Daniel Davis, LMFT

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What is Psych-K?

January 23, 2018 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

Psych-K is a process that changes our beliefs and improves the functioning of our brain.  Our beliefs have a great effect on our experience.  The Oxford dictionary defines belief as “an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.”  The second definition is that “one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction.”

 

My beliefs have a great deal of influence over my life – my moods, my physical health, my performance at work, my relationships, and my spiritual beliefs.  I have beliefs that are conscious and also have beliefs that are subconscious.  I have beliefs about myself, others, and the world of which I am not consciously aware.  John may think that he wants to succeed at his work, yet he may sabotage his work by avoiding important tasks.  John’s procrastination is due to a subconscious belief, such as “I am a failure.”

 

Our beliefs come from our personal experience, our families, our culture, and the world as a whole.  When I have experiences, they shape my beliefs.  The conscious mind is aware of the environment.  Subconscious mind is below our level of the conscious mind.  Professor Emeritus Gerald Zaltman writes that neuroscience reveals that at least 95% of our thoughts and decisions originate at the subconscious level of the mind.

 

Tor Nørretranders writes that the conscious mind processes information at 40 bits of information per second approximately.  Yet the subconscious mind processes 40 million bits of information per second approximately.  Most of the common approaches to psychotherapy only work with the conscious mind, and ignore that enormous power of the subconscious mind.  This is despite the fact that the subconscious mind has a million times more ability to process information than the conscious mind.

 

“Brain Dominance Theory” has been studied for many decades.  The left side of the brain uses logic and thinks in words.  Whereas, the right side of the brain uses emotion and thinks in pictures.  It is best for us to identify with both our right and left sides of our brain at the same time.  When we experience an event as traumatic, then one side of our brain tends to dominate.  Psych-k helps us achieve a “Whole Brain State” where we are able to identify with both sides of our brain simultaneously when we think about a traumatic event from our past.  A “Whole Brain State” also helps us solve our current challenges more effectively.  Perhaps the best evidence of its effectiveness is that Psych-K has been used by psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, professional performance coaches and others since 1989.

 

Research in three papers published in peer reviewed journals establish the effectiveness of Psych-K in changing the physical brain. These articles concluded that there is a significant connection between beliefs, the “Whole Brain State,” and rapid change in a person’s attitudes or in other words – mindset.  Additionally, in order for a therapist to be optimally effective, she will be in a “Whole-Brain State” when doing psychotherapy with a client.  Please watch this video and learn about Psych-K:

Filed Under: Balancing Your Brain, Blog, Whole Brain State

What Is the Matrix?

January 2, 2018 By Daniel Davis, LMFT 1 Comment

What is possible? Do I really know? I have assumptions that help me navigate each day. I assume there is day and night. I get up each weekday morning with the morning sunlight and go to work. In the evening, I return home after work and I have leisure time. I go to sleep after the sun sets. The next weekday I get up and do the same.

There are somethings that we assume will never change. Yet all things do change. Leap year reminds us that our calendar and the universe are out of sync. We add a day every four years, because our way of measuring time is not a perfect fit with the movement of the planet earth around the star we call the sun. There are trillions and trillions of stars in the universe.

If we just consider human life on planet earth, light is quite varied. If I travel to Alaska, USA, in July, the sun sets at 10:30pm. In winter, the sun only briefly reveals itself.

The speed of light changes as does gravity. Our world changes in ways we may not realize.

As much as I may deny it, I must acknowledge that I live in an unpredictable universe. Death can stop me in my tracks. Suddenly the rhythm of my life can be thrown into chaos.

Yet there is nothing so bad that something good cannot come of it. Even Jesus’ crucifixion, enabled others to see and understand new possibilities that changed our world forever.

Learning to withhold our judgments can be very powerful. Once we make assumptions, we exclude options. There is a place of total possibility, some name the Quantum Field or the Matrix. This reality identified in quantum physics is a very powerful concept. Physics is the most validated science today.

It is modern physics and the study of electromagnetic fields that enables my iPhone to post this blog on my website which allows you to read it from almost anywhere in the world. Modern communication is remarkable thanks to modern physics. Quantum physics reveals a universe that is ripe with possibilities.

When we can approach life with an open mind, many constructive things can emerge. If I can set my assumptions aside, I can see the world in a new way.

My assumptions can act like blinders which limit my vision. It is like looking at the world standing in a valley. If I can set my assumptions aside, I can see the world from a larger perspective. It is like moving from the ground level of the valley to the top of a hill.

