http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/ Spiritual OCD Sat, 02 Apr 2005 19:50:23 PST http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Health & Medicine Spirituality Buddhism http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/10.html Sun, 29 Aug 2004 08:50:11 GMT Here are some of the new topis that will be filled out over time. 1) OCD and Homeopathy 2)OCD in Literature and the Media a) What can be learned from the creative mandala? 3) Playing with the Opposite of your Obsessions and/or Compulsions a) a form of Mind training 4) How Meditation creates space within and how this leads to more Mind Training abilities. Mindfulness meditation for depression and OCD. The new research on mindfulness meditation for depression gives hope. 1/14/05 I am trying to organize this blog so it flows naturally; so if there is... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=10 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/9.html Wed, 18 Aug 2004 04:39:13 GMT ADDICTED TO PAINFUL THOUGHTS 9-22-04 There is an addictive and perhaps a seductive element of OCD to painful thoughts. This aspect starts to manifest as one's OCD loosens. This probably occurs with depression as well but the intensity is more workable. There are three basic types of thoughts: 1) Positive 2) Negative 3) Neutral There are shades of each and/or thoughts can change catagories over time and/or with new life experiences BUT at a given tme the overall feel of a thought is one of the above three. By feel of a thought is meant the emotional aspect. In OCD... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=9 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/8.html Tue, 08 Jun 2004 08:12:50 GMT How did my obsessive compulsive disorder change over the years with these shifts of perspective? I will break it up into three parts: The compulsions The obsessions Secondary symptoms a) Depression b) Social phobia c) Other afflictive emotions THE COMPULSIONS The decrease in compulsions is more clearly defined. Just as a starting point for example 10 years ago I would do ritualized behavior most of the day. It sometimes took me half an hour to get out of a chair. This never happens anymore. There became a separation in which rituals were pure OCD manifestations and which,... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=8 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/7.html Tue, 08 Jun 2004 08:10:58 GMT KARMA AND Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 6/7/04 Karma can be a useful term for OCDers. It is a very complex subject. Not at all as simplistic as merely cause and effect. There are many different types of karma. For example there is personal karma and the collective karma of human beings. There is the karma of all sentient beings and so on. They mingle and interelate and there are so many threads that keeping track of them is impossible. The Buddhist symbol for karma is the eternal knot. Most people with OCD notice patterns. This connects with the need for symmetry, the reading... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=7 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/5.html Mon, 19 Apr 2004 01:00:14 GMT UPDATED June 2, 2004 In 1991 I went to the East Coast to go to Tibetan Buddhist teachings in New York for the Year of Tibet. There were many high lamas there and powerful initiations given including the Kalachakra held at Madison Square Garden with the Dalai Lama. Back in my old hometown! That was for 3 weeks. Then I went to Washington DC for another 3 week more specialized retreat. The retreat was on the main Sakya teaching the Lam Dre. Translated as "The Path and Fruit". Other translations appear as "The Path Contains The Fruit" and "The Path within the Fruit". Or even "The Fruit... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=5 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/4.html Mon, 12 Apr 2004 21:55:47 GMT FLOWERS IN THE SKY And so it came to be that I was finally around an authentic Zen Master in Katagiri Roshi. The year after the incident with the truck I was moving back and forth from Seattle to New York bouncing around with my obsessions until I finally decided to move back to Minnesota during the summer of 1987. I wanted to do the summer retreat for two weeks with Katagiri and even though some of his students were leery of letting me back Katagiri OK’d it with the condition that I stayed in the retreat for the whole two weeks. I did it! I made it through with up to 8 hours of... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=4 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/3.html Sun, 11 Apr 2004 02:58:43 GMT In 1986, I was going through a severe OCD episode and major depression. I moved to another state without any resources because I was compelled to. This was not the first time I just got up and split. This was the third time in 4 years beginning the summer right after my first visit to Naropa Institute. Twice during my first year of graduate school I left, left my apartment and my car...following my obsessions compulsively. A very painful time but also exciting in a way. Anyway, during this episode in the Midwest I went to a psychiatrist connected with the welfare services. I only got 15... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=3 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/2.html Sat, 10 Apr 2004 06:33:08 GMT This will be blogged in a haphazard way at first then getting into form as it unfolds. I first noticed OCD symptoms or rather I first remember doing ritual type behavior when about 11 years old. I don't remember the words but I used to recite very precisely something for protection. At 8 years old I would talk often about death. Nothing particularly monumental occured in my everyday life, except constant family arguments. Many families argue alot and I do not attribute my death ponderings or my protection "spells" (as I came to loosely think of them) to that aspect. It was... (more) http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/comments?id=2 http://spiritualocd.blogdrive.com/archive/1.html Fri, 19 Mar 2004 06:19:57 GMT This blog will share ideas exploring the Spiritual Dimension of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The main premise is that there is spritual wisdom manifesting in OCD and how to recognize that. This brings one to start to transcend the illness while simultaneously developing hidden wisdom. The approach is Buddhistic in style based on the authors' background in Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. This does not mean that the "spiritual dimension" "is" "Buddhist." It is precisely the "doubt" and "uncertainty" in OCD that slowly reveals real wisdom. Even as one transcends OCD some symptoms continue... 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