The Commanding Self

There exist other traditions that have delved into understanding this ‘vulnerable brain’ as described by Fine. One such tradition has occurred among the Sufis, who seemed to be referring to something similar which they dub ‘The Commanding Self’. Idries Shah writes:

                ” The Sufis refer to the action of the mixture of primitive emotionality and irrevelant associations which bedevil outside would-be observers as that of the Commanding Self…The Sufis have always taught:’Examine your assumptions; avoid mechanicality; distinguish faith from fixation’.”

 You can find books by Idries Shah and lots of other interesting books at www.ishkbooks.com  (Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge)

‘It’ has also been referred to as the False Self, the Secondary Self, and Ego, not to be confused with Freud’s conceptualization of ego.

I am not trying to adopt any of these traditions.  I am looking this through the lens of western science.  I just think it is worth noting that this is not a new endeavor, and one that many in history have found worth pursuing.

Cordelia’s cool with it

Cordelia Fine emailed me back and and I have her blessing to pursue this blog idea . It is an ‘authorized blog’, I guess you could say.

ummm? – ohhhhh

“Ummmmm? Ohhhh”

This is what my 21 month old daughter had been saying over and over and over and over. She asks a question in the form of ummm?  and answers herself when she says ohhh. Turns out that we her parents do it all the time without realizing it. I think it is a great way to pass the time when you don’t quite know what the hell is going on but just want to interact.

Similar to : “ Dude? Dude.” Question. Answer. Life makes sense, but not too much for too long, ’cause that would get boring.

Anyways, I apologize for my last post where i wrote that I want to be a ‘force for good’. I don’t want to give you hope, ’cause that just leads to fear, and the whole culty thing gets rolling.

I want to provide information from experimental psychology. That is my ‘ serious’ goal to start.

And I will sometimes just write about ’stuff’, and i hope you will be entertained.

At any rate, I emailed Cordelia Fine and told her I’d be writing about excerpts from her book. She is welcome to share concerns with me and I would stop if she had a problem with it.

I think it is worth mentioning that her last chapter is titled ‘ The Vulnerable Brain’. Spot on – man. That describes it. We are collectively vulnerable because of our brain design.  We can mature and be less so, but part of that maturity is being more aware of the dangers. I am more aware of  danger than my kids, at least in a specific way that I can articulate, and in a sense that is a large part of what makes me more mature than them. I am full of warnings. ” watch out – don’t fall’ /’remember your _______”/ ‘Look out’ .

Does that sound like a fun type of blog to read? You’ve been warned that you will be warned a lot.

Ummm? Ohhh.

Why this blog now?

I have been mulling over for awhile now how I might act as a ‘force for good’ in this world. I am particularly interested in the danger associated with cults and indoctrination at all levels of the human experience. How might I help combat this? The Crack Emcee does it over at www.themachoresponse.blogspot.com , in addition to blogging on his many other interests, and he has been a big inspiration. 

I work as a therapist (LICSW) so I see many  people being trapped and harmed by  their thinking patterns, most of which were programmed into them by others  without their own knowledge. I am already ‘doing battle ‘, and this blog should augment that, and even be a resource for some of my clients. But let me be clear, reading this blog and even leaving comments is no replacement for therapy. I am not suggesting that therapy is necessary for you, but please know that when I am blogging I am not a therapist.

I was really strongly impacted by a book called A Mind Of Its Own – How Your Brain Distorts and Deceives by Cordelia Fine.  www.cordeliafine.com I read the book twice because she was able to convince me that I probably couldn’t trust my brain with just one reading, not that two is much better. I recommend the book be read in its entirety, not just for the info but for entertainment.  I plan to use the book as a resource for this blog as it is very well researched from sources in the field of experimental psychology. I’ll use other resources but this is where I will start.

It is divided into 8 chapters, describing each one of your brains. Yes – you have 8.

The Vain Brain/The Emotional Brain/ The Immoral Brain/ The Deluded Brain/The Pigheaded Brain/ The Secretive Brain/ The Weak-willed Brain/ The Bigoted Brain.

All feedback about this blog and its content is not just welcome, but I am begging you for it. I am an amateur blogger, so while I ask you to be patient, that doesn’t mean I want you to keep your mouth shut.  And come back in the future even if you are not impressed enough to revisit the blog tomorrow , ’cause I plan for the blog to constantly improve.