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Post by Shannon on Nov 2, 2009 10:30:50 GMT -5
We've all heard that it's important to know thyself. And we all have also heard of issues with certain types using pagan spiritualities as the new, self-help psychotherapy. Where is the line? What distinction do you make between the two?
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Post by blackrose on Nov 2, 2009 11:50:36 GMT -5
It's hard to get into this without specifics, and I can't currently think of any specifics, but I think I see the different as two-fold - 1) Completeness and 2) Ends and Means
1) One of my knee-jerk reactions against the more New Agey self-help stop is that it seems very lopsided. It tries to reinforce the positive, while either downplaying or entirely demeaning the negative. It's about seeking comfort, in many ways, more than seeking truth.
To know thyself, as I understand it, is to accept yourself, warts and all. To use Jungian phraseology, as I find it most helpful, it's about acknowledging and embracing your shadow self, and all your other archetypal bits. It's often a long, hard and arduous process, because people don't really want to accept (and, thereby, be able to change or fix or just integrate) the "bad" parts of themselves.
I sort of think the self-help stuff can help people delude themselves and actually reinforce their negative behavior, instead of owning up to it. They often seem to lead to a form of hypocricy, where they don't ever see, and thus never confront, their destructive behavior. To 'know thyself', IF done correctly, forces you to acknowledge when you're being an asshole, and own up to it and do something about it.
I would say the self-help stuff seems to try to help people know-themselves, but often falls short because of its myopic focus.
And, yes, I'm clearly biased. Duh.
2) I think one of the most obvious demarcations, as I see it, is the difference between ends and means. For the 'know thyself' axiom, it is the beginning - the first step in a long process. One must know themselves so that they can more easily discern between their true thoughts and feelings as opposed to indoctrination or social pressures. One must know themselves so as not to lose themselves in further explorations - it's foundational.
On the other side, the more keenly self-help stuff seems to have that as the goal. You don't learn yourself so that you may learn the nature of your Self and the Universe and your place in it - rather it seems to see the gods as aids in your own self discovery, and practically places demands on them to help you, or at least attempts to.
To 'know thyself' starts off as very Self focused, but then it delves outwards. The 'self-help' stuff essentially sees everything as a reflection of the Self, and so never really gets past itself.
I suppose I should add the caveat that I'm not opposed to any psychotherapy which actually does help to know and improve the Self. My biggest problem with the so-called "self-help" stuff is methodology more than anything, and that I feel much of it promotes a myopic and unhealthy view of self, and a delusional level of 'help'.
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Post by Denethor on Nov 2, 2009 17:38:19 GMT -5
My differentiation generally revolves around the fact that "Know Thyself" has a long and venerable history, whereas the "self-help movement" in its modern form has only arisen since the advent of cheap printing. There's also a "God helps those who help themselves" sort of thing, but that's a bit different from either of the other concepts. Some of the New Agey self-help things can get a little weird. This latest book I'm reading, mostly for laughs, talks extensively about "activating the Light Body". Dude - some of us need work on activating the heavy body, thank you very much! More seriously, just what the hell is "activating the Light Body", and why would I want to do it? How about the "total healing" concept. Everything totally healed...including having the teeth under my crowns grow back? Thanks but no thanks. New Age stuff is full of nebulous and/or counterproductive goals like those. In short, some of the New Age self-help stuff can be "empowering" (gawdz how I hate that word. Give me the electric chair, then I suppose I'll be "empowered") but much of the rest of it just makes one think, Put. The weed. Down. Right. NOW!"Know Thyself", on the other hand, can lead to a greater understanding of human nature (assuming, ahem, that you're human, and some people make me wonder - though not the ones who want me to wonder, mind you), can allow one to appreciate and understand faults as well as strengths ( without using a candle, some sage smudge, and a bunch of purple cloth to "make all the bad go away"), can, in short, help one grow. That stuff's worth it, which would probably explain why people have been dedicating a significant portion of their efforts toward it for thousands of years. Not so with this new stuff.
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