Want to explore and find calm ?

Can philosophers help resolve the real problems that people have in their lives?

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marjoram_blues
Posts: 1629
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:50 pm

Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

...
then try this course. It's free, and it's there forever as a resource.

Part of FutureLearn.com, the course is 'Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing' - 6 themes are covered:
1. Stress
2. Heartbreak
3. Bereavement
4. Trauma
5. Depression and Bipolar
6. Ageing and Dementia

There is no pressure - you can skip bits - go back and forth - join in discussion, or not.
So, flexible and a place to explore and exchange ideas and feelings.

So far I have enjoyed the interviews about poetry. And the idea to read the same one each night for a week, to memorise a short,calming poem or even produce your own; based on the structure/form of certain types of poetry. (which you can search for at poetryfoundation.org.)

Also gives links to YouTube readings by Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins so that you can compare speed and tones of the same poem.

Unlike here, I haven't joined in the discussion... so far. However, have followed up some students' suggestions - like 'The Door' poem ( by Miroslav Holub ) and a link to the painting ' The Black Door' ( by Harold Jones ) at the Tate.

Really, it can open doors to your inner and outer landscape...
Step in any time...
Philosophy Explorer
Posts: 5621
Joined: Sun Aug 31, 2014 7:39 am

Re: Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

marjoram_blues wrote:...
then try this course. It's free, and it's there forever as a resource.

Part of FutureLearn.com, the course is 'Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing' - 6 themes are covered:
1. Stress
2. Heartbreak
3. Bereavement
4. Trauma
5. Depression and Bipolar
6. Ageing and Dementia

There is no pressure - you can skip bits - go back and forth - join in discussion, or not.
So, flexible and a place to explore and exchange ideas and feelings.

So far I have enjoyed the interviews about poetry. And the idea to read the same one each night for a week, to memorise a short,calming poem or even produce your own; based on the structure/form of certain types of poetry. (which you can search for at poetryfoundation.org.)

Also gives links to YouTube readings by Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins so that you can compare speed and tones of the same poem.

Unlike here, I haven't joined in the discussion... so far. However, have followed up some students' suggestions - like 'The Door' poem ( by Miroslav Holub ) and a link to the painting ' The Black Door' ( by Harold Jones ) at the Tate.

Really, it can open doors to your inner and outer landscape...
Step in any time...
Hi Marjoram,

Question for you: how does all of what you're proposing resolve real problems? Do you hold some type of degree which relates to what you're proposing?

Even if this were psychological counseling (which it isn't), I regard that type of counseling to be pseudoscience and I hold philosophical counseling in even less regard.

I will offer an example of counseling that is based on personal experience which I have found to work. I have diabetic neuropathy. In my feet it feels like being pricked by pins or getting electric shocks. I've taken Lyrica for a long time which has been covered by Medicare. Medicare stopped covering the medication and the price shot up over $100 a month. I found out that Lyrica made no difference. My doctor wanted to replace it with another medication and I told him to forget it - if the new proposed medication was that good, then why wasn't I put on that medication to begin with instead of Lyrica which wasn't working for me?

So much for that part of the story. I experimented and found something that substantially reduced the pain in my feet. All it involves is stretching the toes to put a little more distance between them. It's like taking your hand, bending your fingers back slightly and stretching your fingers to put more distance between them. As far as the toes are concerned, a little bit of stretching is all it takes - I've estimated that it reduced the pain by 70% to 90%.

It's not a cure, but still a big help which will help out with the stress in the feet I can assure you.

PhilX
marjoram_blues
Posts: 1629
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:50 pm

Re: Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:
marjoram_blues wrote:...
then try this course. It's free, and it's there forever as a resource.

Part of FutureLearn.com, the course is 'Literature and Mental Health: Reading for Wellbeing' - 6 themes are covered:
1. Stress
2. Heartbreak
3. Bereavement
4. Trauma
5. Depression and Bipolar
6. Ageing and Dementia

There is no pressure - you can skip bits - go back and forth - join in discussion, or not.
So, flexible and a place to explore and exchange ideas and feelings.