This is a mindful position of awareness. When I can observe others, events, and myself from a wider vantage point, I can see more choices. Our two basic powers as humans are to observe reality and make choices. Seeing more possibilities is empowering for each of us.

Please watch this video on a whole brain state which opens up our perception enabling us to see the world more clearly and to see more options:

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Filed Under: Balancing Your Brain, Blog, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Whole Brain State Tagged With: assumptions, awareness, calendar, gravity, Leap year, light, Matrix, mindful, open mind, possibilities, quantum field, quantum physics, Science, speed of light, trillions of stars, universe, unpredictable universe, validated, Whole Brain State, withhold our judgments

Genius and Intelligence

November 21, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT 1 Comment

What is your gift?  What can you do that no other human being can do just like you?”

“There is nothing special about me!” said the character, Jack Lucas, in the film, The Fisher King.  “I control my own destiny.”

Life is mysterious. Yet I believe that we all have a certain genius. The word genius comes from the root of gignere which was to ‘beget.’  We bring forth or give birth to something, according to this definition of genius.

In the late 16th century, the word genius had evolved to mean natural ability.  By the mid 17th century, genius came to mean ‘exceptional natural ability.”

The evolution of the word genius seems to reflect our cultural perception that we are not all gifted as individuals.  There are special people who are different than average humans, like you and me.

It is my experience that everyone has unique gifts.  School can be confusing, because of its emphasis on language and mathematical ability.  Often we see a person’s I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) as a number which defines whether she or he has genius or not.  Further, our I.Q. is too often seen as fixed and never changing.

Alfred Binet originally developed the intelligence test to identify which French students would have difficulty in school to assist them.  It is ironic that we now use the concept of IQ to label and shame others.  IQ scores have a long history of gender and cultural bias.

Fortunately, Howard Gardner developed the ideas of Multiple Intelligence.  He asserted that there are nine different types of intelligence:

1.  language (Verbal-Linguistic)
2.  mathematics (and logic)
3.  science (Naturalist)
4.  artistic (Visual-Spatial)
5.  athletic (Bodily/Kinesthetic)
6.  musical
7.  interpersonal (social)
8.  intrapersonal (self-awareness)
9.  existential (meaning of life)

Your IQ score will not reveal your creativity, your common sense, or your social skills.  The singer, Lady Gaga has high Musical Intelligence.  The tennis player, Serena Williams has great physical abilities.  The teacher, Thich Nhat Hahn has high intrapersonal Intelligence.

Yet one does not need to be famous to have genius.  I think each of us has unique gifts with which we are born.  It is our opportunity and privilege to develop these talents.  The saddest thing is when families and schools fail to recognize the uniqueness of each child, leaving one to feel insignificant, powerless, or unlovable.

If we work hard at developing our natural gifts, then we are able to experience the joy of expressing our gifts in sophisticated ways.  Richard Bolles writes, “where your great passion meets the great need of the world, that is where your work lies.”

May each of us have the courage to take the heroic journey of individuation.  May we work and struggle to develop the natural gifts with which we are born.

Charles Baudelaire writes that “genius is childhood recaptured.”  A healthy relationship with our inner child may assist us in developing our unique talents in love and work.  Please watch this video by Judith Peterson,M.A., on the Inner Child:

Keywords:
Blog 66
Blogs by Daniel Davis, Genius and Intelligence
Alfred Binet
Richard Bolles
Lady Gaga
Howard Gardner
Thich Nhat Hahn
Serena Williams
“The Fisher King,” Movie
“Jack Lucas,” character from Fisher King
ability
exceptional natural
special people
average humans
School
I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient)
Multiple Intelligence
language
Verbal
Linguistic
mathematics
logic
science
Naturalist
artistic
Visual
Spatial
athletic
Bodily
Kinesthetic
Musical
interpersonal
social
intrapersonal
self-awareness
existential
meaning of life
“What Color is Your Parachute?,” book
Charles Baudelaire
Genius and Intelligence

Filed Under: Becoming Aware (Consciousness), Blog, Career Development, Dialogue Tagged With: “What Color is Your Parachute?, ability, Alfred Binet, artistic, athletic, average, Bodily, book, character, Charles Baudelaire, exceptional, existential, Fisher King, Genius, Howard Gardner, humans, I.Q., intelligence, Intelligence Quotient, interpersonal, intrapersonal, Jack Lucas, Kinesthetic, Lady Gaga, language, Linguistic, logic, mathematics, meaning of life, movie, Multiple, Musical, natural, Naturalist, Richard Bolles, school, Science, self-awareness, Serena Williams, social, Spatial, special people, The Fisher King, Thich Nhat Hahn, Verbal, Visual

Self-Love and Narcissism

November 7, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

Is selfishness always a bad thing? What is narcissism?  The word narcissistic is in the news a lot recently.  What does it mean?

Narcissism is an exaggerated view of your own abilities and wanting praise from others.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines narcissism as “extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s own talents and a craving for admiration.”

While most of us would recognize the problem with narcissism, I do need to be self-centered in healthy ways.  My body needs adequate sleep, healthful food, and frequent exercise.

When I neglect myself when I get too hungry, lonely, angry, or tired, and I am more likely to be self-centered.  I may try to love others, but I am too needy.  If I do not get 8 hours sleep at night, I may be so tired that my concentration is poor.  I may not listen well.  I may not be aware of myself and talk too much, too loudly, or insensitively.

Moreover, when I do not see myself and my story clearly, I relate to others from a cloudy point of view.  This is called a projection.

I need to see others as they are – no more or less.  I need to be see myself as I am.  This is an authentic relationship.  I am human which means I need real relationships.  It is important to be noticed by others.  I need to matter to myself as well as others.  I need to be treated with respect.  Others need to be treated with respect.

The golden rule is “to love thy neighbor as thy self…”.  When I treat myself well, I have the patience and resilience to nurture others.  This is being selfish in a wise way.

Psychotherapy, pastoral counseling, meditation, 12 step work, or coaching with energy psychology techniques enable me to learn to see my story more clearly.  Seeing my narrative clearly enables me to see myself as well as others with more objective eyes.

For example, if I get angry or afraid when someone mentions money, then I am unable to listen objectively on the subject of money.  When someone talks about money, I am distracted by my anger or fear, and do not hear their story.  It is like driving with a dirty windshield; it is hard to see the road ahead.  This lack of clear vision affects me when relating to others, like in marriage or raising children.

Our modern society is dominated with narcissistic and nihilistic ideas, Ken Wilber writes.   In the Oxford English Dictionary, nihilism is defined as “the belief that nothing in the world has a real existence.”  I may assume that we live in a 3 dimensional world made up of atoms.  I may assume that nothing matters, therefore, I may as well do whatever seems to feel good and avoid obvious pain.  So I may cheat to pass the exam or win the election.  I lie to destroy someone’s reputation, because I want to hurt them.

It is ironic that those who neglects their own needs are the most self-centered.  When I have a poor sense of self, I am the most narcissistic.  My neglect of my own needs creates my own obsession with myself.

When I was born, I was self-centered.  I perceived my mother and myself as one; each one of us does.  As I developed, I began to distinguish between my mother and myself.  When I cried, my mother did not always come to hold me and calm me.  I learned that the world and I are separate.

Over the course of my life, I am learning to see myself as different from others.  This learning continues until I die, if I choose to actively participate in the process of learning or not.

In addition to the normal human development of seeing myself as separate and unique, I can be wounded.  I can experience being shamed – treated like I am worthless.  I may feel unworthy of love.  This self-hatred can be an additional block to seeing myself and the world clearly.  The self-hatred can keep me frozen in self-centeredness.

The antidote to narcissism is authentic love of oneself.  The feeling of self-love is healing for us humans.  To consciously experience the sensation of self-love in my body enables me to heal physically as well as emotionally.  Please watch this video from Michelle Minero, M.A., author of “The Self Love Diet: The Only Diet You Will Ever Need,” on learning to love yourself:

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Filed Under: Blog, Consciousness, Spirituality Tagged With: 3 dimensional world, admiration, angry, Atom, authentic love, body, concentration poor, exaggerated, exercise, food, golden rule, grandiose, hungry, ideas, Ken Wilber, lonely, Michelle Minero, Narcissism, needs, neglect, nihilistic, projection, self-centered, self-hatred, self-love, selfishness, shamed, sleep, tired, unworthy, view, worthless

Do You See What I See?

February 7, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

We assume we are so evolved in our modern world. We have amazing technology – iPhones, Tesla cars, Japanese trains that speed at 374 miles per hour. Yet as humans, we remain fragile. We are vulnerable to over-reaction and self-deception. “When I fall in love, it will be forever. And I’ll never fall in love again,” sings Nat King Cole.

Falling in love can feel like having my feet swept out from under me. I may see my beloved as flawless. All I want to talk about are the astonishing qualities of my beloved. As I talk about my beloved, I feel high – like I am on cocaine. Such is the power of projection.

Our self-deception can enable us to take on worthy challenges, like education, marriage, or parenting. Yet our ambitious decisions can also lead to chaos, disease, and even death.

We may believe in modern life that we are free of the superstitions of our ancestors, yet this 2 million year old archaic mind is present in each of us. It will operate unconsciously in our lives. If we fail to honor our archaic mind, the cost is very high. Yet if we do integrate the wisdom of our unconscious mind, our lives are enriched beyond measure.

Please watch this video by Manuel Costa on projection:

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Filed Under: Blog, Projection Tagged With: 2 million year old, 300 miles per hour, A Path to Life’s Fullness: A New Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, ambitious, ancestors, archaic mind, cars, chaos, cocaine, death, decisions, disease, education, evolved, Falling in love, iPhones, Manuel Costa, marriage, modern world, Nat King Cole, objectivity, parenting, projection, self-deception, song, superstitions, technology, Tesla, trains, unconscious mind, When I fall in love

NFL Football

January 31, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

I remember watching NFL football as a young kid. I loved watching quarterback Len Dawson play with the Kansas City Chiefs. I loved playing football in the grass and the mud with my friends. When I was able to play on a team, all the better. In the seventh grade, I played flag football and started at the center position, hiking the ball to the quarterback. The next year I was cut from the eighth grade team.

When I started Cupertino High School in the ninth grade, I was determined to make the team. I often played as hard as I could. I started the freshman football team on defense at Defensive Tackle. In the second game against Mountain View High School, I had a quarterback sack. I was defensive captain for the next week’s game. I was honored as one of the best Defensive Tackles, first team All-League player at my position. I was injured in later years and never played football another year on a high school team. Yet my experience was priceless. I learned a great deal about hard work, focus, discipline, motivation, and teamwork.

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, USA, watching the Oakland Raiders win three World Championships and the San Francisco 49ers win five Super Bowls. I watched coaches like Bill Walsh and John Madden lead their teams with brilliance and class. I loved watching players like Ronnie Lott, because of his values. He would talk about how he loved his fellow players. I learned a great deal about life and success watching the NFL.

For many years, I have been learning about the brain and repetitive brain trauma. A very high percentage of players at the high school, college, and professional levels are effected. According to research cited by Dr. Daniel Amen, ninety-six percent of NFL players have brain damage and seventy-nine percent have CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Former NFL superstars such as Frank Gifford and Ken Stabler suffered from CTE. This condition of CTE causes memory loss, confusion as well as aggression, depression, suicidality, and later in life, dementia. Dr. Bennet Omalu deserves enormous respect and praise for his courageous research to understand CTE.

NFL players have been in the news for allegedly committing domestic violence and sexual assault. I have mixed feelings about football. It has taught me many great lessons. Yet, I can see that it is a violent and dangerous game in many ways. I feel fortunate to have played the game. I respect those men who play the game well, who live with integrity and honor.

Please watch this video by Manuel Costa about the life of an NFL Player:

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: aggression, Bennet Omalu, Bill Walsh, brain damage, center position, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, college, confusion, CTE, Cupertino High School, cut, Daniel Amen, defense, defensive captain, Defensive Tackle, dementia, depression, discipline, domestic violence, eighth grade, first team All-League, flag football, focus, football, Frank Gifford, freshman football team, hard work, high school, hiking the ball, John Madden, Kansas City Chiefs, Ken Stabler, Len Dawson, memory loss, motivation, Mountain View High School, National Football League, NFL quarterback, ninth grade, Oakland Raiders, professional, repetitive brain trauma, Ronnie Lott, sack, San Francisco 49ers, seventh grade, sexual assault, suicidality, Super Bowls, Tackling Life Head on: Lessons for Kids' Lives With Ronnie Lott As Coach, teamwork, World Championships

Synchronicity

January 24, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

What is real? Certainly not a dream. I was on a cruise ship on the 30th of December 2008 when I had a dream: a cat is walking down the street as it is carrying a dead animal in its teeth.

When I left the ship on the 2nd of January, I checked my messages. I learned that my dog, Abbie had died on December 30th of 2008. I loved my dog, Abbie. She was a wonderful companion during a difficult part of my life.

Many people tell me in confidence about having such experiences after a person or animal close to them passes away. Yet people rarely talk about such morbid matters in polite conversation.

