Randolph Harris II International

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If there is a Fog, the Monsters Can’t See Me!

Domestic burglary is a huge societal problem, and one of the most frequently occurring crimes. In the United States of America, 1.1 million domestic burglaries are reported to the police each year. To give a sense of community dysfunction associated with the problem of domestic burglary, the very commonly reported issue is theft of goods and money from the family home or mailbox, which may be used buy drugs. And, sometimes, it is not always by a family member; the theft could be perpetrated by one’s neighbor, or even a stranger. There is, of course, the inconvenience of the theft to consider, but the damage is far greater than can be measured in material terms. Domestic burglary victimization is a traumatic experience, because most people consider their home as an extension of the self and a place where the self is protected against others. Intrusions to such a highly valued place are therefore regarded as attacks to both one’s personhood and one’s safety and privacy, and may render victims at risk of psychological distress. Some of the victims develop trauma-related disorders or mood or anxiety disorders, which may put them at risk of social, financial, economic, and physical health problems. The monetary costs of these burglaries (exempli gratia, due to damaged properties and stolen goods, police investigations, and victim services) are enormous. For example, the total monetary costs of domestic burglary have been estimated to amount to more than $9 billion a year in the United States of America (which comes down to $2,675) per burglarized house. #RandolphHarris 1 of 32

To mitigate crime victims’ psychological distress, they must receive adequate support services. To ensure that they have access to such services, police officers and other professionals working with crime victims should screen them for factors shown to be related to the experience or development of psychological distress. Drug users in the general population are more likely than nonusers to commit crimes. Another dimension of drug-related crime is that 25 percent of State prison inmates and 20 percent of convicted jail inmates reported committing their offenses to get money to buy drugs. Offenders convicted of robbery, burglary, and larceny/theft were most likely to commit their offense to obtain money to buy drugs. Many chronic drug abusers—the individuals we commonly regard as addicts—often simultaneously suffer from a serious mental disorder. Drug treatment and medical professionals call this condition a co-occurring disorder or a dual diagnosis. Chronic drug abuse is the habitual abuse of licit or illicit drugs to the extent that the abuse substantially injures a person’s health or substantially interferes with his or her social or economic functioning. Furthermore, any person who has lost the power of self-control over the use of drugs is considered a chronic drug user. Chronic drug abuse may occur in conjunction with any mental illness identified in the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV). Some common serious mental disorders associated with chronic drug abuse include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, manic depression, attention deficit hype disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. #RandolphHarris 2 of 32

Co-occurring disorders are very common. Approximately 6 million adults met the criteria for both serious mental illness and substance dependence or abuse in the past year. Some people suffering from serious mental disorders (often undiagnosed ones) take drugs to alleviate their symptoms—a practice known as self-medicating. According to the American Psychiatric Association, individuals with schizophrenia sometimes use substances such as marijuana to mitigate the disorder’s negative symptoms (depression, apathy, and social withdrawal), to combat auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions, or to lessen the adverse effects of their medication, which can include depression and restlessness. In other cases, mental disorders are caused by drug abuse. For example, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy) produces long-term deficits in serotonin function in the brain, leading to mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Chronic drug abuse by adolescents during formative years is a particular concern because it can interfere with normal socialization and cognitive development and thus frequently contributes to the development of mental disorders. However, chronic drug abusers who suffer from mental illness, and especially whether treating both conditions simultaneously leads to better recovery. Currently, the two conditions are often treated separately or without regard to each other. As a result, many individuals with co-occurring disorders are sent back and forth between substance abuse and mental health treatment settings. #RandolphHarris 3 of 32

Although one cannot always distinguish neatly between alienation from the actual self and that from the real self, the loss of self is sickness unto death; it is despair—despair at not being conscious of having a self, or despair at not being willing to be ourselves. However, it is a despair which does not clamor or scream. People go on living as if they were still in immediate contact with this alive center. Any other loss—that of a job, say, or a leg—arouses far more concern. Patients coming for consultation complain about headaches, sexual disturbances, inhibitions in work, or other symptoms; as a rule, they do not complain about having lost touch with the core of their psychic existence. There are many forces, including drugs, responsible for the alienation from self. It is in part the consequences of the whole neurotic development, especially of all that is compulsive in neurosis. Of all that implies, “I am driven instead of being the driver.” It does not matter in this context what the particular compulsive factors are—whether they operate in relation to others (compliance, vindictiveness, detachment, et cetera) or in relation to self, as in self-idealization. They very compulsive character of these drives inevitably deprives the person of his full autonomy and spontaneity. As soon as, for instance, his need to be liked by everybody becomes compulsive, the genuineness of his feelings diminishes; so does his power to discriminate. As soon as he is driven to do a piece of work for the sake of glory, his spontaneous interest in the work itself decreases. Conflicting compulsive drives, in addition, impair his integration, his faculty to decide and give direction. Last but not least, the neurotic pseudo-solutions, though representing attempts at integration, also deprive him of autonomy because they have become a compulsive way of living. #RandolphHarris 4 of 32

It does not matter, in this context, what the particular compulsive factors are—whether they operate in relation to others (compliance, vindictiveness, detachment, et cetera) or in the relation to self, as in self-idealization. The very compulsive character of these drives inevitably deprives the person of his full autonomy and spontaneity. As soon as, for instance, his need to be liked by everybody becomes compulsive, the genuineness of his feelings diminishes; so does his power to discriminate. As soon as he is driven to do a piece of work for the sake of glory, his spontaneous interest in the work itself decreases. Conflicting compulsive drives, in addition, impair his integration, his faculty to decide and give direction. Last but not least, the neurotic pseudo-solutions, though representing attempts at integration, also deprive him of autonomy because they become a compulsive way of living. Secondly, the alienation is furthered through process, likewise compulsive, which can be described as active moves away from the real self. The whole drive for glory is such a move, particularly through the neurotic’s determination to mold himself into something he is not. He feels what he should feel, wishes what he should wish, like what he should like. In other words, the tyranny of the should drives him frantically to be something different from what he is or could be. And in this imagination, he is different—so different, indeed, that his real self fades and pales still more. #RandolphHarris 5 of 32

Neurotic claims, in terms of self, mean the abandoning of the reservoir of spontaneous energies. Instead of making his own efforts, for instance, with regard to, human relations, the neurotic insists that others should adjust to him. Instead of putting himself into his work, he feels entitled to having it done for him. Instead of making his own decisions, he insists that others should be responsible for him. Therefore, his constrictive energies lie fallow, and he actually is less and less a determining factor in his own life. Neurotic pride removes him a step further from himself. Since he now becomes ashamed of what he actually is—of his feelings, resources, activities—he actively withdraws his interest from himself. The whole process of externalization is another active moving away from his self, actual and real. It is astonishing, by the way, how closely this process coincides with Dr. Kierkegaard’s “despair of not wanting to be oneself.” Finally, there are active moves against the real self, as expressed in self-hates. With the real self in exile, so to speak, one becomes a condemned convict, despised and threatened with destruction. The idea of being oneself even becomes loathsome and terrifying. The terror sometimes appears undisguised, as one patient felt it when thinking: “This is me.” This appeared at a time when the neat distinction she had made between “me” and “my neurosis” started to crumble. As a protection against this terror, the neurotic “makes himself disappear.” He has an unconscious interest in not having a clear perception of himself—in making himself, as it were, deaf, dumb, and blind. #RandolphHarris 6 of 32

Not only does he blur the truth about himself, but he has a vested interest in doing so—a process which blunts his sensitiveness to what is true and what is false not only inside but also outside himself. He has an interest in maintaining his haziness, although he may consciously suffer under it. One patient, for instance, in his associations often used the monsters of the Beowulf legend, who emerged at night from the lake, to symbolize his self-hate. And one he said: “If there is a fog, the monsters can’t see me.” The result of all these moves is an alienation from self. When we use this term, we must be aware that it focuses on only one aspect of the phenomenon. What is expressed accurately is the subjective feeling of the neurotic of being removed from himself. He may realize in analysis that all the intelligent things he has said about himself were, in reality, disconnected from him and his life, that they concerned some fellow with whom he had little if anything to do, and the findings about whom were interesting but did not apply to his life. In fact, this analytic experience leads us straight into the core of the problem. For we must keep in mind that the patient does not talk about weather or television: he talks about his most intimate personal life experiences. Yet, they have lost their personal meaning. And, just as he may talk about himself without “being in it,” so he may work, be with friends, take a walk, or sleep with a woman without being in it. #RandolphHarris 7 of 32

His relation to himself has become impersonal; so has his relation to his whole life. If the word “depersonalization” did not already have a specific psychiatric meaning, it would be a good term for what alienation from self essentially is: it is a depersonalizing, and therefore a devitalizing process. The alienation from self does not show as directly and blatantly as its significance would suggest, except (speaking of neuroses only) in the state of depersonalization, feelings of unreality, or amnesia. While these conditions are temporary, they can occur only in person who are estranged from themselves anyhow. The factors precipitating the feelings of unreality are usually severe injuries to pride together with an acute increase of self-contempt, exceeding what is tolerable for the particular person. Conversely, when—with or without therapy—these acute conditions subside, his alienation from self is not thereby essentially changed. It is merely again restrained within such limits that he can function without conspicuous disorientation. Otherwise, the trained observer would be able to perceive certain general symptoms pointing to an existing alienation from self, such as deadness of the eyes, an aura of impersonality, an automatonlike behavior. For the analyst, it is a source of never-ending astonishment how comparatively well a person can function with the core of himself not participating. Let us consider a problem from another region. A woman from the Middle West, rather unusually feminine and sensitive, uses a visit with relatives in the East to consult a psychoanalyst concerning a general feeling of affective constriction and an all-pervasive mild anxiety. #RandolphHarris 8 of 32

During an exploratory analysis, she seems almost lifeless. After some weeks, she occasionally produces a sudden flood of associations, all concerning horrid impressions of pleasures of the flesh or death. Many of these memories emerge not from unconscious depths, but from an isolated corner of her consciousness where all those frightening matters were boarded off which on occasion had broken through the orderly factualness of the upper-middle-class surroundings of her childhood. This isolation of life segments is similar to that met with in compulsive neurotics anywhere. In this case, it was part of a sanctioned way of life, an ethos, which in our patient had become truly uncomfortable only at a time when she was being courted by a European and was trying to envisage life in a cosmopolitan atmosphere. She felt attracted but at the same time inhibited; her imagination was vividly provoked but restrained by anxiety. Her bowels reflected this conflict with disturbing alternations between constipation and diarrhea. The final impression gained was one of a general inhibition rather than of a basic impoverishment of imagination in matters either dealing with pleasures of the flesh or social. The patient’s dreams gradually reveled a hidden source of untapped freedom. While she still seemed pained and lifeless in her free associations, her dream life became humorous and imaginative in an almost autonomous way. She dreamed of entering a quiet church congregation in a flaming red dress and of throwing stones through respectable windows (which would be a major felony and probably ban her from being hired for most jobs after a lengthy prison sentence). However, her most colorful dreams put her into Civil War days—on the Confederate side. #RandolphHarris 9 of 32

The climax was a dream in which she sat on a toilet, set off by low partitions in the middle of a tremendous ballroom, and waved to elegantly dressed couples of Confederate officers and southern ladies who swirled around her to the sounds of powerful brass. These dreams helped to unearth and highlight an isolated part of her childhood, namely, the gentle warmth awarded her by her grandfather, a Confederate veteran whose world was a fairy tale of the past. However, for all its formalism, the grandfather’s patriarchal masculinity and gentle affection had been experienced through the child’s hungry senses and had proved more immediately reassuring to her searching ego than either her father’s or mother’s promises of standardized success. With the grandfather’s death, the patient’s affects went dead because they were part of an abortive ego-identity formation which failed to receive nourishment either in the form of affection or of social rewards. The psychoanalytic treatment of women with a prominent identity element of the southern lady (an identity which pervades more than one class or race) seems complicated by special resistances. To be sure, our patients are usually dislodged southerners, their ladyhood a defense, almost a symptom. Their wish for treatment finds its limits in three ideas which are all connected with the particular provisions in southern culture for safeguarding caste and race identity by imposing the prototype of the lady on the small girl. #RandolphHarris 10 of 32

There is, first, a pseudoparanoid suspicion that life is a series of critical tests in which vicious gossips attempt to stack up minor weaknesses and blemishes against the southern woman toward an inexorable final judgment, namely, to be—or not to be—a lady. Second, there is the all-pervading conviction that men, if not restrained by the formalities of a tacitly approved double standard which grants them lesser and darker sex objects at the price of overt respect for ladies, will prove to be no gentlemen and that they will at very least try to blacken the lady’s name and with it her claim to a socially superior husband and the prospect of having her children marry upward. However, there is also the equally ambivalent implication that any man who does not proceed to shed his gentleman’s inhibitions when the opportunity of sexual conquest offers itself is a weakling who only deserves to be mercilessly provoked. The usual feelings of guilt and inferiority thus all exists within the co-ordinates of a life plan dominated by the conscious hope for higher social status, and made morbid by its ambivalent counterpart, the hidden hope for the man who will dissolve the woman’s need to be a lady in a moment of reckless passion. In all this, there is a basic inability to conceive of any area in life where the standards and the words of a man and a woman could honestly coincide and be lifted above a certain primeval antagonism. Needless to say, such unconscious standards cause severe suffering in sincere and enlightened women, but only the verbalization of these internalized stereotypes, concomitantly with the analysis of the patient’s transfer to the analyst of her whole conflictful imagery of men, makes psychoanalysis possible. #RandolphHarris 11 of 32

Psychoanalysts, of course, are consulted primarily by those who cannot stand the tension between alternatives, contrasts, and polarities which governs the American style of today: the unceasing necessity to remain tentative in order to be free for bigger and better opportunities. In their transferences and in their resistances, patients repeat abortive attempts at synchronizing fast-changing and sharply contrasting remnants of national, regional, and class identities during critical stages of their childhoods. The analyst is woven into the patient’s unconscious life plan. Especially if he is European-born, and compared with the patient’s more homogeneous ancestors, or he is resisted as the brainy enemy of a potentially successful American identity, he is idealized. The patient, however, can gain the courage to face the discontinuities of life in this country and the polarities of its struggle for an economic and cultural identity not as an imposed hostile reality, but as a potential promise for a more universal human identity. This, as we have seen, finds its limits where individuals were either fundamentally impoverished in their childhood sensuality or are stalled by the “system” in their freedom to use opportunities. Why did Pythagoras put mathematics among the necessary preliminary disciplines for the study of philosophy? Here was part of the way to counteract man’s natural materialism. It trained him to think abstractly, to hold pure ideas whose exactitude and truthfulness were indisputable. And he supported the teaching by pointing to the fact that the universe was founded on a number. Finally, the higher use of mathematics was as an assistant in symbolizing metaphysical principles. #RandolphHarris 12 of 32

When we begin to operate with abstract concepts in the practical world, we begin to know their true worth. Except as an intellectual exercise, I would discourage abstract speculation upon which so many intellectuals have frittered away their time, as our medieval theologians frittered theirs. We seek truth for various reasons. One is because is possesses a certitude that gives us anchorage and rest. Mathematics is fortunate in having been able to invent a language of symbols and signs which is adequate to the most exacting demands of precision. The connotation of each sign is definite. It derives a fixed meaning from the common universe of discourse which is implicit as the background of both speaker and hearer. The mathematician must give every symbol he uses a clear meaning in his own mind as well as to those who are to read his symbols. Therefore, he is compelled to provide a common medium of understanding about which there can be no two opinions. Mathematics is thus placed in a position of superiority in reference to language and rigorous reasoning when compared to other subjects. It provides perfect instruments for the expression of an idea. The meaning of the arithmetical minus sign is forever invariable and forever precise. The man who has thought well about thinking itself may put forward more clever ideas in a single hour than others do in a single week. The brain of the intellectual man multiplies thoughts, but the brain of the self-actualized Christian subtracts and reduces them. #RandolphHarris 13 of 32

Thinking in terms of mental images is a valuable faculty, but thinking in words alone is not less valuable. Both are needed to the balanced person. The value assigned to the symbol X must be strictly adhered to throughout the series of equations, and, being predetermined, no confusion concerning what it stands for can ever arise. However, when we turn to words, we find them to be imperfect, elastic, and indeterminate. When we deal with mathematical symbols, we expect and find a determinate meaning has been assigned to them, but when we deal with words, we cannot always expect and often fail to find any fixed meaning at all. The ordinary man who is used to dealing only with concrete things his eyes can see and his hands can touch, quite pardonably feels, when he is asked to deal with abstract conceptions, that he is at once out of his depth. When one does not know his Real Self, that is, his own deepest being, it is of little avail to ponder on difficult questions of an intellectual nature. The symmetry of the universe’s patterns appears best in the figure of a circle. The ability to think abstractly and metaphysically is not a waste of time as so many scientists, activists, and practical men of the world think. On the contrary, it is needed as a counterbalance to the ability to think concretely. So long as a man gets all his ideas from experiences gained through the body alone, so long may he pardonably accept the belief in materialism. However, as soon as he begins to get them from thinking alone—and the difference can not be properly grasped until he has practiced prayer sufficiently and successfully—so soon will he see the falsity of this belief. #RandolphHarris 14 of 32

There was a body named Jeff, and he was one of four children, none of whom had permission to succeed. The parents were both a little dishonest in socially acceptable ways, and the children each carried this tendency a little further. One day, Jeff told about his troubles at university. He was falling behind in his work, so he had paid a ghost writer in advance to do his thesis. The group listened with interest as he described his negotiations with this man, and told how the ghost writer had also undertaken to write theses for some of Jeff’s friends, all of whom had paid in advance. The other members asked questions here and there, until finally Jeff came to the point. The writer had absconded to Europe, taking all the money, he had collected, and without leaving any theses behind. At this, the group broke into uproarious laughter in which Jeff joined. The others said they thought the story was funny for two reasons: first, the way Jeff told it, as though he expected them to laugh, and would be disappointed if they did not; and second, because it was the sort of thing they expected, or perhaps even hoped, would happen to Jeff because of the complicated way he went about doing things instead of carrying out his obligations in a straightforward, honest way. They all knew that Jeff was supposed to fail, and it was amusing to see how much effort he put into it. They joined in Jeff’s laughter the same way the crowd had joined in Jeff’s when they first heard. Later, they would all be depressed about it, Jeff most of all. His laugh said, “Ha, ha, ha mother, you always loved me when I failed, and here I go again.” #RandolphHarris 15 of 32

The Adult in the Child, the Professor, has had the task from earliest years of keeping mother contented so that she will stay with him and protect him. If she likes him and expresses the liking with a smile, he feels safe even when he is actually in trouble or even in dire peril of death. In normal mothering, mother’s Parent and Child both like kids. So when mother smiles, both her Parent and her Child are pleased with her offspring, and things will proceed smoothly between them. In other cases, mother’s Parent smiles at her son because she is supposed to, while her Child is angry at him. He can get on the good side of her Child, and get a smile that way, by behavior which her Parent might disapprove of. For example, by demonstrating that he is “bad,” he may get a Child smile because he has proven that he is not-O.K., and that pleases the Child in mother—what we have previously called “the witch mother.” Both script and anti-script can be considered attempts to evoke mother’s smile: the anti-script for the approving smile of mother’s (and father’s) Parent, the script for the smile of mother’s Child, who enjoys the baby’s pain or discomfiture. The gallows laugh, then, occurs when Jeff “finds himself” with the rope around his neck, and his Child says: “I did not really want to end up this way: How did I get here?” Then Mother (in his head) smiles, and he realizes that she has conned him into it. He then has the choice of either going crazy, killing her, himself, or laughing. At such moments, he may envy the brother who chose instead to go to the mental hospital, or the sister who elected to kill herself, but he is not ready for either of those—yet. (Suicide or Crisis Lifeline call or text 988. A counselor is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the help is free.) #RandolphHarris 16 of 32

The gallows laugh or the gallows smile occurs after a special kind of stimulus and response called the “gallows transaction.” A typical example is an alcoholic who has not had a drink for six months, as everyone in the group knows. Then one day, he comes in and lets the others talk for a while. When they have gotten all their troubles off their chests, so that he has the stage to himself, he says: “Guess what happened over the weekend?” One look at his slightly smiling face and they know what happened. They get ready to smile, too. One of them sets up the gallows transaction by asking: “What happened?” “Well, I took one drink and then another, and the next thing I knew”—by this time he is laughing and so are they—“I went on a three-day bender.” In the case of the Alcoholic, when the audience is told about last week’s bender while the audience (including, perhaps, the therapist) beams with delight. The smile of the Children in the audience parallels and reinforces the smile of the witch mother or ogre who is pleased when people obey the injunction (“Don’t think—drink), and in effect tightens the noose around their necks. The gallows laugh (which results from a gallows transaction) means that if the patient laughs while recounting a misfortune, and particularly if the other group members join in the laughter, that misfortune is part of the catastrophe of the patient’s script. When the people around him laugh, they reinforce the payoff, hasten his doom, and prevent him from getting well. In this way, the parental come-on is brought to fruition, ha ha. Semantics deals with those subtleties of language which escape the notice of uneducated people and are ignored by those who shrink a little labour. #RandolphHarris 17 of 32

Technology should be viewed as a vital layer of protection, but it does have its limitations, and we should not become overreliant on technology because some time in the near future, America could be without power, without Interent and no GPS, so people will have to park their cars like their parents did, they may have to use maps to find locations, and they may have to go to the library to do research with physical books. Therefore, it is still a good idea to learn how to use a compass, drive a car with a manual transmission, and learn how to drive without technology assistance. However, for most of us, it is hard to imagine a time when emergency vehicles responded to emergencies and had no communication with dispatch or other apparatus once en route to an incident. Technology will continue to be an asset to emergency services, adding safety and providing more effective operations. Although it should be welcome, we must continue to insist on rigorous testing and consider the applications to emergency services. The new technology must be trained on and used in conjunction with the other tools we must provide an effective system. Clinicians are even in the process of testing technology to scan the brain to see what mental impairments human beings have. While that is welcoming, critics worry it could lead to “mental profiling.” Based on brain scans, the government could track people who are at high risk of committing violent crimes without knowing or having due process, and take them into custody. Few words invoke more fear than the word investigation. We never want to be a suspect in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  investigative and intelligence process,  an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation, a murder investigation, or a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigation. #RandolphHarris 18 of 32

Humans have natural defense mechanisms that resist being probed, examined, or scrutinized by any authority that has the power to discipline, sanction, or even confiscate aspects of our lives. The fear that is that an investigation could conclude with the allocation of blame for something we did or were a part of. Although it is true that a component of investigations is to find fault where faults exist, it is not limited to liability. Another valuable component is to search for and identify the actions and contributing factors that allowed an event to occur. By identifying these aspects, actions can be taken to prevent future occurrences. Take, for instance, a firefighter who falls from an extension ladder at a structural fire. Although seriously injured, he survives the fall. Which of the following is a thorough investigation likely to lead to: Disciplinary action for the incident commander and the firefighter holding the ladder? Liability for the ladder manufacturer, resulting in a lawsuit? Recommendations to eliminate contributing factors in order to prevent a similar incident? Obviously, the last choice is the most probable. Fault and culpable liability are always possible, but recommendations and changes in policy are almost guaranteed. Initiative 9 calls for the thorough investigation of all injuries, deaths, and near-misses in an effort to reduce the chances of the next one. As a result, specific components of an effective system include reporting, investigating, evaluating, and implementing changes. The award-winning Sacramento Fire and Emergency Services have several individual components in place, yet continue to work toward linking information into one effective system. #RandolphHarris 19 of 32

Little do Fire Chief’s know at the time, but they are often witnesses to many large fires in their career. Some are massive and dangerous. On one occasion, there was a blaze in September in response to the report of smoke coming out of the front of a mid-rise apartment building. As the four firemen stretch a hose into the basement of the building, little did they know that they were beginning a fight that would last 40 hours and would send eight people to the hospital with injuries before it was declared out. The men worked their way slowly towards the seat of the fire near the front of the building. After nearly two hours in the intense heat and blinding smoke, a fireman collapsed to the floor and was dragged outside. The decision was then made to leave the basement as it was discovered that the fire had spread along the rafters into the building next door. The entire fire department had arrived by that time and lines were being stretched around the building to try and contain the rapidly spreading blaze. Around 2.30 a.m., an explosion rocked the building. Two firemen were operating a hose just inside the front doors of the building when the explosion occurred. They were blown 15 feet out into the street as the front of the building was destroyed by the blast. In the rear alley, Fire Chief and Police Chief were spraying water into a basement window. Fire Chief was knocked to the ground, but the Police Chief was not as fortunate. He was blown across the alley and through a window at a neighboring house. Both men were treated for minor injuries but remained at the scene. One of the other firemen in the explosion at the front of the building was taken to the hospital with burns on his face, eyes and nose and the other fireman was treated for minor burns but stayed at the scene as well. #RandolphHarris 20 of 32

Both buildings had now become a mass of flames and looked to engulf the entire block. Nine streams were deployed to try to contain the fire. Apparatuses fought the fire from the roofs of the buildings and the blaze was kept to the two affected buildings. The fire raged until the floors collapsed into the basement around 7 a.m. Around the same time, another firefighter collapsed, giving in to smoke inhalation and exposure. As he was being helped into an ambulance, an EMT also collapsed and was taken to the hospital. That firefighter spent the rest of the weekend in the hospital with burns and an infected throat from the smoke. He was x-rayed and it was discovered that he had broken several bones in his back. He wore a back brace for months afterward. An additional firefighter spent the night in the hospital due to smoke inhalation. Three other firefighters were treated for minor burns and released. The collapse of the floors was the beginning of the end of the fire. Several containers of cooking grease in the kitchen and propane tanks continued to feed the flames in the basement until Sunday morning, when the fire was finally declared out, 40 hours after the first alarm was sent into the department. The Fire Captain later said that the fire was one of the worst in the city’s history. The estimated losses later added up to $15 million. The two buildings were completely destroyed. Other businesses and homes on the same block reported heavy smoke damage and heavy losses from smoke and water after the fire. An investigation revealed that the buildings were not up to code. One had indoor hallways with open-air windows with no glass to the outside, which gave the fire fuel to rage out of control. High-rise buildings with indoor hallways and windows without glass can be a violation of specific fire codes and regulations. The fire department was also undermanned and short on firefighting equipment. The fire departments were badly in need of more aerial trucks and other equipment. #RandolphHarris 21 of 32

