Lemme Think About It...

"Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds"

Inside The Sane Asylum...Announcement

The Sane Asylum Hysterical Society

Public Service Announcement :

When you are calling The Sane Asylum Hot Line...

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5, and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Stay on the line so we can trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are a manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press: no-one will answer.

If you are dyslexic, press 969696969696969.

If you have a nervous disorder, please fidget with the hash key until a representative comes on the line.

If you have short term memory loss press 9, if you have short term memory loss press 9.

If you have low self esteem, please hang up. Our operators cannot talk to you.

Thank you, this will speed up the transfer of your call...

The World As I See It...

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...The World As I See It, an essay but Albert Einstein...

Inside The Sane Asylum...

"Yep, taking a break today. No post...see you soon" ?
Thanks for dropping by. Check tomorrow, I may have something to say...or not...Doc

From The Road...The Delta Snake Review Series

...it is impossible to think of anything as nonexistent, since our thoughts are always on something that exists, has existed, or could potentially exist.

I remember reading that we all have a picture of ourselves, beneath the other trappings layered on to enhance or hide it, and hearing the argument that it was an overly simplistic idea and didn't account for the complexity of human life...those who think it's simplistic are often the ones with the narrow view.

I saw a guy rummaging through the garbage can this morning. One of the bike and backpack homeless I've seen around...didn't have any money on me, but I wouldn't have approached him anyway.

When a person is scavenging for food like that, he's not calling for help, but it's something that must be hard to do in front of people. I'm sure he knows what it looks like to others, I may not have stood aside like this a year ago, and offered to save him from such degradation with a few bucks, but now, it seems intrusive. I know the look on his face, I've seen it before, if there's food there, then it's something he got himself, past the shame reflex that would all come pouring down if interrupted in the act, like being caught with his pants down in public...I'm not sure it means that he hasn't felt that it hasn't come to begging yet, or that there's still some pride left even if a passerby would think otherwise...I won't judge him either, we all deal with homelessness differently and if he thinks scavenging is better than begging, I assume he's thought it through...

I discreetly watch and study how he operates...most people wouldn't know it but he's quite skilled and has an economy of motion that comes from practice..it looks like a successful night with the can outside of a restaurant and there's plenty of leftovers. I'm not pessimistic about my future but figure that it doesn't hurt to see how it's done...you never know, I could be like that in a few months. I've never known that level of hunger so it's a scene that gets tucked away, a mental note that this can is a good one...

St. Thomas Aquinas described the contemplation of God as the lifelong quest to understand an infinite power, that there would always be mystery and evolution of knowledge looking outwards...to see a picture of oneself isn't like having a cartoon or painting, it's the identity and from there comes outlook and experience. It's about where I've been, where I am now, and where I'm going.

His name is Al Handa...a man without a home, describing the homeless in his Delta Snake Review Blog...a homeless journal of sorts.

Mental Note To Self...

My mind then wanders... I thought of this: I thought of how every day each of us experiences a few little moments that have just a bit more resonance than other moments—we hear a word that sticks in our mind—or maybe we have a small experience that pulls us out of ourselves, if only briefly...
And if we were to collect these small moments in a notebook and save them over a period of months we would see certain trends emerge from our collection—certain voices would emerge that have been trying to speak through us. We would realize that we have been having another life altogether; one we didn’t even know was going on inside us. And maybe this other life is more important than the one we think of as being real—this clunky day-to-day world of furniture and noise and metal. So just maybe it is these small silent moments which are the true story-making events of our lives.

From Inside The Sane Asylum...Rose

That's the crazy ole lady that lives down the street.
When I saw her my heuristic mind made that thought complete.
It was her, the crazy ole lady, she whistles, and sings and dances to her own beat.

Her make up and hair are the talk of the town.
People often stare before they look down.
Children suspect her to be a fairy as they see her floating around.

She lives life in a rainbow, bright colors flow behind.
Laughter and light they come to her from the mind.
Freedom seems to seep from her image, one of a kind.

