Lovely, thanks Bruce. I was into bioenergetics as well back in the day and enjoyed reading about Lowen. I can relate to the state you describe very well. I, too, want to bring more pleasure into my life now. I have my ways of enjoying life and experiencing pleasure on my own, but would like to find a way to do that with people as well. Thanks for the reminder!
Lowen was a cool dude - a good antidote to a Christian religious tradition that wants to see all pleasure as selfish and sinful.
I suspect, for most of us, the 'leftover' damage from the lock-downs will gradually go away over time all on its own. That said, I think it's possible to speed that process if we pay attention to where it hurts.
I would also say that rehabilitating our relationship to pleasure is not simply a matter of going back to whatever we did in the past. What turned my crank in the past may not do so today. I suspect that, for most of us, restoring a healthy level of pleasure in our lives will necessitate a certain amount of exploration and experimentation. Perhaps new people in our lives as well.
I know of a number of people who are still afraid to leave the house two and a half years into the pandemic. We're still seeing significant excess deaths in many parts of the world. I don't think it's all vaccine side-effects. I suspect isolation, anhedonia, and - yes, boredom- are killing a whole lot of people every day. Fear-porn kills!
Brilliant post, Bruce. That imaginary session with Lowen was very relatable.
I've been quite taken by the aim of positive psychology, which is flourishing or thriving (of which positive emotion is one part). It sounds like Lowen was onto something very similar.
The pandemic response certainly triggered an onslaught of deaths of despair. And I believe the roots are even deeper. Ridding Europe and North America of religion also served to expunge us of the meta narrative that used to guide us. Religious institutions certainly needed an overhaul, but we threw the baby out with the bathwater and it will take a lot of time to recover. Wokism has created a new meta narrative, albeit a highly inadequate one. But it serves as a rallying cry for a lot of warriors (of the social justice variety).
I believe the old meta narrative needs to be the new meta narrative, the old rallying cry ought to persist: to be part of creating new life (raising children, conserving ecosystems, tending gardens, etc). If, on the whole, we've been involved with more creation than destruction, then we're more likely to find flourishing (and, one hopes, pleasure).
I'm finding lots of value in the comments today - it's helping me to take what I've been feeling further. And, Greg, you're quite right that the negative box in which our society puts pleasure can blind us to the healthy and cooperative outcomes that pleasure often leads us to. I've taken a lot of pleasure this year from the community garden plots I share with a close friend. We're producing healthy food for my family, and it's been a great fun for us both.
I'm glad Bruce that you and the good doctor didn't say to *be happy*.
People sometimes say that all they want for their children is for them to *be happy*.
In my mind I prefer *fulfillment*, which implies effort rewarded.
Your concept of making an effort to find pleasure is a good one for those down in the dumps.
My own situation is that I have lots of property projects on the go, and I enjoy the creativity and sense of achievement of designing these and bringing to fruition. Plus I meet lots of people in doing so.
Good post, and it helped me to think about my depressed friend.
I think pleasure comes in a lot of different flavours, and at least some of our pleasures are what I would call 'Protestant pleasures.' I get pleasure from fixing things, and from making dinner for the family. I also now find pleasure in my yoga classes, though I justify yoga as being important to my physical health.
Vicarious pleasures have their place too: I'm getting a real kick out of watching my 14-year-old son in his first job at a MacDonald's Restaurant.
That said, I suspect it's hard to get optimum levels of pleasure in life without some 'selfish' just-for-me pleasures. For me, a great deal of the pleasure I feel in life involves enjoying other people's company. If we're making each other happy, is my pleasure actually selfish?
Doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with you Bruce.
A *depression centre* has just opened up here in what used to be a department store, IE high foot traffic. It's going to be run by The Department of Death.
Yes, I'm healthy both physically and mentally. That said, the lockdowns really cramped my style - for a very long time. I'm still in the process of getting my groove back.
I got off lightly - in large part thanks to my family. But I sense that a lot of people had a much worse time of it during the lockdowns, and are still not in a good place even now. I suspect that new 'depression centre' will have lots of customers.
