ThinkBlog

From some notes I jotted down during a trip across-state:

Neurosis is born of imbalance.

Too much abstraction (Jungian type xNxx, usually strong xNxP) leads to compulsions. This is because the concrete side of the psyche must assert itself somehow; if it is not consciously allowed, it will necessarily force itself to the surface unbidden. This is why it’s important to have moments when the abstract thinker/feeler is aware of the present; and when he is wholly participant in what’s actually occurring, with no chance for abstraction into the Ideal.

Too much concrete thought, on the other hand (Jungian type xSxx, specifically xSxJ) leads to stunted mental growth: children who never grow into an ability to think abstractly are abnormal. Adults who refuse to enter the abstract, while otherwise intellectually normal, are generally facing some serious emotional issues with grasping and “trusting in” (in a sense) the present moment. An inability to understand abstraction leads to neuroses of symbolism, a sort of magical thinking that endows objects at hand with superstitious powers.

Laughter without thought is vanity. Constant revelry, reminiscent of Kierkegaard (and his archetypal Man) in the Aesthete phase, with only a steady buzz of wine and hilarity, is nonsense. Literally. If you have no reason for laughing, then you shouldn’t be laughing, because this prevents an awareness of the serious things of life, which are the most important. Think of it: while you’re buried at the bottom of a bottle or a bong, laughing at something the television’s feeding you, what are you but a consciousness subdued by chemicals reacting to chemicals? Your will can hardly enjoy the laughter for the complete lack of meaning in it.

Life without humor is unnatural. This is something I’ve long struggled with: I enjoy dark, serious books and movies because I have an aversion to comedies. Except for Shakespearean comedies, which can be analyzed intellectually, and apart from word play, which carries with it no necessarily negative implication, I have eschewed comedies (movies and books) and the like from my life. That is, until recently, when I realized that life without laughter produces its own compulsions like those of too much abstraction. There are merits to philosophy and psychology and theology—but if these alone rule my heart with a tyranny unmatched but in the most fundamentalist Islamic nation, then I am living needlessly under a Law. “NO!” I shout, “There is joy to be found in the serious things, and to those alone should you look!” But this is not always the case. There is relaxation, release, a type of joy to be found in simple laughter of silly stimuli, and even Solomon declared them good for the soul.

Balance of abstraction and concreteness, of laughter and sobriety—herein lies peace of mind.

From some notes I jotted down during a trip across-state:

Neurosis is born of imbalance.

Too much abstraction (Jungian type xNxx, usually strong xNxP) leads to compulsions. This is because the concrete side of the psyche must assert itself somehow; if it is not consciously allowed, it will necessarily force itself to the surface unbidden. This is why it’s important to have moments when the abstract thinker/feeler is aware of the present; and when he is wholly participant in what’s actually occurring, with no chance for abstraction into the Ideal.

Too much concrete thought, on the other hand (Jungian type xSxx, specifically xSxJ) leads to stunted mental growth: children who never grow into an ability to think abstractly are abnormal. Adults who refuse to enter the abstract, while otherwise intellectually normal, are generally facing some serious emotional issues with grasping and “trusting in” (in a sense) the present moment. An inability to understand abstraction leads to neuroses of symbolism, a sort of magical thinking that endows objects at hand with superstitious powers.

Laughter without thought is vanity. Constant revelry, reminiscent of Kierkegaard (and his archetypal Man) in the Aesthete phase, with only a steady buzz of wine and hilarity, is nonsense. Literally. If you have no reason for laughing, then you shouldn’t be laughing, because this prevents an awareness of the serious things of life, which are the most important. Think of it: while you’re buried at the bottom of a bottle or a bong, laughing at something the television’s feeding you, what are you but a consciousness subdued by chemicals reacting to chemicals? Your will can hardly enjoy the laughter for the complete lack of meaning in it.

Life without humor is unnatural. This is something I’ve long struggled with: I enjoy dark, serious books and movies because I have an aversion to comedies. Except for Shakespearean comedies, which can be analyzed intellectually, and apart from word play, which carries with it no necessarily negative implication, I have eschewed comedies (movies and books) and the like from my life. That is, until recently, when I realized that life without laughter produces its own compulsions like those of too much abstraction. There are merits to philosophy and psychology and theology—but if these alone rule my heart with a tyranny unmatched but in the most fundamentalist Islamic nation, then I am living needlessly under a Law. “NO!” I shout, “There is joy to be found in the serious things, and to those alone should you look!” But this is not always the case. There is relaxation, release, a type of joy to be found in simple laughter of silly stimuli, and even Solomon declared them good for the soul.

Balance of abstraction and concreteness, of laughter and sobriety—herein lies peace of mind.