New Show: MindMatters (RIP Truth Perspective)

[Voyageur]

Fascinating show!

Sure was, and it started quietly and grew more animated and deep. The closing hour brought a lot more out, including so much that is unanswerable at the present time (Harrison segued to psychopathology, which was good, although revealing that no work (testing) was done on it). The latter unanswerable, is perhaps due in part to what Russell had said from the 90's, that he thought so many would pick up this work and that's it, yet they did not, and that was another question without particular answer. So, one might imagine that that alone is troubling, because so much makes sense - and people were being helped, in ways that traditional practitioners don't go. This also seems (you guys may have a better sense), that although his peers raved about the subjects interestingness, that they just went along their own different accounting paths and never used it, which would be disappointing for Russell.

There is so much to think on here.

Well done guys!

End note on the 700 beeper frequency he uses, had read here (FCC) that it became a sought after frequency band (not just the 700):

The location of the 700 MHz Band -- just above the remaining TV broadcast channels -- gives it excellent propagation characteristics. This allows the 700 MHz signals to penetrate buildings and walls easily and to cover larger geographic areas with less infrastructure (relative to frequencies in higher bands).

The main thing may be in its ability to pernitrate and propagate, which might make sense in why Russell used it (was not exactly sure why this became important other than it required a quick tone rise, he said).

 

[hiker]

Thanks for the interesting interview!

It would be pretty cool, if Russ could send you the info and instructions about the beta version of the "beeper" (to be used on one's phone as an app, if I understood correctly), and you could then give him feedback about it. Hopefully he will be able to publish it at some point.

It sounds like the beeper alone would not cut it, and it would be important to have the "interview" as well: one should tell someone (a capable person) about the inner experiences taking place when the beeper went off.

Perhaps writing/journaling about them could work as a "compromise", but in that case one's particular blind spots would blur the picture, as Russ explained.

At the bare minimum, the beeper going off could work as a reminder to be present and to self-remember/observe.

(If memory serves, MindMatters interviewed a guy who was a pro regarding Work (perhaps it was Joseph Azize or Alan Francis), who mentioned that a device producing a sound at random intervals could be used for this purpose.)

 

[Miracle]

My main take away from his book and interview so far is what is causing the purging in bulimia patients? If I am not mistaken, pursuit of some ideal female beauty standard is not what is causing the purging. It is the fragmented multiplicity of thought that bulimia patients seek relief from when they purge, with pursuit of idealized female beauty standard taking the role of a justification or rationalization. If that is correct, I think that makes a pretty good depiction of the process of negative thought loops and the work. Take bulimia out of the picture and I'd ask, "do we all mentally purge?". As an example, when I have a moment when I am being severely and irrationally self critical, is "mental purging" of that nature necessary to bring balance to my thought patterns and provide relief? If the above is correct, it really is no wonder that his descriptive experience sampling (DES) process improves the conditions of his volunteers. Instead of using therapy to disabuse a bulimia patient of their obsession with idealized female beauty standards, Russ is going directly to the source of the issue, fragmented multiplicity of thought. Another example, I could be obsessed with disabusing myself of being overly self critical, but the entire time it was due to fragmented multiplicity of thought or whatever my mental tick is, as frankly I don't know what it is!

Russ makes it perfectly clear that nobody knows how they actually think. If, "I think therefore I am" and, "Know thyself" is the key to the work, how do we know who we are if we don't know how we think? I think that question is a bit hyperbolic as clearly the work as laid out here in Laura's work and the forum (To learn is to suffer, one infinite school) is a process that grows self-awareness, but I think the question remains valid nonetheless. I'd argue that it is evident that Russ's DES is a very powerful tool for self awareness.

Prior to the podcast when I started reading his book, my initial reaction to DES was revulsion. It is so intrusive to one's privacy. "Nobody is allowed to see my innermost, unfiltered thoughts!". A few chapters later, my attitude completely flip flopped to, "I need to do this!". I did at one point look up if there was an app but couldn't find it. Pleased to hear he was working on one despite some challenges and that it is possible that an app may become available at some point.

Last thought, while reading his book I became aware that when reading I primarily hear the words in my head and occasionally switch to mental imagery when a scene is being depicted. Just by observing that in myself I felt like I became a more focused reader. It was like the sound of each word was louder and clearer in my head because I was more focused on that experience. Prior to this observation I don't think I was aware that I heard all the words in my head when reading. I just read. It's an absolute mind melter to think how much of my daily life is consumed with tasks that I have no idea how I am experiencing them.