So far I have enjoyed the interviews about poetry. And the idea to read the same one each night for a week, to memorise a short,calming poem or even produce your own; based on the structure/form of certain types of poetry. (which you can search for at poetryfoundation.org.)

Also gives links to YouTube readings by Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins so that you can compare speed and tones of the same poem.

Unlike here, I haven't joined in the discussion... so far. However, have followed up some students' suggestions - like 'The Door' poem ( by Miroslav Holub ) and a link to the painting ' The Black Door' ( by Harold Jones ) at the Tate.

Really, it can open doors to your inner and outer landscape...
Step in any time...
Hi Marjoram,

Question for you: how does all of what you're proposing resolve real problems? Do you hold some type of degree which relates to what you're proposing?

Even if this were psychological counseling (which it isn't), I regard that type of counseling to be pseudoscience and I hold philosophical counseling in even less regard.

I will offer an example of counseling that is based on personal experience which I have found to work. I have diabetic neuropathy. In my feet it feels like being pricked by pins or getting electric shocks. I've taken Lyrica for a long time which has been covered by Medicare. Medicare stopped covering the medication and the price shot up over $100 a month. I found out that Lyrica made no difference. My doctor wanted to replace it with another medication and I told him to forget it - if the new proposed medication was that good, then why wasn't I put on that medication to begin with instead of Lyrica which wasn't working for me?

So much for that part of the story. I experimented and found something that substantially reduced the pain in my feet. All it involves is stretching the toes to put a little more distance between them. It's like taking your hand, bending your fingers back slightly and stretching your fingers to put more distance between them. As far as the toes are concerned, a little bit of stretching is all it takes - I've estimated that it reduced the pain by 70% to 90%.

It's not a cure, but still a big help which will help out with the stress in the feet I can assure you.

PhilX
Hi PhilX
Glad you fixed your feet pain. Did you experiment after researching on-line and reading about others' experiences?
So, you self-help by stretching.

The course I mentioned is a bit like that. Rather than seek out eg medication or visits to a specialist mental health counsellor - this is one way to perhaps DIY. This kind of course is not intended to take the place of specialist knowledge or treatment.

( There is another one starting which may be of interest: ' Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World' )

Re: Philosophical Counselling. I am not convinced that this subforum has anything to do with that narrow specialist field requiring degree and post-grad qualifications. I am wondering whether it should be renamed.
Any suggestions ?
Practical philosophy perhaps ?

The subject matter in the course deals with the same kind of problems eg stress, emotions, death etc.
However, it doesn't examine arguments, justifications or explore philosophical theories and how they might be significant to any clients.

It is much simpler and a bit of an interesting experiment. Self-help by stretching.
A search for the good, or better, life...
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GreatandWiseTrixie
Posts: 1547
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2015 9:51 pm

Re: Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by GreatandWiseTrixie »

Calm is overrated and violence is underrated.

Nothing more therapeutic than playing a violent bloodbath videogame of chaos and destruction.
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henry quirk
Posts: 14706
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 8:07 pm
Location: Right here, a little less busy.

From Rick and Morty Season 3, Episode 3 'Pickle Rick'

Post by henry quirk »

Wong: Rick, why did you lie to your daughter?

Rick: So I wouldn’t have to come here.

Wong: Why didn’t you want to come here?

Rick: Because I don’t respect therapy, Because I’m a scientist. Because I invent, transform and destroy for a living and when I don’t like something about the world, I change it. And I don’t think going to a rented office in a strip mall to listen to an agent of averageness explain which words mean which feelings has ever helped anyone do anything. I think it’s helped a lot of people get comfortable and stop panicking, which is a state of mind [burp] we value in the animals we eat, but not something I want for myself. I’m not a cow. I’m a pickle – when I feel like it. So… you asked.

