tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11449606.post716960685044554153..comments2023-05-23T07:44:00.067-04:00Comments on At the end of desire: The stories we tell about ourselvesInannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16117834687295375810noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11449606.post-82140670252034451052007-05-26T09:18:00.000-04:002007-05-26T09:18:00.000-04:00As far as the classroom goes, I teach in these ter...As far as the classroom goes, I teach in these terms, but not in any especially explicit ways. I often imagine that I'm sort of planting seeds for a way of thinking that won't kick in for them for another decade or so, which is why it's pretty difficult to feel any strong sense that I'm actually accomplishing that goal. I do try to say something along these lines in a clear, direct way to them a few times over the course of the semester, too. Hopefully some part of that message sinks in.Scrivenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05922358016805022637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11449606.post-14061312104974549112007-05-25T16:54:00.000-04:002007-05-25T16:54:00.000-04:00Oh, also, I do think that the rewriting may requir...Oh, also, I do think that the rewriting may require working with more than just straightforward, everyday consciousness a la talk therapy. This is where I think ritual could come in, as well as spells, trance work, storytelling, writing, and (other) stuff that engages the less rational, more childlike parts of ourselves.Inannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16117834687295375810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11449606.post-41448094503666302532007-05-25T16:50:00.000-04:002007-05-25T16:50:00.000-04:00Hi Scriv - Your questions about hardwiring are jus...Hi Scriv - Your questions about hardwiring are just the ones I have but wasn't able to articulate while writing the post. I'm inclined to think that, while it's not as simple as, "tell yourself a different story, chump, and get over it," that it IS possible for a mentally healthy person - perhaps gently, slowly, and deliberately - to rework their stories. I'm experimenting, anyway. <BR/><BR/>As for trying to explain this stuff to students...I wonder if most people need a certain amount of life experience in order to see the need for looking back and telling things over. I say this only because my teacher, Linda, commented to me recently that I'm only just getting old enough - at 37! - to realize that my life isn't going to work out exactly as I'd planned. Perhaps some people get the message sooner, but I wonder if there isn't a developmental / stage of life issue at work, too.<BR/><BR/>I'm just speculating, though. Thanks for the comment!Inannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16117834687295375810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11449606.post-85521274815622568982007-05-25T16:28:00.000-04:002007-05-25T16:28:00.000-04:00Oh, I totally buy that the narratives we tell ours...Oh, I totally buy that the narratives we tell ourselves about our experiences have such profound effects. To put it another way, the way we choose to respond to events are more important than the actual events themselves. I teach narrative in terms much like these to my first-year students all the time, though I'm not certain that it ends up taking as much as I might like it to.<BR/><BR/>I guess the real big question is whether and to what extent people can change the types of narratives they tell themselves. Is there something just fundamental about me--some chemical balance or some neural pathway or some deeply ingrained psychological bent, formed during the first months of my life and not now especially susceptible of change--which allows me to frame my life experiences as stories of redemption? It's pretty much a matter of faith for me that people can change the shapes of those narratives, though it will be much more difficult and complicated than it might sound like it should be. But that's just it: it's a matter of faith, not something that I have any particularly clear evidence to support.Scrivenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05922358016805022637noreply@blogger.com