If you see a fire truck stopped in the street without the lights on, be very careful. Sometimes there is an emergency, and you should not pass the fire truck. It might be a good idea to safely turn around and go another way because if you hit someone and they happen to die, you could be charged with manslaughter. Sometimes fire firefighters are getting back into their vehicle, and if you pass the apparatus, you may collide with a firefighter who is on foot. Also, be sure to look at their signals; sometimes emergency vehicles are in motion, albeit slowly, and drivers try to pass them, and this could lead to a dangerous situation. Also, if you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue through the intersection. Drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Obey any direction, order, or signal given by a law enforcement officer or a firefighter. Even if they conflict with existing signs, signals, or laws, follow their orders. When their siren or flashing lights are on, it is against the law to follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle. If you drive to the scene of a fire, collision, or other disaster, you can be arrested. When you do this, you are getting in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, or other rescue and emergency personnel. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other people’s problems, to go to bat for them in a tough situation, and it means knowing just how far they can go. It also means being willing to tell the boss when he or she is wrong. #RandolphHarris 22 of 32

California is the third most expensive state in the nation. In 37 percent of counties, a family of four living on a six-figure income is now considered low-income. The average home price in California is nearly $1,000,000.00 USD, while the average salary is $96,036.00, meaning that most Californians cannot even afford to buy a home. California is having an affordability crisis. A single person making an income above $100,000 is now considered low-income in five counties in California. This distinction now applies to individuals living in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. The maximum percentage of your gross income that you should earmark for a monthly mortgage payment is calculated at 28 percent, and no more than 36 percent of your gross income to all debts, including mortgage. If you take 28 percent of the median household income per home in Sacramento County, homeowners can only afford a mortgage of $2,070.23 per month. And if you take 36 percent of their gross income to all debts, including mortgage, they should be devoting no more than $2,661.72 a month to these debts. The mortgage lenders must be using some kind of sorcery to get buyers into these expensive homes. To afford one of these homes using traditional guidelines, a household would need to gross $11,280.24 per month or $135,362.88 per year, but the median household in Sacramento County is grossing $7,393.67 a month or $88,724.00 annually, and that typically means two to four people in the home are working and contributing to the mortgage. Home prices in Sacramento County are rivaling the Bay Area, and in some cases, homes in the Bay Area are more affordable. Historically, homes in the Bay Area have been more expensive because they have higher-paying jobs, a larger population, and the Bay Area is a tourist destination. Contributing to the housing affordability crisis is Gavin Newsom, who has been lavishing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded resources and cash aid, when state workers should be receiving a 25 percent wage increase instead. #RandolphHarris 23 of 32

In 2025, many people in California saw their bills increase by an estimated $500 a month. This includes items such as food, automobile insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and electricity. In fact, more than 3 million people in California are facing household hardship, and more than 300,000 of them are facing eviction soon. This comes at a time when California is having a shortage of affordable housing. The crisis is caused by nearly half a century-old laws that discourage home sales and encourage higher rents. The incompetence in California is very easy to see. From 2018 to 2023, California received $24 billion, which they used to fund 30 homeless and housing programs. These programs created 100,000 units. That is an average cost of $240,000 per unit. In comparison, Roger Lucas, owner of Grand Castle, LLC, spent $50 million to build The Grand Castle, which is a 522-unit residential apartment community in Grandville, Michigan. The community includes studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and even a multi-level penthouse. Rents generally range from $1,000 to $2,500. The community is a 23.6-acre site. It features 750 covered parking spaces, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, and was built over a period of 12 to 18 months. The average cost was about $95,785.45 per unit, which is $144,214.55 less per unit than California spent. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.5 percent. As people are seeing their bills skyrocket, and minimum wage has increased to $20 an hour, people on Social Security retirement are really bearing the burden with the checks the typically equate to $5-$7 an hour. Furthermore, while Americans are struggling to find and afford housing, Gavin Newsom, Democrat governor of California, signed two bills into law on February 7, 2025, to protect illegal immigrants. Bills SBX 1 1: Budget Act of 2024, and SBX 1 2: Budget Act of 2024, allocates $50 million to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Governor Gavin Newsom also granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care, which costs taxpayers $3 billion annually. At the same time, Newsom cut vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled, and the homeless. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. #RandolphHarris 24 of 32

Meanwhile, China, where we are sending all our jobs and money, has more than 50 ghost cities, with 65 million vacant homes. Ghost cities are regions where housing has been overdeveloped to the point that these places are uninhabited. If they are all officially counted, California has approximately 4 million homeless people. The highest home prices in the nation, the highest taxes, and the most unfriendly business regulations known to man.  Because California is so hostile towards people and businesses, more than 360 companies have fled the state since 2020. Businesses like Chevron, SpaceX, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among the names on that list. Also, more than 500,000 people a year are abandoning California because it is too expensive to live in, Gavin Newsom has criminalized homelessness and actually started arresting people without homes, crime is out of control, and they are losing their jobs due to companies relocating. More than 100 companies have announced layoffs in California for 2025. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs, PayPal is cutting 2,500, and Meta has terminated 4,000 employees. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. Accordingly, California has more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants. Having the Southern American border open and not having American farmland protected, not producing beef, poultry, fish, fruit, produce, and dairy in America, and without American goods and services being our number one manufactured and selling items, America has created a dangerous and significantly elevated risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health. Some people may believe that these claims are overstated, but by not routinely monitoring Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CEVs) or other security-relevant alerts, such as the end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. #RandolphHarris 25 of 32

Additionally, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom seems to be uneducated about economics. Newsom has spent $300 million to try to stop proposition 50. Proposition 50 would replace the maps drawn by the state’s independent commission with districts drawn by legislators solely to gain or protect Democratic seats. Newsom only cares about the environment when his policies allow him to raise taxes and restrict freedoms. To further highlight this illustration of incompetence by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mexico has been causing one of America’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons a day of industrial chemicals, untreated sewage, and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County daily. This toxic waste has been turning up on Imperial Beach and is causing the miles of white sands to become polluted and the ocean breeze to smell of feces, which has been sickening residents and wildlife and costing San Diego millions in the form of lost tourism and health problems. The problem has been going on for more than a century, and by 2030, Mexico plans to dump one hundred and twenty million gallons of sewage a day into Imperial Beach. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure such as the 2025 Palisades fire. Southern California ran out of water because Newsom is totally neglecting the state and the American people. And while the fire departments in California are critically understaffed and underfunded, Governor Newsom vetoed firefighter pay raise. The Palisades fire cost $275 billion, which is money that could have been used to insure the State of California had the resources it needed. Furthermore, when Southern California is located next to an ocean, Newsom should have invested in desalination plants to help with the water shortage in California. The water in the ocean is so plentiful that it is currently eroding land and causing homes to fall into the sea. Desalination has been identified as one technology that will help solve California’s water scarcity problem. Desalination is a cost-effective technology that can transform an abundance of salt water into a reliable supply of potable, fresh water, which is a great way to fight climate change and have enough water for our region’s water requirements. Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, is producing 1,036,000 meters (273,682,192) per day of desalinated water. #RandolphHarris 26 of 32

America needs an approach to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in American cities. There needs to be a road map by the end of 2025, outlining a prioritized approach to eliminate crisis situations in America. There is enough money to send aid to foreign nations, but the American government does not have enough money to care for its infrastructure, provide adequate resources, or end the affordable housing crisis. Nor is there enough money to fund other national critical functions (NCFs). These bad practices of putting America and Americans last are considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. As a result, the American automobile trade deficit with Japan was $39 billion. Additionally, Japan exported 1.4 million cars to the United States of America, but only imported 16,000 American-built automobiles. However, Japan imported approximately 143 thousand motor vehicles from the European Union. This is why President Trump created tariffs. We need to balance the trade deficit that America faces with other nations so we are not taken advantage of and so America can go bank to being a creditor nation, instead of borrowing money for other countries. Each year, President Trump is bringing $400 Billion in Tariff revenue into America and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. With this money, America is paying down debt, and with a portion of it, President  Trump plans to send Americans a stimulus check anywhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. However, if President Trump’s Tariffs are deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, taxpayers will have to pay back trillions and trillions of dollars. As we literally and /or figuratively see gangs, federal judges, and Governor Gavin Newsom fighting with federal law enforcement and President Trump– states and cities refusing to honor federal laws. Politicians are also showing an utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America, and anarchy is becoming increasingly common. #RandolphHarris 27 of 32

Anarchism is a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Derived from the Greek root anarchos, meaning “without authority,” anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval and disapproval. The anarchist denies man-made laws, regards property as a means of tyranny, and believes that crimes are merely the product of property and authority. However, the anarchist would argue that their denial of constitutions and governments leads not to “no justice” but to the real justice inherent in the free development of human sociality—the natural inclination, when unfettered by laws, to live according to the principles and practice of mutual aid. Anarchism is also a form of treason. Treason, the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch’s enemies. In the United States of America, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. Treason against the United States of America “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” which is something that many politicians are currently guilty of.  The American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them before the situation becomes a crisis. Failure to take such mitigating actions is dangerous and significantly elevates risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. The American government must understand that significant time and resources must be invested in America. They must also encourage corporations to plan for both mitigating safety vulnerabilities in the short term and eliminating them in the long term. For instance, a company might begin by reaching out to the federal, state, or local government and requesting tax incentives to provide security to dangerous communities, to help the government repair bridges and potholes. #RandolphHarris 28 of 32

Drug cartels have been threatening the health and safety of Native American communities. The trafficking of dangerous and illegal drugs into their territories is leading to a second genocide. The overdose rate for Indigenous people is 42 percent higher than the national average. A recent bust on Montana’s Blackfeet Nation’s Tribal Reservation resulted in the seizure of more than 700,000 fentanyl pills, which was the largest bust in Montana history. Recently, the Blackfeet Nation had to declare a state of emergency after facing 17 overdoses in just one week. There are only 6.8 million Native Americans left in the world, which is 2 percent of the American population. We should be doing more to protect these proud and honorable people; they should not want for anything. People rush and give away resources to illegal immigrants, but totally disregard the Indigenous people of this land, as their race silently fades away into extinction. We must secure our borders and increase federal funding to Native American tribes so we can save this precious population. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has given billions of taxpayer dollars away to illegal immigrants and protected them from law enforcement, while arresting law-abiding Americans because they cannot afford to pay rent or mortgage, and the homeless shelters are unsafe, overcrowded, and have restrictions on who is allowed inside. He has also totally ignored the cartel problems on American lands. Clean air, water, land, and preserving our heritage are extremely important. We cannot just allow criminals to kill off the people who are native to this land and do nothing about it. Wars have been started over governments that tax citizens without representation. Taxation without representation is what led to the American Revolution. #RandolphHarris 29 of 32

Much like the land crisis in Las Vegas, we could also run out of land to farm and will not be able to grow or cultivate our own food. We can protect American farmland and support American farmers by buying American made beef, poultry, dairy, and produce. Also, country of origin labeling is very important so Americans can know where their food is coming from and can support American farmers and ranchers. As money flows, it influences further investment. Save the land that sustains us by protecting American farmland. Once the land is built on, we lose it forever.  And in the future, there may be food wars. Also, to ensure that we have farmland and buildable land for future use, we need to start limiting the number of people allowed to immigrate to America. Perhaps with the immigrants we do allow into America, there needs to be a diversity program to make sure we have a population that equally represents all races of people. If Americans continue to spend money on American products, then more need to be made to keep up the inventory. When investors notice these goods are selling, it gives them the confidence to pour more money into that local business. It shows that people want these goods made in America and pressures investors to keep these goods and services in America. The jobs stay here, the business stays in America, wages naturally increase, and more money is invested to keep up with demand. This reduces the burden on the taxpayer. When you support American businesses, that money stays in our economy and can help to reduce the national debt. The government creates debt by borrowing from businesses in the private sector or from foreign countries. It also increases the national debt by spending more than it gains in tax revenue in a fiscal year. #RandolphHarris 30 of 32

When people shop locally, more tax money stays in the economy and goes to the government. This way, it keeps more money in our national economy and keeps more jobs located in America which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the national debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by sending more money overseas. Buying American-made products is also better for the environment and helps to reduce the carbon footprint because these products do not have to travel nearly as far. Furthermore, American companies and manufacturers are held to much higher standards on pollution. American companies must be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Under President Trump’s administration, he has make America a priority. President Trump has closed the southern border, illegal crossings have fallen to an all time low, and are 90 percent lower than under the previous administration. Since President Trump’s crack down on crime, violent crimes in Washington D.C. have dropped by approximately 80 percent. He has stopped thousands of pounds of drugs from entering America and killing citizens. And since President Trump took office, investments in America have increased by trillions of dollars in U.S.A. manufacturing, production, and innovation. As you can see, President Donald Trump and his pledge to “Make America Great Again” is exactly what America needs to save the country and the American people. And yes, diversity is important, so you can see why it is also important to preserve blonde hair and blue eyes, as the people with these characteristics are becoming a minority in America. #RandolphHarris 31 of 32

We must think before we can understand the soul’s existence; we must understand before we can realize it. The earliest beginnings of thought, as apart from instinct, when it was itself still but a lurking tendency, belong far back in primeval time. The human intellect as we find it today, so rich and developed an instrument for the consciousness of the ego, did not arrive at this fullness without a series of graduated stages. We have had plenty of scientific thinking, business thinking, and political thinking long enough, but we have had very little inspired thinking. That is the world’s need. The intellect is cradled in selfishness but runs the evolutionary track into reason, where it will one day finish at the winning-post of selflessness. As a reminder, parents, please teach your children to love America and be patriotic citizens, and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. It is inborn in the human mind to wish to know. If this begins with the endless surface questions of a child’s curiosity, if it continues into deeper questions of a scientist’s probing investigation, it cannot and does not stop there. For the higher part of the mind will eventually come into unfoldment, that union of abstract reflective thought with mystical intuition, which is true intelligence, which needs and sees a view of the whole of things. And so, the knowing faculty enters the realm of philosophy. Therefore, remember to take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. Also, to make sure they have all the resources required, please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department to help improve our national security. “Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” #RandolphHarris 32 of 32

The Winchester Mystery House

According to locals, over a century ago, the land that houses The Winchester Mansion had been vacant forever. Then, sometime in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 1886, Sheriff Angel Camilio began getting reports that a massive castle made of wood had suddenly appeared. Gables rose, towers peaked into the sky as the mansion mushroomed into a labyrinth overnight.

The house’s sudden manifestation had been both disconcerting and fascinating to the community. Some felt dark curses flowing from the estate, and things moving around in the darkness. Others saw a fairytale castle glimmering in the spring sunlight. Perhaps this is why there are no records of construction, no blueprints, and no permits filed with the county. And then one day, a hearse came tearing through the gates, and in that hearse was a coffin, some believed it contained Mrs. Winchester.

According to legend, when Sarah Lockwood Pardee (Winchester) married William Wirt Winchester in 1862, she enjoyed a life of extravagant luxury. William Winchester, President of the Winchester repeating rifle, became a very wealthy man through the sale of his guns, and the couple were among the elite New England society.

However, in 1866, the death of their infant daughter drove Mrs. Sarah Winchester into a deep depression from which many thought she would never emerged. Several years later, she lost her husband to tuberculosis, and her grief was overwhelming. Mrs. Winchester sought the counsel of a Boston medium to reach her beloved dead family members. The medium told the grieving widow that she was cursed and demons straight from hades had sought revenge by ending the lives of her beloved husband and darling baby girl.

She also told Mrs. Winchester they would kill her too, unless she moved out West and built a great house for the spirits. In addition, Mrs. Winchester was told construction on the house must never end in order to appease the spirits and keep her alive, perhaps even give her eternal life. Mrs. Winchester followed the medium’s suggestions, and in 1886, she moved to the Santa Clara valley just outside San Jose, where she bought an 18-room farmhouse and property to build her mansion. At its peak, the Mansion once stood 9-stories tall and had as many as 600-rooms. Today, the stately mansion is 4-storys, and over 100,000 square feet.

Experience an unforgettable journey back to the time of kings and queens with this entry ticket for The Winchester Mansion in Santa Clara, California, which was the residence of Heiress Sarah L. Winchester. Come and see what secrets this so-called, “Winchester Mystery House” may hold. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After the tour, there will be time to enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages that lead to hidden chambers within the mansion. These chambers served as safe places for valuables, precious documents, and as private sanctuaries for Mrs. Winchester, and allowed her to move stealthily throughout her home. At one time, there were even secret tunnels that extended beyond the mansion, leading to nearby Victorian houses that were also on the property, and other structures, creating a network of escape routes or hidden pathways.

Please come and enjoy a delicious meal at Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, which once spanned 740 acres, all the way down to Stevens Creek Boulevard; wander through the miles of hallways in the world’s most mysterious mansion.

For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available for purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/

Why Choose Harris?

Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric has been in business for 30 years. How many businesses can say that? We take pride in everything we do – no matter how big or small the service call might be. We’re here to help your home be as safe and comfortable as possible for you and your family. We take that responsibility very seriously as a company.

Harris will ensure you have the information you need to decide what to do next, whatever your home is facing. We’ll perform a diagnosis and detail what issues are present before starting any work. This gives you a personalized quote and service plan specific to your home’s needs, not some random quote based on the best guess. The only way we can do our best work is to make sure we handle the issues at hand. https://www.callharrisnow.com/about-us/

Brian Harris BMW

With its top ranking in Consumer Reports’ Auto Brand Report Card and consistent market share growth, BMW, The Ultimate Driving Experience, has demonstrated its ability to produce high-performing, reliable vehicles that meet consumer demands. BMW stands out due to its focus on driving dynamics and engineering excellence. While other luxury brands prioritize comfort and opulence, BMW is known for creating cars that are fun to drive and offer a unique connection between the driver and the machine. This is why BMW is known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. https://www.brianharrisbmw.com/

Randolph Harris San Francisco Taxation & Mergers

Building strong and lasting client relationships is crucial for a successful legal career. Many lawyers mistakenly believe that mastering legal skills alone ensures success, but law is fundamentally a service industry—our job is to solve problems through the time we sell. To build long-term relationships, attorneys must focus on three core elements: knowing their clients, understanding how their legal issues fit into a larger context, and consistently delivering exceptional service.

Randy advises clients with regard to business transition, taxable and tax-deferred mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, integrated tax planning, federal and state tax controversy resolution, and real estate transactions. Trust is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Ultimately, my clients feel they are in capable hands with someone who genuinely understands their problems and goals. https://www.jmbm.com/l-randolph-harris.html

Cresleigh Homes

Rancho Cordova, CA | low $500s

Now Selling!

Welcome to Cresleigh Park Haven, the newest home community in Rancho Cordova.

Nestled in the heart of Rancho Cordova, Park Haven is a thoughtfully planned neighborhood of 71 homes designed for comfort, convenience, and connection. Adjacent to Exploration Park, it offers the perfect blend of modern living and outdoor adventure right at your doorstep.

Choose from five floor plans ranging from 1,342 to 2,547 square feet, with options for 3 to 5 bedrooms, flexible spaces, and open layouts tailored to today’s lifestyles. Whether you are a first-time buyer, a growing family, or looking to simplify without giving up style, there is a home here for you.

Select homes include 100 percent owned solar at no extra cost, providing lasting savings, energy efficiency, and the confidence of ownership.

With maintenance friendly yards, nearby shopping and dining, and access to top rated schools, Park Haven is more than just a place to live. It is a place to thrive. https://cresleigh.com/park-haven/

Every house where love abides and friendship is a guest is surely a Cresleigh Home. https://cresleigh.com/park-haven/residence-4/

“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.” -President Abraham Lincoln

America is a nation founded on godly principles, by God-fearing men. As a nation, we have convinced ourselves of our uniqueness with concepts such as Manifest Destiny and American exceptionalism. Manifest destiny was the imperialist belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand from sea to shining sea.

American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of America is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. As a nation we appear favored and blessed by the Lord with success and prosperity unparalleled in human history.

America has a lot of amazing things – its beautiful natural scenery, vibrant cities, unique culture, and some of the world’s most iconic landmarks — it us no wonder many choose to make America their home.

Do Not Tell Any of the Family Secrets!

I remember when I was younger and people had “cool” parents or grandparents; it was intriguing, a novelty, something many believed was amazing because older adults were generally quiet, reserved, and boring. However, as people my age are now adults and many have kids of their own, immature senior citizens are no longer cool. Now that they are retired, many of these “cool” adults have picked up habits such as alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, cyberstalking, vandalism, intimate partner violence, fraud, and theft. They are no longer cool. Instead of enjoying the cool breeze of a winter’s afternoon, it has now been replaced they the stench of skunk weed and alcohol. My children are now in high school, and we have an apartment in the city. Oftentimes, when my son comes home from school to study or do his homework, he complains about being harassed by drunk old people who stink of liquor, body odor, urine, and sometimes feces. After the sun goes down is when the senior citizens bring out the heavier drugs, such as crack cocaine and meth. The pungent odors seep through the walls and doors. Now, it is not just teenagers being told by their parents, “Turn that music down!” or “Stop running in and out!” or “Be quiet!” or “Don’t do drugs!” I frequently hear my son asking his friend, “Dude! What’s wrong with your grandpa and his friends?! Why are they so loud?” Behaviors that were once thought to be unique to youth are now being observed in the elderly. However, unlike a child, you cannot punish a senior citizen or make them follow the rules. #RandolphHarris 1 of 29

There has even been a rise in senior citizens bullying the youth and trying to start fights with them. The young people, on the other hand, are typically seen and not heard. They obey the rules, are respectful, clean up behind themselves, and stay clean and sober. For various reasons, some adults never mature. Society has changed, and people have become more outrageous and criminally inclined. Seniors have difficulty losing their mental faculties and often feel like they have lost their autonomy. Sometimes, their frustration turns into childish behavior, as often happens with loss of control out of frustration and limited options. Additionally, digression of behaviors may also indicate serious developments in your parent’s health, such as a progression in mental decline or depression. It can be really frustrating, painful and stressful to others when they are at home trying to relax, study, get work done, or are not feeling well, and senior citizens are having wild parties and getting “turnt up.” A party once in a while would not be such a bad thing, but because they have nothing to do with their time, some old people are involved in degenerate behavior every day. When your elderly parent, or in some cases, grandparent, acts infantile, the first step to take is to avoid assuming they are acting this way to annoy or frustrate others. Often, the cause bothers them more than it does their family, caregivers, or community, and they need empathy. Take this time to examine their behavior for mental illness, such as dementia. If you see any symptoms of mental deterioration, call their doctor. #RandolphHarris 2 of 29

Additionally, check for changes in medications and environmental factors. Aging could possibly lead to social and physical changes that may increase vulnerability to substance misuse. Little is known about the effects of drugs and alcohol on the aging brain. However, older adults typically metabolize substances more slowly, and their brains can be more sensitive to drugs. One study suggests that people addicted to cocaine in their youth may have an accelerated age-related decline in temporal lobe gray matter and a smaller temporal lobe compared to control groups who do not use cocaine. This could make them more vulnerable to the adverse consequences of cocaine use as they age. Older adults may be more likely to experience mood disorders, lung and heart problems, or memory issues. Drugs can worsen these conditions, exacerbating the negative health consequences of substance use. Additionally, the effects of some drugs—like impaired judgment, coordination, or reaction time—can result in accidents, such as falls and motor vehicle crashes. These sorts of injuries can pose a greater risk to health than in younger adults and coincide with a possible longer recovery time. Chronic health conditions tend to develop as part of aging, and older adults are often prescribed more medicines than other age groups. Some steal medications from their friends, family members, or neighbors, leading to a higher rate of exposure to potentially addictive medications. One study of 3,000 adults aged 57-85 showed common mixing of prescription medicines, nonprescription drugs, and dietary supplements. #RandolphHarris 3 of 29

More than 80 percent of participants used at least one prescription medication daily, with nearly half using more than five medications or supplements, putting at least 1 in 25 people in the age group of 57-85 at risk for a major drug-drug interaction. Other risks could include accidental misuse of prescription drugs, and possible worsening of existing mental health issues. For example, a 2019 study of patients over the age of 50 noted that more than 25 percent who misuse prescription opioids or benzodiazepines expressed suicidal ideation, compared to 2 percent who do not use them, underscoring the need for careful screening before prescribing these medications. Nine percent of adults aged 50-64 reported past-year marijuana use in 2015-2016, compared to 7.1 percent in 2012-2013. The use of cannabis in the past year by adults 65 years and older increased sharply from 0.4 percent in 2006 and 2007 to 2.9 percent in 2015 and 2016. However, the potential benefits of medical marijuana must be weighed against its risks, particularly for individuals who have other health conditions or take prescribed medications. Regular marijuana use for medical or other reasons at any age has been linked to chronic respiratory conditions, depression, impaired memory, adverse cardiovascular functions, and altered judgment and motor skills. Marijuana can interact with many prescription drugs and complicate already existing health issues and common physiological changes in older adults. Approximately 8 of every 100 adults aged 65 and older smoke cigarettes, increasing their risk for heart disease and cancer. While this rate is lower than that for younger adults, research suggests that older people who smoke have an increased risk of becoming frail, though smokers who quit do not appear to be at higher risk. Although an estimated 300,000 smoke-related deaths occur each year among people who are age 65 and older, the risk diminishes in older adults who quit smoking. A typical smoker who quits after age 65 could add two to three years to their life expectancy. Within a year of quitting, most former smokers reduce their risk of coronary heart disease by half. #RandolphHarris 4 of 29

Alcohol is the most used drug among older adults, with about 65 percent of people 65 and older reporting high-risk drinking, defined as exceeding daily guidelines at least weekly in the past year. Of particular concern, more than a tenth of adults age 65 and older currently binge drink, which is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion for men, and four or more drinks on the same occasion for women. In addition, research published in 2020 shows that increases in alcohol consumption in recent years have been greater for people aged 50 and older relative to younger age groups. Alcohol Use Disorder: Most admissions to substance use treatment centers in this age group relate to alcohol. One study documented a 107 percent increase in alcohol use disorder among adults aged 65 years and older from 2001 to 2013. Alcohol use disorder can put older people at greater risk for a range of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, liver and bone problems, memory issues, and mood disorders. While the use of illicit drugs in older adults is much lower than among other adults, it is currently increasing. Older adults are often more susceptible to the effects of drugs, because, as the body ages, it often cannot absorb and break down drugs and alcohol as easily as it once did. Older adults are more likely to unintentionally misuse medicines by forgetting to take their medicine, taking it too often, stealing medication from others, or taking their wrong amount. Some older adults may take substances to cope with big life changes such as retirement, grief and loss, declining health, or a change in living situation. #RandolphHarris 5 of 29

