Site materials are based on the research, theories and clinical treatment and organizational development strategies of Martin G. Groder, M.D. and Anastasia Rosen-Jones (formerly Marcia E. Rosen). The Groder-Rosen formal name for the "Dark Side" is the "Survivor Addict".

Showing posts with label Book 1 Chapter 2 Survivor/Addict Inventory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book 1 Chapter 2 Survivor/Addict Inventory. Show all posts

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Harvey Weinstein And The Losers’ Paradigm


Also see The Winners and Losers Paradigm

I have always been attracted to the words of Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With A Thousand Faces, describing Darth Vadar as “an unformed man,” the antithesis of a true hero. 
"Whoever is not aware of
this force...
"

How paradoxical is this contrast between what people often consider heroes and what just might be hiding beneath the surface, especially when we witness the fall from an apparent pinnacle of success of Harvey Weinstein. And the others like him, such as Bill Cosby, who have also taken this plummet from a peak, extolled as the heights of achievement, into a Hell hole of one’s own making.

Yet, once the scales fall away from this fiery dragon of a man, Harvey Weinstein, who could and did make and break the fortunes of untold numbers, the unformed man, as Campbell described Darth Vadar, is revealed for all to see, but the most jaundiced.

The fact, as reported by numerous media sites, that Weinstein has now already left his first foray into rehab, after only one week, vividly displays the absence of human substance, depth and determination to face up to his problems, as he more comfortably seeks return to his familiar turf. 

“Traditional rehab would require Harvey to disconnect and part with his phone and he's not able to do that,” we're told. 

Instead Harvey is ".. still figuring out his next move," an insider shares, "but would like to stay in the business. He loves making movies and is convinced he will find people that will work with him."

This, dear readers, if you hadn’t already figured it out, is the stuff of the Loser Survivor, not, at all, that of the Serene Survivor. 

Here is my assessment of Harvey Weinstein, in current motion, as represented by my Loser Survivor table. I hope you find it edifying and a tool to help your own thinking/feeling/assessing keep clear as an aid to mucking out the waste such poor examples of humanity create for the innocent and unsuspecting.

Loser Survivors Do These Kinds of Things. 
My comments, regarding Weinstein’s particular representation, are offered below.

Avoids dealing with full reality; 
If you’re in the business of fantasy creating, why bother with reality?

Stubbornly holds on to being right; 
Why not, if you’re holding all the chips?

Invests in defending him/herself; 
Well, a bully stands on top and doesn’t have much need for actual defending, when he can buy and sell almost all, out from under others.

Sabotages the well-being of self and others; 
Obvious when applied to others. But not so easily recognized by such as Weinstein and Cosby, until YOU guys, get royally caught!

Avoids taking risks related to being fully honest with self and others; 
Full honesty not required when you can control and buy almost anyone and anything. Lying and denial are critical elements of the game.

Shuts others out/keeps others distant; 
Now, what was that you were saying about Harvey Weinstein and his wife and the quality of their relationship?

Invests in illusions; Same as #1.

Holds grudges and resentments; 
What’s that we hear about Harvey and his work with his therapist? Something about the tip of the iceberg. 
“There were things that triggered [Weinstein’s] anger and our job was to help him recognize where it was coming from and how to control it. …. It was an appropriate display of anger.”
And, about the various times he has actually beaten up others who angered him, including his brother?

Avoids full involvement in life; 

A fantasy life doesn’t usually make much room for the trees and the birds, the sunshine and clouds. And how much genuine involvement can one truly have, even in one’s own family, when a guest visiting one’s home is taken into a next room to satisfy lustful demands. (See Lupita Nyong'o.)

Makes excuses for personal stagnation; 
My goodness, “it all was “consensual,” he said.

Exploits personal fears to justify hiding; 
What else might it mean when a man whose life and all he has built is totally collapsing but "He is still figuring out his next move."  Experts would suggest this is optimum denial.

Avoids or breaks commitments; 
Here again we can come back to his wife and children. But that’s only for starters.

Avoids valid emotional pain; 
At this stage of my life, after years of dealing with the survivor/addict in me, I would know for sure that I am terrified of what lies ahead and would deeply feel the pain of all that is happening, including how I could be the perpetrator that caused much of it.

Avoids necessary grieving; 
Same as #13 above.

Avoids personal responsibility; 
Personal responsibility carries with it a great deal of #13 above. But that’s only for starters in digging into the fallout. Years and years of self-examination, accountability and amends. Ask any recovering addict!

Lies to self and others; 
Here we are back to one of the key elements of how the game is played.