Lovely, thanks Bruce. I was into bioenergetics as well back in the day and enjoyed reading about Lowen. I can relate to the state you describe very well. I, too, want to bring more pleasure into my life now. I have my ways of enjoying life and experiencing pleasure on my own, but would like to find a way to do that with people as well. Thanks for the reminder!
Lowen was a cool dude - a good antidote to a Christian religious tradition that wants to see all pleasure as selfish and sinful.
I suspect, for most of us, the 'leftover' damage from the lock-downs will gradually go away over time all on its own. That said, I think it's possible to speed that process if we pay attention to where it hurts.
I would also say that rehabilitating our relationship to pleasure is not simply a matter of going back to whatever we did in the past. What turned my crank in the past may not do so today. I suspect that, for most of us, restoring a healthy level of pleasure in our lives will necessitate a certain amount of exploration and experimentation. Perhaps new people in our lives as well.
dieing of boredom....
I know of a number of people who are still afraid to leave the house two and a half years into the pandemic. We're still seeing significant excess deaths in many parts of the world. I don't think it's all vaccine side-effects. I suspect isolation, anhedonia, and - yes, boredom- are killing a whole lot of people every day. Fear-porn kills!
Brilliant post, Bruce. That imaginary session with Lowen was very relatable.
I've been quite taken by the aim of positive psychology, which is flourishing or thriving (of which positive emotion is one part). It sounds like Lowen was onto something very similar.
The pandemic response certainly triggered an onslaught of deaths of despair. And I believe the roots are even deeper. Ridding Europe and North America of religion also served to expunge us of the meta narrative that used to guide us. Religious institutions certainly needed an overhaul, but we threw the baby out with the bathwater and it will take a lot of time to recover. Wokism has created a new meta narrative, albeit a highly inadequate one. But it serves as a rallying cry for a lot of warriors (of the social justice variety).
I believe the old meta narrative needs to be the new meta narrative, the old rallying cry ought to persist: to be part of creating new life (raising children, conserving ecosystems, tending gardens, etc). If, on the whole, we've been involved with more creation than destruction, then we're more likely to find flourishing (and, one hopes, pleasure).
I'm finding lots of value in the comments today - it's helping me to take what I've been feeling further. And, Greg, you're quite right that the negative box in which our society puts pleasure can blind us to the healthy and cooperative outcomes that pleasure often leads us to. I've taken a lot of pleasure this year from the community garden plots I share with a close friend. We're producing healthy food for my family, and it's been a great fun for us both.
I'm glad Bruce that you and the good doctor didn't say to *be happy*.
People sometimes say that all they want for their children is for them to *be happy*.
In my mind I prefer *fulfillment*, which implies effort rewarded.
Your concept of making an effort to find pleasure is a good one for those down in the dumps.
My own situation is that I have lots of property projects on the go, and I enjoy the creativity and sense of achievement of designing these and bringing to fruition. Plus I meet lots of people in doing so.
Good post, and it helped me to think about my depressed friend.
I think pleasure comes in a lot of different flavours, and at least some of our pleasures are what I would call 'Protestant pleasures.' I get pleasure from fixing things, and from making dinner for the family. I also now find pleasure in my yoga classes, though I justify yoga as being important to my physical health.
Vicarious pleasures have their place too: I'm getting a real kick out of watching my 14-year-old son in his first job at a MacDonald's Restaurant.
That said, I suspect it's hard to get optimum levels of pleasure in life without some 'selfish' just-for-me pleasures. For me, a great deal of the pleasure I feel in life involves enjoying other people's company. If we're making each other happy, is my pleasure actually selfish?
Doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with you Bruce.
A *depression centre* has just opened up here in what used to be a department store, IE high foot traffic. It's going to be run by The Department of Death.
Yes, I'm healthy both physically and mentally. That said, the lockdowns really cramped my style - for a very long time. I'm still in the process of getting my groove back.
I got off lightly - in large part thanks to my family. But I sense that a lot of people had a much worse time of it during the lockdowns, and are still not in a good place even now. I suspect that new 'depression centre' will have lots of customers.