, taken from the Wikipedia page on Son of Sam.

Berkowitz, who was adopted as an infant, was said to have a "troubled" childhood.
Although of above-average intelligence, he lost interest in learning at an early age and became infatuated with petty larceny and starting fires. Neighbors and relatives would recall Berkowitz as difficult, spoiled, and a bully. His adoptive parents consulted at least one psychotherapist due to his misconduct, but his misbehavior never resulted in legal intervention or serious mention in his school records.
When Berkowitz was twenty-three, after a stint in the Army and an honorable discharge, the killings began. One theory is that the murders were triggered by Berkowitz's discovery that he'd been born outside of wedlock, and that both his natural father and a prospective stepfather had been unwilling to care for him. Why this should have upset his mental balance and produced an animus against young women with long dark hair is unclear.

Comment: See Prescott's previous piece here: Could some serial killers be possessed?

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Cell Phone

Distracted, screen obsessed parents: What happens when we don't engage with our children

Parents screen time
When it comes to children’s development, parents should worry less about kids’ screen time—and more about their own.
Smartphones have by now been implicated in so many crummy outcomes-car fatalities, sleep disturbances, empathy loss, relationship problems, failure to notice a clown on a unicycle-that it almost seems easier to list the things they don't mess up than the things they do. Our society may be reaching peak criticism of digital devices.

Even so, emerging research suggests that a key problem remains underappreciated. It involves kids' development, but it's probably not what you think. More than screen-obsessed young children, we should be concerned about tuned-out parents.

Yes, parents now have more face time with their children than did almost any parents in history. Despite a dramatic increase in the percentage of women in the workforce, mothers today astoundingly spend more time caring for their children than mothers did in the 1960s. But the engagement between parent and child is increasingly low-quality, even ersatz. Parents are constantly present in their children's lives physically, but they are less emotionally attuned. To be clear, I'm not unsympathetic to parents in this predicament. My own adult children like to joke that they wouldn't have survived infancy if I'd had a smartphone in my clutches 25 years ago.

To argue that parents' use of screens is an underappreciated problem isn't to discount the direct risks screens pose to children: Substantial evidence suggests that many types of screen time (especially those involving fast-paced or violent imagery) are damaging to young brains. Today's preschoolers spend more than four hours a day facing a screen. And, since 1970, the average age of onset of "regular" screen use has gone from 4 years to just four months.

Comment: Survey says nearly half of all families text each other while under the same roof