Because of my work I follow therapists on social media and the most vocal ones on Instagram for example, are re-affirming fragility. In fact their messaging is bordering activism. It’s very frustrating to watch, but they have the highest number of followers and engagement.
I completely agree with this. I am also a therapist and find that threading that needle is complicated, precarious, and often takes a deep and established relationship for it to hit home. The internal vs external locust of control idea, however, is woven into almost all my therapeutic work because I see it as a building block to resiliency, gratitude and overall contentment in ones life, despite hardships and past traumas. I do agree that with my teen girl clients, this can be extra challenging.
Thank God for therapists like you who recognize the problem that so many others are just going along with to avoid the “mob” mentality they are now up against.
You are right, too, about the “religious” aspect—leftism/progrressivism/wokeism is a religion. Actually, it’s really a CULT and I recognize it, seeing all the characteristics, from first-hand personal experience.
One thing that has gone largely missing is real God-based religious (non-cult) faith, though. And, it’s not surprising that something else has come along to fill that void. Secularization has not helped the world anywhere that I know of.
I am a clinical psychologist. I do not know of a single colleague whose practice is controlled by fear of the woke mob. More commonly, my colleagues are not very aware that the mob exists. Most of us work in isolation, and we have been late to catch up with what academic psychologists like Jonathan Haidt knew for years regarding the increasing influence of the woke cult. Like many parents, many of us are blindsided by the experience of so many adolescent and young adult females behaving in such an aggressive and disrespectful manner towards us. These young people all exhibit unprovoked, uninhibited, destructive hostility, aggression and abusive behavioral tendencies. I don't doubt that they could also be depressed and anxious, but those are not their most obvious problems.
I generally don’t respond to snarky people who say they’ll “wait” . . . but I’ll “wait” for you to explain what your trans status has to do with this thread. Or, since my comment to someone else in a thread is not about you, preferably just take your grudge somewhere it might be relevant. You having been mistreated some way does not invalidate others’ religion or spiritual practices. Your categorical statement equating others’ religions with cultism is categorically incorrect. You believe you’re not your body’s genetic actuality, that’s your right, just as the Jesus adherent has a right to believe Jesus is his Savior whether or not you believe in Biblical lore or others’ faith. If you really wanted to debate my statement that secularization has not improved society, go ahead and do so, but don’t deflect off into tilting at windmills.
Hi Holly, first off, I am sorry for being snarky. Sometimes I can be unkind without thinking about it... I'm trying to get better at it.
With that being said. I didn't say anything about mistreatment in my post. I do get mistreated because I am trans, but that is of course my opinion and open to debate. I was making the point that people in religion tend to try to inflict their religious views and practices on others. Some people are willing to accept this and some are not. Secularization, is what allows me to say no. If we lived in a nation that did not have secularization, I would not have the "right" to my "body's genetic actuality". There are plenty of non-secularized countries that show this. Most of them are in the middle east.
I hear you, and appreciate what you've said. And, I agree that you're seeing a certain hypocrisy in your Jesus example. I don't happen to be one of those people you are referring to. But, I also don't worry about whether others believe in the literalness of the Bible stories in order to acquire and incorporate their valuable lessons in their lives. We can acquire those values in adherence to many named "religions".
My view concerning the secularization of society is a great deal broader than acceptance or not of a person's beliefs or identity, sexual or otherwise. As to your point about religious people proselytizing their beliefs, I would say there are actually few groups that do not do so. This includes people who identify themselves as the sex opposite their birth sex, people who prefer their sexual relations to be with others of their same sex, and people who are atheist, vegan, pure meat eaters, and ad infinitum. It is human nature to want to be understood, accepted and therefore to "recruit" others to one's own views or at least to explain, defend or justify them. In a certain sense, each of those belief systems are "religions" and some of them are just as fervently trying to "inflict their religious views and practices on others" as any known traditional religion (e.g. Chrisitanity, Islamism, Judaism, et al).
What those Bible stories, and tenets of other religions, teach me is that I am not the one who created life or my existence or yours or anyone's. The stories are Ego-deflating, i.e. humbling, and this is immeasurably positive, mentally and spiritually.
What I believe I observe in society today vs. my impression of mine and earlier generations is a kind of ambivalence, or irreverence for that life-force that is much bigger and greater than ourselves. What I observe among many today is dysfunctional focus on self and self-importance, an "all-about-me-ness" or a plethora of other such descriptives. It's not a new observation, and certainly not only mine. But, this is what I mean when I assert that secularization (really a shift toward self-centeredness) has not been good for society. Some people call that force God and others have other names for it, but whatever we call it, it is recognition that we ourselves are NOT it.
What cult leaders are you referring to? My point was about the secularization of society in the 30th and 21st centuries which clearly has not made the world better, for all the faults of formal religions you might cite.
I'm saying that all religions are cults. Religious people like to talk about objective truth, but on a global level objective truth varies. One person's cult is another person's religion.
So I am a trans woman. It always makes me laugh when people that believe Jesus was born to a virgin, and that he died and rose again, say with such confidence that I cannot transition. I'm real. I could be passing you on the street right now... show me the proof that any of the religious "miracles" that are put forward by religion are objective truth... I'll wait...
Because of my work I follow therapists on social media and the most vocal ones on Instagram for example, are re-affirming fragility. In fact their messaging is bordering activism. It’s very frustrating to watch, but they have the highest number of followers and engagement.