Encourages addictions in others; 
This one isn’t all about Harvey. It’s about the surrounding survivor/addict culture. The same one, with our unique variations, that you and I are also living in.

Holds on to controlling others; 
“Oh, please, don’t let me go, everyone. I’m sorry and I will make it up to you and get right back in it all again with you!,” said Harvey.

Avoids acknowledging limitations; 
Now where was that “I’m sorry?

Instead of learning, repeats mistakes; 
Here’s one blatant example. “Traditional rehab would require Harvey to disconnect and part with his phone and he's not able to do that, we're told.” But we won’t need to look far for others.

This is the Campbell’s “unformed man,” for sure. The Dark Side in motion.

One main thing can save Harvey besides himself, I promoted it in my article on The power of GRAD. It’s the power of people speaking out “truth to power,” pain and outrage. 

In a democracy the many voices of the collective can almost move mountains.  And, Harvey and others like him can be almost as big as the mountains, if they are in your life.

Been there, done that!


#Metoo

Monday, May 30, 2016

Bored In America? Why I Decided To Go Fishing.

I discussed this theme on my last Possible Society In Motion Radio Show, “Bored In America. I Am Going Fishing.”  

The “why” about it is this ---

First off, my take on boredom is that it is an emotional, somewhat physically uncomfortable state that substitutes for the fullness of authentic, meaningful connectedness. 

(See the full GRAD definition here. Then score yourself on the Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory, which focuses on what I am really discussing here, to identify the personal characteristics of yours that feed this state. Each one of the items on the inventory can be a contributing factor to “your boredom. Think about it!)

Boredom then is akin, in many cases, to being a non-ingested chemical addiction, meaning an addiction state that the individual creates out of their own chemistry.

For example, no internet, no cell phone – boredom. But what about fishing?

If you can understand that “boredom” arises out of an emotional state reflecting the absence of meaning and/or substance, you might comprehend why I decided to go fishing, metaphorically (as the only fishing I have ever done is for crabs in the Chesapeake),  for the Memorial Day weekend.  

My family is dispersed, to say the least, and our wonderful U.S.A., as acted out in front of our very eyes amid unceasing reports of local, national and internation conflicts and violence along with our national election campaign drama, is hardly fulfilling. At least not for me, it isn’t. 

Everywhere we turn there are media reports of the rather routine proliferation of human impoverishment we are living in to the level of pure glut of nothingness!  I am concerned, of course. But still, after awhile this "news" is boring, especially when being any significant part of the solution is way out of reach.

This is except for the 1%, of course, exemplified by our noteworthy celebrities who are so bored they must create almost daily dramas of one sort or another, off or onstage such as the case may be, to seemingly give themselves some semblance of being alive. Boring!

When it comes to substance and meaning we are sadly lacking, steeped in want of the special kind of riches, unique to humans, that eludes many if not most, as things stand now.

But Mother Nature, the caregiver of forested trees, fishing holes, sparkling waters, bright sunshine and fluffy clouds is abundant with endless troves replete with natural resources to offset boredom.  That’s why with a free weekend for me, as this one has been, having gotten, early on, to the point of boredom with our present political campaign dramas and other offerings of the greater world via high tech, I thought going fishing would be my best bet, along with my daily indulgences of unlimted writing times.

Wishing you the abundance of your life well-lived and the bounty of your human endeavors overflowing, I offer you here one more tidbit for consideration on how to better our world, at least in America –

 If you’re bored, how about a walk in the woods or hanging out your own “gone fishing” sign – and doing it, one way or another.

Then, if you are still feeling an absence of meaning, tune into my podcast on –


Thursday, January 28, 2016

Urgency: Where Does "It" Fit Into Your Modus Operandi?

Fitting The Pieces of The Survivor/Addict Puzzle Together For Your Profile

The GRAD theory holds that each and every one of us is predisposed to developing non-ingested chemical addictions (i.e. adrenalin/excitement addictions) under the proper conditions.  As it turns out almost every Western society provides those conditions. Thus almost all of us are; men, women and children, at risk and challenged to move beyond this lower form of human development.

You can do it! 


I’ve been doing “it” (c0nsciously healing my survivor/addict personality structures) Dark Side Warrior since the early 1980s when I learned the formula from my mentor, Marty Groder, M.D. 

Along with my team of board members and volunteers, I am here to help you do “it” too.  24/7 we are working on it, individually and collectively. And having a great deal of fun and reward for the effort.


I will be posting as many articles, as often as I can to help you heal this complex, self-destructive aspect of your personhood. (In the meantime, try out our Bus Ride Story Adventure with your friends and family. Any variation of the original will work just fine as New Horizons discovered when first we started on the adventure in 1999.)