Most admissions to substance use treatment centers in this age group are for alcohol. Many behavioral therapies and medications have been successful in treating substance use disorders, although medications are underutilized. It is never too late to quit using substances—quitting can improve quality of life and future health. More science is needed on the effects of substance use on the aging brain, as well as into effective models of care for older adults with substance use disorders. Providers may confuse symptoms of substance use with other symptoms of gaining, which could include chronic health conditions or reactions to stressful, life-changing events. In addition, older adults are more likely to hide their substance abuse and less likely to seek professional help. Many relatives of older individuals with substance use disorders, particularly their adult children, are ashamed of the problem and choose not to address it. The result is thousands of older adults who need treatment and do not receive it. Aging changes sleep architecture, decreasing the amount of time spent in the deeper levels of sleep (stages three and four) and increasing the number and duration of awakenings during the night. It is recommended that every 60-year-old should be screened for alcohol and prescription drug abuse as part of his or her regular physical examination. However, problems can develop after the screening has been conducted, and concurrent illnesses and other chronic conditions may mask abuse. It is also recommended that if the senior is having behavioral problems or worsening physical condition, or if the older person is undergoing major life changes or transitions that they should be screened. #RandolphHarris 6 of 29

Although it is preferable to use standardized screening questionnaires, friendly visitors, Meals-On-Wheels volunteers, caretakers, and health care providers also can interject screening questions into their normal conversations with older homebound adults. Although the line of questioning will depend on the person’s relationship with the older person and the responses given, it is recommended that anyone who is concerned about an older adult’s drinking practices try asking direct questions. Delirium is a serious, potentially preventable, neuropsychiatric disorder occurring in association with other underlying medical conditions. Delirium is under-recognized and underdiagnosed, making accurate prevalence and incidence difficult to gauge. Delirium can affect up to 50 percent of individuals over the age of 65 years. Predisposition risk factors include older age, dementia, dementia, severe illness, surgery, pain, dehydration, sepsis, electrolyte disturbance, urinary retention, fecal impaction, and exposure to high-risk medications. Delirium is often unrecognized and undocumented by clinicians. Rates of unrecognized delirium, which is defined as the diagnosis of delirium after being unrecognized by a primary physician or nurse, is estimated to be about 60 percent of all cases. This high rate of unrecognized delirium underscores the need for screening to detect delirium early. Early recognition and treatment can improve outcomes. The best tool is the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) is a standardized evidence-based tool that enables non-psychiatrically trained clinicians to identify and recognize delirium quickly and accurately in both clinical and research settings. #RandolphHarris 7 of 29

The real self, is the alive, unique, personal center of ourselves; the only part that can, and wants to grow. Unfortunate conditions prevent its unimpeded growth from the very beginning. There are forces in the individual which usurp its energies and lead to the formation of a pride system which becomes autonomous and exerts a tyrannical and destructive power. It terms of the devil’s pact, the abandoning of self corresponds to the selling of one’s soul. In psychiatric terms we call it the “alienation from self.” This latter term is applied chiefly to those extreme conditions in which people lose their feeling of identity, as in amnesias and depersonalizations, et cetera. These conditions have always aroused general curiosity. It is strange and even startling that a person who is not asleep and has no organic brain disease does not know who he is, where he is, or what he does or has been doing. If we do not regard them as isolated occurrences but see their relation to less conspicuous forms of alienation from self, these are, however, less bewildering. In these forms there is no gross loss of identity and orientation, but the general capacity for conscious experience is impaired. There are, for instance, many neurotics who live as if they were in a fog. Nothing is clear to them. Not only their own thoughts and feelings but also other people, and the implications of a situation, are hazy. Also related, in still less drastic terms, are conditions in which the dimming out is restricted to intrapsychic processes. I am thinking of people who can be rather astute observers of others, who can lucidly size up a situation or a trend of thought; yet experiences of all kinds (in relation to others, nature, et cetera) do not penetrate to awareness. And these states of mind, in turn, are not unrelated to those of apparently healthy people who suffer from occasional partial blackouts or from blind spots concerning certain areas of inner or outer experience. #RandolphHarris 8 of 29

All these forms of alienation from self can concern as well as the “material self”—the body and the possession. A neurotic may have but little feeling of or for his body. Even his bodily sensations may be numbed. When asked for instance whether his feet are cold, he may have to arrive at an awareness of feeling cold through a process of thinking. He may not recognize himself when seeing himself unexpectedly in a full-length mirror. Similarly, he may have no feeling of his home being his home—it is for him as impersonal as a hotel room. Others have no feeling that the money they possess is their money, even though it may have been earned through hard work. These are only a few variations of what we could properly call an alienation from the actual self. All of what a person actually is or has, including even his connection of his present life with his past, the feeling for this continuity of his life, may be blotted out or dimmed out. Some of this process is intrinsic in every neurosis. Sometimes patients may be aware of disturbances on this score, as in the case of one patient who described himself as a lamppost with a brain on top. More often, they are unaware of it, although it may be fairly extensive; and it may gradually unfold only in analysis. At the core of this alienation from the actual self is a less tangible phenomenon, although more crucial. It is the remoteness of the neurotic from his own feelings, wishes, beliefs, and energies. It is the loss of the feeling of being an active determining force in his own life. It is the loss of feeling himself as an organic whole. These in turn indicate an alienation from that most alive center of ourselves which I have suggested calling the real self. #RandolphHarris 9 of 29

The real self provides the “palpitating inward life”; it engenders the spontaneity of feelings, whether these be joy, yearning, love, anger, fear, or despair. It is also the source of spontaneous interest and energies, “the source of effort and attention from which emanate the fiats of will”; the capacity to wish and to will; it is the part of ourselves that wants to expand and grow and to fulfill itself. It produces the “reactions of spontaneity” to our feelings or thoughts, “welcoming or opposing, appropriating or disowning, striving with or against, saying yes or no.” All this indicates that our real self, when strong and active, enables us to make decisions and assume responsibility for them. It therefore leads to genuine integration and a sound sense of wholeness, oneness. Not merely and harmonious, but they function without serious inner conflict. In contrast to those artificial means of holding ourselves together, which gain in importance as the real self is weakened, there is little or no attendant strain. The history of philosophy shows that we can deal with the problems of self from many vantage points. Yet it seems as though every treating this subject has found it difficult to go beyond describing his special experiences and interests. From the viewpoint of clinical usefulness, I would distinguish the actual or empirical self from the idealized self on the one hand, and the actual or empirical self from the idealized self on the one hand, and the real self on the other. The actual self is an all-inclusive term for everything that a person is at a given time: body and soul, healthy and neurotic. We have it in mind when we say that we want to know ourselves; id est, we want to know ourselves as we are. #RandolphHarris 10 of 29

The idealized self is what we are in our irrational imagination, or what we should be according to the dictates of neurotic pride. The real self is the “original” force toward individual growth and fulfillment, with which we may again achieve full identification when freed of the crippling shackles of neurosis. Hence, it is what we refer to when we say that we want to find ourselves. In this sense, it is also (to all neurotics) the possible self—in contrast to the idealized self, which is impossible of attainment. Seen from this angle, it seems the most speculative of all. Who, seeing a neurotic patient, can separate the wheat from the chaff and say: this is his possible self. However, while the real or possible self of a neurotic person is in a way an abstraction, it is nevertheless felt and we can say that every glimpse we get of it feels more real, more certain, more definite than anything else. We can observe this quality in ourselves or in our patients when, after some incisive insight, there is a release from the grip of some incisive insight, there is a release from the grip of some compulsive need. In the face-to-face situation, language possesses an inherent quality of reciprocity that distinguishes it from any other sign system. The ongoing production of vocal signs in conversation can be sensitively synchronized with the ongoing subjective intentions of the conversants. I speak as I think; so does my partner in the conversation. Both of us hear what each says at virtually the same instant, which makes possible a continuous, synchronized, reciprocal access to our two subjectivities, an intersubjective closeness in the face-to-face situation that no other sign system can duplicate. #RandolphHarris 11 of 29

What is more, I hear myself as I speak; my own subjective meanings are made objectively and continuously available to me and ipso facto become “more real” to me. Another way of putting this is to recall the previous point about my “better knowledge” of the other as against my knowledge of myself in the face-to-face situation. This apparently paradoxical fact has been previously explained by the massive, continuous and prereflective availability of the other’s being in the face-to-face situation, as against the requirement of the reflection for the availability of my own. Now, however, as I objectivate my own being by means of language, my own being becomes massively and continuously available to myself at the same time that it is so available to him, and I can spontaneously respond to it without the “interruption” of deliberate reflection. It can, therefore, be said that language makes “more real” my subjectivity not only to my conversation partner but also to myself. This capacity of language to crystalize and stabilize for me my own subjectivity is retained (albeit with modification) as language is detached from the face-to-face situation. This very important characteristic of language is well caught in the saying that men must talk about themselves until they know themselves. Men understand more easily what they can see, touch, and hear—that is, images, forms, and pictures—in short, symbols. These are the idols honoured by simpler minds.  However, when they develop their minds sufficiently, they become able to think in terms of simple arithmetic, progressing of the laws of geometry, and from algebra on to higher mathematics. #RandolphHarris 12 of 29

The fact is it is utterly impossible to form an abstract idea in the mind. We can only think of particular ideas. When the self-actualized Christian does indulge in the luxury of a conversation with an inquirer or spiritual aspirant, he usually adopts the Socratic method. There is probably no more powerful or effective method of compelling a man to think, to exercise his own reason, instead of repeating parrot-like phrases, than this of thrusting question after question at him. The first use of general principles, the first worth of general theories is to economize thought and thus to avoid going over the same ground again and again. This is a remarkable and little-known power of abstract reflection—that, just as one thorn may be used to pick out a second from the skin, so a line of thinking can be used as to bring all thinking to an end. It is striking that whenever persons are asked why they did anything, their motives usually appear exemplary, to them and to the observer. A person will seldom admit intentions of an immoral or antisocial sort. Yet, the consequences of many actions are often discrepant with the admitted motive. Thus, a person intends to help a friend and actually interferes drastically with the friend’s success. A man loves his wife, yet his behavior toward her may produce grief and discomfort for her. For any action that a person undertakes, it can be assumed that its consequences were desired by the person. If the aim is denied, or if the consequences appear at variance with the aim, then the observer may assume the intent has been repressed. #RandolphHarris 13 of 29

The motive that the person admits may be called a rationalization. It is an explanation for an action and its consequences that is compatible with the individual’s self-structure. The motive behind rationalization is not to give a factual account of authentic intent; rather, it is to do justice to the need to explain conduct and at the same time protect the self-structure. A rationalization, then, is an explanation of one’s conduct that has been selected from many possible explanations because it enhances and defends the individual’s self-structure. A theology student has asked a girl for a date. She was known to be quite proud of her sexually “liberated” attitudes. He said he wanted to persuade her to change her ways and denied any sexual interest in her. He was quite possibly rationalizing. Some people’s awareness is marred by a return of demons, whoever they may have been. Man’s rebellion often centers in the question of his differential debt of obedience to God, to the Pope, and to Caesar—or rather, to the multitude of Caesars then emerging. There is often a preparatory dichotomy that preoccupies people: that between the obedience owed to their natural father, whose views are always brutally clear, and the obedience owed to the Father in heaven, from whom many youths have received a dramatic but equivocal call. The average man has not the patience to, and does not want to, inquire into meanings of his words. He says, “My meaning is the right one and good enough for me.” This implies that he knows, but in fact he does not, because he has not examined it. The intellect cannot work accurately with blurred concepts. Pitfalls await to receive it under such conditions. This is one reason why the process of discovering and clarifying meanings leads its advance into truth. Many think it is useless to discuss the meaning of a term. This is often correct in the case of a logician who seeks merely to score a cheap intellectual triumph over an opponent, however dishonestly, but in the case of a true metaphysician who seeks truth in its genuine sense, such a procedure may be most helpful to him. At the least, it may point out pitfalls. #RandolphHarris 14 of 29

Some people are forbidden to finish anything or come to the point, so when they talk, they “run off at the mouth.” Their sentences are strung out with conjunctions: “Yesterday I was sitting at home with my husband and… and…and then…and…and then…” Often, the directive is “Do not tell any of the family secrets!” so they go all around the secret and play with it as long as they can without giving it away. Some speakers are careful to balance everything: “It’s raining, but the sun will come out soon.” “I have a headache, but my stomach is better.” “They are not very nice, but on the other hand, they look cheerful.” The directive in this case seems to be “Do not look at anything too closely.” The most interesting example of this type was a man who had been a diabetic since the age of five, and had been taught to balance his diet with the utmost care. When he spoke, he weighed every word with similar care, and balanced each of his sentences very cautiously and precisely. These precautions made him very difficult to listen to. All his life, he had been in a rage against the unfair restrictions imposed on him because of the disease, and his speech became very unbalanced when he was angry. (The implications of this for the psychology of diabetes must await further study.) Another type of sentence structure is the dangling point, with free use of “and so forth” and “et cetera.” “Well, we went to the movies, and so forth, and then I kissed her and so forth, and then she stole my wallet and so forth.” Unfortunately, this often conceals a deep anger against the mother. “Well, I would like to tell her what I think of her, et cetera.” “What is ‘et cetera?’” “What I would really like to do is cut her to pieces.” “Et cetera?” “No, more ‘et cetera.’ That is the et cetera.” Sentence structure offers a fascinating field of study. #RandolphHarris 15 of 29

Historically, the big dilemma with regard to fitness is the term fit for duty versus wellness. Most firefighters are more than willing to partake in a wellness program, one designed as a voluntary program to help make healthy choices in diet and exercise. The term fit for duty generally refers to being able to complete specific skills or meet set criteria to be permitted to work. Some career fire departments have phased in a fit for duty clause in their union contract. Some fire departments already get discounts on insurance workers’ compensation by instituting programs that reduce risks, such as a drug-free workplace and emergency vehicle driving. We can expect that if more fire departments see improved health and financial savings by requiring fit for duty, others will follow. Firefighters should not see this as a career-ending situation, but, rather, an opportunity to prevent a life-ending situation. NFPA 1583, Standard on Health-Related Fitness Programs for Fire Fighters, describes the necessary components of a health-related fitness program. These include a fitness coordinator, a fitness assessment, an exercise training program, education and counseling, and data collection. The five components of a fitness evaluation include: Body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscle endurance, and flexibility. The fire department physician must be familiar with the duties of firefighting and the associated risks. Through thorough exams, the doctor screens the member for injuries or diseases likely to interfere with firefighting duties. The physician identifies disqualifying medical conditions that must be acted on immediately, and ensures proper referral to the appropriate specialist. #RandolphHarris 16 of 29

By discussing the results of the examination and answering questions, the physician also can make individual recommendations for the member to improve his or her health. Although specific findings are confidential, the physician reports back to the department whether the member is cleared for firefighting duties. NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, outlines what specific body systems should be evaluated and what diagnostic tests should be completed. The purpose of these tests is to find a medical problem before it becomes debilitating, as well as to identify trending. For instance, a pulmonary function test (spirometry) is one recommended component of the annual diagnostics. If a firefighter has continually done well on the tests for the past 7 years but now cannot pass, it is clear that something has occurred. Perhaps the member was involved in an emergency incident that caused injury to his pulmonary system that had not yet been identified. Without annual testing, it could go unnoticed, and a direct cause could be more difficult to pinpoint down the road. Sometimes firefighters argue that they should be permitted to see their own doctor rather than the department physician. The biggest problem is that some primary care physicians are not capable of administering some tests, such as spirometry, and may not understand their value. #RandolphHarris 17 of 29

Another important component of the testing is blood work analysis. Next time you get a blood draw for a physical, take your results to a computer and pull up the American Heart Association’s website. Punch your readings and personal information into the heart attack calculator to see what your chances are of having a heart attack in the next year. Of course, the calculator does not take into account the increased cardiac stress of your job, so it might actually be on the low side. However, by trending these results each year, you can monitor the progress of your improvement. The last component involves the specific needs of members. Firefighters are at a significantly greater risk of developing cancer because of continuous contact with carcinogens. These cancer-causing chemicals can easily be inhaled or absorbed during or after firefighting operations, including diesel exhaust at the station. NFPA 1582 specifies the test procedures and frequency at which cancer screenings should occur based on age and gender. Hazardous materials term members might go through more extensive diagnostic testing, such as chest X-rays. Staff members who do not wear SCBA may not receive the same amount of pulmonary testing as a line firefighter, whereas members over a certain age or with a specific medical history will probably get additional tests. Sometimes tests are necessary due to a specific medical history will probably get additional tests. Sometimes tests are necessary due to a specific hazard in their response area. A good example of this is a fire brigade for an industrial fire department working around specific chemicals. See what else the award-winning Sacramento Fire Department is doing to keep firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics in great shape. https://www.instagram.com/p/DQFmNfpEsIX/ #RandolphHarris 18 of 29

If you see a fire truck stopped in the street without the lights on, be very careful. Sometimes there is an emergency, and you should not pass the fire truck. It might be a good idea to safely turn around and go another way because if you hit someone and they happen to die, you could be charged with manslaughter. Sometimes fire firefighters are getting back into their vehicle, and if you pass the apparatus, you may collide with a firefighter who is on foot. Also, be sure to look at their signals; sometimes emergency vehicles are in motion, albeit slowly, and drivers try to pass them, and this could lead to a dangerous situation. Also, if you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue through the intersection. Drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Obey any direction, order, or signal given by a law enforcement officer or a firefighter. Even if they conflict with existing signs, signals, or laws, follow their orders. When their siren or flashing lights are on, it is against the law to follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle. If you drive to the scene of a fire, collision, or other disaster, you can be arrested. When you do this, you are getting in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, or other rescue and emergency personnel. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other people’s problems, to go to bat for them in a tough situation, and it means knowing just how far they can go. It also means being willing to tell the boss when he or she is wrong. #RandolphHarris 19 of 29

California is the third most expensive state in the nation. In 37 percent of counties, a family of four living on a six-figure income is now considered low-income. The average home price in California is nearly $1,000,000.00 USD, while the average salary is $96,036.00, meaning that most Californians cannot even afford to buy a home. California is having an affordability crisis. A single person making an income above $100,000 is now considered low-income in five counties in California. This distinction now applies to individuals living in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. The maximum percentage of your gross income that you should earmark for a monthly mortgage payment is calculated at 28 percent, and no more than 36 percent of your gross income to all debts, including mortgage. If you take 28 percent of the median household income per home in Sacramento County, homeowners can only afford a mortgage of $2,070.23 per month. And if you take 36 percent of their gross income to all debts, including mortgage, they should be devoting no more than $2,661.72 a month to these debts. The mortgage lenders must be using some kind of sorcery to get buyers into these expensive homes. To afford one of these homes using traditional guidelines, a household would need to gross $11,280.24 per month or $135,362.88 per year, but the median household in Sacramento County is grossing $7,393.67 a month or $88,724.00 annually, and that typically means two to four people in the home are working and contributing to the mortgage. Home prices in Sacramento County are rivaling the Bay Area, and in some cases, homes in the Bay Area are more affordable. Historically, homes in the Bay Area have been more expensive because they have higher-paying jobs, a larger population, and the Bay Area is a tourist destination. Contributing to the housing affordability crisis is Gavin Newsom, who has been lavishing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded resources and cash aid, when state workers should be receiving a 25 percent wage increase instead. #RandolphHarris 20 of 29

In 2025, many people in California saw their bills increase by an estimated $500 a month. This includes items such as food, automobile insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and electricity. In fact, more than 3 million people in California are facing household hardship, and more than 300,000 of them are facing eviction soon. This comes at a time when California is having a shortage of affordable housing. The crisis is caused by nearly half a century-old laws that discourage home sales and encourage higher rents. The incompetence in California is very easy to see. From 2018 to 2023, California received $24 billion, which they used to fund 30 homeless and housing programs. These programs created 100,000 units. That is an average cost of $240,000 per unit. In comparison, Roger Lucas, owner of Grand Castle, LLC, spent $50 million to build The Grand Castle, which is a 522-unit residential apartment community in Grandville, Michigan. The community includes studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and even a multi-level penthouse. Rents generally range from $1,000 to $2,500. The community is a 23.6-acre site. It features 750 covered parking spaces, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, and was built over a period of 12 to 18 months. The average cost was about $95,785.45 per unit, which is $144,214.55 less per unit than California spent. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.5 percent. As people are seeing their bills skyrocket, and minimum wage has increased to $20 an hour, people on Social Security retirement are really bearing the burden with the checks the typically equate to $5-$7 an hour. Furthermore, while Americans are struggling to find and afford housing, Gavin Newsom, Democrat governor of California, signed two bills into law on February 7, 2025, to protect illegal immigrants. Bills SBX 1 1: Budget Act of 2024, and SBX 1 2: Budget Act of 2024, allocates $50 million to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Governor Gavin Newsom also granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care, which costs taxpayers $3 billion annually. At the same time, Newsom cut vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled, and the homeless. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. #RandolphHarris 21 of 29

Meanwhile, China, where we are sending all our jobs and money, has more than 50 ghost cities, with 65 million vacant homes. Ghost cities are regions where housing has been overdeveloped to the point that these places are uninhabited. If they are all officially counted, California has approximately 4 million homeless people. The highest home prices in the nation, the highest taxes, and the most unfriendly business regulations known to man.  Because California is so hostile towards people and businesses, more than 360 companies have fled the state since 2020. Businesses like Chevron, SpaceX, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among the names on that list. Also, more than 500,000 people a year are abandoning California because it is too expensive to live in, Gavin Newsom has criminalized homelessness and actually started arresting people without homes, crime is out of control, and they are losing their jobs due to companies relocating. More than 100 companies have announced layoffs in California for 2025. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs, PayPal is cutting 2,500, and Meta has terminated 4,000 employees. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. Accordingly, California has more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants. Having the Southern American border open and not having American farmland protected, not producing beef, poultry, fish, fruit, produce, and dairy in America, and without American goods and services being our number one manufactured and selling items, America has created a dangerous and significantly elevated risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health. Some people may believe that these claims are overstated, but by not routinely monitoring Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CEVs) or other security-relevant alerts, such as the end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. #RandolphHarris 22 of 29

Additionally, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom seems to be uneducated about economics. Newsom has spent $300 million to try to stop proposition 50. Proposition 50 would replace the maps drawn by the state’s independent commission with districts drawn by legislators solely to gain or protect Democratic seats. Newsom only cares about the environment when his policies allow him to raise taxes and restrict freedoms. To further highlight this illustration of incompetence by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mexico has been causing one of America’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons a day of industrial chemicals, untreated sewage, and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County daily. This toxic waste has been turning up on Imperial Beach and is causing the miles of white sands to become polluted and the ocean breeze to smell of feces, which has been sickening residents and wildlife and costing San Diego millions in the form of lost tourism and health problems. The problem has been going on for more than a century, and by 2030, Mexico plans to dump one hundred and twenty million gallons of sewage a day into Imperial Beach. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure such as the 2025 Palisades fire. Southern California ran out of water because Newsom is totally neglecting the state and the American people. And while the fire departments in California are critically understaffed and underfunded, Governor Newsom vetoed firefighter pay raise. The Palisades fire cost $275 billion, which is money that could have been used to insure the State of California had the resources it needed. Furthermore, when Southern California is located next to an ocean, Newsom should have invested in desalination plants to help with the water shortage in California. The water in the ocean is so plentiful that it is currently eroding land and causing homes to fall into the sea. Desalination has been identified as one technology that will help solve California’s water scarcity problem. Desalination is a cost-effective technology that can transform an abundance of salt water into a reliable supply of potable, fresh water, which is a great way to fight climate change and have enough water for our region’s water requirements. Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, is producing 1,036,000 meters (273,682,192) per day of desalinated water. #RandolphHarris 23 of 29

America needs an approach to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in American cities. There needs to be a road map by the end of 2025, outlining a prioritized approach to eliminate crisis situations in America. There is enough money to send aid to foreign nations, but the American government does not have enough money to care for its infrastructure, provide adequate resources, or end the affordable housing crisis. Nor is there enough money to fund other national critical functions (NCFs). These bad practices of putting America and Americans last are considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. As a result, the American automobile trade deficit with Japan was $39 billion. Additionally, Japan exported 1.4 million cars to the United States of America, but only imported 16,000 American-built automobiles. However, Japan imported approximately 143 thousand motor vehicles from the European Union. This is why President Trump created tariffs. We need to balance the trade deficit that America faces with other nations so we are not taken advantage of and so America can go bank to being a creditor nation, instead of borrowing money for other countries. Each year, President Trump is bringing $400 Billion in Tariff revenue into America and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. With this money, America is paying down debt, and with a portion of it, President  Trump plans to send Americans a stimulus check anywhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000. However, if President Trump’s Tariffs are deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, taxpayers will have to pay back trillions and trillions of dollars. As we literally and /or figuratively see gangs, federal judges, and Governor Gavin Newsom fighting with federal law enforcement and President Trump– states and cities refusing to honor federal laws. Politicians are also showing an utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America, and anarchy is becoming increasingly common. #RandolphHarris 24 of 29

Anarchism is a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Derived from the Greek root anarchos, meaning “without authority,” anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval and disapproval. The anarchist denies man-made laws, regards property as a means of tyranny, and believes that crimes are merely the product of property and authority. However, the anarchist would argue that their denial of constitutions and governments leads not to “no justice” but to the real justice inherent in the free development of human sociality—the natural inclination, when unfettered by laws, to live according to the principles and practice of mutual aid. Anarchism is also a form of treason. Treason, the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch’s enemies. In the United States of America, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. Treason against the United States of America “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” which is something that many politicians are currently guilty of.  The American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them before the situation becomes a crisis. Failure to take such mitigating actions is dangerous and significantly elevates risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. The American government must understand that significant time and resources must be invested in America. They must also encourage corporations to plan for both mitigating safety vulnerabilities in the short term and eliminating them in the long term. For instance, a company might begin by reaching out to the federal, state, or local government and requesting tax incentives to provide security to dangerous communities, to help the government repair bridges and potholes. #RandolphHarris 25 of 29

Drug cartels have been threatening the health and safety of Native American communities. The trafficking of dangerous and illegal drugs into their territories is leading to a second genocide. The overdose rate for Indigenous people is 42 percent higher than the national average. A recent bust on Montana’s Blackfeet Nation’s Tribal Reservation resulted in the seizure of more than 700,000 fentanyl pills, which was the largest bust in Montana history. Recently, the Blackfeet Nation had to declare a state of emergency after facing 17 overdoses in just one week. There are only 6.8 million Native Americans left in the world, which is 2 percent of the American population. We should be doing more to protect these proud and honorable people; they should not want for anything. People rush and give away resources to illegal immigrants, but totally disregard the Indigenous people of this land, as their race silently fades away into extinction. We must secure our borders and increase federal funding to Native American tribes so we can save this precious population. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has given billions of taxpayer dollars away to illegal immigrants and protected them from law enforcement, while arresting law-abiding Americans because they cannot afford to pay rent or mortgage, and the homeless shelters are unsafe, overcrowded, and have restrictions on who is allowed inside. He has also totally ignored the cartel problems on American lands. Clean air, water, land, and preserving our heritage are extremely important. We cannot just allow criminals to kill off the people who are native to this land and do nothing about it. Wars have been started over governments that tax citizens without representation. Taxation without representation is what led to the American Revolution. #RandolphHarris 26 of 29

Much like the land crisis in Las Vegas, we could also run out of land to farm and will not be able to grow or cultivate our own food. We can protect American farmland and support American farmers by buying American made beef, poultry, dairy, and produce. Also, country of origin labeling is very important so Americans can know where their food is coming from and can support American farmers and ranchers. As money flows, it influences further investment. Save the land that sustains us by protecting American farmland. Once the land is built on, we lose it forever.  And in the future, there may be food wars. Also, to ensure that we have farmland and buildable land for future use, we need to start limiting the number of people allowed to immigrate to America. Perhaps with the immigrants we do allow into America, there needs to be a diversity program to make sure we have a population that equally represents all races of people. If Americans continue to spend money on American products, then more need to be made to keep up the inventory. When investors notice these goods are selling, it gives them the confidence to pour more money into that local business. It shows that people want these goods made in America and pressures investors to keep these goods and services in America. The jobs stay here, the business stays in America, wages naturally increase, and more money is invested to keep up with demand. This reduces the burden on the taxpayer. When you support American businesses, that money stays in our economy and can help to reduce the national debt. The government creates debt by borrowing from businesses in the private sector or from foreign countries. It also increases the national debt by spending more than it gains in tax revenue in a fiscal year. #RandolphHarris 27 of 29

When people shop locally, more tax money stays in the economy and goes to the government. This way, it keeps more money in our national economy and keeps more jobs located in America which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the national debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by sending more money overseas. Buying American-made products is also better for the environment and helps to reduce the carbon footprint because these products do not have to travel nearly as far. Furthermore, American companies and manufacturers are held to much higher standards on pollution. American companies must be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Under President Trump’s administration, he has make America a priority. President Trump has closed the southern border, illegal crossings have fallen to an all time low, and are 90 percent lower than under the previous administration. Since President Trump’s crack down on crime, violent crimes in Washington D.C. have dropped by approximately 80 percent. He has stopped thousands of pounds of drugs from entering America and killing citizens. And since President Trump took office, investments in America have increased by trillions of dollars in U.S.A. manufacturing, production, and innovation. As you can see, President Donald Trump and his pledge to “Make America Great Again” is exactly what America needs to save the country and the American people. And yes, diversity is important, so you can see why it is also important to preserve blonde hair and blue eyes, as the people with these characteristics are becoming a minority in America. #RandolphHarris 28 of 29

We must think before we can understand the soul’s existence; we must understand before we can realize it. The earliest beginnings of thought, as apart from instinct, when it was itself still but a lurking tendency, belong far back in primeval time. The human intellect as we find it today, so rich and developed an instrument for the consciousness of the ego, did not arrive at this fullness without a series of graduated stages. We have had plenty of scientific thinking, business thinking, and political thinking long enough, but we have had very little inspired thinking. That is the world’s need. The intellect is cradled in selfishness but runs the evolutionary track into reason, where it will one day finish at the winning-post of selflessness. As a reminder, parents, please teach your children to love America and be patriotic citizens, and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. It is inborn in the human mind to wish to know. If this begins with the endless surface questions of a child’s curiosity, if it continues into deeper questions of a scientist’s probing investigation, it cannot and does not stop there. For the higher part of the mind will eventually come into unfoldment, that union of abstract reflective thought with mystical intuition, which is true intelligence, which needs and sees a view of the whole of things. And so, the knowing faculty enters the realm of philosophy. Therefore, remember to take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. Also, to make sure they have all the resources required, please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department to help improve our national security. “Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” #RandolphHarris 29 of 29

The Winchester Mystery House

According to locals, over a century ago, the land that houses The Winchester Mansion had been vacant forever. Then, sometime in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 1886, Sheriff Angel Camilio began getting reports that a massive castle made of wood had suddenly appeared. Gables rose, towers peaked into the sky as the mansion mushroomed into a labyrinth overnight.

The house’s sudden manifestation had been both disconcerting and fascinating to the community. Some felt dark curses flowing from the estate, and things moving around in the darkness. Others saw a fairytale castle glimmering in the spring sunlight. Perhaps this is why there are no records of construction, no blueprints, and no permits filed with the county. And then one day, a hearse came tearing through the gates, and in that hearse was a coffin, some believed it contained Mrs. Winchester.

According to legend, when Sarah Lockwood Pardee (Winchester) married William Wirt Winchester in 1862, she enjoyed a life of extravagant luxury. William Winchester, President of the Winchester repeating rifle, became a very wealthy man through the sale of his guns, and the couple were among the elite New England society.

However, in 1866, the death of their infant daughter drove Mrs. Sarah Winchester into a deep depression from which many thought she would never emerged. Several years later, she lost her husband to tuberculosis, and her grief was overwhelming. Mrs. Winchester sought the counsel of a Boston medium to reach her beloved dead family members. The medium told the grieving widow that she was cursed and demons straight from hades had sought revenge by ending the lives of her beloved husband and darling baby girl.

She also told Mrs. Winchester they would kill her too, unless she moved out West and built a great house for the spirits. In addition, Mrs. Winchester was told construction on the house must never end in order to appease the spirits and keep her alive, perhaps even give her eternal life. Mrs. Winchester followed the medium’s suggestions, and in 1886, she moved to the Santa Clara valley just outside San Jose, where she bought an 18-room farmhouse and property to build her mansion. At its peak, the Mansion once stood 9-stories tall and had as many as 600-rooms. Today, the stately mansion is 4-storys, and over 100,000 square feet.

Experience an unforgettable journey back to the time of kings and queens with this entry ticket for The Winchester Mansion in Santa Clara, California, which was the residence of Heiress Sarah L. Winchester. Come and see what secrets this so-called, “Winchester Mystery House” may hold. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After the tour, there will be time to enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages that lead to hidden chambers within the mansion. These chambers served as safe places for valuables, precious documents, and as private sanctuaries for Mrs. Winchester, and allowed her to move stealthily throughout her home. At one time, there were even secret tunnels that extended beyond the mansion, leading to nearby Victorian houses that were also on the property, and other structures, creating a network of escape routes or hidden pathways.

Please come and enjoy a delicious meal at Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, which once spanned 740 acres, all the way down to Stevens Creek Boulevard; wander through the miles of hallways in the world’s most mysterious mansion.

For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available for purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/

Why Choose Harris?

Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric has been in business for 30 years. How many businesses can say that? We take pride in everything we do – no matter how big or small the service call might be. We’re here to help your home be as safe and comfortable as possible for you and your family. We take that responsibility very seriously as a company.

Harris will ensure you have the information you need to decide what to do next, whatever your home is facing. We’ll perform a diagnosis and detail what issues are present before starting any work. This gives you a personalized quote and service plan specific to your home’s needs, not some random quote based on the best guess. The only way we can do our best work is to make sure we handle the issues at hand. https://www.callharrisnow.com/about-us/

Brian Harris BMW

With its top ranking in Consumer Reports’ Auto Brand Report Card and consistent market share growth, BMW, The Ultimate Driving Experience, has demonstrated its ability to produce high-performing, reliable vehicles that meet consumer demands. BMW stands out due to its focus on driving dynamics and engineering excellence. While other luxury brands prioritize comfort and opulence, BMW is known for creating cars that are fun to drive and offer a unique connection between the driver and the machine. This is why BMW is known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. https://www.brianharrisbmw.com/

Randolph Harris San Francisco Taxation & Mergers

Building strong and lasting client relationships is crucial for a successful legal career. Many lawyers mistakenly believe that mastering legal skills alone ensures success, but law is fundamentally a service industry—our job is to solve problems through the time we sell. To build long-term relationships, attorneys must focus on three core elements: knowing their clients, understanding how their legal issues fit into a larger context, and consistently delivering exceptional service.

Randy advises clients with regard to business transition, taxable and tax-deferred mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, integrated tax planning, federal and state tax controversy resolution, and real estate transactions. Trust is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Ultimately, my clients feel they are in capable hands with someone who genuinely understands their problems and goals. https://www.jmbm.com/l-randolph-harris.html

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“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.” -President Abraham Lincoln

America is a nation founded on godly principles, by God-fearing men. As a nation, we have convinced ourselves of our uniqueness with concepts such as Manifest Destiny and American exceptionalism. Manifest destiny was the imperialist belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand from sea to shining sea.

American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of America is a unique and even morally superior country for historical, ideological, or religious reasons. As a nation we appear favored and blessed by the Lord with success and prosperity unparalleled in human history.

America has a lot of amazing things – its beautiful natural scenery, vibrant cities, unique culture, and some of the world’s most iconic landmarks — it us no wonder many choose to make America their home. https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Contracts Which God Was Never Consulted About Which He Never Signed

The origins of schizophrenic almost certainly encompass both genetic and environmental factors, which through both independent and interactive neurodevelopmental mechanisms, appear to play important roles in this disorder. In recent years, evidence has accumulated in support of a role for neurodevelopment insults in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. The dramatic changes in brain structure and function from conception to birth underscore the particular vulnerability to both short and long-term disease outcomes. Hence, the determinations of fetal brain development—both genes and environmental factors—deserve consideration as potential risk factors for schizophrenia. Among many putative environmental risk factors that have been investigated in studies of schizophrenia, infection is generally deemed as one of the most plausible, because microbial pathogens are well-documented causes of congenital brain anomalies and behavioural disorders. For example, prenatal exposure to ruvella, toxoplasmoisis, herpes simplex virus type 2 , and other infections are known causes of developmental disorders that include, mental retardation, learning disabilities, sensorineural dysfunction, and several structural brain anomalies.  There is also a relatively high prevalence documentation of schizophrenia in populations with influenza during pregnancy. Associations between schizophrenia and epidemics of maternal respiratory viral infections, measles, varicella-zoster, and polio have been reported. #RandolphHarris 1 of 19

Schizophrenia is a psychosis. That it to say, it is a severe mental disorder in which the person’s emotions, thinking, judgment, and grasp of reality are so disturbed that his or her functioning is seriously impaired. The symptoms of schizophrenia are often divided into “positive” and “negative.” Positive symptoms are abnormal experiences and perceptions like delusions, hallucinations, illogical and disorganized thinking and inappropriate behaviour. Negative symptoms are the absence of normal thoughts, emotions and behaviour such as blunted emotions, loss of drive, poverty of thought, and social withdrawal. The two most common functional psychoses around in defining schizophrenia are schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive illness). Bipolar disorder is an episodic disorder in which psychotic symptoms are associated with severe alternations in mood—at times elated, agitated episodes of mania, at other times depression, with physical and mental slowing, despair, guilt and low self-esteem. On the other hand, the course of schizophrenia, though fluctuating, tends to be more continuous, and the person’s display of emotion is likely to be incongruous or lacking in spontaneity. Markedly illogical thinking is common in schizophrenia. Auditory hallucinations may occur in either manic-depressive illness or schizophrenia, but in schizophrenia they are more likely to be commenting on the person’s actions or to be conversing one with another. #RandolphHarris 2 of 19

Delusions, also, can occur in both conditions; in schizophrenia they may hive the individual the sense the he or she is being controlled by outside forces of that his or her thoughts are being broadcast or interfered with. Despite common features, different forms of schizophrenia are quite dissimilar. One person, for example, may be paranoid but show good judgment and high functioning in many areas of life. Another may be bizarre in manner and appearance, preoccupied with delusions of bodily disorder, passive and withdrawn. So marked are the differences, in fact, that many experts believe that, when the causes of schizophrenia are worked out, the illness will prove to be a set of different conditions which lead, via a final common pathway of biochemical interactions, to similar consequences. In the 2001 film, “The Cave Man’s Valentine,” starring Samuel L. Jackson, Romulus Ledbetter is a character who is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. At times, he has a beautiful mind and is able to play the piano as well as Beethoven. At other times, demons are attacking his mind, and he becomes confused and dangerous and loses touch with reality. He seriously believes that people are putting thoughts into his mind. Not all schizophrenics are dangerous, nor are they out of touch with reality. In the 2001 film, “A Beautiful Mind,” starring Russell Crow, John Nash is an extremely intelligent character who is a genius in mathematics and even works with the Pentagon to help decode messages. #RandolphHarris 3 of 19

As we have been challenged by the difficulties of working with a particular group of schizophrenics, we have learned new behaviours which are facilitative. How can we initiate a relationship with such individuals? One way which most of us have come to use is the expression by the therapist of his own immediate feelings, in a way which does not impose on the client. Thus, with a very silent man, I have voiced such feelings as these: “I feel quite content with our silence this morning. Sometimes when we are not talking, I feel sort of impatient and wanting to know what is going on but this morning it feels good just to be with you, quietly.” Or with another client, “I feel that you are angry at me. I am not sure, of course, because you have not said so. However, I keep wondering why you are angry with me.” Such statements are expressed as inward musings, not as questions or demands. They may be much more extensive than these brief examples. They tend to put the therapist as a person into the relationship, without threatening the client by demands. They keep repeating in a variety of ways, “I am here. I am offering a relationship. I am a person with feelings, with perceptions. I am sensitive to you and anything you are willing to reveal about yourself.” The therapist can draw on his own momentary experiencing and find there an ever-present reservoir from which he can draw, and with which he can initiate, deepen, and carry-on therapeutic interaction even with an unmotivated, silent, or externalizing person.” However, when dealing with people who are mentally ill and making threats of brandishing sharp objects, it is best to not make any sudden moves and get to safety and to take their threats seriously because they have a tendency to snap without notice. #RandolphHarris 4 of 19

Some of our therapists go further in their behaviour. One in particular is moving more and more toward allying himself with the hidden and unrevealed person in the schizophrenic, and openly “clobbering” the defensive shell. In his work, there is a real similarity to Rosen or Whitaker. He is sensitively and obviously committed to the person who is in hiding, of the psychotic symptoms, the fear of relating, the defenses and avoidances. Perhaps partly because this approach is congenial to him as a person, he is finding it effective. As we listen to the recorded interviews of the various therapists in our group, we are gradually broadening the repertoire of behaviours which are real for each of us in dealing with our psychotic clients, and are slowly hammering out ways of facilitating movement in the unmotivated person. There is another lesson which we as therapists have learned, and that is the patience which is necessary to elicit what Dr. Otto Rank has called the “positive will,” in an individual in whom it has never been exercised. We have come to realize that almost none of the individuals with whom we have been working have ever been affirmed themselves. “They have never, in any meaningful way, said, “I feel,” “I live,” “I have a right to be.” They have instead been passive receivers of life’s hurts, blows, and events. It takes great patience to wait for the germination and budding of the will to say, “I am, I deserve to be.” Yet the phenomenon of growth is in some respects all the more exciting because it has been so long dormant. #RandolphHarris 5 of 19

Coming, as a number of our therapist did, from work with non-hospitalized individuals, the development of our feeling about the significance of psychotic content in our contacts is of interest. The simplest way of stating our present attitude is to day that we have learned how relatively unimportant is psychotic material. This could easily be misunderstood. The hallucination, the delusion, the bizarre language or posture has of course its significance in the psychological dynamics of the schizophrenic individual. However, in the therapeutic relationship it simply forms a more difficult language of communication. Working with a child in play therapy, his language is his behaviour, and this is often difficult to understand. Or in working with a foreign-born client, garbled phrases and mispronunciations make understanding more difficult. So it is, it seems to us, with the schizophrenic. His scrambled incoherencies, his paranoid ideas, his hearing of voices, simply represent a mode of communicating himself which is often very difficult to understand. However, we have found the difference one of degree rather than kind, and do not attach special importance, nor use special procedures when dealing with the person who is frankly psychotic in his way of expressing himself. In my first few meetings with Charles, I was very impressed. He was bright, interested and had a good grasp of psychology. In group, he was helpful, using his knowledge to lead other members to some insights. Seeing his ability, I decided he would make an ideal group assistant. #RandolphHarris 6 of 19

The group assistant is someone who takes charge in my absence and leads discussion when I feel it is best for me to be out of the room. I thought Charles, the amateur psychologist, was a natural for the job. It was a serious mistake. In my absence, Charles began to run the group like his own private kingdom. He chose the topics, limited the times others could talk, and reprimanded those who digressed from the subject. Using his knowledge of psychology, he “psyched out” the others and called his diagnoses into play when he wanted to put someone down. Yet whenever he digressed or showed his own weaknesses, he either may lame excuses or flatly said that the group had no right to “nail” him. The other group members became furious. Sessions which started out with open sharing soon deteriorated into shouting matches. Charles often locked horns with John, a man with a short fuse and sharp tongue. Whenever John challenged his point of view, Charles would become the intellectual, backing up his arguments with “facts” and logic. In one such discussion, John angrily shouted, “I might not be able to crack your logic, twerp, but I can sure crack your head!” Finally, the problem was brought up while I was in the room. In her shy, forgiving way, Victoria said, “I really appreciate how willing Charles is to lead the group, but I sometimes think he isn’t going by the same rules we are. Don’t the rules apply to him too?” Before I could reply, John snapped, “Damn right.” #RandolphHarris 7 of 19

The therapist, with full humanity and poignancy, and with the patient’s explicit and voluntary consent, may have to perform a similar task: not torture, but surgery. In order for the patient to get better, his illusions, upon which is whole life is based, must be undermined so that he can live in the World which is here today, rather than in his “If Only” or “Some Day.” This is the most painful task which the script analyst has to perform: to tell his patients finally that there is no Santa Claus. However, by careful preparation, the blow can be softened and the patient may, in the long run, forgive him. One of the favourite illusions of later childhood is shaken when Jeder finds out where babies come from. In order to maintain the fiction of his parents’ purity, he has to make the reservation: “All right, but my parents do not do that.” It is difficult for the therapist to avoid seeming crass and cynical when he confronts Jeder with the fact that he was not a virgin birth, so they must have done it at least once, and if he has brothers and sisters, several times. This is equivalent to telling him that his mother betrayed him, something no man should tell another unless the other pays him to do just that. Sometimes he has the opposite task of restoring to some semblance of decency the picture which mother herself or external circumstances have smeared into degradation. And for millions of children, this illusion is an unattainable luxury, and they must exist in a bare state of psychological as well as material subsistence. The beliefs in Satan Claus, Death, and mother’s virginity may be regarded as normal because they are eagerly grasped and give spiritual nourishment to idealistic or weaker spirits whenever they are made available. #RandolphHarris 8 of 19

On the other hand, confused people are betwixt because they have their own special illusions. These range from, “If you take a colonic irrigation every day, you will be health and happy,” (they could cause micro tears in your colonic lining and lead to more serious health conditions) to “If you get sick, you can prevent your father from dying. If he dies, it is because you did not get sick enough.” There are also private contracts with God, contracts God was never consulted about which He never signed; and which He could in fact refuse to sign: “If I sacrifice my children, my mother will stay healthy” is a common example, or “If I do not have any climaxes, God will send me a miracle.” The latter was institutionalized among the women of the evening of Paris as “No matter how many men I have pleasures of the flesh with, or even knowingly infect with disease, I can still go to Heaven as long as it is done in the course of business and I do not enjoy it.” A classic ploy by which the hive stimulates stupidity is the Immortality Placebo—usually sexual or financial. First, the gene-pool sets up a Moral Taboo. Moral Taboos are Magnificent Intelligent Qualification (IQ) devices because they get everyone in the hive hung up on virtue-sin. The Moral Taboo must interfere with some normal, natural, caste-behaviour. It must perversely prevent some castes from getting something that they neurologically are wired to want. Once brought into focus by prescription the Taboo becomes charged with artificial cop-sinner magnetism. #RandolphHarris 9 of 19

Genesis, the first chapter in the Judeo-Christian Bible, clearly sets out the strategy of the Immorality Placebo—using good verses evil as fascinating distraction, a front ploy. There are two forbidden trees in the Garden of Edan. The serpent—now exposed as an agent provocateur—gets Eve and Adam to eat the fruit of the first tree, which provides the knowledge—substitute the word “hang-up”—of Good and Evil, thus forgetting about the second tree, which bears the fruit of self-actualization and immortality. Interestingly, the Immorality Placebo has been formalized by Pynchon as one of his “Proverbs for Paranoids—If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they do not have to worry about answers.” Caught between unjustifiable virtue and unacceptable crime, consumed with pity and incapable of love, a recluse deprived of the benefits of cynicism, the man of supreme intelligence is killed by contradiction. “My mind is of this World,” Ivan said; “what good is it to try to understand what is not of the World?” However, he lived only for what is not of this World, and his proud search for the absolute is precisely what removed him from the World of which he loved no part. The fact that Ivan was defeated does not obviate the fact that once the problem is posed, the consequence must follow: rebellion is henceforth on the march toward action. This has been demonstrated by Dostoievsky, with prophetic intensity, in his legend of the Gran Inquisitor. #RandolphHarris 10 of 19

Ivan, finally, does not distinguish the creator from his creation. “It is not God whom I reject,” he says, “it is creation.” In other words, it is God the father, indistinguishable from what He has created. (Ivan allows his father to be killed and thus chooses a direct attack against nature and procreation. Moreover, this particular father is infamous. The repugnant figure of old Karamazov is continually coming between Ivan and the God of Aliosha.) His plot to usurp the throne, therefore, remains completely moral. He does not want to reform anything in creation. However, creation being what it is, he claims the right to free himself morally and to free all the rest of mankind with him. On the other hand, from the moment when the spirit of rebellion, having accepted the concept of “everything is permitted” and “Everyone or no one,” aims at reconstructing creation in order to assert the sovereignty and divinity of man, and from the moment when metaphysical rebellion extends itself from ethics to politics, a new undertaking, of incalculable import, begins, which also springs from the same nihilism. Dostoievsky, the prophet of the new religion, had foreseen and announced it: “If Aliosha had come to the conclusion that neither God nor immortality existed, he would immediately have become an atheist and a socialist. For socialism is not only a question of the working classes; it is above all, in its contemporary incarnation, a question of atheism, a question of the tower of Babel, which is constructed without God’s help, not to reach to the Heavens, but to bring the Heavens down to Earth.” #RandolphHarris 11 of 19

After that, Aliosha can, in fact, treat Ivan with compassion as a “real simpleton.” The latter only made an attempt at self-control and failed. Others will appear, with more serious intentions, who, on the basis of the same despairing nihilism, will insist on ruling the World. These are the Grand Inquisitors who imprison Christ and come to tell Him that His method is not correct, that universal happiness cannot be achieved by the immediate freedom of choosing between good and evil, but by the domination and unification of the World. The first step is to conquer and rule. The kingdom of Heaven will, in fact, appear on Earth, but it will be ruled over by men—a mere handful to begin with, who will be the Caesars, because they were the first to understand—and later, with time, by all men. The unity of all creation will be achieved by every possible means, since everything is permitted. The Grand Inquisitor is old and tired, for the knowledge he possesses is bitter. He knows that men are lazy rather than cowardly and that they prefer peace and death to the liberty of discerning between good and evil. He has pity, a cold pity, for the silent prisoner who history endlessly deceives. He urges him to speak, to recognize his misdeeds, and, in one sense, to approve the actions of the Inquisitors and of the Caesars. However, the prisoner does not speak. The enterprise will continue, therefore, without him; he will be killed. #RandolphHarris 12 of 19

Legitimacy will come at the end of time, when the kingdom of men is assured. “The affair has only just begun, it is far from being terminated, and the World has many other things to suffer, but we shall achieve our aim, we shall be Caesar, and then we shall begin to think about Universal happiness.” By then, the prisoner has been executed; the Grand Inquisitor reign alone, listening to “the profound spirit, the spirit of destruction and death.” The Grand Inquisitors proudly refuse freedom and the bread of Heaven and offer the bread of this Earth without freedom. “Come down from the cross and we will believe in you,” their police agents are already crying on Golgotha. However, He did not come down and, even at the most tortured moment of His agony, He protested to God at having been forsaken. There are, thus, no longer any proofs, but faith and the mystery that the rebels reject and at which the Grand Inquisitors scoff. Everything is permitted and centuries of crime are prepared in that cataclysmic moment. From Paul to Stalin, the popes who have chosen Caesar have prepared the way for Caesars who quickly learn to despise popes. The unity of the World, which was not achieved with God, will henceforth be attempted in defiance of God. However, we have not yet reached that point. For the moment, Ivan offers us only the tortured face of the revel plunged in the abyss, incapable of action, torn between the idea of his own innocence and the desire to kill. He hates the death penalty because it is the image of the human condition, and, at the same time, he is drawn to crime. Because he has taken the side of mankind, solitude is his lot. With him the rebellion of reason culminates in madness. #RandolphHarris 13 of 19

When one is hungry, it feels good to eat. When one is thirsty, it feels good to drink water. When the time to do so has come, it feels good to urinate and to empty one’s bowels. Physical massage and the sheer sensuality of being caressed yield pleasure not overshadowed by a climax, which is viewed by most humans as the acme of human pleasure. Although pleasure as such cannot serve as the chief purpose of life—the reality principle discussed by Dr. Freud tells us that the quest for pleasure can endanger life itself—a life without pleasure is hardly worth living. Gratification of basic needs is pleasurable in and for itself, and the capacity to feel such pleasure is one of the rewards of healthy personality. Although it may seem surprising, many persons actually dread the experience of pleasure and repress it. Such repression is most likely in person reared under puritanical regimes in which “self-indulgence” is regarded as a sin. Pleasure comes not only from the fact of satisfying basic needs, however. There is joy to be found in contemplation of beauty in music, art, and nature; in sound of birds; the sight of a child taking its first steps; the smell of new-mown hay. Another source of pleasure is to be found in the zest of accompanying action. When people engage in activities that will challenge, but not overwhelm them, zest is engendered. Thus, when a game of tennis or handball, surfing along the perfect wave, skiing down a fast slope, yield pleasure no less than that afforded by sensuous, passive massage. #RandolphHarris 14 of 19

Similar zest arises in those who love their work, whether it be that of an artist in the studio, a scientist in the laboratory, or a businessperson planning a sales campaign. People who experience pleasure in living do not develop the uptight, armoured bodies and grim facial expressions of those whose lives have been hard and joyless or whose religious orientation proscribes pleasure as a sin. And those who find zest in their work and play appear “childlike” or ageless—they do not grow old. Pleasure engulfs the experience of persons who have just had their hopes fulfilled, or who have just completed a valued project. The delights of winning a prize or receiving an unexpected gift are among the “highs” in life, as are the joys of finishing a difficult mountain climb or writing a book. Pleasure—whether occasioned by sensuality, physical activity, or consummation of projects—is a goal and reward of healthy personality. I cannot recall any statement by mystics—ancient, medieval, or modern—that one aspect of spiritual union is exquisite refinement. Everyone writes of its moral fruits, its religious insights—even its creativity, artistic or intellectual—but who seems to note this aesthetic effect on manners, feelings, speech, and living? That breeding and culture can contribute to spirituality may not be evident to the ascetically mystic mind or the simpler religious mind. That fastidious refinement (but not arrogant snobbish refinement) can come with inner growth may be likewise obscure. However, the long association of holiness with asceticism or with bareness of living has confused the understanding of truth. #RandolphHarris 15 of 19

