His life is a jitterbug jumping bean that just won't hold still.  He suffers from anxiety, profound overwhelm, and dissociative states.  He dreams of zombie hordes infesting his home, infiltrating his city, devouring his family.  He lives in perpetual states of vigilance.  He has trouble trusting others.  He has insomnia.   He is terrified of relationship.  He is angry at the world.  He feels dislocated.  He spends most of his free time a little drunk, video gaming, and surfing the net.   Do you recognize him?

I am not surprised he is in therapy.  He is suffering.  And he is not alone.  I know many others who suffer like this.  It is a cultural phenomenon.  There is a zombification happening.  Carl Jung believed that the arising of potent cultural themes, media images came from the collective unconscious's working-through of something.  In short, we dream, vision, create, symbolize and broadcast to better understand things which are emerging from the deep recesses of the mind, the underworld, the unknown, the mystery, the dark matter, the Alaya.


To continue reading: http://www.psychedinsanfrancisco.com/zombie-states-the-hidden-meaning-of-our-obsession-with-the-undead/

I've been noticing the importance of shame in my work of late, both from a clinical and personal perspective. Essentially, shame is a defense against overexposure. We consciously or, more likely, unconsciously cover up parts we are not quite ready to share.

In therapy, the healing process starts by creating a warm, understanding, accepting place to simply explore the edges. It is tricky work. There is often intense resistance. There are aspects of ourselves hiding behind the walls of shame. Surprizingly, they can be expansive, intriguing, soulful, young, adventurous, important.

When I see my own shame, I see its purpose. I've got rough parts that aren't quite integrated. I'm not even sure how to allow them. But that is the juice of it. That is my work. If I don't start to open the gates, refine the understanding of my underlying processes, I get blindsided. I am too narrow visioned. My unintegrated parts pop up and cause havoc.

Shame is a complex topic. It is neither good or bad. It is an adaptive feature of our psyche. It has a role... I want to honor it, learn from it. I'd love to hear any thoughts, experiences you have to share.

There is an interesting Ted talk by Brené Brown you might want to check out if you are interested in this topic: http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame.html

I keep churning over attachment theory in psychotherapy. In Tibetan Buddhism attachment is associated with suffering. Put simply, if we grow attached to something and then we lose it, we suffer.
The attachment theory of psychotherapy basically says that attachment in relationship is a good thing, stabalizing, necessary. The theory advocates healthy dependency. We are human beings, we need to love and be loved. We depend on eachother. It is healthy to rely on friends and loved ones, community.

To think there isn't a mutual dependency all the way down to the ecological and subatomic level is foolish. So what is up with the Buddhist view? Is it useful? I believe it is but only if understood on a profound level.

In deep meditation there is a feeling of amazing connectedness. Buddhist practice can cultivate a sense of wonderful belonging. There is also a freedom. I got to know myself as more than a personality, a brain, a body. I wonder if the great masters would say that a healthy dependency was alright, as long as it was tempered by the realization of impermanence. Suffering is inevitable. We need courage to move toward love, relationship and attachment, willingly accepting that loss simply an integral part of the process. Open eyes, open heart, open mind, Easier said than done!

I was quite attached to my grandmother. After she recently passed, I hurt a lot. But it was worth it. I knew she would go someday. I knew it would be hard. But I'd never give up that beautiful connection and the foundation it gave me.