Exposure Or Reinforcement?

[eVan]

I have been pondering this question for a few days now. Basically I have a conflict of ideas that I might not be seeing the whole picture of. I've been reading about OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), and see how this sounds a lot like a neg influenced problem. Also I've read Mary T. Brown's book on Karma. Great book by the way. Filled with light and wisdom. She suggests that negative thoughts and feelings can be built into elementals. Are elementals negs? Or are they neutral?

A lot of therapy books I've researched believe heavily in exposure therapy. If a person has a fear of getting contaminated with germs or bacteria, and therefore causing their whole family to die, then there "exposure" is to touch things like door handles, and put off washing their hands obessively. And, furthermore, to allow their feelings of anxiety and panic to just be there. The idea is to allow time to pass and to let those things that the person fears, to just be there. It's like someone who notices red cars all day long. You probably have seen a red car today driving around, but you don't remember. A person with OCD would remember the red cars.

So my conflict comes in because a lot of the what Robert Bruce, and many other real deal psychic authors suggest that you should not dwell on fearful or unfortunate things because you are reinforcing, or creating this reality. And you are also feeding the negative aspects of your ego, Negs, and, essentially, darkness. There's the cliche "that which you resist will persist" as well. Battling negs sounds like resisting them. I wonder if Robert Bruce himself has come to accept and not resist the negs that attack him. This makes me think that he may be an Aikedo teacher, but with the spirit.

I hope y'all can gather what I'm trying to get at here. If not, then ask me to clarify a point or something.

Thanks,

eVan

[Korpo]

I would take a look at how successfully which kind of therapy treats the given disorder and go with that. A success is a success, no matter what the theory is behind it. How are treatment statistics for OCD overall?

Oliver

[Beekeeper]

I have been pondering this question for a few days now. Basically I have a conflict of ideas that I might not be seeing the whole picture of. I've been reading about OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), and see how this sounds a lot like a neg influenced problem.

It does, doesn't it, though I don't believe OC is always neg-related. There is evidence that it's all about brain chemistry and such things as diet, holosync and music can help.


Diet Therapy

Probably the most overlooked form of therapy for treating obsessive compulsive disorder, and many disorders like it is through whole food diet therapy. A diet rich in tryptophan, the amino acid precursor to serotonin, is essential to maintaining levels of serotonin. The following foods are rich in this amino acid and should be incorporated into your diet regularly. This list includes: oatmeal, rice bran, eggs, cottage and swiss cheeses, blueberries, bananas, and turkey, roast beef, chicken, whole grains, salmon, tofu, brown rice, baked beans, broccoli, avocado, mackerel, potatoes, nuts and sunflower seeds. It is also advisable that you choose organic, pesticide and hormone free meats and veggies.

http://www.disability-resource.com/OCD/psychiatric-drug-alternatives-for-treating-ocd.php

I suspect that since negs are by nature parasitic, to be less than optimally healthy may make one more vulnerable to neg infestation. It's also possible that since the brain is created to tune into this reality, imbalances in brain chemicals may create access to other planes and create an opportunity for negs. I'm speculating here. I suspect some people are naturally more vulnerable because their brains naturally pick up on a wider range of frequencies. One day, I suspect we'll know more. More later. Thunder storm.

[eVan]

Wow! Thanks for the information Beekeeper. That's precisely the info I needed. I'm starting to take some St. John's Wort now, and I'm integrating a whey protein shake that includes tryptophan as an amino acid supplement into my diet.

As far as your theory of being chemically imbalanced is concerned...that was a real eye-opener of a perspective. I can totally see how this could operate. I encourage you to elaborate on this idea more. It explains the "mad artist" stereotype. Though I don't encourage stereotyping, it does explain why many artists have felt alienated by society through history. They were perceiving emmanations, and perceptions the rest of the world could not see at that time. They were labeled "mad," and now it's labeled a "chemical imbalance," sometimes for good reason. Being alienated could create a vulnerability to negs. So, I pose the age old question does genius include a touch of maddness?

eVan

[Beekeeper]

I'm sorry Evan, I had more to say but for the life of me can't remember where I was taking this. Perhaps I was going to suggest that some obsessive behaviour may be related to past life experiences.

Would you let us know how you go with your dietary modifications? It may be helpful to others.

[Seeuzin]

So my conflict comes in because a lot of the what Robert Bruce, and many other real deal psychic authors suggest that you should not dwell on fearful or unfortunate things because you are reinforcing, or creating this reality.

I think I can clarify this. My friend from Indonesia was once talking with me about fear, and how to handle it. He explained to me that there is a difference between facing fear, and "reaching out" to it, as he put it. It is the same with any negative emotion. I think, and this is just my opinion, that if we "reach out" to any negative emotion, (for instance, if we are angry, and we nurse that anger like a baby,) we will indeed reinforce them as you said, and help create a negative reality for ourselves. But to let a negative feeling sit with you in a courageous way, to face it, that is another thing entirely. This is a really awesome post on how to do that - viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9353 (http://forums.astraldynamics.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=9353)

In this technique you rest your focus gently on your negative feelings, without trying to either cling to them or push them away. You simply let them "be." Now an interesting thing to bring up here - in Buddhism, aversion and pushing things away (referred to as "dvesha") is actually another form of clinging ("trishna") because you're clinging to the idea of the absence of something. And, interestingly enough, while clinging to a negative emotion can certainly manifest a negative reality, so can pushing it away, as you said ("that which you resist will persist".) They can both lead to very similar places, albeit by different routes. The way to coming out of a feeling on the other side, it seems, is gentle acceptance of that feeling.

