Dreams – Personal learning from beyond oneself?

dreams

Are you interested in your dreams? Do you suspect that they might help you better understand yourself and your inner life? The content and purpose of dreams have been a topic of scientific speculation, as well as a subject of philosophical and religious interest, throughout recorded history. The view of dynamic psychology is that dreams … Continue reading Dreams – Personal learning from beyond oneself?

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Starring Shakespearian actor John Barrymore, and directed by John S Robertson, this  silent movie version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was made in 1920 at Paramount’s Astoria studios New York and is the fourth of over 120 film versions of Robert Louis Stephenson’s macabre novel. It proved a tremendous success at the box office. The … Continue reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Flaws – Seeing the shadowy side of oneself.

flaws

We know it is all too easy to try to deny any personal criticisms that come our way. No one finds it comfortable to acknowledge shortcomings in their makeup. However, when we do notice feelings of resentment, guilt, or hurt in our dealings with others, we might start to wonder if we are at fault.

Can I find forgiveness?

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Spiritual healing can be needed for guilty feelings. Not all that is going on in our mind is the working of a true conscience. Some of us find ourselves at times on a guilt trip. Even if we have a sound mind, we may sometimes feel guilty over the smallest thing – without rhyme or reason painstakingly worried about something we have done that really is unimportant.

One example is children who, having been trained by their parents to follow certain rules, like never putting one’s elbows on the table at meal times – feel guilty when they have grown into adulthood feeling guilty if they ever break this rule. Other examples of illogical guilt are saying `sorry’ a lot of the time and unfairly criticising ourselves. Trying too hard to get friends to like us, feeling easily embarrassed when asking for favours or doing anything that might displease them.

Many hopelessly sick people feel constantly guilty. This may result from the suspicion that their sickness and fate are self-inflicted and their own fault. Alternatively, they may assume, more or less, the role of the utterly dependent child. Some consciously apologize for the trouble and fuss they are causing. (Our Western culture fosters a sense of guilt in most of us when illness places us in the dependent role). If we are dying, we may even feel as if we are forcing the living to face the necessity of their own deaths for which we suppose they will not be thankful.