She remembers who she was and the despair that left her gray.
Could it be the lingering thoughts of one that was ripped away?
Or maybe the dream that he will return someday?

She jingles and tinkles as she walks like a child.
Penny-ridden pockets never keeps her from a smile.
Living out loud so confusing feelings won't hide her style.

I heard her name was Rose.
Got the name from those lips, I suppose?

She's just the ole lady that lives down the street.
Watch... as her mind lives in retreat...

As she passes don't look away.
Respect the mind that gave her this day...Doc

Lemme Think About It...nothing

"the idea that nothing is unknowable is due to our minds being unable to process the thought of it. It is conceivable that nothing could exist; we just cannot imagine it."

Let Me Tell You A Story...James T. Callow's Folklore Archive

THE KILLER

A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, I WAS A WITNESS TO A KILLING.
SO I WENT TO COURT AND THE MURDERER WAS CONVICTED AND
SENTENCED TO DIE IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR. WHEN THE KILLER
WAS LEAVING THE COURTROOM, HE TURNED TO ME AND SAID
"I'LL GET YOU LATER." I THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS KIND OF
FUNNY, 'CAUSE THEY ALL SAY THE SAME THING. A FEW WEEKS
LATER, I SAW IN THE NEWSPAPER THAT HE HAD ESCAPED FROM
THE PRISON, BUT I WASN'T TOO WORRIED, BECAUSE I DIDN'T
THINK HE'D FIND ME. ONE NIGHT THAT WEEK
I WAS WALKING HOME WHEN A CAR PULLED UP
ALONG SIDE OF ME. IT WAS THE KILLER IN THE CAR AND HE
JUMPED OUT AND STARTED TO CHASE ME. I HAD NO WHERE TO GO,
BUT DOWN THIS DARK ALLEY. HE WAS RUNNING JUST BEHIND ME.
THE ALLEY ENDED IN A DEAD-END, SO I STARTED UP A FIRE
ESCAPE, BUT THE KILLER GRABBED ME FROM BEHIND AND PULLED
MY LEGS, JUST LIKE I'M PULLING YOURS!

Nuff Said...coping

How to Cope and Challenging Feelings

Challenging feelings can be extremely difficult, especially when adapting to change or a life transition, in comparison to changing thoughts and beliefs. Feeling states accumulate over a lifetime of experience, and, trying to change a feeling can seem like it is going against everything the person has ever believed in life. They have convinced themselves that what they feel is reasonable and must be a necessary part of life. We all have met someone who is chronically afraid, angry or sad, and characterize them in this way because their constant unpleasant mood states can be observed in most of their actions and behaviors. Negative feelings are the cumulative effects of experiences in life, and, the challenge is to accumulate new positive events to offset the negative. Because it takes time and effort to change these feelings people need to become open to the idea of wanting new, positive experiences and then invite them into their lives. These individuals must give themselves permission to allow these positive experiences to enhance their life. It is possible to change beliefs and thoughts with information and teaching; however, it is hard to change a feeling state without professional assistance. In fact, I once told my psychiatrist that I was hearing voices. He informed me I had no psychiatrist.

Nuff Said Series...beliefs

How to Cope and Challenge Beliefs

Challenging and changing a value or belief can be easier at times. The problem is people have thousands of ideas, and can only change one at a time, making this change a lengthy process. In order to challenge a belief, look at the evidence, examine the facts and then it may be easier for someone to change their mind about the conviction. For instance, some may assume that virgin wool is newly spun wool...when in fact, virgin wool comes from the sheep that run the fastest...

Front Porch Psychology...transitions

"The next levels of me, will demand a different me."

Many people are afraid of change. They prefer routine and stability, and, with any kind of transition this change disrupts self-confidence. Fear inhibits people from taking risks. When fear relates to a positive change, it usually is linked to a fear of not being able to achieve success. Some are overly concerned about not being capable “enough” or of being judged, as if dignity is only measured by their concept of success or winning.

