The next dream

I woke up around 430am and experienced a period of happy thoughts. I feel good about my music, my marriage and family, being healthy and financially secure, and in my relationships outside of the family. One relationship in particular has been a preoccupation over the past year and I felt (and feel) peace and acceptance of where it is. (In case any readers stumble across this post some time in the future, the relationship does not involve having an affair!) Mary Lou also awakened and I helped her go back to sleep by touching her cancer scar in a particular way she finds soothing.

After my usual tactic of getting up, eating a bowl of cereal, (feeding the cas), and getting back into bed, I went to sleep again. around 615am. I woke up an hour later from a dream.

I was teaching a seminar for young students. It might have been at Athens High School. As class started, I began a lecture only to realize an adult woman, apparently another teacher, was typing at the back of the room on a machine that spoke the words in a lively manner as she typed them. It seemed she was in a conversation with someone else whose voice couldn't be heard. Indignant, I approached her to admonish her about her rude disruption of my class. Before I could engage with the woman, she retreated to an office further back, seemingly unrepentant and dismissive. I decided to use this as a teaching opportunity, asking the class what their thoughts were about her behavior. None of my students seemed to have any thoughts but I noticed several girls blithely tapping on and staring at their smart phones. I was outdone at that point and I ended the class. I'm not sure if I spoke or thought something along the lines of "These people don't realize I have something worthwhile I could teach them. Next time, I'll be more assertive in setting limits with rude behavior like this. And no matter how they act, I'll still be driving a Porsche." But the underlying emotion was a sense of being disrespected, invisible, irrelevant, and unimportant. It seems that the dream ended with me looking for the Porsche which I'd parked and forgotten where.

Thoughts about the dream (I'm waiting to see Dr Ehrlich for follow-up on cataract surgery).

This morning's dream

I was at an event of some sort in Athens waiting for Mary Lou in an outdoor venue. Two women were nearby and one of them,  a pleasant but average looking lady with light brown hair, asked me, "Are you Owen Scott?" I acknowledged that I am and asked her name. It was Karen Something. She said she knew me but I probably wouldn't know her. My impression was she was younger and perhaps had looked up to me in high school. We brought our faces close together in a natural, intuitive intimacy and kissed one another gently. "We better not keep doing this," I said. "My wife is here... and various other reasons." But it was very warm and inviting. Then, I noticed both women had large mannequins, like ventriloquists' dummies except the size of adult humans. I didn't think this odd. Mary Lou showed up and, to my surprise and delight, Lauren was with her. Then, we were in some student apartments constructed in a very interesting manner, very open with different levels connected by stairs. I lost Mary Lou and Lauren and was moving around looking for them. Finally, I came up Mary Lou as she was being kissed by a swarthy man with facial stubble. He realizes I was her husband and immediately apologized ("I'm sorry, I misunderstood.) and retreated, calling back, "Don't take it out on her!" but I wasn't offended or jealous. As Mary Lou and I walked away, I laughed and remarked, "I like to project as a bad man!"

Reply to a compliment from a friend posted as a comment on my Facebook page, "The Morphies."

(In response to a video performance of my original song "Better This Way" from OMG, Original Music Gathering, at La Divina Cafe, Baton Rouge, June 21, 2019)

You're most kind, Tracey!

I can't express adequately how much I appreciate my friends who enjoy and encourage my music. I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to write and play my own songs regularly in two intimate and friendly, original-music-only venues (La Divina Italian Cafe and Henry Turner, Jr's Listening Room) here in Baton Rouge. While I've been writing songs over many years, I had a burst of inspiration over the past year resulting in a string of original compositions I'm proud of (thank you, dear Muse💕). This is one of them. I'll keep doing it until I can't do it any more because that's what I love doing!

Thanks again to you and y'all, the sweet friends who make it that much better! You know who you are and so do I 💜💙😘🎶😍❤️💚

Survival of our species

Are the traits that led to global species dominance creating a scenario that will kill us?

