Steps on the Road to Recovery

Steps On the Road to Recovery for 24 to 30 Aug 98.

Published Last Week. A daily hint published each day since June 1996. This is past my second year anniversary since starting this site. Page Down for the next days that are added a day at a time. I have moved to http://recoverybydiscovery.com and this daily page is now here at https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/daily.htm . I would appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions that you have.

What I am going through now is the DSM-III-R Desk Reference a "disorder" at a time and commenting on the spiritual and recovery aspects. The DSM is what the American Psychiatric Association uses to label symptoms to facilitate communication in their community. Unfortunately, the labeling from the DSM can shut down communication with those seeking temporary assistance and spread the stigmas of mental illness. The DSM can also bring some comfort by telling some that others have had the same experience. I am adding additional comfort by pointing to some ways to start getting out of the "disorders". I am not writing about cures. I am writing about how the cure process works over time. Instantaneous cures can be as traumatic as the original event that generated the disorder or illness.

24 Aug 98

I am continuing to comment on the symptoms of schizophrenia that have

meaning and that we all have to some extent. Another symptom is "marked

social isolation or withdrawal". We all have times that we want to be alone.

There are just degrees of this. When we are very sensitive it is more difficult

to be around others and to be able to deal with others. Some of us are more

in touch with our inner world and some are more in touch with their outer

world and some are in touch with both. The more forgiving we are, the more

we are in touch with who we are and who they are. The less forgiving we are

the more we are shown that we have a need to forgive and understand.

The next symptom had to do with poor functioning in our work, studies,

or life. We all function poorly to some degree. Again it is just a matter of

degree.

Then we have the symptoms of "peculiar behavior" like "collecting garbage".

Again we all do this to some degree. Perhaps they view the garbage as devine.

Perhaps they are more wise than normals. Then there is the "talking to self in

public" symptom. It is interesting that they used "in public" since some of the

doctors may do so in private. Those that are having a conversation with

their sub personalities may be further along in discovering their selves. Many

things are not what they seem.

Then there is the "marked impairment in personal hygiene and grooming".

We all have had times when we were sick and let ourselves go to some extent.

We are all wounded puppies on this planet to some degree. Our judgments on

ourselves and others all eventually come on ourselves. Some "schizophrenics"

may be clearing their judgments that way. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Are they getting on with their recovery and some of us not getting on with our

recovery? Hard to tell.

25 August 1998

Then there is "hoarding food". A simple fear of running out of food.

Something in the genetics from starvation, something in the family history,

something in the early family history, and or something in the spirit that came

with them. The source of the fear does not matter, only to find that perfect

love does cast out all fear does matter. So all I am teaching here are 99

skills that bring us closer to that perfect love. When you can do that in

one step or 12 steps or what ever it takes, bless you.

Then there is "blunted or inappropriate affect". We all can act numbed

or inappropriate to some extent. Again it is a matter of degree. The way

back from numbness is to learn to become aware. Same for inappropriate.

Then they have either too much ineffective talking or too little effective

talking. Their words are: "digressive, vague, overelaborate, or circumstantial

speech, or poverty of speech, or poverty of content of speech". These

symptoms can include degrees of ADD, shyness, styles of speech taught to

many women and men, etc. I have found that when someone is digressing

they are really telling something about the main theme in a round about way.

Many women and men with what they think of as ADD talk this way. They

may even think what they are saying is not relevant, but when I look deeply,

it is all relevant.

26 August 1998

Then the DSM identifies "odd beliefs or magical thinking, influencing

behavior and inconsistent with cultural norms". First let us consider what

this judgment is telling us. We are letting doctors determine our beliefs and

cultural norms. What if a percentage of the cultural norms are really odd

beliefs and magical thinking. What if we all have a percentage of odd

beliefs and magical thinking that do not serve us well. What if those that

are judged as having this "disorder" have a percentage of beliefs that could

serve us well.

Our beliefs determine what kind of life we are experiencing. We experience

our beliefs and the beliefs of our culture. Of course our beliefs influence our

behaviour.

What is magical thinking? The DSM means "superstitiousness, belief in

clairvoyance, telepathy, "sixth sense", "others can feel my feelings", overvalued

ideas, ideas of reference". There is quite a following of ideas of clairvoyance,

telepathy, and sixth sense from what we see in TV shows and publications at

our local super markets. As I said, a percentage of us have the symptoms.

Actually we all have these symptoms, just some of us are conscious of them.

We have a knowing outside our five senses. That knowing knows. I call that

spirit. What we do with that spirit and what we do not do with that spirit is

what is important. We can get diverted into playing with our knowing spirit

in ways that serve us and ways that do not serve us.

We are all superstitious in some ways. When I ate a tomato fish chowder

as a child and got sick, I connected the chowder with sickness and would not

eat fish chowder for quite a while. That is all superstitions are, making up

some beliefs from experience that are not serving us. The fact that I got sick

was not connected to eating that chowder or it could have been just that

chowder. I really needed to sample more experiences with an open mind to

find out how chowder effected me. Or more accurately I could find my

beliefs about what I eat by observing what happens over the long term.

Others can feel your feelings. When we are in a crowd and the crowd is

excited, we catch some of that. When we are in an angry mob, we can get

caught up in their anger. We sometimes do thing is groups that we would not

do by ourselves.

What cults do not have overvalued ideas? What groups do not have some

of the symptoms of cults? The answers are none.

As to the reference point we choose, some choose in varying degrees of

wisdom. I just recommend that our heart of hearts and the lord most high

within are the most wise.

27 August 1998

People that are not very nice tell us what they think we should be thinking

and feeling. Sometimes I catch myself doing that. I hope to catch myself

enough to prevent that more. Doctors may sometimes catch themselves doing

that. They may tell someone who has taken responsibility for someone

else that they have "unusual perceptual experiences, e.g., recurrent illusions,

sensing the presence of a force or person not actually present". That could

have a lot of doctors invalidating spiritual experiences of any level of positive

or negative. They would be invalidating someone no differently than anyone

else that tries to invalidate our experiences. The same with "illusions" and

"unusual perceptual experiences".

I have been there and done that, that is been the patient of such doctors.

The blessing in disguise is that I can now have some empathy for those that

are going through the same experience. I had set out to become enlightened

by have a kundalini experience. Interestingly, that is what happened. There

is a place that treats such people ,because there is a doctor that is interested

in such experiences and had written a book about the kundalini experiences.

I found his book after I had been through my awakening process. Even if I

had known about the facility at that time, I was not feeling well enough to fight

for going to that facility. That was part of my illness. Perhaps over time more

and more doctors will be interested in the wider possibilities that some are

missing now.

28 August 1998

The last general symptom is a "marked lack of initiative, interests, or energy".

Sometimes called depression. Sometimes a better choice than the rage of energy

that is being suppresses. However it takes energy to suppress energy, so it is

not a lack of energy. It is not a lack of initiative since some facet is suppressing

another facet. The interests at these times is coping by suppressing energy.

Then the book goes on to describe how chronic the symptoms. I will only

go into the remission one as that is the one I am really interested in. In this case

the DSM defines remission as "free of all signs of the disturbance". A hard case

to make since we all have signs of the disturbance. However, they allow for the

suppression of medications. With enough suppression one can be without any

symptoms, unfortunately for the doctors, lack of energy and a blunted affect are

schizophrenic symptoms. :))

29 August 1998

Now we can make up the next to last digit starting with the "295.2x Catatonic

Type" There are five types of catatonic listed: stupor, negativism, rigidity, excitement,

and posturing. Again, some of the things we all have done to some extent at some

time. I have seen some degrees of all of these from time to time and it takes one to

know one. Some people react negatively to many directions or ideas. Some can

not keep from moving some part of themselves or all of themselves a lot of the time.

And so on.

Then there is the "295.1x Disorganized Type". Interestingly the DSM

organized the 295.1x after the 295.2x. :)) They have disorganized described as

incoherent or "grossly disorganized". Again there are degrees of this. There

are times when we all are incoherent or grossly disorganized. Most of us recover

relatively fast when we are rested enough. The "295.3x Paranoid type" is

about a consistent theme to what is considered their delusion or hallucination.

Then if the doctor does not know what to call the it they have "295.9x

Undifferentiated Type" or if the symptoms are lower towards recovery they

get the "295.6x Residual type". :\\

30 August 1998

Yesterday and today I went to a conference on learning how to be

guided by the Holy Spirit. Met some good friends and learned some

more. Will write more next week.

I Foster Discovery and Recovery,

Michael Foster, M. A.

"Learn HOW to recovery by discovering the blocks you need to remove and the actions you need to take and what you need to let go of as your blocks to your blessings."

From my book in process, The Spiritual Cookbook (Generic Recipes for a Better Life)

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I started my daily page, because it is useful for me to look for some recovery tip or secret each day for my spiritual growth. we and I only need one secret to work on and let it work on me each day. They are secrets because they are usually the opposite of what the majority of society teaches. They must be secret because they are not commonly used. A friend of mine once said "Common Sense is not much in Common.". Now that I have grandchildren I am also writing for them. I would have really liked for my grandparents to have passed on what they learned.

I am including Sunday as it is my formal day of learning the lord most high's secrets. If you would like ask questions, or contribute some of your wisdom, or want to make some comments or want to vote for which day to put on my tip of the month page or tell your success stories, click Michael Foster, M. A.

14 August 98