It is just a coincidence, one might say in response to a tale such as mine. The science of Isaac Newton from the 17th century dominates biology and physics. From this point of view, the universe is assumed to be mechanical.  Human beings are viewed as separate from the universe as a whole.

It is our personal experiences of synchronicity that confirm that we are connected to the great web of the universe.  We are all part of the quantum field.

From the years 1909 until 1913 Albert Einstein was a dinner guest of Dr. Carl G. Jung on several occasions. At the time, Einstein was developing his theory of relativity. Jung was captivated by Einstein’s ideas that time as well as space are relative.   For years, Jung pondered that relationship between time and space to the human psyche. Dr. Jung also was trying to make sense of the baffling coincidences his clients reported to him in therapy. He also had the coincidences in his own life.

It was not until 1930, when Jung finally used the term “synchronicity” publicly. In a letter on Einstein and synchronicity, Jung wrote: “It was Einstein who first started me off thinking about a possible relativity of time as well as space, and their psychic synchronicity”.

Dr. Jung defines synchronicity as “the coincidence between an inner image or hunch breaking into one’s mind, and the occurrence of an outer event conveying the same meaning at approximately the same time.”

Please watch this video from Manuel Costa on synchronicity:

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Filed Under: Blog, Synchronicity Tagged With: 17th century, Abbie, Albert Einstein, biology, Carl G. Jung, Coincidence, Dog, Dream, great web, human psyche, hunch, inner image, Isaac Newton, Laso Apso, Manuel Costa, mind, physics, quantum field, space, Synchronicity, Time, universe

Dreams

January 17, 2017 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

My dreams never cease to dazzle me with the insight, emotionality, and creativity that are hidden within them. I awake with such gold and jewels. My life is more beautiful, because of the time I take to examine my dream life. Our dreams are trying to convey inner truths to us. There is a reality to our psychic life that can be transformative when we embrace it.

Yet where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, Virtual Reality is highly valued. Science is our religion and technology is our god. Sadly, our dreams are forgotten and discarded as useless trash. When we have the courage to explore our dreams with wisdom and respect, then valuable wisdom can be gained.

Carl Jung said at the end of his life, “I had to understand that I was unable to make the people see what I am after. I am practically alone. . . There are a few who understand this and that, but almost nobody sees the whole….I have failed in my foremost task: to open people’s eyes to the fact that man has a soul and there is a buried treasure in the field and that our religion and philosophy are in a lamentable state.”

Please watch this video by Manuel Costa about dreams:

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Filed Under: Blog, Dreams Tagged With: Carl Jung, creativity, dreams, emotionality, God, inner truths, insight, Manuel Costa, philosophy, religion, San Francisco Bay Area, Science, Silicon Valley, soul, technology, Virtual Reality, wisdom

Merry Christmas

December 27, 2016 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

What comes to mind when you hear, “Merry Christmas?”  I remember growing up in the Santa Clara Valley in Northern California, USA, and experiencing the wonder of Christmas as a young child.  I remember going to midnight Mass at Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in San Jose a five minutes’ walk from our family home.  I remember my dad’s voice singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.  Upon returning home, my brother and sister and I, open a present from our mom and dad on Christmas Eve before we go to bed.  We awake early on a dark and cold Christmas morning to open more presents next to our Christmas tree under the bright lights of my father’s eight millimeter (8mm) camera.

What is Christmas?  Jesus being born in a stable in the small town of Bethlehem in the Middle Eastern part of the Roman Empire over two thousand years ago?  The angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary and announces:  “Do not be afraid.  Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.”

What does this mean to you?  How do you feel when you hear these words?  They may be vibrant and meaningful.  Yet they also may be lifeless.  Moreover, these ancient words (translated into English) may bring up rage or fear.  As we encounter this story about the first Christmas, we have an opportunity to better understand ourselves as well as our world. There are over 2.2 billion people who are part of Christianity.  Yet religion is different from spirituality.  Our internal experience is a core part of our spirituality.  This is a vital part of what we find meaningful in our lives.  If we choose, it is possible to have a different sense of the meaning of Christmas by finding a new relationship to the story of the birth of Jesus.

Manuel Costa has been leading seminars about the teachings of Jesus for many decades with the Guild for Psychological Studies.  Please watch this video and learn more about how to possibly see from a new life giving perspective:

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Filed Under: Becoming Aware (Consciousness), Blog, Spirituality Tagged With: 8mm camera, A Path to Life’s Fullness: A New Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, angel, bed, being, Bethlehem, book, born in a stable, California, Christianity, Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, eight millimeter, Gabriel, Hallelujah Chorus, Handel’s Messiah, Jesus, Manuel Costa, Merry Christmas, Middle Eastern, midnight Mass, music, presents, Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, religion, Roman Empire, San Jose, Santa Clara Valley, Silicon Valley, singing, spirituality, two thousand years ago, Virgin Mary, voice

How Are You Feeling?