Fear alerts us to danger. If people want to be able to cope well, they need to be open to the challenge of changing and questioning their thoughts, feelings and beliefs that they have in life. One way to confront an illogical fear is to pretend that the worse scenario happened and then backtrack in the mind to logically solve the problem. Even though, this technique is a fantasy, you are learning a new way to problem-solve.

One inevitable transition in life is associated with maturity or growing older, and this change usually brings with it an isolated sensation linked to a sense of loss to what was once in the past. With each passage people must learn new ways of adapting, and facing this new way of being in the world can be anxiety provoking because it tests our competence. To cope well with life, people will need to be open and at peace with questioning thoughts, feelings and beliefs about the world in which they live.

From The Road Series...the ghosts of N'awlins

The Ghosts of N'awlins

It felt as though the humidity itself
carried a hint of liquor as we walked
out into the night, wanting only to escape
our lives for a little.
Deep down in Vieux Carre’
twisted brass clashed with a piano
running half step from the crowded clubs
on Frenchman Street.
We filled our lungs with the city
and found her to be like certain kinds
of dangerous doses--
intoxicating.

The more we drank
the more I began to see glimpses
of the specters spoken of by locals.
They linger in my peripheral,
watching me with their sunken eyes.
You could faintly hear them moan,
only in defeated tones
and their collective scowl danced
in the heavy air of summer
as though it were a part from
all that jazz.

In the stranger hours of morn
I was approached by a ghost
a few blocks off Bourbon.
He offered up nothing but his dirty palms
in hopes of some false salvation.
I wrestled a dollar from my pocket
and passed it on to him,
only to watch him fruitlessly grasp at it
before it slide through his ghostly hands
to the ground below.
He looked down at the dollar
all helpless-like and he said
"It’s been slipping through my fingers
like dat for years now"

I walked from him, realizing then
why I had needed this trip,
because the only difference between
me and the ghosts of N'awlins
Was where I've been...

 Thanks Jonathan Potts for the inspiration...

Pick one...they all work!

Welcome your daily visitors...

I posted this one in the early infancy of The Sane Asylum. Think about it on occasions, especially when I find my self in a mood change. We all have them, hell I have three or four different moods a day. There are a few of mine that you may not want to see. What an ass I can be. Like my good friend Jess once said, "never fly off the handle when your full of shit." Well I do and then move on to the next stranger that strolls through my mind. Funny thing, they all do work. Some days it's like a theme park in my head. I know you think bull shit comes from bulls but encounter one of my bat shit raving spells and you will know you are wrong. Make no mistake, I always say what I mean, I just may not mean to say it out loud. Some days I just need to wear a sign, "don't upset me, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies." I recall a gift from my staff on my 50th birthday. It was a t shirt, on one side it read "therapy in progress..." the other side read "do not disturb any further." I need to find that shirt.

There are some days I wake up and say, "Life, I am finally happy today." Then life says, "Oh no we can't have that, let me throw in some misery and suffering." Wouldn't it be much easier if life just sent you a text saying, "today is going to suck." Some days every damn sad song you hear, you think they wrote the lyrics just for you. That sucks! As you get older there is a strange feeling that comes over you once in a while. It is that feeling you thought you forgot. Now that really sucks.

Let me ask you something...do you ever get tired of chasing your dreams? Well if you do, just ask them where they are going and catch up with them later. Life is really a grand adventure. Never easy, so we enroll in meditation classes that teach you how to breathe. Imagine that. Or go green, or buy you a yoga suit and mat, or maybe just get up each day and try to be the best person you can be. Knowing you may fall short at times but then there are other times that remind you of the beauty of humanity.

And there are those people in your life that think they know how you should act
 and be. Those you would like to say, "I didn't know you were an expert on running my life. Keep talking and let me take notes." It's your life. It will be over way to soon. Life is not easy, but I promise, it's worth it. Was it a line from Steel Magnolias? I think it was..."I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood forty years." Smile, sense beauty in all things, express gratitude, and experience forgiveness...Doc