Thoughts on a chapter about Hegel's view of forgiveness as critical to human progress

(To my former patient who wrote the chapter),

I'm reading your chapter now and have a few pages to go; but, I thought I'd stop and share some of my reactions. First off, your scholarly writing is first-rate, very clear, confident and articulate. You are a far better writer than the editor of the book. You do an excellent job of summarizing major points from the previous research in a manner the reader (i.e., me) can understand, even without an extensive background in Hegel.

As you know, I lack the knowledge to evaluate your assertions about Hegel and his critics but your assertions appear consistent with what I've learned from reading some general discussions from reputable sources (e.g.g, the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). What I take in is that Hegel wanted to show the way for the governments of nation-states to foster the development of their polis (body of citizens) into enlightened societies characterized by virtue, justice, and a higher form of freedom (as opposed to doing whatever one pleases including violent and other destructive behavior). He believed this optimal society would require people to become reconciled with themselves through self-awareness, willingness to see all sides of themselves, forgiveness of what they considered weak, bad, evil, and undesirable, and, finally, acceptance.

I recognize many of Hegel's ideas in the psychological theories of Carl Jung, whose work I read extensively a long time ago. The Geist seems to parallel in some ways Jung's collective unconscious. For example, Jung's autobiography starts out with this sentence: "My life is a story of the self-realization of the unconscious."  My own work as a therapist incorporated Jung's belief that we achieve individuation (his term for actualization, becoming whole, realizing our full potential) by becoming aware of the rejected dimensions of self we typically project onto others (Jung called it the shadow) and coming to understand, own, and accept them, by which we discover the valuable resources hidden beneath their unappealing surfaces. Jung wrote a famous passage (I might have shared it with you) about the need to realize "the least of our brethren" is the self we're ashamed of and don't wish to know much less accept. This line of understanding leads to the belief that an individual is capable, through long and dedicated seeking, of accomplishing what human societies have so far failed to accomplish, reconciliation of seemingly hostile and opposite forces (that is, dimensions of self within the individual) by which the person becomes optimally aware and effective. I believe Jung explicitly cited Hegel in support of the concept of reconciliation of opposites as a dialectical process.

I don't know how Hegel thought a country might accomplish this- if he had any good ideas about that, I'd like to learn about them. Be that as it may, I do believe, on the basis of my personal and professional experience, that the process can be successful for motivated individuals. I've seen it work many times over my long career. The process doesn't have a finite endpoint (or a guarantee of good fortune) but individuals progress to stages where they've achieved the goal of general self-acceptance and reconciliation with self. Overcoming immature, narcissistic investment in one's own self-concept (I need to be perfect, better than others, ultra-successful, rich and powerful, etc) and developing authentic and healthy humility (I am a remarkable being who operates within limitations, as everyone does. I don't need to think or prove I'm superior, I just need to realize my potential as fully as possible) is necessary in order to become aware of and accept ourselves holistically.

As best I can understand your chapter, Hegel thought along the same lines. I'm going to finish the chapter today and will send you any final thoughts I have. Reading this material is challenging due to my not having all background knowledge to understand and evaluate it (and continuing visual impairment as I heal from successful retina surgery). However, I have no doubt the ideas you're addressing are very important on the personal and global levels and are as timely now as they were when Hegel was writing about them. I've enjoyed learning more and thinking about this material which is, of course, highly relevant to my concerns about humanity. I have to think your ability to research, write, and publish could still lead to your landing more satisfying academic positions moving forward.

Owen

I admit it

I'm disenchanted with global human society as it currently stands due to the short-sightedness of both leaders and followers, the shameless use of lies and manipulation to gain power and pursue destructive goals, our reliance on violence and aggression to solve problems, the pervasive cultures of promoting greed and materialism, and the lack of compassion and generosity as core values. And this, despite the many remarkable achievements of human endeavor and the frequent manifestation of our better angels throughout the world.

Family role models: Marriage

My parents, Owen and Virginia R. Scott, were married from June 1941 until my father's death December 24, 2006 (65 years).

