> Why do you find comfort in diagnosing him with > all sorts of DSM-IV disorders? > > The DSM diagnoses, remember, are for the guidance > of therapists who are working with patients who > can't cope, based on the characteristics found in > thousands of past patients who couldn't cope.
My relationship with the information in the DSM-IV comes mostly from a personality test book written by two of the authors of the DSM series. They explain how all of our personalities fall in a range of degrees of 14 different personality traits. This is just a model for understanding, but you can test yourself to see how much of certain qualities you have. You can have a lot of a trait they call "vigilance" way before you become a paranoid which is the pathological end of that spectrum. They have a 100 question test to rate yourself and I have found it really helpful in relationships. It helps me understand how my partner is viewing the world and how I can communicate better. Understanding breeds compassion for me. High achievers like Maharishi usually are cranked up kind of high in certain traits. It doesn't have to take on a pejorative connotation, but the guy was functioning differently than most average performers. In the movement this is attributed to his enlightenment. For me it is seen through the mental filters I am comfortable with. Spending time in schools for my shows has brought me into contact with special education teachers. Their models of cognitive styles is also influencing how I view people. And being around Maharishi and ADD kids is remarkably similar for me. They are often brilliant. --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > <snip> > > Looking at Maharishi as an enlightened guy > > who knew what he was doing lends itself to your interpretation. > > In my view of him as a guy who was completely winging it, and > > who created a situation where every whim was catered to, it > > comes out differently. > > Not sure why being enlightened and winging it > are necessarily mutually exclusive. > > Also, there's his story of how Guru Dev would > do the same thing to him, so maybe he thought > if it had benefited him, it would also benefit > his close followers. > > > I find my own comfort in thinking about him as a guy who, > > like a lot of hight achievers, had a bit of ADD. > > Why do you find comfort in diagnosing him with > all sorts of DSM-IV disorders? > > The DSM diagnoses, remember, are for the guidance > of therapists who are working with patients who > can't cope, based on the characteristics found in > thousands of past patients who couldn't cope. >
