#psychological balance

[kaleidoscopevisualart]

📺🎶 Kaleidoscope Visuals with Emotional Acoustic Piano

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Just a girl who wants to be her mother’s daughter in the ways that matter

[quotelr]

There will be times in your life when things simply have to be replaced because they are tired, broken, worn out, harmful, outdated, or irrelevant. Take an inventory of the things that no longer serve your best and highest good so you can replace them with things which do.

Susan C. Young

[vaguely-concerned]

one of the things mourn watch rook has the most comments about/seems pretty knowledgeable about when they're there is the way the necropolis will just shuffle rooms around every now and then on a whim, so I'm headcanoning that rye's previous area of expertise, outside of general watcher duties, was keeping track of and rediscovering these lost or displaced areas. that, and basically acting as a sort of tour guide when need be, such as on the day they met varric.

'have we really misplaced the ashen cathedral again? *sigh* that's the third time this year, we really must strengthen the wards. oh well. someone send for ingellvar, they'll track it down in no time I'm sure. and it might keep them out of trouble for a while'

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Fishes, Water, & Dreams: Dominant & Inferior

Part II of This Jungian Series

"Man becomes whole, integrated, calm, fertile, and happy when (and only when) the process of individuation is complete, when the conscious and the unconscious have learned to live at peace and to complement one another." -― C.G. Jung, Man and His Symbols

I wanted to look into the dominant and inferior Jung's theory Richie was reading in the network script of 2x01, which brought him to question his purpose. Using this I wanted to write what I believe is each character's inferior function.

I'm not a therapist but I love the subject of stories and mental health.

Carl Jung - a leading figure of psychology that theorized how people view and act in the world is based on four psychological functions that are either dominant or inferior. (Four functions are thinking,feeling,sensation, intution)

But TLDR: We behave based on these four functions, and one of these functions is an inferior part of our personality that needs to be explored. Eventually, it seeps into co-consciousness, asking for integration, and can make us act in compulsive ways to compensate for our weakening dominant function.

The inferior function can come into consciousness when a traumatic event occurs. I believe these psychological types reveal each character's inferior function.

The inferior function breaks through the ego's attempts to dominate and exposes us to the unknown and unexplored. According to Jung, despite being perceived as a weak spot in the personality, this "treasure hard to attain" is also the source of our vitality, liberation, and enjoyment.

Descriptions of the rational functions:

Thinking:

Internally or externally, using logical consistency, understanding, and concepts and systems in a personal way (introverted), we make decisions and organize and structure the world objectively, and we implement systems based on outside data (extraverted)

Extraverted: Principled, idealistic, objective, rational

Introverted: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.

Feeling:

 It is making decisions based on feelings and relationships. In an introverted way, it centers on internal values and personal emotions. It's about evaluating situations based on what feels right to the person.

Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.

Introverted: Sympathetic, pleases others, may be dependent, reserved.

Descriptions of Irrational Functions:

Sensation

We can recall and integrate our inner or external world to interpret our immediate environment and the present.

Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.

Introverted: Calm and passive, restrained, controlled and controlling.

Intuition

Focuses on internal insights that reveal patterns and future possibilities based on past experiences. It involves developing personal long-term visions and intuitively understanding complex ideas.

Extraverted: Enterprising, outgoing, can be irresponsible.

Introverted: Mystical, dreamer and artist. Can be obsessive.

I thought it would be interesting to apply these theories to Carmy, Sydney, Richie, and Natalie in the first part to get a quick profile of the characters. I also attached quotes from psychology types that go deep into Jung's theory on the four functions.

Carmen Bezatto- Inferior Function (Extraverted Feeling)

Dominant Introverted Thinker: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.

"In the case of a human object, the man has a distinct feeling that he matters only in a negative way, i.e., in milder instances he is merely conscious of being superfluous, but with a more extreme type he feels himself warded off as something definitely disturbing."

I was back and forth between extraverted sensing being his inferior or feeling. But Carmy's desire to no longer be alone overshadows. He longs to have Claire and Mikey's extroverted nature and way of being with people. Carmy, not knowing his inner feelings, reflects why he can have trouble focusing on the feelings of others at times. Since Mikey’s death, his inferior function - the longing to connect, to no longer compete - is playing in a way where carmy is resisting. Heavily relying on processing systems - what introverted thinking types are good at instead of working on their relationships and feelings of themselves and others.

This also stood out to me for the dominant introverted thinking types resisting- they will stay in environments no matter the external conditions as long as it lets them focus on their work and projects.

“"Invariably the object has to submit to a certain neglect; in worse cases, it is even surrounded with quite unnecessary measures of precaution. Thus, it happens that this type tends to disappear behind a cloud of misunderstanding."

Years ago, to help his trauma, Carmy heavily relied on this function that helped him understand systems and logic - to swallow his feelings and become the best chef. But now his longing for feeling for connection is weaning his introverted thinking effect. Now, it's affecting the relationships around him. His obsession with meeting high standards creates further misunderstandings. The more Carmy resists intergration it is only hurting himself and those he wishes to be close to, the season 3 finale the chefs dialogue reminds Carmy the reason he is running a restaurant has to be about the people. Not the systems of stars but putting importance on relationships will get him closer to wholeness.

Sydney- Inferior Function (Introverted Thinking)

Dominant: Extraverted Feeling

Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.

"One can feel 'correctly,' however, only when the feeling is disturbed by nothing else. But nothing disturbs feeling so much as thinking."

Some sites consider Sydney introverted, but I say extroverted. Watching Season 3 highlighted for me that Sydney is an extravert. She can talk to a group of world-star chefs and include herself in conversation seamlessly- adding her humor to the mix- extravert. Also, the party she threw at her apartment, along with the desire to go out and explore the external world. Sydney needs social harmony amongst the team. Sometimes, she shows some socially awkward moments, but that plays into her inferior function, where she can sometimes overthink.

Also important to note is that being alone at her dad’s house was not great for Sydney's headspace. She has to be out in the world exploring and engaging with people.

Sydney is open to new possibilities. Carmy, though he wants to improve the beef, automatically resorts to old, tried, and accurate methods. Sydney presents how different and positive things could be. 

Her inferior function is introverted thinking. Sydney is working on this for the 3rd season. Her dad points out how excited she is about opening The Bear but wants her to still be cautious, and it seems she did this same thought process with her catering business. There seemed to be a sense of urgency? She did move out fast, according to Emmanuel, like that is second nature to her, and for her dad to be pre cautious, she considers it negative.

At the beginning of season 1, by meeting Carmy and being part of the beef, Sydney approaches things differently than what's in her nature. She’s patient (incredibly patient with carmy) and creates and analyzes systems that will work for the business. This, along with her feelings of enthusiasm that I'm sure she hasn't felt since the start of her catering business, has her leaping in despite what happened in review which wasnt quite resolved between Sydney and Carmu. Her feelings are in it. She sees that carmy is open to a new chapter, and her feelings for her team make her jump into opening The Bear.

But 2x10 brings her back down to reality. Because of the Berzattos' dysfunction, she takes a step back to see if she should actually sign the agreement. In this case, her inferior function is asking for integration. This explains why she suddenly wants to think logically when faced with this decision. It’s as though she’s trying to step back and analyze the situation carefully, but this may not come naturally to her, and it leads to internal conflict.

Sidebar: This was not on purpose! But seriously, it's funny that Sydney's dominant function is Carmy's inferior and vice versa. Sydney wants to create a new menu, and carmy says, "Give me a minute." Classic interaction of an extroverted feeling (I feel this, and you should too! Let's do it, carmy!) and introverted type- (I'm not so sure; I need a minute to think).

Richie Jerimovich inferior Function (Introverted  Intution)

Dominant Extraverted Sensing

Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.

"Upon the lower levels this is the man of tangible reality, with little tendency either for reflection or commanding purpose."

We don’t see much of Richie’s inferior function play except for season one. Since he’s extraverted sensation-dominant, he relies on external senses to connect to the world. Due to Mikey’s death, we don’t see this side of Richie. We only hear stories of the boisterous nature of Mikey’s sidekick, such as all-night partying and random trips. 

With the introverted intuition being inferior, there is anxiety towards thinking long-term. We see him consider long-term goals when Tiffany’s pregnant, but it falls through. His attachment to his immediate environment The Beef,Mikey- attachment to the delicate ecosystem Richie overcompensates with his dominant function - he’s louder and even more stuck in keeping his immediate environment the same. 

Then, in season 2 , Richie becomes more introverted and considers aspects of his personality yet to develop. A lack of responsibility runs inferior intuition, but Richie is on the integration steps when he asks Carmy for his purpose. 

In Forks, his inferior function plays out, mainly when cleaning forks, where he can’t see the purpose or have a deeper reflection of the repetitive task. It isn’t until Tiffany tells him the news of her long-term future happening that Richie again reflects and has a deeper introspection - working on his unconscious, he starts to understand what he can do for self-actualization.

As the episode progresses, Richie’s inferior intuition starts to realize when he begins to appreciate the high standards and purpose at Ever. He connects with Chef Terry’s story about her father’s journals, which helps Richie connect the dots between his life and the importance of how to spend his time, dedication, and purpose. 

Season 3 Richie has a different level of self awareness. He understands the causes of fear and how his dominant sensation function overcompensates (e.g., Carmy changing his environment, which creates fear in his dojo), and he notices Carmy's own need for integration.

You notice at Sydneys partner Richie wasn't as loud as season 1 Richie? He didn't celebrate immediately at Ever Funeral dinner. He connected to the decorations and showed his extraverted personality, which is more pleasant than we've seen him. Even through being in a group, his introverted intution comes into light when he asks Jess how she continues to find inspiration. Richie wants to move forward by still creating that meaning in his life that only the intution function can give him his answer.

Natalie Berzatto Inferior Introverted Thinking

Dominant:Extraverted Feeling

This made me see Natalie and Sydney's relationship in an even more positive light - they have the same dominant and inferior functions- no wonder Sydney naturally asked Natalie if she was okay. Natalie also cares about the well-being of her family and prioritizes relationships and those happiness around her - although this can be positive for Sydney. We see this as a negative for Natalie. She makes herself sick as she tells her mother. But this imo tells me that Natalie's dominant function of feeling for those around her was and drained by Donna, or it's an overcompensation for her upbringing. Maybe both.

Internal introverted thinking is her inferior function, and this plays out in season 3 when Natalie, like Sydney, is having a battle between her heart and her head. She wants to connect to her mother but knows the implications of bringing a child into the world she was raised in. Logically, Natalie knows her mom is who she is, and she must accept it from a distance, but she still longs for a close relationship with everyone around her—she longs for social harmony.

In the Ice Chips episode, we see Natalie's inferior function come out and integrate when she observes her mother during her labor. Natalie can think logically and see why she is the way she is, hold her mother accountable, and see everything objectively. She sees how broken her mother is and can move forward when she balances her head and her heart.

Thank you for reading! Season 3 really did a deep dive into psychology. I would not be surprised if the writers explored personality types and integration. Do you notice the show also uses a lot of symbolism, and a character is always discussing a dream they had? Well, Jung was big on dreams and symbolism as a way to connect to our subconscious to get closer to integration. I'll connect the symbolism and dreams with Jung in the next post.

Tagging @moodyeucalyptus @mitocamdria @vacationship @whenmemorydies @brokenwinebox @fresaton

[reasonsforhope]

It has often been dismissed as utopian thinking, a pie-in-the-sky idea that wouldn’t survive contact with reality. But the four-day week has once again quietened critics, as the results of the world’s trial suggest that it’s a win-win for employees and their bosses. 

