The Power of Problems

They can be small, or enormous. They can have innocuous, even insignificant beginnings, but if untreated, become major headaches. Optimists like to see them as opportunities in disguise as a way to change the negative definition. And still, we generally avoid them like the plague.

Today on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head, The Power of Problems.

Well, problems we have. Loads of ‘em. From the serious social ones like the dangerous and psychotic behavior that passes for leadership from people like Bush in our world today, to the more close-to-home difficulties like how to get Uncle Bob to quit drinking, to the personal, like, “why do I find it so difficult to speak in public?”

The issues can be personal, but there is something universal in the treatment of them. And that is: we try to hide from our problems. This can be seemingly well intentioned like the usual advice to stop dwelling on our problems and think positively, as Ronald Reagan counseled as his way of overcoming the trauma of the Vietnam War. In this case, sort of a political sing along - Don’t Worry Be Happy. And just as superficial and even dangerous.

A friend of mine ignored the lump in her breast for over a year, and by the time she finally got around to treating it, it was too late.

When it comes to problems, by the time we get to, “Houston, we have a problem,” we’re usually only seeing the problem we’ve had for a long time.

We need to get to the source of the problem and what’s behind it, and that means … seeing it. This is what Dr. Norberto Keppe’s work is all about: helping us to diminish our censorship to seeing our problems - both personally and, perhaps even more importantly, socially - through his science of psychosociopathology.

We’ll be looking at many of humankind’s problems through the lens of Keppe’s science at our 19th International Congress of Analytical Trilogy from July 4 - 6, 2008 here in Brazil. Write me for more information at rich@richjonesvoice.com

Today, psychoanalyst and philosopher Leo Lima joins me to look at how we treat problems in Keppe’s Integral Psychoanalysis.

Click here to listen to this episode:

Tags: