Comments on: The Unconscious: What you don’t know can’t hurt you? http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/ ...for woman's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1: 19-20 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 22:46:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 By: Nathan http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-2019 Nathan Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:01:23 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-2019 I guess when you kept saying "unconscious" I was relating it to 12th grade psychology. :) I guess when you kept saying “unconscious” I was relating it to 12th grade psychology. :)

]]> By: MRI Webmaster http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-2007 MRI Webmaster Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:24:55 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-2007 I so enjoyed reading everybody's responses here, or should I say the 'free association' the original post inspired. When I wrote the original post, I actually didn't have parents or even childhood in mind. On the contrary, I was thinking of me, today, now, and how the experiences and input of others help teach me new things. How I might be stronger and weaker, better and worse than I actually think I am. And, I think Lewis would say, the more clearly we know ourselves, the more ready we are to offer ourselves to God sans pride and obfuscation. I so enjoyed reading everybody’s responses here, or should I say the ‘free association’ the original post inspired.

When I wrote the original post, I actually didn’t have parents or even childhood in mind. On the contrary, I was thinking of me, today, now, and how the experiences and input of others help teach me new things. How I might be stronger and weaker, better and worse than I actually think I am. And, I think Lewis would say, the more clearly we know ourselves, the more ready we are to offer ourselves to God sans pride and obfuscation.

]]> By: Judy http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1930 Judy Sun, 31 Dec 2006 04:39:51 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-1930 I've been thinking about this for awhile in light of some C.S. Lewis writings. I'm probably not going to be able to articulate the parallels too well, because I haven't thought it all out completely. But here's a bit of what has caught my attention. In the last 3 pages of Mere Christianity, Lewis says things like, "The more we get what we now call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become." . . . "I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call 'me' can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own." . . . "Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self." . . . "Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in. In The Great Divorce, many of the characters have very little self awareness. They are unable or unwilling to see their true motives and character flaws. The same holds true for the main character in 'Til We Have Faces, until the very end of the book, when she realizes she has been wrong about most of what she held as truth regarding herself. I don't think the point is that we are horrible, awful, scummy creatures. I think we each have the potential, if left to our own devices, to be that. But the potential we have in Him, to be the "real personality" that He created us to be is the prize to be sought and the adventure to be had. Until we have a little glimpse of self awareness, and the way-less-than-lovely tendencies that can and do lurk in our 'unconscious', we may not realize the need for the treasure of the "real self" He has made possible for us. I’ve been thinking about this for awhile in light of some C.S. Lewis writings. I’m probably not going to be able to articulate the parallels too well, because I haven’t thought it all out completely. But here’s a bit of what has caught my attention. In the last 3 pages of Mere Christianity, Lewis says things like, “The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.” . . . “I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call ‘me’ can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” . . . “Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.” . . . “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.
In The Great Divorce, many of the characters have very little self awareness. They are unable or unwilling to see their true motives and character flaws. The same holds true for the main character in ‘Til We Have Faces, until the very end of the book, when she realizes she has been wrong about most of what she held as truth regarding herself.
I don’t think the point is that we are horrible, awful, scummy creatures. I think we each have the potential, if left to our own devices, to be that. But the potential we have in Him, to be the “real personality” that He created us to be is the prize to be sought and the adventure to be had. Until we have a little glimpse of self awareness, and the way-less-than-lovely tendencies that can and do lurk in our ‘unconscious’, we may not realize the need for the treasure of the “real self” He has made possible for us.

]]> By: paul http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1792 paul Thu, 28 Dec 2006 03:58:40 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-1792 I'm not sure if MRI is talking specifically about trauma inflicted by parents or trauma caused by anyone for that matter. Figuring out how you got to be you is a complicated riddle and I’m sure there are plenty of people to blame. (Not you - specifically Nathan) I think the post is more about awareness of both the good and bad parts of you. The trauma occurs when, in the process of life (marriage, work, family, fun, etc.) your lack of knowing who you really are causes a "Mac truck" experience. Knowing how you treat the people that you care about - knowing your talents - knowing when you need help - knowing the rotten, dark parts of yourself are all insights that can help prevent unnecessary "Mac truck" experiences. Dealing with who you honestly are is difficult - not Brained by a Mack truck difficult - More like having your foot run over by a metro difficult. I’m not sure if MRI is talking specifically about trauma inflicted by parents or trauma caused by anyone for that matter.

Figuring out how you got to be you is a complicated riddle and I’m sure there are plenty of people to blame. (Not you – specifically Nathan)

I think the post is more about awareness of both the good and bad parts of you.

The trauma occurs when, in the process of life (marriage, work, family, fun, etc.) your lack of knowing who you really are causes a “Mac truck” experience.

Knowing how you treat the people that you care about – knowing your talents – knowing when you need help – knowing the rotten, dark parts of yourself are all insights that can help prevent unnecessary “Mac truck” experiences.

Dealing with who you honestly are is difficult – not Brained by a Mack truck difficult – More like having your foot run over by a metro difficult.

]]> By: nathan118 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1727 nathan118 Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:49:07 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-1727 Still not sure I buy it. You're assuming that everyone has some degree of a traumatic event locked up in the dark reaches of the unconcious waiting to be let out...but how many of these "mack trucks" there really are, and how big they are, is fairly dependent on the person. Did I have a perfect childhood? Such a thing doesn't exist...but I don't think there is anything there anlagous to getting hit by a mack truck and ending my life. Most of my previous years were in fact "kid years," so that's all I really have to analyze. Overall though I think I can recognize a large majority of the events that have effected me, whether positive or negative, and I've accepted them. Were my parents perfect? Of course not, and I don't hold any bad memories against them because I know I will make mistakes too someday. Did I have a blissful adolescence? Not entirely, and I'm not supposed to...that's what being an adolescent is about. So I don't know...maybe I've already seen the mack trucks and reduced them all to the size of geo metros in the highway of my "unconcious." :) Still not sure I buy it. You’re assuming that everyone has some degree of a traumatic event locked up in the dark reaches of the unconcious waiting to be let out…but how many of these “mack trucks” there really are, and how big they are, is fairly dependent on the person.

Did I have a perfect childhood? Such a thing doesn’t exist…but I don’t think there is anything there anlagous to getting hit by a mack truck and ending my life. Most of my previous years were in fact “kid years,” so that’s all I really have to analyze. Overall though I think I can recognize a large majority of the events that have effected me, whether positive or negative, and I’ve accepted them. Were my parents perfect? Of course not, and I don’t hold any bad memories against them because I know I will make mistakes too someday. Did I have a blissful adolescence? Not entirely, and I’m not supposed to…that’s what being an adolescent is about.

So I don’t know…maybe I’ve already seen the mack trucks and reduced them all to the size of geo metros in the highway of my “unconcious.” :)

]]> By: Judy http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/comment-page-1/#comment-1712 Judy Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:02:04 +0000 http://myrighteousindignation.com/2006/12/19/the-unconscious-what-you-dont-know-cant-hurt-you/#comment-1712 Only one mack truck? Do we continually have one lurking in our subconscious, no matter how many we have discovered already? Only one mack truck? Do we continually have one lurking in our subconscious, no matter how many we have discovered already?

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