Workers who adopted a shorter week with no loss of pay were found to be happier, more productive, took fewer sick days and generated more revenue for their employers, a landmark study has found. 

The Study

Led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, England, the study assessed the impact of a pioneering four-day week trial, which took place in the UK between June and December 2022. Of the 61 firms that took part – among them online retailers, financial service providers and restaurants – 56 pledged to make the move permanent. [Note: That's 91% of the firms!!]

The Results

Researchers found that 71% of participants reported lower levels of burnout, with 39% saying they were less stressed than before the trial. What’s more, 60% found that they were better able to combine paid work with care responsibilities, while 62% said it was easier to combine work with their social lives.

Unsurprisingly, this translated into a 65% reduction in sick days, and a 57% drop in the number of staff leaving compared with the same six-month period the previous year. 

Concerns that switching workers to a four-day week would impact profits did not materialise. In fact, when compared to a similar period from previous years, organisations reported revenue increases of 35 per cent on average.

Trials have continually proved successful

"We feel really encouraged by the results, which showed the many ways companies were turning the four-day week from a dream into a realistic policy, with multiple benefits,” said Dr David Frayne, research associate at University of Cambridge. “We think there is a lot here that ought to motivate other companies and industries to give it a try.”

The trial involved two months of preparation, with workshops, coaching, mentoring and peer support for participants. Resisting the idea that the trial must be ‘one-size-fits-all’, each firm designed a policy tailored to its particular needs.

Some academics have questioned the merits of a four-day week, arguing that it can create more stress for employees because they have the same amount of work to do in fewer hours.

Nevertheless, with trials taking place around the world, often with positive results, the shorter working week appears finally to be going mainstream.

Of the UK trial, Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said: “This is a major breakthrough moment for the movement towards a four-day working week. Across a wide variety of different sectors of the economy, these incredible results show that the four-day week with no loss of pay really works.

“Surely the time has now come to begin rolling it out across the country.”

-via Positive News, 2/21/23

[bunniesandbeheadings]

It’s hard to be a hater against someone who’s been dead for so long. I can’t bully Marie Louise off of twitter. Because of woke. And also because she’s been dead for like, a whole bunch of slutty slutty years.

[lostworldss]

randomly thinking about it again but i absolutely hate the “we didn’t ask you how you were doing because we thought you would bring it up when you were ready” thing in Blades 2

like it just reminds me of when people do that in real life and it sucks. they don’t ask you about yourself or how your doing but just randomly expect you to start talking about it out of the blue?

even when you ask them how they’re doing and talk to them about their problems, for some reason they can’t turn it around and do the same for you?

why would i think you want me to start venting about my trauma unprompted?

you haven’t indicated any interest that you want me to share that with you?

talking about heavy topics like MC’s trauma with being taken for a year are not something you can just casually bring up. heavy topics can be emotionally taxing, and not everybody wants to discuss it. it can sometimes feel like a burden on other people.

it seems like MC didn’t want to bring up their trauma because they didn’t want to burden everyone with it, as they already have their own problems to deal with. MC didn’t have any inclination to think that the others wanted them to vent because they’ve only been worried about themselves and haven’t shown anything to indicate that they care about MC’s problems.

i love the all the LIs in Blades and i believe that all of them love and care about MC so much. that being said, they definitely all seemed to be pretty narcissistic with their problems in book 2. i’m not going to say selfish, because i don’t believe they deliberately meant to hurt MC. since again, MC didn’t bring their problems up, so they wouldn’t think it’s that bad.

but having the mindset that your friend will just bring up their trauma whenever they’re ready and just to not ask them about it, seems more harmful than good. it just comes off as not caring.

and it’s crazy because MC is always asking the others how they are doing and checking up on them with their traumas throughout the book. yet no one really does the same for them.

