This is the follow up article to Go mad with Dr Johnson. If you haven't read that one yet then best to read it here before returning to this page.
The core problem with Johnson was that he was dominated by his ego. I have written quite a bit about the ego before on this blog. The fundamental problem with the ego is that it is based on a sense that we are lacking in something (love, intelligence, security, success, approval, etc). So the ego is always driving us on to prove ourselves in some way - a never-ending search that is exhausting because the ego is never satisfied. The problem is compounded by the delusion that the ego - with its habitual thoughts, demands, duties, and obligations; its isolation and loneliness; its conviction that it alone knows the 'truth' - is the Self. But the ego is not who you are. You are the spirit that lives through Bodymind and is grounded in the now. Your ego was just something you set up on the rebound from other people.
In Johnson's case his ego was dominated by three ideas:
That he was a freak (from childhood he was hideously disfigured by facial scars and most likely he also had Tourette's syndrome).
That he was an outcast (he was forced to leave Oxford University due to poverty)
That he had to be wiser than everybody else.
The result was that he spent his life secretly loathing himself and using his brilliant mind to dominate other people. But the net result was that he grew more and more lonely, more and more self-judgmental, and more and more depressed.
In Reverse Therapy I work every day with people who are trapped in personal misery. Sometimes that unhappiness is linked to external events: death, separation, illness, redundancy, abuse, conflict, etc. Even so, I try to teach my clients that you can remain positive, self-nurturing, outgoing and self-accepting even while you are dealing with adversity. Not to mention grounded, working with emotional intelligence, and striving to live in the now.
In my view the troubles of life are not the cause of personal misery. That is shown by the fact that many people have come through terrible circumstances but remain cheerful, optimistic and an inspiration to others (think Nelson Mandela).
The main cause of personal suffering is that we are trapped in the ego. If this is so then the solution is to escape from the ego. I have already described how people can achieve this in a previous article - Downsizing the ego but I will add a few more points to what I wrote there:
Try to see life as a game which you play for the pleasure of doing so, not to prove anything to others.
Don't take yourself too seriously. Laugh at yourself, often.
Whatever your bananas are - do the opposite.
Don't dwell on past experiences.
Keep your focus on other people, not on yourself.
Experiment with new personalities. Don't settle for one way of being.
Always tell the truth. Only the ego lies.
Nurture your Personal Genius - it is the antidote for small-mindedness.
Practice Awareness - always.
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