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Little Voices: Attitude is Important
email from Rodney St. Michael
Hi Al:
The voices actually simmered down. They started out as five voices and eventually dropped down to one-a very faint Oobola.
Most of the time, it is best to ignore the voices. But believe it or not, the voices told me several things that I never knew about. For instance, the voices explained to me something about the "Masons." And since I'm not an American, I never really knew anything about them until recently when I realized that there are also Masons in the Philippines. After doing some research, it turns out that they originally practiced a type of gnosticism or "new age" doctrine that even psychiatrist Carl Jung believed in-the "Divine I" and "love for yourself."
Later Oobola would also explain something about "the looking glass theory" which I didn't know about. But after doing some research, I learned that it is related to Lewis Caroll's books-Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. These stories typify what a schizophrenic experiences.
For some reason the voices seemed to want me to do something for them. I explained that later in my book, Little Voices. But what probably worked best for me was understanding the teachings of Zen Buddhism. I observed that Japan has about half the population of the U.S.A. but the Japanese are crammed in a space probably half the size of Florida. Common sense would say that the Japanese should be the most psychotic people by now. In fact, laboratory mice were once tested to see what they would do if they were living in large areas and crammed areas. Mice that were crammed together killed each other and were very psychotic, but if the area is large they were normal.
So I noticed that the Japanese are defying what is "natural." Since Japan is a mountain range, they hardly have enough valley areas for living and their streets are small and crowded. And yet Japan enjoys one of the LOWEST crime rates in world. And the Japanese have one of the LONGEST average lifespans in the world. Also, their economy is the 2nd largest in the world, next only to the U.S.A. So, I tried to investigate what their secret is because somehow Japan seemed to be doing something that was not normal. They should all be psychotic failures by now and yet they are the opposite. Then I realized that it must be their philosophy in life taken from Zen Buddhism and their native religion of Shinto (nature worship).
Zen is strong, but it is balanced by Shinto which is weak (every country probably has it's own form of nature worship). The balance between strong and weak, good and evil, male and female, night and day, good voices and bad voices, are all necessary for us to learn and grow. In other words, ATTITUDE is very important in being able to tackle schizophrenia. And Zen teaches this attitude.
An American talk show host once tried to fool his audience through a psychological experiment. By random, he chose one person from the audience and told him that he looked VERY sick. Immediately, the man became pale and collapsed. He had to be taken to the hospital even though he was not sick. When he became conscious, the talk-show host tried to explain to him that he wasn't really sick. It was only an experiment. But the man took some time to recover. This illustrates how if we think we are sick, we really WILL be sick, even if we are not.
So in Zen, ATTITUDE plays an important role. For instance, Zen teaches that "good" and "evil" are simply members or parts of one whole. For instance, many "good" people only became "good" because somebody "bad" mistreated them. If they were not "mistreated" they may not have developed into something "good." So in this case, "bad" was really "good" for them.
Looking at the other side of the coin, suppose a "good" clergyman does many "good" deeds and in the process, he becomes boastful, arrogant, judgmental and extremely critical of the flaws and imperfections of others, not being able to understand the harsh situation that others undergo. So, because of this, his "goodness" becomes "bad." And here, being "good" was really "bad."
So, if you know how to see the "big picture" and you are not "myopic" you will be more comfortable. (the pictures in my book illustrate this. you need to look at it at arm's length to make it clearer. If you look at it too closely, you'll see a blurred "hallucination" or even the small pixels.)
The same thing is true for irritations of the mind brought forth by antagonism. People are usually psychotic because of antagonism brought forth from varying viewpoints of religion, culture, behavior, and so forth. If we establish principles such as "right" and "wrong," we become angry and irritable, but if we change our attitude and look at the big picture, we see that basically everyone is really "right" in one way or another. If we also treat life as a "school" where we learn from "bad" people just as we learn from "good" people, we become more relaxed. The Chinese call this "yin-yang." You can see this symbol in the Korean flag. It is where "black" and "white" or opposites are in harmony with one another.
Another principle is the principle of "not striving." The Daoists know this principle best. It makes you not take things too seriously. It gives you a sense of humor. It makes you leave other people with other views alone because if you try to change people, it will only stress you. It makes you appreciate "weakness" instead of "strength" because strength may lead to psychosis. This can be seen during a hurricane, for instance. Strong trees that battle against hurricane winds are soon uprooted. But weak grasses that BEND and SWAY with the strong wind SURVIVE.
There is also the principle of "not seeking." Many people are depressed because they don't have nice houses, nice cars, or nice friends. Happiness is simply the state of a person's "contentedness." And if you are contented with what you have and you know how to ADAPT to your environment, you will by comfortable and happy. I've seen people living in huts next to the beach in the Philippines who are more happier than many suicidal millionaires living in mansions.
Seeing different cultures and mingling with different people around the world makes you see the "big picture." It helps you understand that there is really nothing to fear, nothing to be anxious about, and nothing really to be angry about. And once fear, anger, and anxiety dissipate, you will feel much much better.
Zen meditation also helps. Usually, our minds become irritable and weary when we think too much. We think about our problems, or our unforeseen future, or the "bad" person who mistreated us, and so forth. But through meditation, you focus your mind on something other than what's bothering you. You may visualize yourself going through a lighthouse staircase for instance, and in the process, you "empty" your thoughts, thereby relieving your irritability.
Zen also has it's counterpart in the West which is called "gnosticism." They are quite similar, and I think that Westerners might be more comfortable with it since they can relate to the people who practiced it such as Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. In fact Socrates developed this in the West from his experience with his schizophrenic "voices" which he called the "Daemon" -the voice which he said "guided" him throughout his life.
It is also interesting to note that the Buddhist symbol-the sauvastika-is found in the catacombs of the followers of Jesus in Rome. It leads some people to believe that what Jesus actually taught was Buddhism in the Greek culture, which is "gnosticism." Even psychiatrists such as Carl Jung talks about Jesus' gnosticism.
In the end, I think that what has really helped me is the development of the right attitude. We can't change our pasts. We may not be able to change other people. But with the right attitude, your life will be more comfortable.
I hope that these basic principles can help your group.
Good Luck,
Rodney St. Michael
author of Little Voices: A True Paranoid Schizophrenic Adventure
http://www.Voice.50megs.com© Rodney St. Michael
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