For now, I want to remind you that your enemy mentality is a key part of the puzzle – and – most likely the single most important one for you to pay attention to. It is apt to do you in when and where you least expect it. So be on the lookout for it. And, keep returning, again and again, to my Survivor/Addict Inventory to assess how and how far out of your Dark Side Warrior functioning you are moving.


But there are other key aspects too. To the extent these are operative; you carry an active, internal presence of deterioration for the ongoing dynamics of your mind, body, spirit connections. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. And, to the extent that you make even small changes in this complex system you are going to free up your negatively entangled but still beautiful life energies.


So take up the task!


Today’s lesson for turning the lead in you into gold (transforming your Dark Side Warrior into a Compassionate Warrior (the Where Is Your Compassionate Warrior Hiding? Inventory is the same as the Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory. The  name change was made simply to offer an alternative angle for exploring the same old, same old.) 


The following questions on the Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory are marks of your survival instinct operating beyond healthy limits, if you go beyond a response of one or two points.

  1. Do you need to seek out excitement in your life? (Inventory question #1);
  2. Do you seek out excitement when it might hurt others that you care about? (Inventory question #5);
  3. Do you work until you are exhausted or burned-out? (Inventory question #18).
Again I want to urge you to strive for a total score of 35 or less on this inventory. 

My caveat is that if your score is in the 36 – 59 range, you are going in the right direction but there is still more to do.  You are already equipped for the task of moving beyond this.  If you take up the challenge, you can be of great service to yourself as well as others, even as a viable role model. And, we are not ever going to have too many of these.

Good luck. More on the way.

Monday, January 25, 2016

An Enemy Mentality: Is That One of Your (Secret) Downsides?

Anastasia Commenting: On the price we pay for turning potential allies into adversaries

The reptilian brain can be blamed for the survival instinct humankind has that is capable of rising above the primitive, biological force that can serve us well – or prompt us to self-destruct, even lead us to destroy others. 

Personal concerns, especially those related to my recent cornea transplant surgery coupled with the present societal and political climate of our nation prompt me to want to point readers of this site to what I consider the bottom line issue; an enemy mentality and the toll it demands, underlying everything that comes of New Horizons and me, personally.

You will be most able to follow what I have to offer on this point and its intrinsic impact on almost “everything” here if you avail yourself of the opportunity to take the Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory – and – read the overview I have posted on the GRAD theory.

Seeking to, minimally, make a dent in the widespread “enemy mentality” infecting our society and politics is what I deem to be the next important agenda for this site.  If nothing else, I am hoping to, at least, expose some of the facets here of this destructive force that prompts us to make enemies out of potential allies; combatants out of possible collaborators.

Your expanded and refined consciousness would be a start. Your enhanced and more highly developed conscience would be an even greater reward for me.

So – if you have not yet done so, avail yourself of my Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory. And, if you have anywhere near a total score above 35, pay particular attention to any and all forthcoming posts that take up this theme, “An Enemy Mentality: Is That One of Your (Secret) Downsides?”

This sum total means, for starters, that the Force in YOU  is not operating with enough Light enough, maybe not at all!


Beginning Soon! 


Everything you have always wanted to know about --

Friday, January 30, 2015

Surviving (Adrenalin) Addictions, Chapter Two: Introducing The Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory

Update: This update extends Chapter Two, Section: The Cost of Having A Survivor/Addict Personality

The following article was posted, originally, on Anastasia The Storyteller blog site as …


The story of “Mommy, I hate your eye patch!” (Part 1)

Words of a seven year old; my seven year old, named Elisa Joy.

I can still hear them ring out as loud and clear in my mind as if they had just been spoken yesterday.

“Mommy, I hate your eye patch!”
Anastasia
(formerly Marcia E. Rosen)
circa 1970
These were the words that changed my life; the words of my seven year old daughter speaking in the code of childhood. One had to be able to de-code child-ese to be able to understand them.

They told me she felt abandoned and betrayed by the disproportionate time I spent away from her, handling my cornea transplants (by this time to I was going on #4 in close to as many years),  my workaholism driven career  – and  -- then the hours given over to socializing.

To this day, no other words have ever quite made their way through t0 my heart so pointedly.