A lifestyle touched with beauty in manners, surroundings, character, or taste, can better express what philosophy means than an ugly and unclean one. That lack of opportunity is responsible for a parts of crudeness and inferiority and immaturity is, however, obvious enough. However, it is a fact which ought not be used to cover up the correct view of these things. Good manners are not only an end in themselves, emblems of a finer personality, tokens of willingness to be of service, but also part of a means to higher spiritual attainment—the ultimate courtesy and supreme generosity of human behaviour. Ill-mannered conduct is ordinarily incompatible with spiritual realization: the cases of those Christian masters who historically behaved badly towards would-be disciples are special cases, and ought not to be taken as guides. Refinement is as valuable a quality, and as spiritual, as truth-seeking. Good manners and finer feelings, courtesy and graciousness—these inhere in one who possesses a true spirituality. It is true that many aspirants consider this to be mere surface polish, unimportant, a cloak of quite often for hypocrisy and falseness. That may be so in a number of cases. However, even it if were correct of all cases, the fact remains that the manners which aspirants adopt, the code of behaviour which they practise, possess a definite place on this quests. The Christians who regarded and used etiquette as part of their way toward inner unfoldment, as part of their path, were not wrong. #RandolphHarris 16 of 19

For etiquette creates forms of conduct which not only refine and uplift the practiser’s character, but also can be used to defend his inner life—where he is developed enough to possess one—against society’s onslaughts. There is a moral element in it, too. For where etiquette trains a man sympathetically to consider the emotional reactions of other persons to his own behaviour, it transfers his point of view from an habitual selfish one to a more impersonal one. Again, by smoothing the relations between both of them, it puts the others not only more at peace with themselves but also with him. Lastly, it requires and fosters some measure of self-control. For we are not only victims of aggression from our enemies. We are just as much, or even more, victims of ourselves, attacked by our own weakness and faults. We should learn to teach children to learn to respect the requires for respect—whether it be shown to elders or to authorities, or whether it be shown to other people’s religious beliefs. Respect is something which can later grow into a higher quality and that is reverence. Through reverence we can begin to sense higher atmospheres which produce a feeling of awe whether the atmosphere be found in the beauties of nature, of music, of art, or of saints. People of the lower classes are apt to lose their temper more quickly than those of the upper classes because some have not been brought up to respect self-control or to value it and thus to respect themselves. Thus, self-respect becomes respect for one’s own higher self. The connection between the good life and good manners is not usually brought out by those who would uplift humanity spiritually, expect of course by such shining exceptions. In a period like the present—when the young generation ridicules all mention of manners, courtesy, etiquette, and so on as hollow, hypocritical, and insincere—the values so criticized must be clarified again and their connection with the higher life made plainer. #RandolphHarris 17 of 19

The Sacramento Fire Department’s mission is to safeguard the lives and property of the Sacramento populations from fires, natural disasters, and incidents involving hazardous materials. The department provides fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) to the city of Sacramento. Members of the Fire Department fight fires, provide emergency medical treatment, and rescue people from dangerous situations. The department has specialized divisions that investigate fires, deal with hazardous material, and help protect the Sacramento International Airport. “There was a rooming house on Capitol Avenue. A flophouse really, a nine-story dump, filled with dozens and dozens of occupants who were less well off than the rest of us. I was lieutenant of our ladder company, and we went as an additional ladder company to the fire, which eventually went to six alarms. These people were being taken out from the inside. We consulted with the chief, and he said, ‘The guy in that window.’ He’s pointing to the eight floor, where a guy was hanging over the windowsill. Our rig was parked a block away, so I told our guys to swing it around to the other block and see if our stick can reach him from there. In the meantime, I went up the inside stairs to the eighth floor. There was not a large amount of fire to be seen, but the smoke and the heat were boiling. I found this guy, and he was barely conscious. Besides, he couldn’t walk very well because of arthritis or something. I said, ‘Okay, come on, let’s go.’ And I started to carrying him down. I was lucky, he wasn’t a heavy guy at all. #RandolphHarris 18 of 19

“We were in the hallways when the smoke and the heat changed instantly. I knew it was going to flash, and we had to get the heck out. At any moment the fire was going to chase us. He was having trouble, so I gave him my mask, and I carried him down the inside stairway. In the street I put him on the running board on the far side of one of the trucks. Somebody brought over an inhalator, and I was trying to get the guy to take some air. Then I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the hospital. They told me afterwards that I just went shish, boom, and that was it. In the hospital, I heard a woman doctor talking to the others. And I said to myself, ‘That’s it, an angel, I’m all done. This is it, I’ve bought it.’ The only reason the department saw fit to write me up for a medal was because I had pulmonary burns, burns down the throat and lungs. But they were not from the fire itself, they were from the heat. The difference is, I wouldn’t be sitting here today if they were from the fire itself. Just the smoke and heated gases, that’s all. I don’t think it’s a great idea to talk about the medal—it was nice, okay—but I’m no different from anybody else. Exceeding the needs and expectations of those they serve with the highest level of valor, integrity and commitment is what the Sacramento Fire Department is dedicated to doing. Please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department and you could save lives and property. They provide optimum prevention and protection to our community. It is also of utmost importance to raise your children to love God and Jesus Christ, love America and be patriotic. To help keep America strong, we must also buy American cars and other American goods and services. In order to keep our communities safe, please obey and respect law and order and treat everyone, especially your elders with dignity, and make it a point not to litter. Remember, there lives a God! Each finite creature proclaims His rule on sea and land; throughout all changing forms of nature is clearly shown His mighty hand. In every place is heard the call: The Lord of Host has made us all. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. Remember to raise your children to love America, to love God and Jesus Christ, to respect law and order, buy goods made in America, and be kind and respectful to everyone, especially their elders. There lives a God! #RandolphHarris 19 of 19

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America Love it or Leave it: How Can a Lost Mind be Recovered?

Our life experiences are distracting us and dulling our spiritual view so much so that we are not focusing on that which matters most. I wonder, do we miss opportunities to learn of the Lord and feel His love? Do we miss opportunities to share with others—especially children—that which matters most, the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ? We have all seen children and youth standing in the crowds confused and wanting to know what matter most. I can almost hear this child and other children crying out the words so many of us have sung, “Please teach me to walk in the light.” Are we teaching our children to know, feel, and rejoice in the beauty, power, and miracles of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Let us nurture our children concerning Him whom we call the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us teach our children the grand saving principles of the gospel. Children require the ability to knock that having faith in the Saviour and following Him will help them to receive peace in this beautiful World that is experiencing trials and tribulations. As you include your children at your family dinner table, as you involve them in daily prayer and scripture study and in family home evening, you are following the example of the Saviour by loving and teaching them. As you do this, let them know that together your family is striving to keep the commandments and to be worthy to be an eternal family. #RandolphHarris 1 of 26

 It may be during the information one-on-one times that the Spirit will prompt us to ask just the right questions or to say just the right thing to help our children know and feel the light of the Lord. If we make the opportunities, the Spirit will guide us. We have wonderful, capable children in our midst. We can help them find peace in this life and in the life to come. After all, you do not want to raise your children to be on the run, to have to dye their hair to evade law enforcement. Some people who do not walk in the foot steps of the Lord end up having to live underground and join the Weathermen Underground tribe. You do not want your children to have to work with dope dealers to raise a quarter of a million dollars to pay manic guerrillas to keep them safe, to pay for hair dye, and fast cars as they drive up Highway 101 to north Oakland. There is the chance that the police and CHP will throw up roadblocks and you will have to stay at a stash pad and wait it out before the coast is clear to drive to Salt Lake City. It is better to raise your children to be American Legion hunting-fishing guys, or a soft Middle American woman, or everyone’s TV girl—a Holy Family. It is best to become a Holy Family of Elegance. When it comes to psychotherapy, words themselves are vague and insecure and our ignorance so great that we tend in desperation to assume meaning where none exists. #RandolphHarris 2 of 26

Let us recognize that the true nature of psychosis is a mystery. (And the nature of the most prevalent convulsive treatment, electroshock, is called a “mystery within a mystery” by the most authoritative book on the subject.) One of our problems, then, is how to deal with a subject consisting of experience which at its worst is indescribable from the inside and incomprehensible from the outside, and this without using words which are themselves confounding. “Psychosis,” for instance, has an authoritative, antiseptic sound, but its real sterility lies mainly in its lack of clear meaning. It simply replaces “madness”—now a literary term, and “insanity”—which represents a dated legal concept. Falling into pseudoscientific conventions of language will not help. At the present stage of knowledge, the questions are well enough represented by asking simply: What does it mean to “lose one’s mind”? How can a “lost mind” be recovered? For that matter, how is the mind developed in the first place? It is our assumption that “mind” develops and exists beyond brain, and following from this, the assumption of social psychological origin of much mental disturbance. It sounds simple, but there is by no means wholehearted agreement in the field on this issue. Current work on molecular structure and the chemistry of schizophrenia, for instance, challenges psychological assumptions. #RandolphHarris 3 of 26

 It is possible, of course, that biochemical methos of treatment will develop actual cures for psychotic states, thus outmoding psychotherapy. No less a therapist than Dr. Freud thought so in regard to schizophrenia. Also fashionable are experiments with drugs which induce pseudo-psychotic states, which suggest to some that if such states can be caused by chemical means, they can also be cured by chemical means, and further that the mechanism of disturbance is fundamentally biochemical. Undeniably there is always a biochemical basis for behaviour of the human organism. However, this does not rule out psychological influence, in either the sickening or the healing process. It is certain that anxiety can cause diarrhea. Chemical mechanism? Surely. And a virus or a laxative might cause the same apparent result, but that would not alter the fact that anxiety, a psychological state, can and does cause diarrhea (as surely as a nonchemical state may cause someone ten feet away to blush). Nor would it mean, more obviously but no more truly, that even though the eventual chemistry, mechanism, and result are the same, two different causes (laxative and anxiety) are therefore the same. Nor would it mean than an antidote for diarrhea is a specific treatment for either anxiety or a virus, or that a specific for one is of any use for the other. #RandolphHarris 4 of 26

Similarly, a chemically induced psychotic state may not be a true psychosis even though it has the same appearance in terms of hallucinations and like effects. A chemical antidote for the pseudo-psychosis is not necessarily effective for a true psychosis, even though a chemical mechanism exists in either case. Psychological influence is not eradicated by the artificial imitation of its effects. Even though “tranquilizers” will tranquilize, so will a blow on the head, and neither one is equivalent to, or can deny the existence of, “peace of mind.” That which we call a “psychosis” is not a disease. It is a learned behaviour, exaggerated to a point of no return, id est, where control is lost and the exaggerated behaviour “takes on a life of its own” temporarily. Because this exaggeration is so overwhelming, so much beyond our ordinary capacity to assimilate, it appears to us that we are no longer dealing with, for instance, ordinary suspicion, but something quite different—“paranoia.” Then it appears that psychosis is not of the same order, not on the same continuum, as “normal” or “neurotic” behaviour. However, as psychotic behaviour becomes more common it is seen as a form of maladjustment similar in kind ot lesser degrees of maladjustment, though so much greater in quantity that it seems different in quality too. #RandolphHarris 5 of 26

There is one sense, unfortunately, in which it is different. A boulder balanced on the edge of a precipice can be pressed ounce by measured ounce toward rolling off. Each ounce is just like the last, but when the quantity of pressure totals to the “breaking point,” the quality of the consequences changes radically. No longer will the relief or counterpressure of one ounce recover the balance. Even if the boulder is not smashed in the fall, an enormous effort is required to restore it to its original position. It is because of this effort (which so few can make, and so many need) that it is necessary to prevent the “psychotic situation” in life. The “psychotic situation” is a precondition to the psychotic state, which may or may not follow. In our society, there is an overwhelming emphasis on thinking. In school, we were taught almost entirely to think rather than to feel. We were told to “use our heads,” to think through problems, to study hard and be sensible. This approach is supposed to lead to success in the World. The trouble is, while thinking is unquestionably important, it is of limited value. Thinking, you see, is entirely concerned with the past and the future. We cannot think about the present moment; we can only feel it. The present, a microscopic dot on the line from past to future, does not lend itself to thinking—for the simple fact that thinking takes time. The moment we think, even if we think about “now,” it is already in the past. Thinking can help us learn from the past and plan for the future, but it cannot help us experience the now. #RandolphHarris 6 of 26

Thinking results in action. First we think, then we do. We are a society of thinkers and doers. However, we are also a society of manipulators because all this emphasis on the mind has taught us to be cunning and calculating. When we use our heads only, we become manipulators—functioning with only part of our human capacity. So thoroughly are we oriented to doing, we shy from theories that tell us there is nothing we can do about a situation. The truth is, in some situations, there is absolutely nothing we can do. Sometimes no actions can be taken to help a person be confident. One must be confident, be secure, be powerful—and to do that, one must discover his core being. A system based on thinking is limited because it is based on concepts and theories borrowed from others, generally others’ books. It is borrowed knowledge—and borrowed knowledge does not overcome ignorance; it hides ignorance. Borrowed knowledge is “knowing without knowing.” The more of it we amass, the more darkness and ignorance we keep in our inner cores. We can develop our logic, but logic alone leads only to conclusions, never to the truth. Because the truth needs no proof. It does, however, need the heart. This is where experience comes in. Knowledge of the truth comes from our experience of it, from a feeling which originates deep down in our cores. It is totally individual, intensely personal, and entirely subjective. #RandolphHarris 7 of 26

You cannot know what love is by reading about it. You must experience it. You cannot take a course in love—or confidence, or any other value for that matter. Books and course are things of the mind. Values are things of the heart as well as the mind, and they come from within. However, people spend so much time in school and not everyone believes in God, nor do they go to church. Therefore, it might be conducive to offer a psychology class on how to love. People spend so much time learning how to think and how to hate. If we taught people how to express platonic love in college, it might generate better human beings that are able to deal with stressful situations and will be less critical of others’ perceived faults. Some people view themselves as weak and powerless because they have never experienced their own personal power. All of the doing is merely activity at the circumference of one’s true self. In the focusing process, one can break through the circumference and find something else. In surrendering to helplessness, one may discover a capable self in one’s core. The “something” that one finds is the real I. And finding it, one knows, intuitively, that one had and still has power. Note that, in this experience, one does not actually do anything. A man may not know what to do. However, that is not important. #RandolphHarris 8 of 26

When the right thing to do comes alone, he will do it, based on his new, intuitive knowledge that he can do it. Not borrowed knowledge, from books or lectures or friends, but intuitive knowledge from within. Some people will thus have an instantaneous experience of mastery. When control is so perfect that he can never again raise his voice in anger, he needs turn attention to only one other passion—the spiritual. Such a chaste aloofness will help with mental, spiritual, and emotional clarity. When desires die without regrets, he begins to taste real peace. When cravings slough off naturally, like a serpent’s skin, he finds tranquil happiness. If not all of it, the man who can win his way to freedom from anger and finally liberate the mind from passion may need much of his lifetime for the work; but what he gains is of inestimable value. For this brings him closer to awareness of the Overself. As aspiration for the Overself grows stronger, other desires grow weaker. If you are ever to emerge from the darkness, you must possess an insatiable longing for light. He arrives at purity by a cultivated discipline of the mind rather than by a forcible atrophy of the senses. If he can find it and heed it, the thread-like intuition which will lead him out of animality into serenity will be his best guide. It is not possible for these finer elements to become, little by little, paramount in his outlook, consciousness, and conduct without a corresponding decline in the coarser ones. #RandolphHarris 9 of 26

He will gradually become the ruler of his physical appetites and then the master of his bodily desires. Indeed, as all his longings for the Overself slowly gather themselves together into a great dedicated life, there is an equally great shift-over from the terrestrial part of his being to the truly human, allied with an opening-up of the angelic or divine part. The fruits of extravagances involving pleasures of the flesh, the harvest of promiscuity of pleasures of the flesh, the gleanings of irresponsibility with pleasures of the flesh, and the gratifications of license involving pleasures of the flesh must be subjected to the hard discipline of reason. Those who will not do so must sooner or later pay the price in fears, anxieties, irritations, regrets, disillusionments, shames, and despairs. So long as a man identifies himself with the physical body, so long will he perforce have to identify himself with its desires and passions. Only when he transfers this self-identification to the infinite mental being can he completely detach himself from them. When they are still in subjection to passion, of what use is it for men to talk of freeing themselves from subjection to egoism? The student of philosophy will try to comprehend the sensations got from sensual pleasures impartially and impersonally. Man knows instinctively what will give him momentary emotional satisfaction; he must wrestle with reason to know what will give him deep enduring happiness. #RandolphHarris 10 of 26

When different pleasures compete for suffrage or when duty competes with desire, reason must arbitrate. Desire carried to an undue extent becomes a passion disturbing to the equilibrium of life and character. When a man finds that despite all his efforts to improve himself and reform his character, he still remains the same, it is an indication that new methods must be tried. The scourging of the flesh may be needed by, and may help, those who find their overheated passions and lusts get out of hand. However, it will not end those troubles of man, even though it may tame them for a time. Something more must be added, or must replace them—first, knowledge; second, work on the process of attention. The instinctual animal urge plus the ambitious drive for power and the personal desire for property keep men from spiritual aspiration. If he is filled with selfish interest alone, seeking the fulfilment of personal ambitions irrespective of any higher considerations; if terrestrial passion drives him and greed dominates him, he blocks his own way. Purification from such attachments must be the first endeavour. Pleasures which corrupt character are undesirable; but those which uplift character (like the finest works of Aaliyah, Beethoven and Handel) are desirable. There is a level of tension below which the person can think rationally and act effectively. #RandolphHarris 11 of 26

When tension increases above this point, efficiency breaks down, and irrational thinking and expressive behaviour takes the place of rational thinking and effective action. This point on the tension continuum is called the frustration threshold. It varies from person to person, and within the same person at different times. A mother wants her house to be clean and orderly. In the forenoon, her three-year-old daughter Annie might spill a glass of milk, leave her Barbie dolls in disarray, and scatter magazines all over the newly cleaned living room. The mother’s reaction at the time is one of mild anger, followed by efficient attempts to set things straight. At five-thirty in the afternoon, the child repeats her efforts at messing up the house. This time, the mother “explores”—she sends the child to her room, screams, and is unable to prepare supper until she has vented her tension. Optimum physical health produces a high frustration threshold. A sick or exhausted person has less energy to cope with tension and is more easily frustrated than one who is fit. People who manage to survive the extremely corrupt Sacramento City—a so-called death camp—have pointed out that a strong commitment to life and a sense of mission to fulfill were definite factors in survival. Individuals with such a sense of mission were less readily frustrated by the deprivations, stresses, and pressure of extremely hostile environments. #RandolphHarris 12 of 26

When Zorba, the Greek, was unable to express his grief following the death of his beloved son, he danced a Cretan dance until he dropped from exhaustion. On another occasion, when he felt he had at last found the solution to a problem of brining logs down a mountainside, again he danced. Finally, when the plan to bring logs down the mountain failed, and his boss’s investment was dismally lost, the boss asked Zorba to show him how to dance, and the two men danced and laughed like madmen. When someone has access to such means of self-expression, as in dance, violent exercise, painting, or song, that person can release the inevitable frustration of life without recourse to mindless, destructive outlets of tension. As Reich pointed out, sexual orgasm also provides a natural means for the dissipation of tension. In fact, prolonged privation of pleasures of the flesh is a common cause of frustration. It is however, a mistake to think that other frustrations, such as material misunderstandings, are all relieved by pleasures of the flesh. Nothing is more revealing in this respect than the famous lampoon, read b y Dolmance in the Philosophie du Boudoir, which has the curious title: People of France, one more if you want to be republicans. Pierre Klossowski is right in attaching so much importance to it, for this lampoon demonstrates to the revolutionaries that their republic is founded on the murder of the King—who was King by divine right—and that by guillotining God on 21 January 1793, they deprived themselves forever of the right to outlaw crime or to censure malevolent instincts. #RandolphHarris 13 of 26

The monarchy supported the concept of a God who, in conjunction with itself, created all laws. As for the Republic, it stands alone, and morality was supposed to exist without benefits of the Commandments. It is doubtful, however, that Sade, as Klossowki maintains, had a profound sense of sacrilege and that an almost religious horror led him to the conclusions that he expresses. It is much more likely that he came to these conclusions first and afterwards perceived the correct arguments to justify the absolute moral license that he wanted the government of his time to sanction. Logic founded on passions reconclusions before the premises. To be convinced of this we only have to appraise the admirable sequence of sophisms by which Sade, in this passage, justifies calumny, theft, and murder and demands that they be tolerated under the new dispensation. It is then, however, that his thoughts are most profound. He rejects, with exceptional perspicacity for his times, the presumptuous alliance of freedom with virtue. Freedom, particularly when it is a prisoner’s dream, cannot endure limitations. It must sanction crime or it is no longer freedom. On this essential point Sade never varies. This man who never preached anything but contradictions only achieves coherence—and of a most complete kind—when he talks of capital punishment. #RandolphHarris 14 of 26

An addict of refined ways of execution, a theoretician of sexual crime, he was never able to tolerate legal crime. “My imprisonment by the State, with the guillotine under my very eyes, was far more horrible to me than all the Bastilles imaginable.” From this feeling of horror, he drew the strength to be moderate, publicly, during the Terror, and to intervene generously on behalf of his mother-in-law, despite the fact that she had had him imprisoned. A few years later Nodier summed up, perhaps without knowing it, the position obstinately defended by Sade: “To kill a man in a paroxysm of passion is understandable. To have him killed by someone else after a calm and serious meditation and on the pretext of duty honorably discharged is incomprehensible.” Here we find the germ of an idea which again will be developed by Sade: he who kills must pay with his own life. Sade is more moral, we see, than our contemporaries. However, his hatred for the death penalty is at first no more than a hatred for men who are sufficiently convinced of their own virtue to dare to inflict capital punishment, when they themselves are criminals. You cannot simultaneously choose crime for yourself and punishment for others. You must open the prison gates or give an impossible proof of your own innocence. Even if only once, from the moment you accept murder, you must allow it universally. #RandolphHarris 15 of 26

Permissions are the chief therapeutic instrument of the script analyst because they offer the only chance for an outsider to free the patient from the curses laid on him by his parents. The therapist gives permission to the patient’s Child by saying either “It is all right to do it,” or “You do not have to do it.” Both say to the Parent “Let him alone.” Thus, there are positive and negative permissions. In a positive permission, or license, “Let him alone!” means “Let him do it!” This cuts off the injunction. In a negative permission, or external release, it means “Stop pushing him into it!” This cuts off the provocation. Some permissions can be regarded either way. This is particularly true of antiscripts. Thus, when the Prince kissed Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, he was offering her both a license to wake up and a release from the witch’s curse. One of the most important permissions is a license to stop acting stupid and start thinking. Many patients of advanced years have not had a single independent thought since early childhood, and have quite forgotten how it feels to think, or even what thinking means. With properly timed permission, however, they are able to come through, and are more than delighted when they say out loud at the age of sixty-five or seventy what may be the first intelligent observation of their adult lives. #RandolphHarris 16 of 26

Often it is necessary to undo the work of previous therapists in order to give a patient permission to think. Some of them have spent years in mental hospitals or clinics where the slightest attempt on their part to think independently came up against powerful resistance from the staff. There they were taught that thinking is really a sin called “intellectualzing,” to which they must confess promptly and promise never to indulge in again. Many addictions and obsessions are based on parental come-ones. “Do not stop taking drugs (or you may stop coming home to ask for money)” says the mother of the heroin addict. “Do not stop thinking about pleasures of the flesh,” says the parent of a lecher or a nymphomaniac. And the whole concept of permissions as a therapeutic instrument was started by a gambler who said: “I do not need someone to tell me to stop gambling, I need someone to give me permission to stop, because somebody in my head says I cannot.” A permission, then, allows Jeder to be flexible, instead of responding with fixed patterns frozen by slogans and controls. This has nothing to do with “permissive up brining,” since that is full of imperatives, too. The most important permissions are to love and to change and to do things well. #RandolphHarris 17 of 26

A person with permission is just as easy to spot as one who is all tied up. “He sure has permission to think,” “She sure has permission to be beautiful,” and “They sure have permission to enjoy themselves,” are Martian expressions of admiration. (One of the frontiers of script analysis is the further study of permissions, primarily through observation of eye movements in very young children. Thus, in some situations the child glances sideways at his parents to see if he has “permission” to do something; in other cases, he seems to be “at liberty” to follow his own inclinations without consulting them. Such observations, carefully evaluated, may result in a significant distinction between “permissions” and “liberties.”) The term Genetic Counseling indicates that a genetic consumer consciousness is dawning. The emphasis is on genetic disorder, not upon genetic endowment, but this is to be expected. A new technology always appeals to hive-security first as a way of dealing with danger. Awareness of genetic disorder precedes awareness of genetic excellence, just as psychiatry precedes self-actualized psychology. Pathology precedes potential. When the experts in a hive begin treating “broken-down personalities” they have recognized the existence of “personality.” The next step is for healthy individuals to take charge of their own “selfs.” #RandolphHarris 18 of 26

New technology always appeals to hive-security first. The Ad Hoc Committee on Genetic Counseling of the American Society of Human Genetics described genetic counseling as a “communication process which deals with the human problems associated with the occurrence, or the risk of occurrence, of a genetic disorder in the family.” This one-day workshop is primarily for health professionals who want to learn how to do genetic counseling or who want to strengthen their skills in this field. Hidden in this course description are valuable neurogenic clues, evolutionary evidence, which is easily overlooked by hive observers because it reveals much about the neurogenetic stage of the give culture—and of the planet. Genetic counseling appeared a generation after personality counseling. When an advanced, post-political culture offers courses in “Job Counseling,” “Personality Counseling” or “Martial Counseling,” Evolutionary Agents know that a move towards self-actualization is occurring—a free-mobile-individually oriented society is emerging. The military defense groups are willing to train those who are willing to be trained and have a good temperament and they simply do not bother training those who lack discipline. Being part of the United States of America’s armed forced is an honour and a privilege. It is ridiculous for an organization to even attempt to train some hundred thousand men in the State’s twilight of decline when, only a few years before, the State disgracefully abandoned one hundred and seventy million. #RandolphHarris 19 of 26

