Posted by bluedog on November 7, 2002, at 21:58:25
In reply to I think I like him even more now! » bluedog, posted by BeardedLady on November 7, 2002, at 13:49:31
I think that when you suspend logical thinking, by whatever means, your body then does what it is naturally supposed to do.
I also agree with Weil that too much logical thinking can get in the way of being healthy and
I fully agree with the mind body connection.My problem is that my own "logical mind" never switches off unless I am under the influence of drugs (my drug of choice used to be alcohol). Unfortunately suspending my logical thinking with alcohol was terrible for my health (both physical and mental)
I'm actually in a catch-22 situation. When I'm straight my thinking damages my health (especially my mental health) but using drugs to switch off my logical mind also damages my health. (I know CBT is supposed to help with unhealthy thinking but I've had very limited success going down this track)
I own 2 dogs and sometimes think I can learn a lot from my dogs (cat owners probably have the same view) When my male dog was attacked by another dog recently his immediate healthy response was to defend himself. In this situation he snarls and snaps, raises his hackles and he may be agitated for a few minutes after the fight but within minutes he has completely forgotten about the entire incident and he's back to his usual happy self. He does not beat himself up with stupid thoughts of "I should've reacted differently" or "my god I should have stood up for myself more, I'm a failure and loser and not masculine enough and that cute labrador down the road will never let me sniff her bum now". The female also does not think "I just stood there, I didn't do anything, I'm a total failure, I should have jumped in and protected my little buddy". The bizarre thing is that these are the sorts of things that actually went through my own mind long after the incident was over.
Humans unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective) have inherited a conscious
mind. The flip side to any positives of a conscious mind is of course the suffering brought about by mental illness, and traditional medicine has had limited success in reducing this suffering.This is why I think Dr Weils perspectives on medicine are so seductive, but also why I think he's so alternative.
It's that damn logical mind.
keep well
p.s by the way, despite some of his views I still like Dr Weil. I suppose the question to ask yourself is ...If I was suffering from an illness, If Dr Weil was my local GP would I trust him to treat my illness?
My answer to this question would be a resounding Yes.
poster:bluedog
thread:31963
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20021106/msgs/32034.html