Dad's parents, Frank K. and Antoinette S. Scott, were married from September 4, 1915 until Grandmama's death on March 25, 1969 (53 years).

Mom's parents, William Brown and Emma Harrison Reeder, were married from December 27, 1900 until Granddaddy's death on September 11, 1961 (60 years).

Left eye update

Dr. Ehrlich, the ophthalmologist who is doing a lens replacement procedure on Monday called and said I will still have significant visual issues until I get a 3rd procedure to drain the silicone oil from the 1st procedure (reattaching the retina) and replace it with something more natural (sort of an oil change). I have to find out when I can get that done- my impression is a few weeks after the lens replacement. I will have to determine if traveling to Athens during that time (something I tentatively planned for the same period Mary Lou is in London with Jenny) is a sensible thing to do. I will know how things stand by about Wednesday of next week when I will try out the new lens and get the third procedure scheduled with Dr. Fivgas, the retina specialist.

History revisited

I'm reading from a scholarly book Reading as Democracy in Crisis (2019), given to me by my former client, a history professor, who has a chapter in the edited collection of essays. To put her chapter in perspective, I'm reading through the Preface and Introduction chapters by the editor. This is dense, intellectual material I'm only superficially knowledgable of, necessitating me to do some basic research and to collect my thoughts about the subject of history.

What is history? History is everything that came before the relentlessly moving now.

What is the evidence for history? Three kinds of evidence are available: Physical objects, written texts, and memory.

What is the discipline, the science of history? What do historians do? Historians write about what happened in the past.

HIstoriography is the branch of philosophy of science that examines and evaluates the methods used by historians to create accounts of the past. The simplest work of the historian is to write an account of what happened. Even in the simplest form of a narrative account ("This is what happened."), the historian selectively chooses to include this fact and to exclude that fact from the account. From there, historians interpret their chosen facts to create higher order narratives that analyze and explain what happened.

Is it possible to determine whether an historical account is true or false, right or wrong? No. The critical reader of the account can only judge whether the account is plausible or implausible and even a wildly implausible account could still be true.

Should we conclude, then, that history is not a science and is only a form of entertainment with no relevance to living our lives? No. Human beings live by making probability judgments. The accounts written by historians have great power to affect the actions of those who read them. The importance of written accounts is clear as is the importance of historiography, the critical analysis of historical narrative research methods and the works historians produce.

Bold assertion: I see human affairs more clearly than almost everyone

Of course, as a member of a species with perhaps 7.4 billion individuals as of this writing, no doubt there are people who have as much or more clarity. Suppose, for example, 1/10 of one percent of all humans see as clearly or more clearly than me. That would amount to 7 million, 400 thousand people. So, I'm not asserting that I am at the top of the pile of clear-sighted observers. However, my 7.4 million colleagues comprise a drop in the human bucket.

So, what is it I see that others don't? Am I capable of putting my case into words? And if I am able to produce a clear written statement of what I see, am I able to prove that my observations are true and valid? And if I succeed in both of those ways, will it make any difference in the unfolding of human history? And what about the 7.4M people with clarity? What are they doing with their insight and understanding?

All of the above is uncertain. But why not give it a shot and see what happens?

It's one thing to see things clearly,

another to express it clearly in words, and another, yet, for the message to be understood by the receiver.

The product of long, hard work

My goal is to optimize my functioning and find out what I'm capable of. I've put years and years of painstaking effort into the mission and, with the help of the higher power, the things beyond my control, it's worked out well so far. I've progressively let go of my attachment to people, things, my ego, and even life itself. Of course, there's plenty of space for more progress and that's a good thing. I can rest when I'm living in a just world or when I'm dead!

The fundamental problem of societies created by our species is simple and obvious:

The default survival strategy that's gotten us this far is to be aggressively, short-sightedly selfish, both as individuals and groups. But what works to allow a species to survive and flourish for a period of time doesn't work indefinitely. Almost every species goes extinct sooner or later.