communication is a two-way street and MC definitely could have brought it up if they wanted to talk about it, but like i said before, it seems like they had the mindset that everyone else’s problems come before their own and they don’t want to burden anybody. and maybe they didn’t think it was that bad themselves. maybe it wasn’t until the two panic attacks that they really recognized it and thought about it. although if that’s what happened, that’s even worse. because if they had simply talked about with one of their friends first, they would’ve actually realized how much it affected them before then.

i’m not blaming the LIs or holding any ill will to any of them because of this, because this was definitely just bad and lazy writing on the writers’ part. they definitely did not put any thought in MC’s arc in the book, instead focusing on the LIs. MC felt like an afterthought, and they just slapped on this scene with the LIs at the end because they realized that had to come back/wrap up MC’s trauma arc in some way. (an arc which consisted of just the one other panic attack pointing out that the trauma existed in ch.8 and that’s it.) i still love the majority of the scene and the group hug, but the reasoning for the writers not wanting to put any other thought into MC’s trauma just being explained with the idea that everybody did actually care but they didn’t want to bring it up to save your feelings or something, is really bad. and i don’t think they realize how bad it makes the LIs come off.

[lisablack000]

The inner development process, which leads to the realization of this fourth stage, Jung called the individuation process.

It involves the development of what is known as a mature personality, “a well-rounded psychic whole that is capable of resistance and abounding in energy,” which is capable of choosing its own path and self-reliantly remains true to its own inner law.

Especially in times of collective neurosis, the existence of such mature people is of crucial importance.

Also in this stage, according to Jung, only dreams can point the way, for this development follows a purely inner bent or is determined by destiny.

Dreams that are an index of the individuation process have, as we shall see, a strange religious or mythological character, for after all it is really religions that have served humanity in the discovery of inner meaning from time immemorial.

Today, however, there are all too many people for whom the existing religions are no longer capable of providing any meaning and who are also not satisfied by the purely extraverted worldview of contemporary science or by the intellectual word games of modern philosophers.

It is at moments like these that many people are called by an inner voice and find themselves compelled to set forth on an inner quest. -Marie-Louise von Franz, Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche, Page 200

[csuitebitches]

Book Review/ Notes from: The Psychology of Successful Women

I found the book pretty generic but I liked the fact that she added guiding questions to her strategies, which made it more doable. Here are the notes:

1. Define what success means to you. Ensure that it is healthy and holistic.

2. Note down your goals. “What do i want to be/do/have in my career?”

“A study on goal setting at the Dominican University in California showed you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Written goals are proven to increase your focus, strengthen motivation and help you come up with a plan of attack to make your dreams a reality.”

3. We need a combination of the right mindset + behaviour in order to actually succeed.

4. Confidence isnt relative to being an extrovert or introvert. Confidence is about having trust in oneself.

A) developing a positive internal dialogue instead of a negative, critical one

B) focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. “.. revealed that people who used their strengths every day were three times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life, six times more likely to be engaged at work, 8% more productive and 15% less likely to quit their jobs.”

C) stop comparison - whether it means logging off social media or unfollowing/restricting certain people.

D) click with people with the same values as you.

E) believe in yourself. It’s not your job to prove yourself to everyone.

5. Developing a personal brand is important. A personal brand is how people see you and what you’re known for. Its important to consider how you present yourself online and offline.

• Your personal (people person/ adaptable/ flexible, etc) and professional strengths (what you really enjoy doing)

• What makes you unique

• Your achievements and qualifications

• Your life experiences

• Your values and the things that are important to you

• Your passions

• Your image

• Your mindset and attitude

• Your behaviour

Ask people around you how they see you - speak to people you deeply trust.

Reflect on that.

How would you like them to see you?

6. Imposter syndrome is often described as a pervasive feeling of self-doubt, inadequacy and incompetence, despite evidence of success.

A. Identity triggers and thought patterns to that lead you to feeling like a fake.

B. Acknowledge your past success and accomplishments. Write a list of some of your achievements and successes. Reflect on some of the great feedback you have received from a client or colleague in the past few months.

