I think it’s okay write a book review on three books, one of which I have read in its entirety, the other I am currently reading, and the last of which I will probably never read. Mostly I’m just interested in the intersections of these three books which have happened to thrust themselves upon me this week. While I have been slogging my way through Eat, Pray, Love for a while now, neglecting it when something more interesting comes along, I flew though the 270ish page Jon Ronson expose of paranormal American intelligence techniques the past two days. A few days ago I heard Barbara Ehrenreich discussing her new book critiquing “positive thinking” in American culture, blaming on it everything from the recent financial crisis to hypnotizing the American workforce into submission. What struck me is that all of these books seem to have to do with the power of the mind in one way or another.
Currently in my reading of Elizabeth Gilbert, she is recounting her encounters with the divine through meditation and she describes a feeling of the divine inside of her. In The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ronson’s contact Guy Savelli describes the same experience when he stares at hamsters and goats. The evidence presented by Guy to Jon of his ability to fell goats and hamsters with his mind seemed pretty slim. Jon was clearly not convinced of Guy’s ability and neither am I. However, Guy was experiencing a feeling described by Elizabeth, which according to her is described by many people meditating, praying, or having a “divine” experience. It seems like the mind is capable of transforming something, and if not the body it inhabits, what else?
This is where Bright-sided comes in. As painful as it may be I really may have to read Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, so I can fully comment on it, but her critique of the use of “positive thinking” for healing purposes rubbed me the wrong way. Her negativity and bitterness is so pervasive in all her work that I already really dislike her and anything she has to say, so I'm already prejudiced against her. Granted, she is a cancer survivor, so maybe she has safely lodged herself in the impregnable fortress of self-righteousness on this one, but there is lots of evidence that positive thinking can affect the body. I'm not saying it can cure cancer, but nothing she says will ever persuade me that it's as dangerous as she would have us believe.
Anyway, back to the rambling point. Can the mind affect the outside world or the body? Thoughts...?
P.S. Here's Barbara's rant so you can judge for yourself: 'Bright-Sided': When Happiness Doesn't Help
I didn't even know you had this blog last year at this time. But, I want to comment on your musing - can the mind affect the body? YES, YES, YES, YES, YES. There is tons of scientific evidence for this. Perhaps the most bizarre is the phenomenom of pseudocyesis in which a woman (and rarely a man) believes she is pregnant and actually develops symptoms of pregnancy (swollen belly, morning sickness, amenorrhea, tender breasts, etc.). Supposedly, Queen Mary of England had this condition, baffling those around her. Now about whether the mind can affect the outside world, I'm not convinced of that yet since there is no direct chemical connection between the two.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to have you comment on this because it clearly lies in your area of expertise. From what I gathered from the interview, Barbara was pissed because everyone was telling her to be positive. However, I think it is possible to will yourself better from some things. In learning about Danny Way during our interviews for Waiting for Lightning, it is becoming apparent that he basically willed himself better from an accident that left him with a broken neck and completely helpless. A professional skater, the doctors told him he would never skate again. But he did and proceeded to build the Mega Ramp. Not only does he skate, he basically performs insane acrobatic tricks while flying through the air at 40 mph.
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