The proud members of the Sacramento Fire Department are committed to providing the highest quality and highest level of courteous and responsive services to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Sacramento. They ensure Sacramento City can respond to, recover from, and mitigate against any hazard that affects their city, the region, the state and beyond. “I like ladder work. It’s probably the most dangerous jobs in firefighting, and the real purpose of it is to go in and look for anyone trapped in a fire. You’re more or less on your own, you’re not with the rest of the men, and you don’t have the benefit of the hose line. I was assigned the SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) that day. We got the call to a fire in a three-story dwelling. We are second in. Another engine and ladder company was ahead of us. When I got off the truck, I was all prepared to go in the building. It was a strange fire, actually—a kerosene heater, which was overfilled. It has been knocked over, and the kerosene went between the floor and the wall down into the basement from the first floor and was ignited by the hot water heater. So the fire ran up the walls to the upper floors, and the flames were coming out the third-floor windows when I got there. As I say, I had my air pack on. I went around to the back alley before the other guys. #RandolphHarris 20 of 26

“The first company was still trying to get the ladders up in this narrow alley. I went up some steps to the kitchen door and kicked it open. A couple of guys were already in there on the floor. They didn’t have packs, so they were taking a beating from the smoke. One of their ladder guys also had a pack, so his chief put him on a hose, and he said to me, ‘Go down to the basement with this guy and give him a hand with the tip.’ Engine or ladder man, it didn’t matter to him. He saw we both had packs, and it was pretty smoky. I helped this guy drag the line, and we both went down to the basement from the kitchen very quickly, because it was like a chimney. It was getting real hot, and the fire flashed over us. He hit it with water and knocked it down. There was a small window next to the steps, and he was trying to fog the smoke out the window. The heat was coming toward us the whole time. Then apparently somebody saw how bad it was getting and called, ‘Everybody out of the basement.’ There were only the two of us there. I didn’t hear it. The guy on the tip supposedly did and told me he was leaving. Again, I didn’t hear him. He closed down the hose, and all of a sudden he was gone. I learned later that he went out the window. He had to take the pack off to fit through the window, it was so narrow. I didn’t know he had left. #RandolphHarris 21 of 26

“So the water was stopped, and I was lone in the basement. I couldn’t go back up the steps to the kitchen, because when he shut down the water the fire had flashed over again and set fire to the stairs. You see, the water wasn’t really putting the fire out, but it was keeping the heat away from us. Now it was getting very hot. It was very dark, it was smoky, I couldn’t see. I was down on my stomach on the basement floor, looking for the back door I knew was there, but I couldn’t see it. I was probably only ten feet from it the whole time. I became a little disoriented, but I didn’t panic. I had been in basement fires before, and I knew you shouldn’t panic. I thought, ‘Now, how did I get into this situation. I don’t have any water. I don’t have anyone with me.’ I could see that the fire had engulfed the kitchen steps and I couldn’t make it up there. I knew there was a back door there somewhere, but the people had been remodeling the basement, and I had to feel my way through a lot of debris. There was paneling against one wall, and I thought that might have been the door. I slid on it like a slide and fell to the floor. I say there for a second, and said, ‘I gotta compose myself, or I’m going to be in trouble here in a minute.’ I thought to myself, I’ve been through a lot in my life. I probably should have been dead eight times over. ‘Well,’ I said to myself, ‘I haven’t come this far to die in this person’s basement. This can’t happen to me. I’m going to survive. I’m not going to die in this guy’s basement because he was overfilling his kerosene heater.’ I got mad then. I remember. I said, ‘Dammit, I’m not staying here. I’ve got to get out.’ #RandolphHarris 22 of 26

“So what I had to do was raise my mask and holler for help. If I hadn’t done that, they wouldn’t have found me, because they didn’t know I was in there. This guy didn’t tell them I was still down there, and my lieutenant hadn’t ordered me to go down there; he thought I was on one of the upper floors. It was the chief of the other company who had sent me down there. They heard my hollering, and they were saying, ‘Come this way. This way.’ I would put my mask back on and walk toward their voices. I couldn’t see anything, so I was going by their voice. But they couldn’t hear me with my mask on. They didn’t know where the hell I was. It was getting harder and harder. It was very hot down there. I burned my ears, and I still had my helmet on. I knew if I didn’t get to that door soon, I wouldn’t make it, so I just kept going. I pushed things out of the way, and finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I had my hand stretched out like a blind man, and somebody grabbed my hand, and they pulled me out. One of my boots came off, and my helmet fell off. They never found my helmet, it had melted away, and the only thing left of my boot was the sole. There are points that I don’t recall. I didn’t actually black out, but I think it was my mind acting it out for me. I don’t recall exactly how I got to that back door. I was just glad to feel someone’s hand. I was kissing the floor, and the gentleman who grabbed my hand was in the doorway. He couldn’t advance any further. In fact, he was on the ground, and somebody had hold of his legs. #RandolphHarris 23 of 26

“I didn’t realize I was saved until I was in the rescue squad actually. I was on my way to the hospital, and I was holding the oxygen mask over my face, and I started crying. It finally hit me that I had almost died. I don’t normally cry. I believed I was going to be all right. I knew I was hurt, but I also knew I was going to make it. The first night in the hospital was hell. I had a tube going down my mouth into my lungs. It has a ballon-type thing at the end of it to keep the air passages open. Everything in there was swelling, and I would have chocked otherwise. And they were pulling a lot of things out of my lungs and throat, big pieces of black stuff. I didn’t know I had taken that much smoke, I had thought it was mostly heat. They gave me morphine, but I was conscious when they were putting that thing down my throat. It makes you gag. They refused to give me more morphine, saying they had given me enough already. When I wanted to say something I had to write it down, because I couldn’t speak. So the first night I was going in and out of consciousness. I kept writing down, ‘If you don’t take this tube out of my throat, I’m going to pull it out myself.’ I was a terrible patient that first night. I was in intensive care, and the orderlies, nurses, and doctors were at the desk fifteen feet from me, drinking soda. My mouth was so dry, I wanted some water, and they wouldn’t give it to me. They’d say, ‘Okay, we’ll get you something,’ thinking I’d go to sleep and forget. I would wake up an hour later, and nothing would be there. #RandolphHarris 24 of 26

“My father was there within an hour. He’s a fireman, too, and he heard the call come on the fire radio. He knew, before he was told, that I was in trouble. He heard the call for the rescue squad, and he said, ‘I knew it was you.’ The commissioner came, and so did a couple of guys I work with and my wife and my mother. Everyone showed a lot of concern, and everyone was as nice as could be. It meant a lot to me. Because it was nice to see familiar faces. The next day I was more relaxed. I didn’t fight the tube, I just tried to make the best of it. Then I felt lucky. I felt glad to be alive. I was released from the hospital a week later, and after a few days at home, I was mad. Angry that I got hurt when I shouldn’t have been hurt, that my whole life had changed. I don’t like changes. I’m used to going to work, and now I had to stay home. I wanted to get out of the house and couldn’t. I was miserable as hell, I was climbing the walls. I took a lot of it out on my wife. She had had a back operation less than a year earlier and was bedridden. Then she had had a premature baby, and my son was in intensive care for two months. He had just gotten out of the hospital and weighed only 21/2 pounds (1.14 kilograms). So she was dealing with her back, and the baby was home on a monitor and she was worrying about him breathing, then I came home and she worried about me breathing. So her back was forgotten for a time, and now it’s in terrible shape. #RandolphHarris 25 of 26

“I was miserable even to the kids. I was jumpy all the time. I was physically hurt, and I was still spitting up things. My ears were burned, and the doctors told me I would need glasses, because my corneas were burned. I became depressed, and I was mad. The only ones to take it out on were my wife and kids. I feel bad for them now, but they understood. My wife was great. She had a lot of patience with me.” The Sacramento Fire Department strives to build a safer and more resilient Sacramento. Firefighters and EMT put their lives on the line every day, several times a day to provide the highest quality and highest level of courteous and responsive service possible. In an effort to keep the country cohesive, please raise your children to love America, to be patriotic, to love God and Jesus Christ and buy American cars and other American goods and services. Also, please respect law and order, and treat others with kindness and respect. To ensure that you have a bright future, please take your education seriously, and be sure to actually read your books. And remember to “Just Say ‘No’ to Drugs.” Even marijuana can be deadly. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed His grace on three, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose stern, impassioned stress, a thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flow, confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years, Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea! God never gave us express allowance, only He gave us reason, charity, nature and good example to bear us out. #RandolphHarris 26 of 26

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If Nature is Hard, Truth is Cruel

Life can be difficult for people who do not have peace in their homes or environments due to the increase of people who are living with untreated mental illness. Unlike when people are committing crimes, and one has the option to call the police, when an individual or a group of people are displaying extremely immature behaviour and displaying symptoms of mental illness, there is no one to call. Close to 66 percent of adults with mental illness and adolescents with major depressive disorder do not get treatment. Nearly 1 in 7 California adults experience mental illness, and one in 26 has a serious mental illness that makes it difficult to carry out daily duties. Mental health challenges can impact anyone, regardless of education, geography, faith, calling, or family. They are nothing to be ashamed of and should be met with love. More than half the World’s population lives in cities, and the number is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. Living in urban areas has been associated with increased risk for mental disorders, including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging had identified changes in the brain indicating that urban upbringing and city living are linked to social stress processing. Among the potentially contributing factors to poorer mental health in urban areas are air pollution and other exposure to toxins, increased noise, lack of open space, crime and social inequalities, and the stress of sensory overload. #RandolphHarris 1 of 20

Extreme heat has been associated with a range of mental health impacts. Research indicates that when people must endure extreme heat, this increases irritability, symptoms of depression and an increase in suicide. It can also affect behaviour, contributing to increased aggression, incidence of domestic violence, and increased use of alcohol or other substances to cope with stress. Also, rural people and/or those who are unemployed, and united rented to multiple individuals who are related do not tend to do well in high-rise buildings. High occupancy of these types of people in high-rise buildings turns the atmosphere into one like a jail or mental hospital. People do not respect personal space, private property, nor do they follow the laws or rules in their contracts. They start to feel like everyone is their family and friend, many people stop caring about how people perceive them, people do not clean up messes they make in common areas, and a lack of respect spreads and animosity throughout the community because of a loss of autonomy. However, high-rise buildings where rules are enforced, and people follow the laws tend to be more peaceful. And cities can provide advantages, such as better access to health care and education, and potential for social interaction. Mental health problems are common, so it is important to be aware of possible signs. Feeling worried, depressed, guilty, worthless or feeling an exaggerated sense of “high” may be signs of a mental health issue. If signs do not go away after two weeks, although there may not be a serious problem, it is best to seek help from a professional. If someone talks about suicidal thoughts or is engaging in high-risk activities, do not ignore this. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20

A mental health disorder may start out as subtle changes to a person’s feelings, thinking and behaviour. If they have ongoing and significant changes, it could be a sign that they are developing a mental health disorder. If something does not seem “quite right,” it is important to have a conversation about getting help. An important part of good mental health is the ability to look at problems or concerns realistically. Everyone has days when they feel sad, stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed by life’s challenges. If you continue to struggle for several weeks or longer or your symptoms begin interfering with your daily life—at home, work, school, or in your relationships—seek help. Addressing mental health concerns early and often is the most effective approach and can help prevent a crisis in the future. Struggling with your mental health does not indicate a weakness in your character or spirit. Earthly situations may not be ideal, man’s spiritual DNA is perfect because his identity is as a son or daughter of God. A diagnosis connected to mental health should not be viewed as any less real than another medical diagnosis. Think about the following as you consider talking with a mental health professional: How long have you experienced these challenges? How much do these symptoms affect your daily life? Are you aware of others in your family who have experienced similar challenges? Are these problems causing significant distress in your life? Are your own attempts to make yourself feel better not helping? Has anyone who you trust mentioned something about your mood or behaviour? As you talk with someone working through mental health challenges, the most important things you can do are to listen and show empathy. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20

However, you are not expected or encouraged to diagnose or provide treatment to others struggling with mental health issues. Yet, you can help them feel welcomed and included, find meaningful ways to contribute, and deepen their faith in Jesus as the Christ. Pray for guidance on what to say. Comforting someone can be intimidating, but it is most often better to reach our an say something than to say nothing. It is important that people who are working through mental health challenges know you care and want to support them. However, also let them know that happiness is a choice. No one else is to be regarded as responsible for man’s troubles, irritations, or disabilities. If he will analyse them aright, that is, with utter impersonality, he would see that the responsibility is not really in the other person, who apparently is the agent for these calamities, but in his own undisciplined character, his own egoistic outlook. The very fact that he has become aware of these faults arises because the light has come into existence and begun to play upon the dark places in his character, thus generating a conscious desire for self-improvement. This awareness is not a matter for depression, therefore. To wish one’s history to have been different from what it was, to pile up blame for one’s bad deeds, choices, and decisions, is to cling to one’s imaginary ego although seeking to improve it. Only by rooting up and throwing out this false imagination which identifies one with the ego alone can the mind become freed from such unnecessary burdens. You are to be penitent not only because your wrong acts may bring you suffering but also, and much more, because they may bring you farther away from the discovery of the Overself. To repine for past errors or to wish that what has been should not have been has only a limited usefulness. Analyse the situation, note effects, study causes, draw lessons—then dismiss the past completely. If the ego is discarded, all regrets over past acts are discarded with it. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20

He may be ashamed of what he did in the past but then he was that sort of man in the past. If he persists in identifying himself with the “I,” in time such feelings will come to him and cause this kind of suffering. However, if he changes over to identifying himself with the timeless being behind the “I” there can be no such suffering. If it is to effect this purpose, repentance must be thorough and whole-hearted. He must turn his back upon the former way of life. If Nature is hard, truth is cruel. It is unsparing to our egoistic desires, merciless in ferreting out our personal weaknesses. If it is right to forgive others for their sins against us, it must also be right to forgive ourselves and not constantly condemn ourselves to self-reproach. However, we ought not do so prematurely. When a man becomes aware of his wrong-doing and realizes its meaning for himself and its effect upon others, he has taken the first step towards avoiding its inevitable consequences. When he becomes deeply repentant, he has taken the second step. When he tries to eliminate the fault in his character which produced the evil conduct and to make amends to others, where possible, he has taken the final step. The quest will uncover the weakest places in his character, one by one. It will do so either by prompting him from within or by exposing him from without. If he fails to respond to the first way, with its gentle intuitive working, he must expect to endure the second way, with its harsh pressure through events. The only protection against his weaknesses is first, to confess them, and then, to get rid of them. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20

The constant nagging of those with whom he is compelled to live, work, or associate, so far as there is any truth in their exaggerations or misunderstandings, can be made to serve a most useful purpose by arousing in him the necessity of change and self-improvement. However much of his self-love is wounded and however long it may take to achieve this and to correct his faults, he will only profit by it. With his success a separation may occur, and they may be set free to go their own way. It may be brought about by their own voluntary decisions or by the compulsion of destiny. When a relationship is no longer useful to evolution or justified by universal law, an end will come to it. This acceptance of other people’s criticisms, humbly and without resentment, may be compared to swimming against the current of a stream. Here the stream will be that of his own nature. In this matter he should look upon the others as his teachers—taking care however to separate the emotional misunderstandings and egoistic exaggerations from the truth. He is to regard the others as sent by the Overself to provoke him into drawing upon or deliberately developing the better qualities needed to deal with such provocations, and not only to show him his own bad qualities. Out of the shadows of the past, there will come memories that will torment as they teach him, pictures that will hurt as they illustrate error, sin, and weakness. He must accept the experience unresistingly and transmute it into moral resolve and ethical guidance for the future. The seeker should try to regard his weakness and faults from a more balanced and impersonal point of view. While it is correct for him to be ashamed of them, he need not go to the other extreme and fall into a prolonged fit of gloom or despair about them. Since repentance, coupled with an unswayable determination to prevent further recurrences, is the philosophic way to deal with them. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20

To have discovered a sin in oneself, and to have gone on committing it, is to sin doubly. We civilized men do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. Thus, the weak members of civilized society propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. However, a ruthless policy of elimination would betray the noblest part of our nature, which is itself securely founded in the social instincts. We must therefore bear with the evil effects of the survival and propagation of the weak, and rest our hopes on the fact that the weaker and inferior members of society do not marry so freely as the sound. All who cannot spare their children abject poverty should refrain from marriage; the prudent should not shirk their duty of maintaining the population, for it is through the pressure of population and the consequent struggles that man has advanced and will continue to advance. Primeval men and their apelike progenitors, along with many lower animals, were probably social in their habits, and remote primitives practiced division of labour. Man’s social habits have been of enormous importance in his survival. Selfish and contentious people will not cohere, and without coherence nothing can be effected. Man’s moral sense to be an inevitable outgrowth of his social instincts and habits is a crucial factor in group survival. The pressure of group opinion and the moral effect of family affections is ranked with intelligent self-interest as biological foundations of moral behaviour. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20

In the question of the possibility of making the unconscious conscious, it is of the foremost importance to recognize factors which obstruct this process. There are many factors which make it difficult to arrive at insight into the unconscious. Such factors are mental rigidity, lack of proper orientation, hopelessness, lack of any possibility to change realistic conditions, etcetera. However, there is probably no single factor which is more responsible for the difficulties of making the unconscious conscious than the mechanism which Dr. Freud called “resistance.” What is resistance? Like so many discoveries, it is so simple that one might say anyone could have discovered it—yet it required a great discoverer to recognize it. Let us take an example: your friend must undertake a trip of which he is obviously afraid. You know that he is afraid, his wife knows it, everyone else knows it, but he does not know it. He claims one day that he does not feel well, the next day that there is no need to make the trip, the day after that there are better ways to achieve the same result without traveling, then the next day that your persistence in reminding him of the trip is an attempt to force him, and since he does not want to be forced, he just will not make the trip, and so on, until he will say that it is now too late to go on the trip, anyway, hence there is no use in thinking any further about it. If, however, you mention to him, even in the most tactful way, that he might not want to go because he is afraid, you will get not a simple denial, but more likely a violent barrage of protestations and accusations which will eventually drive you into the role of having to apologize, or even—if you are now afraid of losing his friendship—of declaring that you never meant to say that he was afraid and, in fact, ending up with enthusiastic praise of his courage. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20

What has happened? The real motivation for not wanting to go is fear. (What he is afraid of is of no significance for the purposes of this discussion; suffice it to say, that his fear could be objectively justified or the reason for his fear merely imagined.) This fear is unconscious. Your friend, however, must choose a “reasonable” explanation for his not wanting to go—a “rationalization.” He may discover every day a new one (anyone who has tried to give up smoking knows how easily rationalization comes) or stick to one main rationalization. It does not matter, in fact, whether the rationalization as such is valid or not; what matters is that it is not the effective or sufficient cause for his refusal to go. The most amazing fact, however, is the violence of his reaction when we mention the real motive to him, the intensity of his resistance. Should we not expect him to be glad, or even grateful for our remark, since it permits him to cope with the real motive for his reluctance? However, whatever we think about what he should feel, the fact is that he does not feel it. Obviously, he cannot bear the idea of being afraid. However, why? There are several possibilities. Perhaps he has a narcissistic image of himself in which lack of fear is an integral part, and if this image is disturbed, his narcissistic self-admiration and, hence, his sense of his own value and his security would be threatened. Or perhaps his super-ego, the internalized code of right and wrong, happens to be such that fear or cowardice are bitterly condemned; hence to admit fear would mean to admit that he has acted against his code. Or, perhaps, he feels the need to save for his friends the picture of a man who is never frightened because he is so unsure of their friendship, that he is afraid they would cease liking him if they knew he was afraid. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20

Any of these reasons may be effective, but why is it that they are so effective? One of the answers lies in the fact that his sense of identity is linked with these images. If they are not “true”—then who is he? What is true? Where does he stand in the World? Once these questions arise, the person feels deeply threatened. He has lost his familiar frame of orientation and with it his security. The anxiety aroused is not only a fear of something specific as Dr. Freud saw it, like a threat to the genitals, or to life, etcetera; but it is also caused by the threat to one’s identity. Resistance is an attempt to protect oneself from a fright which is comparable to the fright caused by even a small earthquake—nothing is secure, everything is shaky; I do not know who I am nor where I am. In fact, this experience feels like a small dose of insanity which for the moment, even though it may last only for seconds, feels more than uncomfortable. It seems quite feasible that many functions of the art of medicine can be taken over by computer, like diagnosis, treatment, prescriptions, etcetera. However, it appears doubtful that the capacity for highly individualized observation, which the outstanding physician has, can be replaced by the computer, exempli gratia, observation of the expression in a person’s eye or face, a capacity impossible to quantify and to translate into programming language. Outstanding achievement in medicine will be lost in a completely automatized system. However, beyond this, the individual will be so completely conditioned to submit to machines that he will lose the capacity to take care of his health in an active, responsible way. He will run to the ”health service” whenever he had a physical problem, and he will lose the ability to observe his own physical processes, to discern changes, and to consider remedies for himself, even simple ones of keeping a diet or doing the right kind of exercise. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20

If man should be relieved of the task of being responsible for the functioning of the productive and administrative system, he would become a being of complete helplessness, lack of self-confidence, and dependence on the machine and its specialists; he would not only be incapable of making active use of his leisure time, he would also face a catastrophe whenever the smooth functioning of the system was threatened. In this respect, even if machines could take care of all work, of all planning, of all organizational decisions, and even of all health problems, they cannot take care of the problems arising between man and man. In this sphere of interpersonal relations, human judgment, response, responsibility and decision the machine cannot replace human functioning. There are those, like Marcuse, who think that in a cybernated and “non-repressive” society that is completely satisfied materially there would be no more human conflicts like those expressed in the Greek or Shakespearean drama or the great novels. I can understand that completely alienated people can see the future of human existence in this way, but I am afraid they express more about their own emotional limitations than about future possibilities. If there are no materially unfulfilled needs, the assumption that the problems, conflicts, and tragedies between man and man will disappear is a childish daydream. The young lady we have been discussing for several weeks, Clare suffered from an incapacity to be alone. Clare could have started from the consideration that her spells of misery had already decreased markedly within the last year. They had decreased to such an extent that she herself dealt more actively with external and internal difficulties. This consideration would have led to the question of why she had to resort to the old technique at just this point. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20

Granted that Clare was unhappy alone, why did solitude present such an intolerable distress as to call for an instantaneous remedy? And if being alone was thus distressing, why could she not do something actively about it herself? Clare could also have started from an observation of her actual behaviour. She felt miserable when alone, but she made hardly any effort to mix with friends or to make new contracts; instead she withdrew into a shell and expected magic help. Despite her otherwise astute self-observation Clare overlooked completely how odd her actual behaviour was on this score. Such a blatant blind spot usually points to a repressed factor of great potency. However, if we miss a problem it catches up with us. This problem caught up with Clare some weeks later. She then arrived at a solution by a somewhat different route from either of those I have suggested—an illustration of the fact that also in psychological matters there are several roads to Rome. Since there is no written report on this part of her analysis, I shall merely indicate the steps that led up to the new insights. The first was a recognition that she could see herself only in the reflected light of others. The way in which she sensed that others evaluated her entirely determined the way she evaluated herself. Clare did not recall how she arrived at that insight. She remembered only that it suddenly struck her so forcibly that she almost fainted. The average person, like Clare, comes to fear living and experiencing the here and now. Rather, she tends to live mainly in the past, through obsessive remembering, and in the future, through obsessive remembering, and in the future, through anxious expectations of catastrophe. The average person is chronically self-conscious and dreads spontaneous action. Experiencing the self as dependent and helpless, this person turns to others for support and becomes angry when they do not live up to expectations. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20

Much of our understanding about healthy personality has come from those who had been intimately acquainted with unhealthy personality. These include present-day counseling theorists such as Carl R. Rogers and original psychotherapists such as Dr. Sigmund Freud, who dedicated their professional lives to the alleviation of emotional suffering. While it is important to search out the unique characteristics of the healthy personality, the high-level functioning person, there is a wealth of learning that is derived from those clients or patients who have shared their innermost anxieties, fears, and sorrows with counselors. The healthy personality struggles to emancipate itself from morbidly dependent relationships with others and is capable of direct awareness of perceptions and feelings, rather than engaging chronically in abstract thinking, in recall, or in wishful or anxious imagination. The healthy personality can trust itself to be spontaneous in action. Sometimes dreams are focused on in therapy because every aspect of a dream represents some dimensions of a person’s experience, much of which the person disowns. By identifying with the different parts of the dream, the person could increase self-awareness, which, in turn, would increase the sense of vitality and foster continuing personal growth. Self-sufficiency, standing on one’s own two feet rather than relying on others for one’s security is extremely important. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20

We must all understand that there is no one to blame, and all that I can do is get to work on myself now and break the chain, so that I will not do unto others what has been done to me. It is not enough that I simply know this. I can know without any action taking place either within me or outside me. (The one follows upon the other.) I can feel superior to someone who does not know what I know, without being one white a better person for my knowing. I must undo what has been done to me, by doing in another way. That is where the scary part comes in, in my experience: I can find it comforting to know, and almost terrifying to do. However, it is in the doing that I change too. When I moved to a town a thousand miles away where I knew no one, the doctor who had been recommended to me by his training would not cooperate with the regime which the previous doctor I have found—through painful trial and many errors—worked for me. I decided that it would have to get alone without one. This went well for a while, but then I hit a phase when I got worse in a way that I knew meant that the dosage of cortisone should be adjusted. I could not tell whether I should take more or less. I wanted to telephone the previous doctor for help. I did not and I felt noble about not calling him. This was the first time that I latched onto what has since proved to be a fact of my life, that when I feel noble about not doing something, it is not myself who is doing it. I got worse and worse and felt nobler and nobler. I thought that I was not calling the doctor, and in the objective or physical sense this was true: this person, this body, did not make the phone call. However, the inside World is not so simple as that. It could be, but it has an enormous capacity for getting mixed up because other people have got into me through their directives. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20

I had a dream which made this clear to me. It is really beautiful, the way that something inside me goes on seeing clearly, even when what I call my “conscious” mind is so mixed-up that it is hell I live in. In my dream, I came into a room where a young lady sat rigidly on a bench with her eyes tight shut, in paint from sunlight that was glaring through a window in a band across her eyes. I thought how silly she was to sit there in torment, when all that she had to do was move and then she would be relieved, and her eyes could open. I (feeling very superior about acting), went to the window and let down the venetian blind, to free her. There were many people sitting around a refectory table absorbed in their conversation with each other. They had no interest in us. When I woke up, I lived with that dream until I knew that the foolish young lady was me—or that part of myself which programmed by other people, my robot self. I was not making the expensive phone call that would relieve me. The people who did not “care” about us were the gossipers who criticized people for being “extravagant” and “neurotic.” At this time, I had paid off my major debts incurred during illness, including fifteen months of back mortgage. I had a thousand $10,000 in the bank. However, I was still haunted by the years of being heavily in debt when I was criticized for expenditures and for being neurotic. The doctor I had not gone back to had told me that I was neurotic. Everyone knows neurotic people plague doctors with telephone calls. I was not going to. It was a completely unreal World that I was living in because the previous doctor did not think I was neurotic to call him when the cortisone needed to be changed, and as for the cost of the call, it would be less than the cost of going to a local doctor, which I would have felt no qualms about doing if I had had confidence in the doctor. When my mind gets mixed up, it just does not make sense. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20