Continued here on Anastasia The Storyteller and-

This update extends Chapter Two, Section: The Cost of Having A Survivor/Addict Personality

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Surviving (Adrenalin) Addictions, Chapter Two, Part 2: Paying For Your Survivor/Addict Tendencies


The Cost of Having A Survivor/Addict Personality

Ok, you’ve read what I’ve written so far. Maybe even gone so far as to take my "Do You Have A Survivor/Addict Personality" Inventory." You’re even willing to consider you just might be a carrier of the Dark Side with its Survivor/Addict tendencies.

Well, so what? Big deal.

How much different than most everyone else around you are you?

Big deal. So you like to chase after excitement. Maybe your habits, especially when they come to excessive money expenditures are a bit over the top.

Big deal. At least you’re enjoying life so why give this stuff much attention?

Well, here’s a bit more of the puzzle. See what you can do with it while you are deciding whether or not to keep visiting this blog site.

6 Ways The Survivor/Addict Personality Costs You

Low Self-Esteem:  Adrenalin Addict behavior is compulsive, out of control, counterproductive, expensive in time, energy and relationships. Actually this kind of behavior brings more pain than pleasure in the long run.

Ask yourself

Does it ever bother you that sometimes a Force greater than yourself seems to be in charge of your life, your time, your money? And, maybe it isn’t the Force of goodness and Light whose ends are rewarding and happy?

Does it ever bother you that sometimes you burn yourself out doing things that afterwards seem to have been a waste of time?

Low Opinion by Others:  Adrenalin Addict behavior is often experienced by others as disruptive, intrusive, chaotic and energy draining.

Ask yourself

Does it ever bother you that sometimes your behaviors are irritating and draining for others?

Have you ever thought to ask others whether or not they experience you in this manner?

If you did, were you satisfied with their answers?

Low Cooperation with OthersAdrenalin Addict behavior invites adversarial, defensive and/or competitive responses from others.

Ask yourself

Do others find me to be a good team player?

Do I tend to invite out cooperation or competition from others?

Frequent Turnover of Friendships: Lovers, friends, spouses, jobs, interests, money (easy come, easy go), careers, ideas, fads, and values, Adrenalin Addict living leads to a shallow, blocked existence.

Ask yourself

Do I tend to give up easily on relationships, or do others give up on me?

Do I find myself tending to feel bored and unfulfilled in my friendships or intimate relationships?

Does my life seem to have more surface than substance?

Increasing Sense of Despair With Age: In the Survivor/Addict maturity and mellowness do not increase with age. Rather as time goes on Adrenalin Addict living becomes less feasible, and the beauty and strength in life diminishes. Tolerance to environmental toxicity lessens and the side effects of excess excitement increases as the individual burns out and runs out of people with whom to play addict games. It is all just too costly!

WARNING! Adrenalin/Excitement Addiction can lead to emotional/psychological breakdowns, disease, institutionalization and premature death.

Survivor/Addict Living Is Very Expensive!

(And Dark when you get to its core.)



Update – January 30, 2015

The following article was posted, originally, on Anastasia The Storyteller blog site as …


The story of “Mommy, I hate your eye patch!” (Part 1)

Words of a seven year old; my seven year old, named Elisa Joy.

I can still hear them ring out as loud and clear in my mind as if they had just been spoken yesterday.

 “Mommy, I hate your eye patch!”
Anastasia
(Formerly Marcia E. Rosen)
circa 1970

These were the words that changed my life; the words of my seven year old daughter speaking in the code of childhood. One had to be able to de-code child-ese to be able to understand them.

They told me she felt abandoned and betrayed by the disproportionate time I spent away from her, handling my cornea transplants (by this time to I was going on #4 in close to as many years),  my workaholism driven career  – and  -- then the hours given over to socializing.

To this day, no other words have ever quite made their way through t0 my heart so pointedly.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Surviving (Adrenalin) Addictions, Chapter Two: About The Survivor/Addict Personality Inventory


Part 1: Do You Have A Survivor/Addict Personality?

Anastasia’s Comments on the following section.

The text below is excerpted from the original book proposal sample chapters. It is completely as it was in 1988. An edited version of this same chapter will also be posted at a later date.

Again we acknowledge the current limitations of our converting the manuscript of the early 1990s to todays technology. We are working on it but hope, in the meantime, you will be able to follow along with us here to advantage.

Begin sytematically tackling the personal, relationship and societal problems discussed below by taking the "Do You Have A Survivor/Addict Personality?" inventory. The questions on the inventory along with the score assessment that follows it will assist you in identifying the aspects of your personality that represent the survivor/addict in you.

While we are discussing the quiz in this chapter, you can look forward to explanations of the meaning behind each question, interpretations as to how and why reversing the problems of the survivor/addict is so vitally important and a selection of charts to guideline your personal explorations on these pertinent issues.