Happiness

Happiness is a critical issue for Man. It touches on the subject of success. How then can we define it? So…What Is Happiness? Well, it feels good; it modulates stress and fear; it seems somehow right; it brings self-worth and rationality; it has a kind of warmth and comfortableness. Beyond that, it gets increasingly hard […]

Happiness is a critical issue for Man. It touches on the subject of success. How then can we define it? So…What Is Happiness? Well, it feels good; it modulates stress and fear; it seems somehow right; it brings self-worth and rationality; it has a kind of warmth and comfortableness. Beyond that, it gets increasingly hard […] The post What is Happiness? appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.

Flattery   True or not, flattery works. Flattery – like everything else in our reality – is a frequency of energy. It it positive in that it uplifts you and makes you feels better about who you are. As with most issues – this all begins in childhood. A parent who does not praise and flatter their child – and hug them from time to time – will emotional damage the child. Not all children achieve the highest marks in school – or are over-achievers. If a child is doing their best – then praise is needed. In school – there is the praise of teachers and peers – which we all need when we do something special. In adult life we need flattery and praise from employers, co-workers, friends, spouses (other relationship partners) – and even our children. All of us like – and need – to be flattered from time to time. People just seem to be suckers for flattery as it goes to issues of acceptance and self esteem. If you have high self esteem – you can accept flattery and return compliments with ease. If you have low self esteem – you may wonder if there is an ulterior motive behind the flattery.

Flattery   True or not, flattery works. Flattery – like everything else in our reality – is a frequency of energy. It it positive in that it uplifts you and makes you feels better about who you are. As with most issues – this all begins in childhood. A parent who does not praise and flatter their child – and hug them from time to time – will emotional damage the child. Not all children achieve the highest marks in school – or are over-achievers. If a child is doing their best – then praise is needed. In school – there is the praise of teachers and peers – which we all need when we do something special. In adult life we need flattery and praise from employers, co-workers, friends, spouses (other relationship partners) – and even our children. All of us like – and need – to be flattered from time to time. People just seem to be suckers for flattery as it goes to issues of acceptance and self esteem. If you have high self esteem – you can accept flattery and return compliments with ease. If you have low self esteem – you may wonder if there is an ulterior motive behind the flattery.

Locked-in Syndrome Many of you will remember my earlier pieces on “locked-in syndrome”, a condition caused by brain stem injury in which patients are fully conscious but can’t move or communicate, except through eye movements or blinking. One of the most celebrated cases was Elle magazine’s fashion chief Jean-Dominic Bauby. He suffered a catastrophic stroke (which I suspect was due to a cocaine habit). As a result he could communicate with the world only by blinking. He dictated an entire book by having someone recite the alphabet and then blinking when they said the letter he wanted next. What determination! Bauby’s book was called “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly”. It signifies the feeling of being sealed in a heavy metal diving bell at the bottom of the ocean, while having a soul that is restless and wanting to fly away, like a butterfly. It was eventually made into a movie (moving in this sense could also mean very heart-rending). All this I wrote about in Letter From Serendipity 57. It’s now transferred here to the new alternative-doctor.com blog: Jean-Do Bauby Story Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal [BMJ Open, news release, Feb. 23, 2011] has shown that surprisingly many locked-in patients are kind of happy. Only 7% said they wanted to die (euthanasia).

Locked-in Syndrome Many of you will remember my earlier pieces on “locked-in syndrome”, a condition caused by brain stem injury in which patients are fully conscious but can’t move or communicate, except through eye movements or blinking. One of the most celebrated cases was Elle magazine’s fashion chief Jean-Dominic Bauby. He suffered a catastrophic stroke (which I suspect was due to a cocaine habit). As a result he could communicate with the world only by blinking. He dictated an entire book by having someone recite the alphabet and then blinking when they said the letter he wanted next. What determination! Bauby’s book was called “The Diving Bell and The Butterfly”. It signifies the feeling of being sealed in a heavy metal diving bell at the bottom of the ocean, while having a soul that is restless and wanting to fly away, like a butterfly. It was eventually made into a movie (moving in this sense could also mean very heart-rending). All this I wrote about in Letter From Serendipity 57. It’s now transferred here to the new alternative-doctor.com blog: Jean-Do Bauby Story Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal [BMJ Open, news release, Feb. 23, 2011] has shown that surprisingly many locked-in patients are kind of happy. Only 7% said they wanted to die (euthanasia).

Years ago I planned a book about the beneficial, even therapeutic, effects of beauty in our surroundings. I still haven’t written it, because there has been little or no study of this phenomenon. I remain convinced but it must only be a personal opinion. George Santayana, the modern Spanish philosopher wrote convincingly about the same thing (The Sense of Beauty, 1896). One thing came to me very vividly, early in my medical career: that a woman’s beauty is a state of mind, not physical form. I say that because one day, long ago, I was in theatre scrubbed for an elective on a very beautiful woman. She was gorgeous! Yet, as soon as the anesthetic hit, she transformed into a sack of jelly. Her face slumped and went plop! All the beauty was gone. I realized in that instant that beauty is how a woman holds herself. If she thinks she is beautiful, or should be, then her musculature responds and holds her face and bearing in a certain assured way. But take away the conscious aspect of beauty, I realized, and it vanishes. I even wrote a powerful poem about this. But it was in a briefcase that was stolen and I cannot, for the life of me, re-create that poem. Hah well!

Years ago I planned a book about the beneficial, even therapeutic, effects of beauty in our surroundings. I still haven’t written it, because there has been little or no study of this phenomenon. I remain convinced but it must only be a personal opinion. George Santayana, the modern Spanish philosopher wrote convincingly about the same thing (The Sense of Beauty, 1896). One thing came to me very vividly, early in my medical career: that a woman’s beauty is a state of mind, not physical form. I say that because one day, long ago, I was in theatre scrubbed for an elective on a very beautiful woman. She was gorgeous! Yet, as soon as the anesthetic hit, she transformed into a sack of jelly. Her face slumped and went plop! All the beauty was gone. I realized in that instant that beauty is how a woman holds herself. If she thinks she is beautiful, or should be, then her musculature responds and holds her face and bearing in a certain assured way. But take away the conscious aspect of beauty, I realized, and it vanishes. I even wrote a powerful poem about this. But it was in a briefcase that was stolen and I cannot, for the life of me, re-create that poem. Hah well!

I always cringe a bit with the gratitude seekers. It’s a semantic thing; we agree on what we are each looking for. I just don’t think of gratitude. I prefer to think in terms of seeking the good in everything. Not QUITE the same as gratitude. But there is always something good in your day, […]

I always cringe a bit with the gratitude seekers. It’s a semantic thing; we agree on what we are each looking for. I just don’t think of gratitude. I prefer to think in terms of seeking the good in everything. Not QUITE the same as gratitude. But there is always something good in your day, […] The post Gratitude: Find The Good In Everything! appeared first on Dr. Keith Scott-Mumby.