May 31, 2016 By Daniel Davis, LMFT Leave a Comment

”It is our feeling function that gives a sense of joy, worth, and meaning to life . . . . No one ever succeeded in finding a reason for living by the reasoning process,” writes Robert Johnson.

“It is as if we have gained the highest technical civilization in the history of the world but at the cost of losing the simpler virtues of happiness and contentment,” writes Robert Johnson.

Every country and every culture throughout the world take on a certain character. The Italians have a reverence for extraverted feeling, says Robert Johnson. This is also true for Mexico. Whereas the Germans have a preference for introverted thinking. Within each culture there are individuals with a great variety of personality types, yet a culture as a whole makes a collective choice about what is revered. The Japanese prefer introverted sensing which can be seen in beautifully manicured Zen gardens throughout Japan.

In India, introverted feeling is revered. “One quickly sees the wealth of vocabulary and corresponding consciousness in the realm of feeling but suffering from a crushing poverty in awareness of the practical elements of science, politics, and planning. One can learn by observing a society that has exactly the opposite pattern of inferiority and superiority from one’s own,” writes Robert Johnson.

Whole cultures make a typology decision. Collectively America has made the decision that thinking is the most virtuous capacity that a human being can portray. “Our superior function has given us science and the highest standard of living the world has ever known – the envy of the third world – but at the cost of impoverishing the feeling function,” writes Robert Johnson.

Apple builds the iPhone. Boeing assembles 767 airliners. These types of accomplishments come from a highly disciplined thinking function. Bill Gates writing computer software code, late at night, is the symbol of the useful, brilliant, and noble man in modern life. The person who develops mastery with the extraverted thinking function is our contemporary hero. The development of the thinking function is the focus of most American schools and universities. In the United States, individuals with a well-developed thinking function are offered the best jobs and are the best paid. The development of the thinking function and the things produced have great value for the world.

Yet when one specializes in one function, then the opposite function is neglected. One specializes in extraverted thinking by robbing from its opposite – the introverted feeling function. “One feels this coldness around people who are who are feeling wounded, and they seem to reply to warmth or relatedness in some objective or dispassionate manner that stops all feeling ‘cold’ in its tracks. It is as if such a person is unable to see over his own woundedness and contact another on a human level,” writes Robert Johnson.

Yet it is our greatest weaknesses that provides us with the means to our greatest triumphs. In the English-speaking world, thinking is the superior function. Therefore, it is in our feeling function that our salvation lies collectively.

Unfortunately, discussing the feeling function in English is a challenge, because there are no suitable words. When we lack vocabulary, it naturally follows that we lack consciousness. “Sanskrit has ninety-six words for love; ancient Persian has eighty, Greek three, and English only one. . . . Imagine what richness would be expressed if one had a specific vocabulary for the love of one’s father, another word for love of one’s mother, yet another for one’s camel (the Persian’s have this luxury), still another for one’s lover, and another exclusively for the sunset,” writes Robert Johnson.

No matter how much we think or things we buy – homes, cars, jewelry – we cannot soothe the suffering and wounded feelings. Money and power will not restore our creativity. “I am often puzzled in going to India to see people who have so little in an outer sense but have so much happiness,” asserts Robert Johnson.

Please watch this video by John Gallagher about personality and the feeling and intuitive functions:

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Filed Under: Becoming Aware (Consciousness), Blog, Career Development, Whole Brain Balancing Tagged With: 767, airliners, America, ancient, Bill Gates, Boeing, character, civilization, code, computer, consciousness, contentment, country, culture, English, Extraverted, feeling, feeling function, Germans, Greek, happiness, highest, history of the world, India, Introverted, Italians, Japan, Japanese, John Gallagher, language, love, MBTI, Mexico, Persian, Robert Johnson, Sanskrit, sensing, software, standard of living, technical, thinking, typology, virtues, vocabulary, Zen

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About Daniel Davis, LMFT

I create an environment where clients experience their unique significance, authentic empowerment, and profound acceptance and collaborate with clients to identify solutions to their current crises. For more information on how I can help you, contact me today by calling 408-249-0014 or emailing info@danieldavislmft.com. I look forward to speaking with you! Read More…

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