Posted by Todd (64.34.202.197) on December 04, 2000 at 21:02:40:
In Reply to: A great book (so far) posted by Marshall Van Stone on December 04, 2000 at 02:48:36:
I learned that birds feed on the undigested seeds contained in cow flops. This taught me that even in excrement, beneficial tidbits might be found.
Your interesting post contained the phrase "myth of mental illness". If this is meant to imply that mental illness is imagined or otherwise unreal, I must differ. While Freud has been mostly debunked and even Jung isn't looking too good, more recent research into mental aberrations has uncovered chemical imbalances which cause very real "mental" disorders.
I'd be pleased to learn more about "cyclical patterns of time". Anything beyond the intriguing fictional efforts of the original Star Trek would be helpful. Since time is, by definition, linear, just how does one go about transforming it into a cycle?
Let's look at what I consider your most perceptive idea - that the body can think as well as can the mind. If we accept the underlying theory that the mind and the body are one, then neither mind nor body is doing the thinking, but rather the conjoined existance of the two thinks.
This argument on the part of the author of the book you cite reminds me of the old story about the four hunters, hunting deep in the Everglades. They stumbled upon a creature that is half gator and half human, supposedly the spawn of an illicit and unnatural affair between the species.
After days of being hunted by this intelligent gator-man, with unspeakable acts of horror being inflicted on each successive victim, all four hunters are dead.
Great campfire story, with just one flaw. If all four died, how does anyone know the details?
The phrase "mind over matter" doesn't deny the reality that mind is matter, but rather implies that the mind has ability to exert control over other matter - typically the body (excluding the Amazing Kreskin, of course).
Having said all this, I must point out that I haven't been a "headbanger" since my second CH cycle 15 years ago. I've posted several times in the almost two years I've been coming here that I deal with the agony of CH by working hard to stay calm. I pace, quietly and endlessly, ice pack to temple, counting every step obsessively (yes, a diversion, Jeri) waiting for the Imitrex to take effect. Many others have evolved to this same technique.
Finally, I must ask the question several here have hinted to but not ask outright. Do you suffer migraines or CH? If it is the latter, you do neither yourself nor any of your fellow sufferers good when you use the incorrect term to refer to your affliction. If it is the former, please understand that many treatments that are effective for migraines don't help we CH'rs at all.
KTSSU,
T