Shadows & Once Upon My Time - Wrapping Up Ch. 2 and Discussing Ch. 3 of The Great Pain Deception

We had a wonderful discussion last week around the inner workings of the mind, stemming from the content from Chapter Two: The Mind's Eyewitness in The Great Pain Deception. For those of you who were unable to join us, you can listen to the recorded discussion here.

We can learn so much, and gain so much, simply by reading another's story. This Tuesday (September 3rd) the call-in discussion group will dive into Chapter Three of Steve Ozanich's book The Great Pain Deception, which begins Steve's own story. We will also be discussing the shadow, a major part of Chapter Two that we did not have time to talk about during the discussion last week.

Herbie will once again run the discussion, since I believe Forest will still be away (read about his adventures in the thread Travels in Korea!). Forest if I'm mistaken please correct me!

As always we’ll start the official discussion at 9pm Eastern Time (6pm Pacific Time). Herbie will open up the lines 30 minutes or so beforehand, to give folks a chance to check in and chat before we start our discussion of this chapter. But remember, the real action starts at 9, so for those of you calling in early, please hold any comments about the chapter until we start recording!

Becca
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Quick connection details (for more info visit go.tmswiki.org/connect):

• If you are connecting via telephone, dial 1 347 817 7654. When prompted, enter the meeting number 18311499 .
• If you are connecting via your computer (using the Fuze Meeting application), go tohttps://www.fuzemeeting.com/fuze/48fb7aa8/18311499 and follow the instructions from there.

 

I listened to last week's call-in. You all did a great job.

 

Just a reminder that the discussion group is tonight! The lines will open up 30 minutes beforehand, but remember, the official discussion will begin at 9pm (ET), so please hold your comments about the book until then. Feel free to log into the text chatroom at www.tmswiki.org/chat as well. I hope to hear you all there!

 

We had a wonderful surprise when Steve Ozanich himself joined us for the discussion group! It was truly an honor to have him on the call with us. Thank you, Steve, for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to sit down and talk with us about your experience and your book, and offering advice and support to callers on the line.

Here's the audio of this terrific discussion. You can listen to it using the audio player below, or download the audio as an mp3 by right-clicking on this link or the link below the player, and choosing to save it to your computer. Enjoy!

Click here to download the mp3 audio​

 

This is awesome- The best of Steve Ozanich.

Quote... Steve)- You want to be healthier, don't worry about the body as much.

Quote... Steve)- Every waking second of our lives is trying to avoid rejection.

Quote... Steve)- Tms is a life problem, its not a physical problem.

 

As always, great discussion, sorry I couldn't attend - wrong side of the pond. As I listened to the podcast, my pain got worse, then it went away for a few minutes. I cried at this point for some reason. I think the topic at the time was compassion but something else may have triggered that response. You guys were all great and must have had further discussion and hilarity after the podcast ended. Thank you Becca, Eric, Bruce, SteveO, et al.

 

yb44 -- I hope your pain went away after the podcast and that you're feeling better.
Glad you had a cry. No reason not to. It can relieve a lot of whatever ails us.

Walt wishes you well and to have a good day.

 

Thank you, Walt.

 

Great discussion! And thanks to all of you who participated and to Becca for posting the recording so the rest of us could enjoy it.

 

I think Steve O. makes the point somewhere in the GPD that TMS pain often flares up when you get too close understanding how the mechanism of repression behind TMS actually works. Yes, self-compassion and self-soothing can often bring on emotions that lead to crying or sobbing. I remember once where I started to cry about how I'd been mistreating myself and, voila', instantly all my pain and stiffness vanished like they'd never existed.

 

I can understand why crying would bring pain relief in this case. For me it was the other way around. However the unconscious mind isn't a rational entity so I guess I can expect the unexpected.

 

I cried like a baby when I had to put to sleep my dog before Annie.
Max was my pal for 16 and a half years.
That was a good reason to bawl and it helped me.

My way of dealing with the loss of a dog is to get another one real soon
and pour all my love from the other dog into the new one.
It worked with Max after my first dog Chelsea died, and
it's working with Annie. It also helps to know I'm giving another
stray or abandoned dog a new home and life. All three of my dogs
were abandoned and it was wonderful to see how happy they became
with me.

Crying is very good therapy.

 

Losing a pet is just as painful as losing a close friend or family member. When the family dog had to be put to sleep my father got real angry, rather than sad. Like you, Walt, I just cried. It is wonderful that you take in abandoned dogs.

 

I wish I could take in a dozen abandoned dogs. My house is too small, and I know Annie would not like
to share me.

If I ever get ahead on money I want to donate to animal shelters.

 

YB, I'm sorry about the scheduling of the group!! But it sounds like you got something from the recording. Dunno about the hilarity - I was so tired (it was the first day of classes for me) I thanked everyone, logged off, and then went right to bed! But I'm sure the guys had fun

A note on crying - I feel like sometimes it's really therapeutic. I really don't like to cry, so I often try to ignore, or just not feel, the feelings that could trigger crying (gosh, well that just screams REPRESSION, doesn't it!) ... Anyway, when I do actually allow myself to cry (because when you gotta cry, you gotta cry - it's just gonna happen!) it actually makes me feel a lot better. As much as I hate it (or more accurately, fear it, as I think I just feel so vulnerable & exposed), crying is a very powerful emotional release.

 

Don't worry about the scheduling, Becca. It's just nice to be able to listen to the recording.

I don't like to cry either, particularly not in front of others. I think the fear is that I won't stop but what tends to happen is I stop myself before I reach any great emotional release. Yup. Definitely repression going on.

I hope you first day of classes went off without a hitch.

 

I need to just remind myself that I just feel SO MUCH BETTER after a good cry! Honestly, for me, the worst part is holding it in. So much more emotional turmoil there; so much less after the tears come. Yet there's still that sense I have to be strong. Then again, strength isn't determined by how much or how long you can ignore/push away an emotion around a saddening/terrifying/frustrating/maddening situation. True strength is found in the ability to let go, trusting yourself to feel the emotions, and accept their validity, around such situations.

 

You put it right, Becca. At times, I think a cry can be as helpful as a laugh.