Etaoin Shrdlu <cooper17.spamless at xs4all.nl> wrote in message
news:8aapv4$q9m$2 at news1.xs4all.nl...
> Well, to shoot off on a tangent, the thought processes of someone who
> _has been_ depressed are often clearer and more focussed than they were
> before the depressive bout, and this is also true of a painter before
> and after the work, so quite possibly both situations stimulate a state
> of mind from which it is likely one will emerge "better off" than when
> one went in...
This reminds me of a statement I heard about the Russian writer Dostoyvesky,
who suffered temporal lobe epilepsy. He commented that his best writing was
done just prior to the onset of seizures. He could sense changes in his
perceptuals, v. old memory so not sure, but I think he spoke of an increased
vividness and clarity. Also, long time ago, I used to experiment with the
notion of getting depressed because it helped me to write or create.
Strange.
I agree with your general comments re entertaining different perspectives
and the subsequent social problems that can create. Mark Twain provides a
clue: "It was a close call, if God had created sheep first man would have
been guilty of plagiarism." To maintain a balance, too many creative people
in a society may create too much chaos! But for those who are creative in
certain ways the general norms of a society can drive them crazy. I think
this is one reason why I was attracted to the teaching of Jung many years
ago, because Jung was seriously addressing the possibility that some
individuals simply can't fit and are far better off not trying to fit in. It
is not a matter of one being better than the other, just a fact of having
individual human beings around. No culture can ever hope to fully
incorporate that degree of diversity, but I am very grateful for the fact
that from an historical perspective I do live in a culture that tolerates
diversity far more than most other other cultures could even begin to
imagine. I think that may be a clue to our intellectual and artistic
productivity; which is undeniably immense and beautiful.
Thanks for your earlier advice too. You seem to know exactly where I am.
Regards,
John.
Remove 4x
In other words, both might be a "deliberate" action on
> the part of the brain to produce certain neurotransmitters, etc., which
> it (the brain) "considers" a good prescription for the problem at
> hand--or as a building tool to a better state, as I find that I often
> don't have a "problem" at moments when I am compelled to produce art.
> --Katrina
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