Things have been quiet around here.

Not a lot of discussion happening here as of late. That's bound to happen every now and then, since our membership is pretty restricted. Chris and I have toyed with the idea of opening certain areas of the forum to the public, while leaving some threads private. While that would increase the traffic to the place, I don't know that it would result in the types of conversations we like to have here. The flip side of this, though, is that it might in fact lead to conversations that we DON'T like to have here. More isn't always better.

As for why I've been a sort of absentee landlord, my life is more full now than it has ever been. Grad school has me swamped, and I'm still working full time. I still make time to practice daily, usually in an empty conference room at work.

My psychological studies have lead me to become increasing interested in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced as a word, not as initials). It's a mindfulness-based behavior therapy that is sometimes described as being a part of the "3rd wave" of behavior therapies (1st wave = Skinner's behaviorism, 2nd wave = Beck and Ellis' CBT). One of the things I find most intriguing about ACT is that it is based on a Functional Contextual theory of language and cognition called Relational Frame Theory (RFT). Together, ACT and RFT describe how the way human beings learn and use language can often be the cause of our experiential suffering; and, that by making manipulating the context of experience -- rather than its content -- the function of relational responses to stimuli can be changed. If I wrote that our correctly, you'll be able to see how this fits nicely with the practice of many forms of Buddhist meditation (among other Eastern and Western contemplative forms).

The research data on ACT is promising, showing it to be at least as effective as the 'gold standard' CBT for many of ways human beings suffer psychologically. If anyone is interested in learning more about ACT and RFT, visit www.contextualpsychology.org .

I hope no one minds my dumping psychotherapy stuff in the forums every now and then. It's sort of my life right now.

I wish you all well! Let's get talking again soon.

Jackson

Thanks for posting this.

I'm kind of ready and willing to post throughout the day but am reluctant to be the only one posting, so I've kind of slowed down.

Jackson, I remember one of my early therapists (the third of fourth of many) based her work on Albert Ellis' "rational emotive therapy" -- is this the same Ellis you mention above? I kept the book for a long time and many of the tools were and are very effective.

Hi, guys-- on my part, I was gone on retreat last week, and trying to catch up to yesterday this week.

But the retreat, and recent semiannual Lama visit, has got some things percolating away, and I should find something to say soon. And the class I'm taking on Daoist foundations of Classical Chinese Medicine is another source of inspiration. There's a bunch of stuff in the gestating stage.

I'd make a plea for slow growth of the forum-- my observation of the forum-frequenting population is that there's a corps of people who LOVE controversy. Myself, not so much; and it gets overwhelming on some places. A peek at Brad Warner's comments section can be really illuminating, if what I'm saying needs a case in point.

Hi guys!

Yeah, it seems wise to take it slow. We can always expand, but it would be tough to pull back after opening up, ya know? Prudence and all that. I'll take quality over quantity. I like that the conversations here aren't by any means a mutual backslapping society thing-- there are real differences expressed all the time. But so far conflicting viewpoints have generally met each other in really stimulating ways. I don't think any of us is into "dharma combat" anymore (if we ever were) and yet we're all looking to learn and be stimulated. Hurrah!

Also Jackson I am certainly biased but do keep the psych references coming. There's a lot of great stuff out there and it's directly on track I think in terms of reducing suffering.

I also do not mind the discussion being a little on the slow side. I am also quite busy for the next weeks. I enjoy the slow but thoughtful discussion here.

Tomo, I hope you're kidding about being kicked out. That isn't going to happen.

I like hearing your opinion on things, and I'm not the only one.

Amen and me, too!

Yeah I was just wondering the other day where your practice and perspective are at lately. I enjoy your posts and participation!