HEALTH WEEK
24 Obiter Dicta
Whole-brain
» continued from page 22
treat ourselves outside the bounds of written law,
necessitates lessons in self-accountability, or the
capacity to be accountable to ourselves and for
ourselves—even when no one is looking. This is
the crux of an education in life skills — to discover a
deeper self, to listen to the wisdom of that self, and to
abide by that wisdom in the face of obstacles.
What Is The Self?
In many therapeutic, philosophical, and faith
traditions, the concept of self is synonymous with
the ego, with falsehoods internalized through years
of unconscious conditioning, or with an innate flaw.
In these traditions, to do a good thing or be a good
person one must become selfless. It’s no surprise
then, that many of us resist self examination for as
long as possible, fearing we won’t like what we see if
we slow down long enough to look.
In such paradigms, the values, morals, and agency
we seek to transform our lives and societies are
imagined to reside outside ourselves—resulting in a
search with neither destination nor direction, only
momentum.
A second definition, one that views the self and
human nature as inherently benevolent, comes from
transpersonal or humanistic psychology. Pierro
Ferrucci, a pioneer in the field, describes the self as
follows:
The self is the most elementary and distinctive
part of our being, in other words, its core. It is the
part of us that remains forever the same. It is this
sameness which, once found and fully experienced,
acts as an ever-present pivot point for the rest of the
personality; an inner stronghold to which we can
always refer in order to regain a sense of poise and
self-consistency.
Contemplative practices such as meditation,
reflective walking, and time in nature are the means
through which we begin to identify with the self.
Why learn how to identify with this self? Ferrucci,
put it this way:
As long as we are identified with sensations,
feelings, and thoughts, it is as if our sense of being
were sewed onto them. Therefore they can submerge
us, control us, limit our perception of the world, and
block the availability of all other feelings, sensations,
desires, and thoughts.
When we identify with the self, it is easier to
observe, regulate, direct, or transcend the contents
of our consciousness because we are dis-identified
from them. Dis-identification does not prevent us
from subsequently identifying with any aspect of
ourselves, if we so choose. On the contrary, the ability
is expanded.
Identification is what happens when we lose
ourselves to any aspect of the human experience—
from stressful deadlines, anxiety, and past traumas,
to hatred, substances such as alcohol, or the death
of a loved one. Dis-identifying, however, does not
mean being unfeeling, bec oming amoral, or giving up
cherished aspirations. Rather, dis-identification is the
means by which we regain the perspective necessary
to work through difficult emotions without becoming
overwhelmed.
Freedom from Mental Illness?
In her revolutionary book Desperately Seeking
Self, Viola Fodor boldly states that mental illness is
not a problem, but a symptom of the problem. For
Fodor, the real issue is that we have not learned how
to access a deeper self and the associated states of
being necessary to transcend our psycho-spiritual
challenges. In place of such skills, we can fall into the
trap of compulsively identifying with our worst life
experiences, false beliefs we’ve internalized about
those experiences, negative self-talk, and corrosive
feel good strategies.
For Fodor, freedom from mental illness is
cultivated not by having a perfect life, pretending the
concepts of right and wrong are illusions, or that we
do not have a responsibility to remedy injustice in the
world, but by developing a sense of self, independent
of what is happening in our lives. Here, the work
of personal growth is not about replacing negative
thoughts with positive ones. Rather, it involves
suspending our active thinking, deconstructing
irrational beliefs that hinder our potential, as well
as our perspective, and tapping into a wholeness
previously not known.
From there, our awareness is free to observe the
full contours of each aspect within our consciousness,
and their relationship to each other, so that we can
transform them if we choose. By awareness I mean
the reservoir of insight we are able to draw on to
appreciate underlying dynamics in any situation—
be it related to our own patterns of being, those of
others, or the systems we operate in. This type of
knowing is separate from the intellectual awareness
of cause and effect. It delves into the realm of
unconscious motivations, making the invisible visible
and the visible relevant.
Free Will, Misconceived?
Stronger roots lead
to greater growth
Are you looking for a challenging and stimulating
environment where you can roll up your sleeves and
dig in to the business of law? Come and put down
roots with Lerners. With over 80 years of experience,
we’ve grown to be one of Ontario’s leading law firms.
We’ve nurtured the professional and personal growth
of hundreds of students. Let us help you maximize
your talents and energies so you can become the best
lawyer you can be!
To get the whole picture, visit www.lerners.ca.
London
Tel. 519.672.4510 Fax. 519.672.2044
80 Dufferin Avenue, P.O. Box 2335
London, ON N6A 4G4
Toronto
Tel. 416.867.3076 Fax. 416.867.9192
2400-130 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 3P5
www.lerners.ca
L AW Y E R S
When our awareness is compulsively identified with
a particular aspect of reality, things that have little
or no value often take precedence over the things we
value most. For example, consider the notion that
individuals always make rational choices to maximize
self-interest, or preserve physical, mental, social,
environmental, and spiritual well-being. Decades of
research and common sense tell us that, in practice,
we often make choices that produce short term gain
and long term suffering, rather than short term
discomfort and long term benefit. If you have ever
struggled to follow through on a life giving promise
you made to yourself — to eat nutritious foods, smoke
less, or exercise more — you will know what I mean.
To make such changes, we must often draw
on deeper ways of being, thinking, and valuing.
That’s why adhering to our real needs and issues
as human beings is the first step toward the selfaccountability necessary to fulfill our obligations as
legal professionals.
What Obscures Our Judgment?
Many of us learn to deny our values, ethics, and
conscience as a response to stress, injury, pain, and
discomfort. This happens acutely during traumatic
or emergency situations, where shutting down
unnecessary mental and emotional faculties helps