When I understood my difficulty, I started toward the phone. However, when I had taken a few steps, I stopped as though I had been stopped—not as though I had stopped myself. I could not go any farther. So I walked away, thought and did other things, and tried again. And got stopped again. When this happened, the effort of making myself take even one more step seemed too much, like trying to push a steam roller out of the way. It seemed foolish to try. Then my mind said to me, over and over, that it was all right, that if I understood what was wrong and knew what had happened to me, everything was fine. It was very convincing, although this told me nothing of what to do about the cortisone. This went on for two days before I fully knew that I had to put an end to it, that there was a battle going on in me that I had to win. I made myself go to the phone. When I heard the doctor’s voice, I said, with quavers that are not reproducible on paper, “This started out to be a medical call, but it has wound up as a psychiatric one.” Then we got around to the cortisone. Ater that, I had some difficulty about calling the doctor, but none that I could not break through fairly easily. After the first several times, I phoned him if I needed his help, and not if I did not, and that was all there was to it. This freedom was very beautiful to me, as it always is when I am free to act in accordance with the total circumstances on my own authority, not on what someone else thinks or says or has thought or has said that I or someone else should do. I live directly with the facts themselves. #RandolphHarris 16 of 20

In this blend of analysing the results of past actions, reasoning about the probable results of present tendencies, measuring up to the standards of spiritual ideals, and obeying the quiet whispers of intuition, man will find a safe guide for shaping his future course of conduct. One should be eager and quick to judge, condemn, and correct himself, reluctant and slow to judge, condemn, and correct others. When he can bring himself to look upon his own actions from the outside just as he does those of other men, he will have satisfied the philosophical ideal. His errors and shortcomings can be excused by his sincerity and intentions, but that is not enough. He may accept such excuses but life itself will not. The explicit psychotherapy needs of our population are currently being served primarily by the members of three major professions. No one of these professions trains primarily and emphatically for the practice of psychotherapy. The trainings of the members of each of these professions is lengthy, expensive, and provides them respectively with unique skills and knowledge which are either irrelevant or at best tangential to the practice of psychotherapy. While there are a variety of schools of psychotherapy, diverse techniques and approaches to therapy, and different theories as to how it works, there is no evidence that the differences in these academic properties are significantly related to differences in the actual effectiveness of the psychotherapies carried out within them. As a matter of fact, the sheer amount of experience in doing therapy appears to be a major determinant of how the therapists think about or conduct theory. Major differences are found among the least experienced therapists; experienced therapists are more alike in their conceptualizations and practices than they are different. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20

As yet a very limited amount of practical research has been conducted into this phenomenon. It has not yet been demonstrated to the general satisfaction of behaviour scientists that psychotherapy is in fact effective in relieving neurotic symptoms or achieving major and lasting re-orientation of disturbed personalities. The need for research is great and, in terms of the numbers of persons participating in therapeutic conversations, the opportunities are equally great. However, the highly trained experts who should be devoting major portions of their time to collaborative research are prevented (or dissuaded) from investigation by virtue of the pressure they feel to render those services whose efficacy is yet uncertain. If we are going to do more and better research, we must provide more therapy and at the same time permit our most highly skilled experts to do less direct therapy. Obviously, we need more therapists—and the only logical way we can hope to get them is to develop a more efficient program for training therapists. A host of persons untrained or partially trained in mental health principles and practices—clergymen, family physicians, teachers, probation officers, public health nurses, sheriffs, judges, public welfare workers, scout masters, county farm agents, and others—are already trying to help and to treat the mentally ill in the absence of professional resources. With a moderate amount of training through short courses and consultation on the job, such persons can be fully equipped with an additional skill as mental health counselors. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20

Each aspect of today’s fire service requires skill in mental health and the development of basic strategies. The Sacramento Fire Department does some kind of planning. Whether it called budgeting, prefire planning, long-range planning, comprehensive planning, five-year planning or strategic planning, the fire service has a long history of trying to look into the future to predict what will be needed. “My first firehouse turned out to be the same engine company my father had been in. A relatively quiet house. When he got sick and had to retire, that created the vacancy the commissioner appointed me to fill. It was nice of him, he didn’t have to do it. I actually took my father’s locker and everything else. My father was proud to see both my brother and me in the fire department, although he never pushed us to it. It was a great thrill to walk in the door of that firehouse as a fireman for the first time. I don’t know if I even touched the pavement. It was the realization of a lifelong dream. Neither my brother, nor I had dreamt of being an officer. But after a while, through the encouragement of other officers, we got to studying, and we studied together all the time. The tough part of our studies was the laws and ordinances. They were challenging and full of legal terminology. The interesting part, of course, was the firefighting tactics and all the fire hazards. Even the building construction information was interesting, I thought. At least it pertained to the job. But exactly how many feet a fire escape ladder must be from the ground and how many pounds a certain beam must support, that was very important to learn. Over the years the questions come up, and you do remember it, even if you have to look it up to be sure. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20

“The tests are a sort of elimination contest, and winning involves a combination of two things. You have to do a lot of studying, and you have to be lucky. I don’t care who you are, they can always ask you about things you don’t know. A lot of fellows do all the work and still don’t make it. My brother ended up a battalion chief, and I made it to division chief. As I said, I never expected to be an officer, and this is just frosting on the cale all the way.” The World has surpassed the visions of our forebearers beyond their wildest dreams. The fire service is no different in this respect. The combined resources of the fire service, support from the community, and its peripheral industries have created a service that is beyond the wildest dreams of the fire chiefs of even a few short years ago. To help the Sacramento Fire Department continue to thrive, you can make a contribution. The range of one with a goodwill excludes none, includes all. One recognizes no enemies, only unloved men. To help preserve America and create more patriots, teach your children to love America and respect law and order. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously, a man against his brother? We, the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish a Constitution of the United States of America. #Randolph Harris 20 of 20

The Winchester Mystery House

Mrs. Winchester was having her tea in the morning one early on a Sunday.  Suddenly an extraordinary volley of noises broke out throughout the entire house. She described them as “banging, thumping, the whole place shaking.” The dog, Zip, was shut up in the library, while Mrs. Winchester took refuge in the Daisy Bedroom; the dog whined in terror as the noises increased in volume and in violence. Suddenly the noises ceased. When Mrs. Winchester looked up, she saw a woman in grey, with about half of her figure passed through the bedroom door. She ran to the door, but it was stuck. It was clear that this was no normal haunting.

Please come and enjoy a delicious meal in Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, and wonder through the miles of hallways in the World’s most mysterious mansion. For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available to purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/

They Were Bloodsuckers—As Distasteful as Bedbugs!

The disciple who wishes to make real progress must attack, weaken, and ultimately destroy certain bad traits of character. Among them is the trait of jealousy of his fellow disciples. It is not only an unpleasant thought but may also end in disastrous consequences. It often leads to wrathful moods and raging spells. It not only harms the other disciple but always does harm to the sinner himself. It is caused by an unreasonable sense of possessiveness directed towards the teacher which does not understand that love should give freedom to him, not deny it to him. The pursuit of moral excellence is immeasurably better than the pursuit of mystical sensations. Its gains are more durable, more indispensable, and more valuable. I believe that over time most people accumulate the introjected patterns by which we live. In this fantastically complex culture of today, the patterns we introject as desirable or undesirable come from a variety of sources and are often highly contradictory in their meanings. Desires for pleasures of the flesh and behaviours are mostly bad. The sources of this construct are many—parents, church, teachers. Disobedience is bad. Here parents and teachers combine with the military to emphasize this concept. To obey is good. To obey without questions is even better. Making money is the highest good. The sources of this conceived value are too numerous to mention. Learning an accumulation of scholarly facts is highly desirable. Browsing and aimless exploratory reading for fun is undesirable. The source of these last two concepts is apt to be in school, the education system. #RanolphHarris 1 of 20

Abstract art or “pop” art, or “op” art is good. Here the people we regard as sophisticated are the originators of the value. Communism is utterly bad. Here the government is a major source. To love thy neighbour is the highest good. This concept comes from the church, perhaps from the patents. Cooperation and teamwork are preferable to acting alone. Here companions are an important source. Cheating is clever and desirable. The peer group again is the origin. Coca-Colas, chewing gum, electric refrigerators, and Ultimate Driving Machines are utterly desirable. This conception comes not only from advertisements, but is reinforced by people all over the World. From Jamacia to Japan, from Copenhagen to Kowloon, the “Coca-Cola culture” has come to be regarded as the acme of desirability. This is a small and diversified sample of the myriads of conceived values which individuals often introject, and hold as their own, without ever having considered their inner organismic reactions to those patterns and objects. I believe it will be clear from the foregoing that the usual adult—I feel I am speaking for most of us—has an approach to values which has these characteristics: The majority of his values are introjected, from other individuals or groups significant to him, but are regarded by him as his own. The source of locus of evaluation on most matters lies outside himself. The criterion by which his values are set is the degree to which they will cause him to be loved or accepted. These conceived preferences are either not related at all, or not clearly related, to his own process of experiencing. #RandolphHarris 2 of 20

Often there is a wide and unrecognized discrepancy between the evidence supplied by his own experience, and these conceived values. Because these conceptions are not open to testing in experience, he must hold them in a rigid and unchanging fashion. The alternative would be a collapse of his values. Hence his values are “right”—like the law of the Medes and the Persians, which changeth not. Because they are untestable, there is no ready way of solving contradictions. If he has taken in from the community the conception that money is the summum bonum and from the church the conception that love of one’s neighbour is the highest value, he has no way of discovering which has more value for him. Hence a common aspect of modern life is living with absolutely contradictory values. We calmly discuss the possibility of dropping a hydrogen bomb on Russia, but then find tears in our eyes when we see headlines about the suffering of one small child. Because he has relinquished the locus of evaluation to others, and had lost touch with his own valuing process, he feels profoundly insecure and easily threatened in his values. If some of these conceptions we destroyed, what would take their place? This threatening possibility makes him hold his value conceptions more rigidly or more confusedly, or both. #RandolphHarris 3 of 20

I believe that this picture of the individual, with values mostly introjected, held as fixed concepts, rarely examined or tested, is the picture of most of us. By taking over the conceptions of others as our own, we lose contact with the potential wisdom of our own functioning, and lose confidence in ourselves. Since these values constructs are often sharply at variance with what is going on in our own experiencing, we have in a very basic way divorced ourselves from ourselves, and this accounts for much of modern strain and insecurity. This fundamental discrepancy between the individual’s concepts and what he is actually experiencing, between the intellectual structure of his values and the valuing process going on unrecognized within him—this is a part of the fundamental estrangement of modern man from himself. This is a major problem for the therapist. There are five ways in which the human being progressively views his own self and consequently five graduated ethical stages on his quest. First, as an ignorant materialist he lives entirely within his personality and hence for personal benefit regardless of much hurt caused to others in order to secure this benefit. Second, as an enlightened materialist he is wrapped in his own fortunes but does not seek them at the expense of others. Third, as a religionist he perceives the impermanence of the ego and, with a sense of sacrifice, he dines his self-will. Fourth, as a mystic he acknowledges the existence of a higher power, God, but finds it only within himself. Fifth, as a philosopher he recognizes the universality and the oneness of being in others and practices altruism with joy. #RandolphHarris 4 of 20

However, after all, these qualities are not only the negative prerequisites of spiritual realization. They are not realization itself. Their attainment is to free oneself from defects that hinder the attainment of higher consciousness, not to possess oneself of true consciousness. The act must illustrate the man, the deed must picture the attitude. It is thus only that thought becomes alive. The more I travel and observe the more I come to believe that the only men who will make something worthwhile of philosophy are the men who have already made something worthwhile of their personal lives. The dreamers and cranks will only fool themselves, the failures and alibi chasers will only become confirmed in their fantasies. Many people talk mysticism or play with psychism so long as either promises them wonderful powers which most other people have not got or wonderful experiences which most other people do not have. However, when they come to philosophy and find that it demands from them a renovation of their entire character, they are seized with fear and retreat. Philosophy I not for such people, for it does not conform to their wishes. It tells them what they do not like to hear. It disturbs their egoistic vanity and troubles their superficial serenity when it throws a glaring spotlight to their lower nature, their baser motives, and their ugly weaknesses. #RandolphHarris 5 of 20

While the aspirant fails to take an inventory of his weaknesses and consequently fails to build into his character the attributes needed, much of hi mediation will be either fruitless or a failure or even harmful. That it is not enough for men to think truth, that they mut also feel it, is a statement with which mot scientists, being intellect-bound, would disagree. However, artist, mystics, true philosophers, and religious devotees would accept it. People must be taught to be good and do good before they are taught to venture into the maze of the real World. And even when they emerge safely from a territory where so many lose themselves utterly, religions is useful in brining them back to ethical values albeit now of a much higher kind because it is based on utter unselfishness. For love must marry knowledge, pity must shed its warm rays upon the cold intellect. Enlightenment of others must be the price of one’s own enlightenment. These things are not easily felt by the mystic, who is often too absorbed in his own ecstasies to notice the miseries of others, or by the metaphysician, who is often too tied by his own verbosity to his hard and rigorous logic to realize that mankind is not merely an abstract noun but is made up of flesh-and-blood individuals. The philosopher however finds these benign altruistic needs to be an essential part of truth. Consequently the salvation which he seeks—from ignorance and the attendant miseries that dog its steps—is not for himself but for the whole World. #RandolphHarris 6 of 20

It does not necessarily mean that he has faults to repair or weaknesses to overcome. It may mean that there is some lack in him, some quality or capacity that he needs to cultivate. The real choice, decision, judgment, is made n the subconscious mind. Impulses come from it and character is formed in it. Despite all the repetitious assertions that there is no go, that the person is a fiction, that the goal is pure being unsullied by the self-illusion, here—in the various manifested signs of an individual character in a separate body—is evidence to the contrary. Accept fully and without demur your self-made universal consequences, even to the extent of refraining from asking to be forgiven your sins, for it is just a result. Ask instead to be shown how to overcome the weakness which had been the cause.  Singly if that proves enough, combined is not, when negative or degrading or weakening suggestions enter his mind, from whatever source, he can deal with them in two ways. The first is to tense his will and by a beneficial commanding mental act master the suggestion and drive it away. The second is to turn away into its opposing idea and dwell firmly on that until the suggestion vanishes altogether. If, in spite of using these methods he is still defeated, then he can try remembering the Overself. Can he still carry out the evil suggestion while thinking of that serene divine presence? By aspiring to it for help and protection as fervently as he can, the negative idea may disintegrate like the ash of a piece of firewood. #RandolphHarris 7 of 20

A habit change or a thought change which is made under someone else’s persuasion and not out of inner need brought into the open by that other person, is only a surface one and will fade and fall away. If in some ways he learns to lessen egoism and practise humility, in other ways he gains a larger easier assurance. If he is now willing, to a certain extent, to be deflated, he feels he is standing nonchalantly and calmly on firmer ground than before. Perhaps this is all a play, not to be taken too seriously, for the real trial, the worst test, the last great agony, will come later—either through the terrible loneliness of the Dark Night of the Soul, or the painful crucifixion of the ego before Ascension, Liberation, and Fulfilment. If each attack of adverse force, each temptation that tries a weakness, is instantly met with the Shorth Path attitude, he will have an infinitely better chance of overcoming it. The secret is to remember the Overself, to turn the battle over to IT. Then, what he is unable to conquer by himself, wil be easily conquered for him by the higher power. The question is whether he is to accept he baser weaknesses as human or whether he is to struggle against them as unworthy of a human being. We must so centralize our own consciousness as to render it strong against the onslaughts of outside suggestion, immune to the promptings of crowd and the dictation of places. Thus we learn to be our own true self not only at home, where it is easy, but also in the street and in others’ homes, where it is hard. Thus we become truly individualizes. Thus we are always serene among the anxious, good amongst the wicked. #RandolphHarris 8 of 20

Like a rock so firmly embedded that it cannot be moved by human force but can only be blasted by dynamite, his moral character must be embedded in the great Truth. Some individuals are fortunate in going beyond the picture I have just given, developing further in the direction of psychological maturity. We see this happen in psychotherapy where we endeavour to provide a climate favourable to the growth of the person. We also see it happen in life, whenever life provides a therapeutic climate for the individual. When we concentrate on this further maturing of a value approached as I have seen in therapy, a few things become evident. In the first place let me say somewhat parenthetically that the therapeutic relationship is not devoid of values. Quite the contrary. When it is most effective, it seems to me, it is marked by one primary value: namely, that this person, this client, has worth. He as a person is valued in his separateness and uniqueness. It is when he senses and realizes that he is prized as a person that he can slowly begin to value the different aspects of himself. Most importantly, he can begin, with much difficulty at first, to sense and to feel what is going on within him, what he is feeling, what he is experiencing, how he is reaching. He uses his experiencing as a direct referent to which he can turn in forming accurate conceptualizations and as a guide to his behaviour. As his experiencing becomes more and more open to him, as he is able to live more freely in the process of his feelings, then significant changes begin to occur in his approach to values. It begins to assume many of the characteristics it had in infancy. #RandolphHarris 9 of 20

Perhaps I can indicate this by reviewing a few of the brief examples of introjected values which I have given, and suggesting what happens to them as the individual comes closer to what is going on within him. The individual in therapy looks back and realizes, “But I enjoyed pulling my sister hair—and that doesn’t make me a bad person.” The student failing chemistry realizes, as he gets close to his own experiencing—“I don’t value being a doctor, even though my parents do; I don’t like chemistry; I don’t like taking steps toward being a doctor; and I am not a failure for having these feelings.” The adult recognizes that desires for pleasures of the flesh and behaviour may be richly satisfying and permanently enriching in their consequences, or shallow and temporary and less than satisfying. He goes by his own experiencing, which does not always coincide with the social norms. He considers art from a new value approach. He says, “This picture moves me deeply, means a great deal to me. It also happens to be an abstraction, but that is not the basis for my valuing it.” He recognizes that this communist book or person has attitudes and goals which he shares as well as ideas and values which he does not share. He realizes that at times he experiences cooperation as meaningful and valuable to him, and that at other times he wishes to be alone and act alone. #RandolphHarris 10 of 20

As the examples will indicate, the disturbances that produce an attempt at examination may be acute or of long standing; they may result predominantly from actual difficulties inherent in a situation or they may be expressions of a chronic neurosis. Compared with the preconditions for a systematic self-analysis, those for occasional analysis are moderate. It suffices to have some psychological knowledge, and this need not be book knowledge but may be gained from ordinary experience. The only indispensable requirement is a willingness to believe that unconscious factors may be sufficiently powerful to throw the whole personality out of gear. To put it negatively, it I necessary not to be too easily satisfied with ready-at-hand explanations for a disturbance. A man, for instance, who has become inordinately upset about being cheated. A person suffering from an acute depression must be skeptical about explaining his state on the basis of World conditions. Habitual forgetting of appointments is not very well explained by saying that one is too busy to remember. It is particularly easy to brush aside those symptoms that are not obviously psychic in character, such as headaches to weather conditions, fatigue to overwork, stomach upsets to spoiled food or gastric ulcers, without even considering the possibility that psychic factors are involved. This attitude may be assumed because of sheer ignorance, but also it is a characteristic neurotic tendency in persons who cannot tolerate the idea of any unevenness or flaw in themselves. #RandolphHarris 11 of 20

At the other extreme are those who are convinced that every disturbance is psychic in origin. For such a person it is out of the question that he might be tired because of an overdose of hectic work, that he might have caught a cold because he was exposed to a too vigorous infection. He cannot tolerate the idea that any external factor can have the power to affect him. If any disturbance befalls him it is because he himself has brought it about; and if a symptom is psychic in origin it is in his own power to remove it. Needles to say, both attitudes are compulsive and the most constructive attitude is somewhere between them. We may feel genuinely concerned about World conditions, though such a concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. We may feel tired because of too much work and too little sleep. We may have headaches because of a bad eye condition or a brain tumor. Certainly no physical symptom should be attributed to psychic factors before the medical explanation is thoroughly investigated. The important point is that with full regard for the plausible explanation one should also take a good look into one’s emotional life. Even if the difficulty is a case of flu it might be helpful, after giving it the proper medical attention, to raise the question whether some unconscious psychic factors were present, operating to lower resistance to infection or to retard recovery. #RandolphHarris 12 of 20

With these general considerations are borne in mind, it will help us understand case studies. To further highlight this illustration, John, a good-natured businessman, apparently happily married for five years, suffered from diffuse inhibitions and “inferiority feelings” and in recent years had developed occasional headaches without any detectable physical basis. He had not been analyzed but he was fairly familiar with the psychoanalytic way of thinking. Later he came to me for analysis of a rather intricate character neurosis, and his experience in working alone was one of the factors that convinced him of the possible value of psychoanalytic therapy. When he started to analyze his headaches, it was without intending to do so. He, his wife, and two friends went to a musical comedy and he developed a headache during the play. This struck him as queer because he had felt well before going to the theater. At first, with some irritation, he ascribed his headache to the fact that the play was bad and the evening was a waste of time, but he soon realized that after all one does not get headaches from a bad play. Now that he thought about it, the play was not so bad after all. However, of course, it was nothing compared with the play of Shaw’s that he would have preferred. These last words stuck in his mind—he “would have preferred.” Here he felt a flash of anger and saw the connection. He had been overruled when the choice between the plays was up for discussion. It was not even much of a discussion: he felt he should be a good sport, and what did it matter anyhow. #RandolphHarris 13 of 20

Apparently it had mattered to him, however, and he had been deeply angry about being coerced. With that recognition, the headache was gone. He realized also that this was not the first headache that originated in this way. There were bridge parties, for instance, which he hated to join but was persuaded to do so. He was startled to discover this connection between repressed anger and headaches, but he gave it no further thought. A few days later, however, he work up early, again with a splitting headache. He had attended a staff meeting of his organization the night before. They had been drinking afterward, and at first he accounted for the headache by telling himself that probably he had drunk too much. With that he turned on the other side and tried to fall asleep again, but he could not. A fly buzzing around his face irritated him. At first the irritation was barely noticeable, but it grew rapidly to full-blown anger. Then he recalled a dream or a dream fragment: he had squashed two bedbugs with a piece of blotting paper. The blotting paper had many holes. As a matter of fact, he remembered that the holes were all over the paper and formed a regular pattern. This reminded him of tissue paper that he had folded as a child, for cutting out patterns. He was quite taken by their beauty. An incident emerged in which he had shown the tissue to his mother, expecting admiration, but she had paid only perfunctory attention. The blotting paper then reminded him of the staff meeting. There he had scribbled on paper because he felt bored. No, he had not merely scribbled; he had drawn small caricatures of the chairman and of his opponent. #RandolphHarris 14 of 20

The word “opponent” struck him, because he had not consciously regarded that person as an opponent. A resolution had been voted on, about which he felt vaguely uneasy. However, he saw no clear objection to it. Hence the objection he had raised was actually not to the point. It was weak and made no impression. Only now he realized that they had put something over on him, for the acceptance of the resolution meant a lot of tedious work for himself. They had been so clever that it had escaped him. At this point he suddenly laughed because he recognized the meaning of the bedbugs. The chairman and the opponent—they were bloodsuckers, as distasteful as bedbugs. Also, he was as afraid of bedbugs as he was of these exploiters. Well, he had taken revenge—at least in his dream. Again the headache vanished. One three subsequent occasions he searched for a hidden anger as soon as the headache started, found the anger and then lost his headache. After that the headaches disappeared entirely. In reviewing this experience one is struck at first by the lightness of the labour in comparison with the result attained. However, miracles occur in psychoanalysis as seldom as anywhere else. Whether a symptom can be easily removed depends on its function in the whole structure. It this case the headaches had not assumed any further role, such as preventing John from doing things he was afraid of doing or resented doing, or serving as a means of demonstrating to others that they had given offense or inflicted injury, or serving as a basis for demanding special consideration. #RandolphHarris 15 of 20

If headaches or any other symptoms have assumed important functions such as these, their cure will require long and penetrating work. One will then have to analyze all the needs they satisfy and they will probably not disappear until the work is practically finished. In John’s case they have not assumed any such functions, and probably resulted merely from tension increased by the repressed anger. The extent of John’s accomplishment is diminished also by another consideration. It was a gain, certainly, to be rid of the headaches, but it seems to me that we are inclined to overrate the significance of such gross, tangible symptoms and to underrate the importance of less tangible psychic disturbances, such as, in this case, John’s alienation from his own wishes and opinions and his inhibition toward self-assertion. In these disturbances, which later proved to be highly significant for his life and his development, nothing was changed by his work. All that happened was that he became somewhat more aware of rising angers and that his symptoms disappeared. Actually, any of the incidents that John happened to analyze could have yielded more insight than he gained from them. Thus in his analysis of the anger that emerged during the musical comedy, there were numerous questions that he failed to touch on. What was the real nature of his relationship with his wife? Was the compatibility, of which he was proud, due only to compliance on his part? Was she domineering? Or was he merely hypersensitive to anything resembling coercion? #RandolphHarris 16 of 20

Furthermore, why did he repress his anger? Was it necessary because of a compulsive need for affection? Was he apprehensive of a rebuke from his wife? Did he have to maintain an image of himself as a person who was never disturbed by “trifles”? Was he afraid of having to fight for his wishes? Finally, was he really only angry at the others for having overruled him, or was he primarily angry at himself for having given in because of sheer weakness? The analysis of the anger following the staff meeting might also have opened up further problems. When they were jeopardized, why was he not more alert to his own interests? Again, was he afraid to fight for them? Or had the anger such dimensions—squashing the bedbugs—that it was safer to repress it altogether? Also, did he lay himself open to exploitation by being too compliant? Or did he experience something as exploitation which was actually merely a legitimate expectation of his condition? Furthermore, what about his wish to impress others—the memory of expecting admiration from his mother? Was his failure to impress his colleagues an essential element in his anger? And to what extent was he angry at himself for having been so unassertive? None of these problems was touched upon. When he had discovered the effect of repressed anger at others, John let the matter rest. After a lifetime of World-wandering, after a varied experience among different faces of people and in different classes of society, we have come to the firm and settled conviction that what is most to be looked for in a man is character. The best test of character is neither intellectual hairsplitting nor emotional, wordy gush, not high-flown idealistic professions, nor flowery mystical pretensions, but deeds. #RandolphHarris 17 of 20