I think what people try to do in exposure therapy, when they allow their feelings to "just be there," is exactly what Korpo talks about in Inner Dissolving....not running from the feeling of fear/anger/sadness, and also not nursing it like a baby. I think that if done correctly, there is actually less danger of manifesting negative reality, even though you are letting the feeling exist and not trying to avoid thinking about it. So, while there is a way to dwell on negative feelings and thought patterns that will a manifest negative reality, there is also a way to allow them to exist but not manifest such.

A couple warnings, though - in the throes of facing negative emotion, you may be temporarily more vulnerable to negative influence; I have experienced this myself. However, it's much like physical excercise in that it may drain your reserves temporarily, but ultimately it will strengthen you. Also, negative emotions which are purposefully being exacerbated by a negative entity in a big way may in some cases not be good canditates for the Inner Dissolving technique. When you do this technique you are directing your energy into the problem feeling to untangle and loosen what was knotted and blocked within you, to restore a clean flow of energy. However negs can hijack your energies that you are directing into the problem feeling...and use them to instead reinforce and further exacerbate the feeling. I have had experience with this myself as well. However, you'll probobly know if this happens.

[eVan]

Thank you Seeuzin for your valuable information. It will be digested shortly! :)

And, Beekeeper, to answer your question on how it's been going with the dietary supplements, it's been interesting. I drink whey protien shakes by Body Fortress, and this stuff has tryptophan in it. The tryptophan dopes me up a little bit, but I take it before a run and workout in the morning. I imagine that I'd be all dopey if I wasn't exercising. And the St. John's wort mellows me out too. In fact it will make me tired. Overall, I think it is improving my mood. I just wonder how it is affecting my seratonin production. Is it increasing seratonin or not? Hmmmm.

I really think one's diet has a big impact on mood. A good friend of mine who lives up in Nebraska had a poor diet, and was complaining of low energy. I thought he was just suffering from some mental disorder or depression or something, but I suggested he take a protien shake and try eating a little better. A day later he noticed a 75 to 100 percent improvement in his mood and body functioning. He said he was on fire in the basket-ball court, whereas a couple days earlier he was the worst player on the court. Simple suggestions here, but helpful nevertheless.

Thanks y'all,

eVan

[Beekeeper]

Evan, I've taken a year off from a very stressful workload and I've been eating extremely healthily and doing yoga 6 days a week and yogic breathing daily, as well as walking the dog daily for about 50 minutes/ an hour. I've been able to monitor which foods make me feel good and which ones make me feel less that energetic. I haven't slept so well in years nor felt so contented. With the bulk of the stress gone people are telling me I look fantastic. I'm eating like a horse but I'm certainly not gaining weight. All this at that age where women's hormones can fluctuate somewhat (and mine still do but I'm getting on to that soon). I think many of us are mindlessly locked into lifestyles that make us feel lousy health-wise because of some misplaced sense of responsibility or simply because we think having a whole lot of symbols around us of our "success" is important. We don't look after ourselves and we place ourselves under so much stress that we're flooding our bodies with hormones that, long term, damage us.

Here's a serotonin quiz for you from The Ultramind Solution, Mark Hyman, M.D, Scribner, 2009, pp103-105.


Serotonin: Staying Happy – Serotonin Quiz

My head is full of ANTs (automatic negative thoughts).
I am a glass-half-empty person.
I have low self-esteem and low self-confidence.
I tend to have obsessive thoughts and behaviors (such as being a perfectionist or neat freak).
I get the winter blues or have a family history of SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
I tend to be irritable, easily angered, and/or impatient.
I am shy and afraid of going out or have a fear of heights, crowds, flying, and/or speaking in public.
I feel anxious or have panic attacks.
I have PMS (premenstrual syndrome) with moodiness, cravings, breast tenderness, and bloating before my period.
I have trouble falling asleep.
I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, or wake up too early in the morning.
I crave sweets or starchy carbs like bread and pasta.
I feel better when I exercise.
I have muscle aches, and/or jaw pain, and/or a family history of fibromyalgia.
I have a family history of treatment with SSRIs (serotonin boosting antidepressants).

Score one point for each box you checked.

0–4. You may have a slightly low level of serotonin.
5–7. You may have a moderately low level of serotonin.
8–up. You may have a severely low level of serotonin.


In addition to tryptophan, you need to ensure you're not too stressed and producing cortisol that breaks down tryptophan, you're not pre-diabetic or deficient in B6 or magnesium (which help convert tryptophan into serotonin).

I enjoy Seeuzin's posts.

[CFTraveler]

I enjoy Seeuzin's posts. So do I. And yours, most of the time. :P

[Seeuzin]

Woot! I'm to the point where I feel I have more to contribute to the forums, it's really cool, and thank you both for the confirmation. =D