Music for the Mind

It is 8 a.m.
and I have to get out the door
to go down to Pasadena
for a funeral in the form of a "wake".

It turns out that it is on Saturday,
not Friday,
as I had previously reported
in my previous post.

For those who don't know,
a "wake" is an ancient Irish tradition
which is followed
by many members of my family.

It is for those
who do not grieve the death of their loved one
because they believe
that he or she
has gone on to a better place.

So we have a very sober celebration
among immediate family members
with the closest of friends
and other loved ones
to commemorate the life
of our now deceasesd loved one.

As one can imagine
it is difficult to be too sad
if you believe that your loved one
has moved on into spirit form
of which they are truly made.

Of course we are all grieved over the loss,
but we see no cause for despair,
above and beyond
our own immediate loss.

While this may sound strange
to many ears,
it is, nevertheless,
the case.

For me it is the norm
on my fathers' side of the family
and practiced by some
on my mother's side.

The Irish blood
being much more recent and pronounced
on my dad's side.



The all-day seminar on Thursday
was nothing short of spectacular.

I will have more to say about that
when I have a little more time to write.

It seems that a group at Stanford
is finally starting to put the pieces together
thanks to a whole lot of PET scanning
and use of
other types of medical imaging technologies.

The PET scan and
fMRI
(functional magnetic resonance imaging)
are allowing researchers
to actually watch the mind work
in real time.

This is providing insights
that I find truly astonishing.

It is really interesting,
after having worked in mental health
at different times in my life,
to see the underlying structures
and their processes,
which are directing the actions
of persons
whom we all thought
were
 "just nuts".

And then to realize
exactly how the structure is causing
the particular behavior,
with the chemistry which is driving all of this,
while remembering
various different "clients"
(that is what we call them)
and their very deblitating abnomalities.

I am still somewhat dumbfounded
as I continue to ponder
and to do follow-up study.

I will have more to say, hopefully, later.




Right now I REALLY do have to get going.

w/profound love
(beyond understanding)

vw

3-9-13
Saturday
8:11 a.m.
Ventura, California, USA