The Sacramento Fire Department has saved the community from so many disasters. On one occasion, there was a small fire in a closet on the fourth floor of a building. There was a lot of smoke, but there seem to be just a bunch of papers and rubbish in there. What no one knew was that it had purposely been set and that there was a lot of gasoline poured onto the closet floor and the floor of a near bathroom. Three members from the engine company were in the room, but none of them smelled the gasoline because of the smoke. The three guys started to extinguish the fire just as the heat got to the gasoline. The gasoline exploded, and the whole room went on fire. Two of the guys got to the door and were safe, but the fire expanded so rapidly, it cut the third guy off, and he ended up at the window. Unless you have had the experience, you will never believe how quickly a fire can move through a room, two rooms, three rooms. This firefighter we will call number 1, was at the window yelling, and Ladder 1 began to put it tower ladder up. That is a long boom with a platform at the end of it, with room enough for four or five fighters to stand. There were two firefighters on the platform, raising it. As it reached the third floor, firefighter number 1, now framed in the fourth-floor window, was on fire, and he could not wait the extra five seconds for the tower ladder to get him. He was forced to jump. He jumped into the bucket and hit one of the guys there, Lt. 1, breaking his leg. However, even with a broken leg, Lt. 1 was able to grab an extinguishing can and put out the flames on the burning firefighter. Fire fighter number 1 had his fire-safe coat on, but it was the clothes beneath it, his pants and his shirt, that were on fire. All this happened from a very little fire in a closet in a multi-family, low-rise, housing building. #RandolphHarris 18 of 20

When the firefighter was visited at the Burn Center, he was terribly burned on his arms and shoulders, and on the bottom part of his body around his buttocks and the backs of his legs. He was very courageous. You would have to be in such a situation. You really do muster up extraordinary strength in times of personal crisis. There is a spiritual part of firefighters, and when they get hurt seriously, they realize how fragile they are as human beings, and they rely on this spirituality to bring forth the dignity of their souls. This firefighter was in great pain, but he was also very funny. He said his wife was concerned about his being in the burn center with all these beautiful nurses. However, e reassured her. He said that a nurse who is tearing the burned layers of skin off your body, inch by painful inch, no matter how gorgeous she is, is never going to be thought of as anybody but a person who is tearing off the top layer of your skin, inch by painful inch. Sometimes people get killed. Every firefighter has to deal with the death of a brother or sister firefighter at some point in his or her life. In America, a firefighter dies in the line of duty every other day. Many have been to several funerals. It is hard to look at the surviving children of firefighters and thinking that they will live with the memory of their father giving his life in a job that cared about him. The only standing room one will find at a firefighter’s funeral is out in the street, down the block. A firefighter recalled when 11 firefighters died in the line of duty. It was a terrible scene when they were searching for the bodies. Firefighters could recall the bodies coming out, one by one. #RandolphHarris 19 of 20

As if the bodies were passing were passing in review, the hundreds of firefighters who were there took off their helmets. The floors of the building had collapsed, taking these firefighters down into the bowels of the fire. There was quiet in the immediate vicinity as their bodies came out. When it came time for the funerals, many firefighters were dismayed at how little the city had done to make those thousands of visiting firefighters welcome. The firehoses alone had taken them in, given them something to eat, and made them feel at home. Therefore, before to show your support for the Sacramento Fire Department by voting for Assembly Member Kevin McCarty. He is endorsed by the Sacramento Fire Department, and his focus is on affordable housing and getting people without homes into a home. A vote for McCarty is a way of showing support for the Sacramento Fire Department. And if you can, please make a donation to the Sacramento Fire Department and keep those who have been injured, disabled, or killed on the job in your prayers. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Though it is not incumbent upon you to complete the work, you are not free from doing all you possibly can to honour God. Judge a man by his deeds, and you will not be led to false judgment. Say little and do much, for by your deeds shall you be judged. If you are wise and rich, let your good deeds reveal your wisdom and wealth. Honour a man for what he is; but honour him more for what he does. #RandolphHarris 20 of 20

The Winchester Mystery House

Many people have laughed at caretakers for believing in ghosts. Skeptics think the noises to be the product of their over-active imaginations. However, they also begin to hear them when they spent time in The Winchester Mystery House. One skeptic reported after hearing them, “the groans, squeaks, tingling and knockings were frightful enough.” One caretake was locking up the mansion one night, when there came a sound from one of the six kitchens as of a large lump or lumps of coal being splintered and smashed onto the floor. He and one of the other caretakers went through the entire mansion, but could find nothing to explain the sounds; no guests were in the house. Upon hearing the sound of bottles breaking beneath the stairs, when no one was in the house, they ran in fright into an office.

Then they heard the sound of a man walking slowly past them; then going down the grand staircase, then up the back stairs and up the stairs to the ceiling. Soon after this, they heard in the corner of a room, as it were the violent rocking of a cradle; as far as anyone knows, no cradle has ever been in the house. Two caretakers were sitting in one of the dining rooms, on a later occasion, when they heard the sound of loud raps coming from the outside of the door and on the ceiling overhead.

Come and enjoy a delicious meal in Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, and wonder through the miles of hallways in the World’s most mysterious mansion. For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available to purchase.  https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/

The Syndrome of Growth

The pathology of incestuous fixation depends obviously on the level of regression. In the most benign cases there is hardly any pathology to speak of expect, perhaps, a slight overdependence on and fear of women. Dr. Freud’s thinking was based on an evolutionary scheme of libido development, from the narcissistic to the oral-receptive, oral aggressive, anal-sadistic, to the phallic- and genital-character orientations. According to Dr. Freud the gravest type of mental sickness was that caused by a fixation on (or regression to) the earliest levels of development of the libido. As a consequence, for example, regression to the oral-receptive level would be considered a more severe pathology than regression to the anal-sadistic level. In my experience, however, this general principle is not born out by clinically observable facts. The oral-receptive orientation is in itself one that is closer to life than is the anal orientation; hence, generally speaking, the anal orientation could be said to be conducive to more severe pathology than the oral-receptive. Furthermore, the oral-aggressive orientation would seem to be more conducive to severe pathology than the oral-receptive, because of the element of sadism and destructiveness involved in it. As a result, we would arrive almost at a reversal of the Freudian scheme. The least severe pathology would be that connected with the oral-receptive orientation, followed by more severe pathology in the oral-aggressive and in the anal-sadistic orientations. #RandolphHarris 1 of 18

Assuming the validity of Dr. Freud’s observation that genetically the sequence of development is from the oral-receptive to the oral-aggressive to the anal-sadistic orientation, one would have to disagree with his standpoint that fixation on an earlier phase means more severe pathology. However, I believe that the problem cannot be solved by the evolutionary assumption that the earliest orientations are the roots for the more pathological manifestations. As I see it, each orientation in itself has various levels of regression, reaching from normal to the most archaic pathological level. When it is combined with a generally mature character structure, that is, a high degree of productivity, the oral-receptive orientation, for instance, can be mild. On the other hand, it can be combined with a high degree of narcissism and incestuous symbiosis; in this case the oral-receptive orientation will be one of extreme dependency and malignant pathology. The same holds true as regards the almost normal anal character in comparison with the necrophilic character. Therefore, to determine pathology not according to the distinction between the various levels in libido development, but according to the degree of regression which can be determined within each orientation (oral-receptive, oral-aggressive, et cetera). It must furthermore be kept in mind that we are dealing not only with the orientation which Dr. Freud sees as being rooted in the respective erogenous zones (modes of assimilation), but also with forms of personal relatedness (like love, destructiveness, sado-masochism) which have certain affinities to the various modes of assimilation. #RandolphHarris 2 of 18

Thus, for instance, there is an affinity between the oral-receptive and the incestuous, between the anal and the destructive orientations. There also exists an affinity between biophilia and the “genital character” and between incestuous fixation and the oral character. The deeper the regression in each orientation, the more the three tend to converge. In the state of extreme regression, they have converged to form what I have called the “syndrome of decay.” On the other hand, with the person who has reached an optimum of maturity, the three orientations also tend to converge. The opposite of necrophilia is biophilia; the opposite of narcissism is love; the opposite of incestuous symbiosis is independence and freedom. The syndrome of these three attitudes I call the “syndrome of growth.” Now suppose, for example, that an individual has a neurotic need for absolute independence. After recognizing the trend and learning something of its origins one would have to spend quite a while understanding why only this way is open for reassurance, and how it manifests itself in one’s daily living. One would have to see in detail how this need expresses itself in one’s attitude toward physical surroundings, how it takes the form, perhaps, of an aversion to obstructed views, or an anxiety that arises when one sits in the middle of a row. One would have to know how it influences one’s attitude toward dress, as evidenced by such signs as sensitivity toward girdles, shoes, neckties, or anything that may be felt as a construction. One would have to recognize the influence of the trend on work, shown perhaps in rebellion against routine, obligations, expectations, suggestions, a rebellion against time and against superiors. #RandolphHarris 3 of 18

One would have to understand its influence on love life, observing such factors as an incapacity to accept any ties or a tendency to feel that any interest in another person means enslavement. Thus an estimate would gradually crystallize as to the various factors which in greater or less degree serve to touch off the feeling of coercion and to force one to be on one’s guard. The mere knowledge that one has a great wish for independence is not nearly enough. It is only when one recognizes its all-inclusive compelling force and its negativistic character that one can muster a serious incentive to change. Thus the therapeutic value of the second step is, first, that it strengthens a person’s willingness to conquer the disturbing drive. One begins to appreciate the full necessity for change, and one’s rather equivocal willingness to overcome the disturbance turns into an unambiguous determination to grapple with it seriously. This determination certainly constitutes a powerful and valuable force, indispensable for effecting any change. However, even the most vigorous determination is of little avail without the ability to carry it through. And this ability is gradually increased as one manifestation after another is clearly seen. While a person is working at the implication of the neurotic trend one’s illusions, fears, vulnerabilities, and inhibitions are gradually loosened from their entrenchments. As a result one becomes less insecure, less isolated, less hostile, and the resultant improvement in one’s relationships with others, and with oneself, in turn makes the neurotic trends less necessary and increases one’s capacity to deal with it. #RandolphHarris 4 of 18

This part of the work has the added value of kindling an incentive to discover those factors that impede a more profound change. The forces thus far mobilized have helped to dissolve the power of the particular trend and thereby to bring about certain improvements. However, the trend itself and many of its implications are almost sure to be closely bound up with other, possibly contradictory, drives. Therefore the person cannot fully overcome ones difficulties by working only at the substructure developed around a particular trends. Clare, for instance, lost some of her compulsive modesty through the analysis of that trend, but certain of its implications were out of reach at that time because they were intertwined with the morbid dependency and could be tackled only in conjunction with that further problem. This third step, the recognition and understanding of the interrelations of different neurotic trends, leads to a grasp on the deepest conflicts. It means an understanding of the attempts at solutions and of how these attempts have meant only a deeper and deeper entanglement. Before this part of the work is reached the person may have gained a deep insight into the component parts of a conflict, but still have adhered secretly to a belief that they could be reconciled. One may have realized deeply, for instance, the nature of one’s drive to be despotic and also the nature of one’s need to be applauded for superior wisdom. However, one has tried to reconcile these trends by simply admitting occasionally the despotic drive without having the least intention to change it. One has expected secretly that the admission of the despotic trend would allow one to continue it and at the same time win one recognition for the amount of insight shown. #RandolphHarris 5 of 18

Another person who strove for superhuman serenity, but also was driven by vindictive impulses, has imagined that one could be serene for the larger part of the year but spare out a sort of leave of absence when one could indulge in one’s vindictiveness. It is obvious that no fundamental change can take place as long as such solutions are secretly adhered to. As the third steps is worked through, it becomes possible to understand the makeshift nature of these solutions. The therapeutic value of this step lies also in the fact that it makes it possible to disentangle the vicious circles operating among the various neurotic trends, the ways in which they reinforce one another as well as the ways in which they conflict with one another. Thus it means an understanding at last of the so-called symptoms, that is, the gross pathological manifestations, such as attacks of anxiety, phobias, depressions, gross compulsions. One often hears statements to the effect that what is really important in psychotherapy is to see the conflicts. Such statements are of the same value as a contention that what is really important is the neurotic vulnerability or rigidity or striving for superiority. What is important is to see the whole structure, not more and not less. Existing conflicts may sometimes be recognized quite early in the analysis. Such recognition, however, is of no avail until the components of the conflicts are thoroughly understood and diminished in their intensity. Only after this work has been accomplished, do the conflicts themselves become accessible. #RandolphHarris 6 of 18

No amount of knowledge can fulfill the expectations of a detailed and definite direction of the road to be taken in analysis. One reason for this is that the differences among people are too great to allow the pursuit of any prescribed path. Even if we should assume that there is but a limited number of discernible neurotic trends existing in our civilization, say fifteen, the possible combinations of such trends would be practically infinite. Another reason is that in analysis we see not one trend neatly separated from another, but the sum total of entanglements; a flexible ingenuity is therefore necessary in order to isolate the components of the picture. A third complication is that often the consequences of the various trends are not apparent as such but are themselves repressed, thus making recognition of the trend considerably difficult. And, finally, analysis represents a human relationship as well as a common research. It would be a one-sided comparison to think of an analysis as an exploratory trip in which two colleagues or friends are engaged, both as much interested in observing and understanding as in integrating the observations and drawing the inferences. In analysis the patient’s peculiarities and disturbances—not to speak of the analyst’s—are vitally important. One’s need for affection, one’s pride, one’s vulnerability, are just as present and as effective in this as in other situations, and in addition the analysis itself inevitably elicits anxieties and hostilities and defenses against insights that threaten one’s safety system or the pride one has developed. #RandolphHarris 7 of 18

While all these reactions are helpful, provided one understands them, they nevertheless render the process more complex and less susceptible of generalization. The assertion that to a large extent each analysis must produce its own sequence for tackling problems may be intimidating to apprehensive souls, particularly to those who need a guarantee that they are always doing the right thing. They should keep in mind, however, for their own reassurance, that this sequence is not artificially created by the analyst’s clever manipulation but occurs spontaneously because it lies in the nature of the problems that one becomes accessible after another one is solved. In other words, when anyone analyzes oneself one will usually take the steps described above by merely following the material that presents itself. It will sometimes happen, of course, that one touches upon questions that at the time being are not answerable. At such points an experienced analyst will probably be able to see that the particular subject is beyond the reach of the patient’s understanding and is therefore better left alone. Let us assume, for instance, that a patient who is still deeply immersed in convictions of one’s absolute superiority over others brings up material suggesting that one has a fear of not being acceptable to others. The analyst will know that it would be premature to tackle as yet the patient’s fear of rejection, because the latter would regard it as inconceivable that such a superior being as one believes oneself to be could possibly have such a fear. Many other times the analyst will recognize only in retrospect that, and why, a problem was not accessible at a certain point. In other words, one, too, can proceed only by trial and error. #RandolphHarris 8 of 18

While much is recorded as to the basic identifying characteristics presenting symptomatology, and official diagnosis of the hospitalized psychiatric patient, the patient whose problems are treated exclusively on an outpatient basis has so far not been a regular subject for comprehensive census taking. This is not to say that we do not know the forms that psychoneurosis may take so far as symptom patterns are concerned, or something of the particular problems associated with treatment of the discriminably diagnosable outpatient syndromes, and something of the rate of response to psychotherapy. Much of this information is discursive and clinical, even when it represents statical accumulation of the experience of a particular clinic it rarely goes beyond the diagnostic grouping of patients. We do not have a truly comprehensive and representative picture of the broadly identifying characteristics of the consumers of psychotherapy, including the content of their problems, that goes beyond specification of such ubiquitous presenting complaints as depression and anxiety. In the absence of more information about these persons it is difficult to imagine that we can provide either specifically or adequately for their needs. Unless, of course, in our approach to mental health education, we are meaning to create a consumer demand for the particular product we feel they need! Let us consider what is known about the actual and potential candidates for psychotherapy. Our information is primarily general description for which psychotherapy is thought to be a primary treatment—the psychoneurotics. #RandolphHarris 9 of 18

A scientifically based medical attack upon the neuroses as medical problems is hampered by the nonobjectivity, ambiguity, and inclusiveness of the diagnoses. A corollary of this fact is the absence of explicit statements of exclusion: When organic illness is not a factor, when psychic disturbance of psychotic proportion is ruled out, what patterns of disturbance or discomfort (or degrees of these) may be encountered that do not qualify for the label “neurosis”? Put another way, does the presence of mental conflict or the experience of anxiety or the condition of emotional depression constitute ipso facto a neurosis? Or, must the proper diagnosis of a neurosis entail consideration of the arousing circumstances, the duration, and the severity of these conditions? There is no clear consensus on these questions among psychiatric authorities. Note again that the formal definitions emphasized the character of the person’s response and subjective experience and generally ignore the situational matrix to which the person is responding. In practice this means that a patient, without the presenting symptoms and history which would support some other diagnosis, who presents oneself to an appropriate “mental health expert” with complaints of depression, conflict, or anxiety is likely to be diagnosed as psychoneurotic—even though any “hallmark” symptoms such as hysterical conversions, phobias, obsessions or compulsions may be absent. In a sense, these are “self-diagnosed” patients who are accepted by the therapist without much concern for whether they technically qualify as psychoneurotics. All of these factors contribute to the nonspecificity of a diagnosis of psychoneurosis and this nonspecificity must be kept in mind when considering the following data. #RandolphHarris 10 of 18

While the great majority of neurotics are treated exclusively on an outpatient basis, there are some whose illness is of such severity or whose life situation is so devoid of support that hospitalization is necessary. According to our research, the average neurotic patient was 38 years old at the time of hospital admission. Two thirds of the neurotics were in the 20-44 age range at admission. At all ages, the admission rates were higher for females than males. Psychoneuroses are relatively more prevalent among the higher economic classes. With gender and age controlled for a standard population having a base age of 25 and over, the rate of first admissions with diagnosed psychoneurosis was at a minimum among those with little or no formal education and increased progressively to a maximum among patients who attended college. Among the hospitalized neurotics, there was a clear preponderance of single, widowed, and divorced patients over married patients. The excess of single patients was greatest among those over age 35. In one of the very rare reports on the clientele of private psychiatrists, descriptions are given of the general characteristics of 100 unselected, consecutive cases seen in office practice. Sixty percent of these patients were between the ages of 20 and 40. Slightly more than half (54 percent) were men, and slightly more than half were married (52 percent). Eighty percent were of Protestant faith. One third of these patients were office workers or skilled labourers; only 12 percent held professional jobs. One third of them had been referred to the psychiatrists by other patients; nearly one fourth were self-referrals. #RandolphHarris 11 of 18

The major compliant presented by these patients were nervousness, tension, and depression; other complaints included insecurity, self-consciousness, and shame or confusion regarding gender. Only half of these patients were diagnosed as psychoneurotic, but psychotherapy was recommended for 70 percent of them. Forty percent of this sample made but s single visit. Of those who undertook outpatient treatment the average cost of the treatment was $7,500 per year. Specific diagnoses were not under investigation but it is a reasonable presumption that the majority of these patients were neurotics. The following generalizations may be proposed from this study: The typical psychiatrist sees preponderantly more female than male patients. By contrast, psychologists and social workers tend to have clients of both genders in equal numbers. The complete age range is represented in the clients of three professions. However, the number of psychiatrists who specialize in patients under age 15 is very small, while one out of five psychologists concentrates on this age group. In contrast to the social workers and psychologists, many more psychiatrists have a clientele in which persons over the age of 40 predominate. The complete range of educational achievement is represented in the patients seen by all three professions. Psychiatrists are relatively inexperienced with patients having less than an eighth-grade education, while social workers very rarely carry-on individual therapy with college graduates or persons with postgraduate education. #RandolphHarris 12 of 18

All occupational levels are represented in the psychotherapy cases of the three professional groups as are all income levels. Certain occupational groups (exempli gratia, domestic and personal service, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing) have very little representation in the case loads of these psychotherapists. Other occupational groups (exempli gratia, professional, and managerial-office jobs) have a high frequency among the patients. Prevalence of Maladjustment: Over one third of the sample when queried about previous sources of unhappiness made reference to economic or material considerations, including their jobs. Two out of every five respondents indicated their primary source of worry to be in the economic or material sphere. Nearly one out of every five persons sampled reported that they had at some time in their past felt an “impending nervous breakdown.” Less than half of these persons felt that their problem was relevant for outside help. Nearly 40 percent of these persons reported their problems as external, exempli gratia, illness, death, work tension, finances. Factors Related to Maladjustment: While the genders did not differ in the frequency with which they reported unhappiness, the women more frequently reported worry, fear of breakdown, and need for help. In general, women reported suffering from more symptoms, both physical and psychological, than did the men of the sample. With increasing amounts of education, there is an increase in symptoms which express immobilization, inertia, and an attitude of passivity. This syndrome of immobilization is more prevalent among the younger persons than the older. #RandolphHarris 13 of 18

Greater distress is reported by women than by men in all adjustment areas—they are more disturbed in general adjustment, in their self-perceptions, in their martial and parental functioning. This gender difference is most marked at the younger age intervals. “Psychological anxiety” symptoms are found most frequently at the two extremes of the income distributions. Occupational status is less related to over-all adjustment than are education and income. The unmarried (whether single, separated, divorced, or widowed) have a greater potential for psychological distress than do the married. A feeling of impending breakdown is reported more frequently by the divorced and separated females than by any other group of either gender. In general, single women experienced less psychological discomfort than do single men. Factors Related to Seeking of Help: With respects to readiness to seek help for personal distress, the more highly educated persons surpass all other groups. The highly educated are more introspective, orient themselves toward life in terms of self-questioning rather than unhappiness or dissatisfaction express concern over the personal and inter-personal aspects of their lives, predominate in psychological rather than physical symptoms. It is if particular interest to note that the highly educated people more often go for help despite the fact that they express more happiness and satisfaction on the adjustment indices than do the less educated people. #RandolphHarris 14 of 18

Of those persons who actually sought help, over half reported problems in the area of personal relationships. Most commonly the problem was with a spouse and was less frequently ascribed to the relationship than to a defect in either the respondent (23 percent) of the spouse (25 percent). First step toward clear-mindedness: to grasp the extent to which we have been seduced—namely, it could have been exactly the other way around: The unknown World could perhaps be a stupid and more trivial form of existence—so constituted as to make us long for “this World.” The other World,far from accommodating our desires, which would find no satisfaction there, could be among a host of things that make this World possible for us: coming to know it would be a way of making ourselves happy. The true World: but who is it that tells us that the apparent World must be worth less than the true one? Des not our instinct contradict this judgment? Does not man perpetually create a fictious World because he wants to have a World better than reality? Above all: why does it ever occur to us that our World is not the true one? After all, the other World could be the “apparent” one (in fact, the Greeks, for example, conceived of a realm of shadows, an apparent existence alongside true existence). And finally: What gives us the right to estimate, as it were, degrees of reality? That is something different from an unknown World—that is already wanting to know something of the unknown. The “other,” the “unknown,” World—good! However, to say “true World” means “to know something about it”—that is the opposite of the assumption of an x-World. #RandolphHarris 15 of 18

The World x could be in every sense more tedious, more inhumane, and less worthy than this World. It would be something else again to assert that there are x Worlds, id est, every possible World besides this one. However, that has never been asserted. The word “wiles” in the original means “methods,” and bears in its varied forms the thought of craft, artifice or trickery. To “work wiles” is to outwit, or to methodically go in pursuit. The ultimate negative’s war on the saints can be summed up in the phrase “the wiles of the ultimate negative.” He does not work in the open but always being cover. The method of his deceiving spirits are adapted to each one, and they have a skill and cunning gained by years of experience. Generally, the wiles are primarily directed against a person’s mind or thoughts, so, unless the believer has yielded to known sin, most of the workings of the Ultimate negative in one’s life may be traced back to a wrong thought or belief admitted into one’s mind and not recognized to be from deceiving spirits. For is a believer thinks that all that the ultimate negative does is manifestly bad, the ultimate negative has only to clothe himself with “good” to gain full credence with that man. The way, therefore, is a war of deceit and counterfeit, and only those who seek the fullest truth from God about God, the ultimate negative, and themselves can stand against the Deceiver’s wishes. The more common solution to the Christ-and-culture problem is to unite somehow the extremes of the first two types. This center position, therefore, acknowledges the goodness of creation, the radical character of sin, the necessity of human cultural activity, and the primacy of grace. However, the reconciliation of these opposing principles can be achieved in several different ways. #RandolphHarris 16 of 18

One way is by a synthesis of the two, which we term the Christ-above-culture type. According to the synthetic view, there is a gap between Christ and culture that accommodation Christianity never takes seriously enough, and the radicalism does not try to overcome. Its starting point is the doctrine that Jesus as the Christ did not come to abolish the law and prophets, but to fulfill them. It is exemplified in history by the theology of Clement of Alexandria and Thomas Aquinas. The synthesis holds that grace builds on and perfects nature, that the Creator and the Saviour are one. Jesus as the Christ is above culture as its fulfilment and crown. We drive for unity between Christ and culture with an insistence upon grace. However, the unity is effected by a vertical structuring that is divided into layers, and this is repugnant because it resembles the natural-supernatural framework which we detests. The synthesists regards cultural efforts as a mere propaedeutic for the culmination of Christianity in a future afterlife. Furthermore, as Niebuhr observes, the synthesis tends to view his own culturally conditioned synthesis as absolute, so that Jesus as the Christ who is above culture as its fulfilment has been first whittled down to the proportions of the prevailing culture. The result is a cultural conservatism which is akin to idolatry. When we say, “The Father alone is God,” such a proposition can be taken in several senses. If “alone” means solitude in the Father, it is false in a categorematical sense; but if taken in a syncate gorematical sense it can again be understood in several ways. #RandolphHarris 17 of 18

For if it excludes (all others) from the form of the subject, it is true, the sense being “the Father alone is God”—that is, “He who with no other is the Father, is God.” In this way Augustine expounds when he says (De Trin. Vi, 6): “We say the Father alone, not because he is separate from the Son, or from the Holy Ghost, but because they are not the Father together with Him.” This, however, is not the usual way of speaking, unless we understand another implication, as though we said “He who alone is called the Father is God.” However, in the strict sense the exclusion affects the predicate. And thus the proposition is false if it excludes another in the masculine sense; but true if it excludes it in the neuter sense; because the Son is another person than the Father, but not another thing; and the same applies to the Holy Ghost. However, because this diction “alone,” properly speaking, refers to the subject, it tends to exclude another Person rather than other things. Hence such a way of speaking is not to be taken too literally, but it should be piously expounded, whenever we find it in authentic work. We do not say absolutely that the Son alone is Most High; but that He alone is Most High with the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Happy is the man that has regard for the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the day of evil. Every day, the Sacramento Fire Department displays bravery, strength, honesty, determination and compassion for the lives of others. Please kindly donate to the Sacramento Fire Department. You donation will greatly benefit the welfare of the community. #RandolphHarris 18 of 18

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