I completely agree with this. I am also a therapist and find that threading that needle is complicated, precarious, and often takes a deep and established relationship for it to hit home. The internal vs external locust of control idea, however, is woven into almost all my therapeutic work because I see it as a building block to resiliency, gratitude and overall contentment in ones life, despite hardships and past traumas. I do agree that with my teen girl clients, this can be extra challenging.
Thank God for therapists like you who recognize the problem that so many others are just going along with to avoid the “mob” mentality they are now up against.
You are right, too, about the “religious” aspect—leftism/progrressivism/wokeism is a religion. Actually, it’s really a CULT and I recognize it, seeing all the characteristics, from first-hand personal experience.
One thing that has gone largely missing is real God-based religious (non-cult) faith, though. And, it’s not surprising that something else has come along to fill that void. Secularization has not helped the world anywhere that I know of.
I am a clinical psychologist. I do not know of a single colleague whose practice is controlled by fear of the woke mob. More commonly, my colleagues are not very aware that the mob exists. Most of us work in isolation, and we have been late to catch up with what academic psychologists like Jonathan Haidt knew for years regarding the increasing influence of the woke cult. Like many parents, many of us are blindsided by the experience of so many adolescent and young adult females behaving in such an aggressive and disrespectful manner towards us. These young people all exhibit unprovoked, uninhibited, destructive hostility, aggression and abusive behavioral tendencies. I don't doubt that they could also be depressed and anxious, but those are not their most obvious problems.
I love this line, “one thing that has gone missing is real God-based religious (non-cult) faith” said one cult leader to another... lol
I generally don’t respond to snarky people who say they’ll “wait” . . . but I’ll “wait” for you to explain what your trans status has to do with this thread. Or, since my comment to someone else in a thread is not about you, preferably just take your grudge somewhere it might be relevant. You having been mistreated some way does not invalidate others’ religion or spiritual practices. Your categorical statement equating others’ religions with cultism is categorically incorrect. You believe you’re not your body’s genetic actuality, that’s your right, just as the Jesus adherent has a right to believe Jesus is his Savior whether or not you believe in Biblical lore or others’ faith. If you really wanted to debate my statement that secularization has not improved society, go ahead and do so, but don’t deflect off into tilting at windmills.
Hi Holly, first off, I am sorry for being snarky. Sometimes I can be unkind without thinking about it... I'm trying to get better at it.
With that being said. I didn't say anything about mistreatment in my post. I do get mistreated because I am trans, but that is of course my opinion and open to debate. I was making the point that people in religion tend to try to inflict their religious views and practices on others. Some people are willing to accept this and some are not. Secularization, is what allows me to say no. If we lived in a nation that did not have secularization, I would not have the "right" to my "body's genetic actuality". There are plenty of non-secularized countries that show this. Most of them are in the middle east.
I hear you, and appreciate what you've said. And, I agree that you're seeing a certain hypocrisy in your Jesus example. I don't happen to be one of those people you are referring to. But, I also don't worry about whether others believe in the literalness of the Bible stories in order to acquire and incorporate their valuable lessons in their lives. We can acquire those values in adherence to many named "religions".
My view concerning the secularization of society is a great deal broader than acceptance or not of a person's beliefs or identity, sexual or otherwise. As to your point about religious people proselytizing their beliefs, I would say there are actually few groups that do not do so. This includes people who identify themselves as the sex opposite their birth sex, people who prefer their sexual relations to be with others of their same sex, and people who are atheist, vegan, pure meat eaters, and ad infinitum. It is human nature to want to be understood, accepted and therefore to "recruit" others to one's own views or at least to explain, defend or justify them. In a certain sense, each of those belief systems are "religions" and some of them are just as fervently trying to "inflict their religious views and practices on others" as any known traditional religion (e.g. Chrisitanity, Islamism, Judaism, et al).
What those Bible stories, and tenets of other religions, teach me is that I am not the one who created life or my existence or yours or anyone's. The stories are Ego-deflating, i.e. humbling, and this is immeasurably positive, mentally and spiritually.
What I believe I observe in society today vs. my impression of mine and earlier generations is a kind of ambivalence, or irreverence for that life-force that is much bigger and greater than ourselves. What I observe among many today is dysfunctional focus on self and self-importance, an "all-about-me-ness" or a plethora of other such descriptives. It's not a new observation, and certainly not only mine. But, this is what I mean when I assert that secularization (really a shift toward self-centeredness) has not been good for society. Some people call that force God and others have other names for it, but whatever we call it, it is recognition that we ourselves are NOT it.
What cult leaders are you referring to? My point was about the secularization of society in the 30th and 21st centuries which clearly has not made the world better, for all the faults of formal religions you might cite.
I'm saying that all religions are cults. Religious people like to talk about objective truth, but on a global level objective truth varies. One person's cult is another person's religion.
So I am a trans woman. It always makes me laugh when people that believe Jesus was born to a virgin, and that he died and rose again, say with such confidence that I cannot transition. I'm real. I could be passing you on the street right now... show me the proof that any of the religious "miracles" that are put forward by religion are objective truth... I'll wait...
i agree about religion , i would disagree that some secular values and beliefs are needed to soften the dogmatic aspects of religion