Wong: Rick the only connection between your unquestionable intelligence and the sickness destroying your family is that everyone in your family, you included, use intelligence to justify sickness. You seem to alternate between viewing your own mind as an unstoppable force and as an inescapable curse. And I think it’s because the only truly unapproachable concept for you is that it’s your mind within your control. You chose to come here, you chose to talk to belittle my vocation, just as you chose to become a pickle. You are the master of your universe, and yet you are dripping with rat blood and feces. Your enormous mind literally vegetating by your own hands. I have no doubt that you would be bored senseless by therapy, the same way I’m bored when I brush my teeth and wipe my ass. Because the thing about repairing, maintaining, and cleaning is it’s not an adventure. There is no way to do it so wrong you might die. It’s just work. And the bottom line is, some people are okay going to work, and some people… well, some people would rather die. Each of us gets to choose.


'nuff said.
marjoram_blues
Posts: 1629
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:50 pm

Re: Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

GreatandWiseTrixie wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 6:37 pm Calm is overrated and violence is underrated.

Nothing more therapeutic than playing a violent bloodbath videogame of chaos and destruction.
Violence is easy to find. Different levels of power, strength; physical hurt or damage. We can see it on a daily, if not hourly or continual basis just by tuning in. Either externally, or internally.
It's when it begins to affect daily life in a negative way that some might say 'Enough'.
Let's calm down the rhetoric; especially when there is a heightened danger of real life war.

It relates to Fear. Is this overrated or underrated ?
Again, depends on context and levels affecting individuals or whole communities. How it is manipulated. Do you feel fear when playing games?. I think it more excitement of being in control.
And escapism. So, yes, I can see some therapeutic value.

But where do you turn when the power is shut off.
What internal mechanisms do you draw on?

The usual answers are well-known.
But if hooked on internet; what sources can be helpful to calm a chaotic mind.

I discovered on BBC radio 3 iPlayer - 'Words and Music' : Solo.
1hrs, 15 mins long.
27 days left to listen.
I will listen again. I fell asleep, in a nice way...
marjoram_blues
Posts: 1629
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:50 pm

Re: From Rick and Morty Season 3, Episode 3 'Pickle Rick'

Post by marjoram_blues »

henry quirk wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 10:06 pm Wong: Rick, why did you lie to your daughter?

Rick: So I wouldn’t have to come here.

Wong: Why didn’t you want to come here?

Rick: Because I don’t respect therapy, Because I’m a scientist. Because I invent, transform and destroy for a living and when I don’t like something about the world, I change it. And I don’t think going to a rented office in a strip mall to listen to an agent of averageness explain which words mean which feelings has ever helped anyone do anything. I think it’s helped a lot of people get comfortable and stop panicking, which is a state of mind [burp] we value in the animals we eat, but not something I want for myself. I’m not a cow. I’m a pickle – when I feel like it. So… you asked.

Wong: Rick the only connection between your unquestionable intelligence and the sickness destroying your family is that everyone in your family, you included, use intelligence to justify sickness. You seem to alternate between viewing your own mind as an unstoppable force and as an inescapable curse. And I think it’s because the only truly unapproachable concept for you is that it’s your mind within your control. You chose to come here, you chose to talk to belittle my vocation, just as you chose to become a pickle. You are the master of your universe, and yet you are dripping with rat blood and feces. Your enormous mind literally vegetating by your own hands. I have no doubt that you would be bored senseless by therapy, the same way I’m bored when I brush my teeth and wipe my ass. Because the thing about repairing, maintaining, and cleaning is it’s not an adventure. There is no way to do it so wrong you might die. It’s just work. And the bottom line is, some people are okay going to work, and some people… well, some people would rather die. Each of us gets to choose.


'nuff said.
Rick and Morty. Had to look them up. Sorry have never caught any of this. Wiki has a section on their philosophy - existential perspective?
Basically, we live, we die, so why worry ?

'Come watch TV' - the opiate of the masses.
Of course, not all TV acts as a sedative > dulling inaction.
Some get all riled up, and tweet madly.

Choose your medicine well...if you need any...

Channelling peace and goodwill, bigly :twisted:
marjoram_blues
Posts: 1629
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:50 pm

Re: Want to explore and find calm ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

Current Futurelearn courses:
'How to survive on Mars'
and 'Improve your Intercultural Competence'.
:)
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