7. Boundary setting is a necessary evil. You will feel guilty at first, but it gets easier with time. You dont have to give out excessive excuses, either.

8. Fear of failure: What have you been putting off learning, doing or experiencing personally or professionally, because of fear of failure, or a fear of not being ready? • What can you do this week or month to stretch your comfort zone? • What would you do right now if you knew you absolutely couldn’t fail?

9. “Women tend to apologise a lot more than men in general, even when we have nothing to apologise for – almost out of habit. Do you say sorry a lot? Now this does not mean that we should never apologise, or that we can’t say sorry – of course we can. Just be mindful of over-apologising.”

Phrases to stop saying:

- I’m sorry that our director is unable to come today, you’ll have to put up with me instead…

- Apologies if I’m nervous today, I don’t often speak in public…

- I hope you dont mind but…

- I’m no expert on this but…

10. Stop diminishing yourself. “When we undervalue our role or contribution, we often reflect this in our language, and talk like what we do is not that important. Furthermore, when we don’t genuinely value ourselves, we may start to convince others of the same. People will often mirror back to us how we feel or speak about ourselves.”

11. “People with high levels of resilience think and act in ways that help them cope with change and setbacks. For example, they are flexible and can adapt to changing situations. They also tend to be positive and hopeful – believing the future can or will be better – even if they are in the middle of a challenge. Highly resilient people also don’t tend to dwell on setbacks and things they can’t change.”

Strategies:

1. Dont be afraid to ask for help. “People who are good at reaching out to others, talking about their challenges or setbacks, asking for help and then accepting that help, tend to cope better.”

2. Control what you can control. Do not focus on things you can’t control or change.

[vladimir777sk]

☝ Держи баланс 😉☕

Умный человек счастлив, лишь когда удостаивается собственной похвалы; дурак же довольствуется аплодисментами окружающих. Джозеф Аддисон

*An intelligent person is happy only when he receives his own praise; a fool is content with the applause of others. Joseph Addison

[penrose-quinn]

I'm sort of afraid that my Shinomi fic might get misinterpreted t.t

[cool-corpse]

Full Moon in Capricorn July 21, 2024: Karmic Closure

There is a Full Moon on July 21st, 2024, occurring in the 29th degree of Capricorn. This is a continuation of the story that started with the last Full Moon on June 21st that occurred in the first degree of Capricorn. The occurrence of two consecutive Full Moons in the same sign is rare and gives us an interesting energy to work with. This is a period of major karmic endings and new beginnings as…

[transingthoseformers]

There are many valid reasons to have beef with rid15 but fuck are a lot of the Decepticon / Decepticon adjacent designs pretty

Hell i think i prefer Starscream's rid15 design over his TFP one because he feels more Starscreamesque to me

[devilsskettle]

i've watched a lot of good films lately in an attempt to catch up with a bunch of movies that have come out recently, but talk to me was the best movie i've seen in a LONG time

[dailydivination365]

Excess is dangerous. When any aspect of life is out of balance, it creates a breeding ground for chaos. Chaos isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can derail good progress.

Thus, finding the proper positions for things is vital. For instance, when chaos is placed in the proper position and executed at the proper time, it can lead to remarkable progress.

When we look at the seasons, they follow a specific order. Spring allows plants to thrive, summer provides the proper conditions for fruit-bearing, autumn allows for fruit maturity and harvest, and winter allows plants appropriate rest so the cycle can restart.

Now, imagine if winter suddenly decided to come after summer. Then no fruits could be harvested, and we'd be screwed.

While these occurrences are generally out of our immediate control, we can create an appropriate order within ourselves.

When you can order things appropriately, you can lead a life of grace. No, it won't solve the world's major problems, but it'll solve yours. And when your problems are solved, you can help others do the same.

I CHING INFO:

Initial hexagram: 37. The Family - Wind over Fire - Moving lines: 5th

Transformed Hexagram: 22. Grace - Mountain over Fire