How Are Community Aesthetics and Screen Technologies Affecting The Personalities Of Those You Love?
“The enjoyment of nature is the mark of a good soul” –Immanuel Kant– Richard S. Waguespack Jr., BTH, MSW, LCSW 2.21.22 Last Revision “Insufficient facts always invite danger.” — Spock Aesthetics In the past, Aesthetics has been mostly confined to fields such as art and philosophy — addressing constructs of beauty, taste and how they relate to judgements, values and morals. However, in the past couple of decades those studying psychology, art and other humanities have become increasingly motivated to relate Aesthetics to perception, human development and other areas, particularly the sciences. In this essay, I hope to point to a broader constellation of essential variables to relate aesthetics to personality development, motivation, and community dynamics. This is so very important to understand as it relates to how people form basic likes and dislikes in many varieties of human expression – from movie productions, music, paintings, video games and photography to architecture, interior design and landscaping. All these components and more make up the emerging Metaverse of online communities. For starters I would like to conditionally affirm Palmer and Shimamura’s inference (2012) that “Aesthetic experiences drive hedonic responses” – as basic human processes that drive emotions. At the same time I think it important to point out that a person’s deep experiences with certain varieties of artistic beauty can certainly be transcendental and even transcendent. Deep imprints on personality, motivation and emotion are tied to aesthetic experiences and in some sense aesthetic choices, both within an introverted personal level and within group dynamics. In both philosophy and psychology perennial questions of aesthetics tend to revolve around why a person, group or community prefers exhibit A more than exhibit B, C or D. On a developmental level, we certainly understand that when one’s child or daughter hangs around a certain group, the prevailing collective “taste” and aesthetic decisions for good or ill will definitely affect his or her sense of aesthetics. Will this not be partially influenced by the group’s perceptions and penchants as well as the emotions and memories associated with the group experiences as they are recounted within a group of solitary recounting of the experiences? Community Aesthetics Mainstreaming and fortifying the construct of “community aesthetics” should be of great help to parents, teachers, counselors and others looking to reform or improve culture and to help fortify the optimal development of personalities of those they love. It is a way to constructively evaluate the learning and social environments of children, adolescents and adults of all ages, including those who have retired to a nursing home. When artists, including authors, musicians and filmmakers display or attend their work over decades they are in a sense “creating culture”. If they become celebrated enough, their hometown, friends and teachers as well as other places where they have lived become interesting to a wide range of followers. When interviewed, the inquirers often want to know what their intentions and related thoughts were at any given interval. After a celebrated artist passes away, some communities seek to preserve his or her property and form foundations to keep their memory alive. Somewhere along the way people explain what they liked or found interesting about the figure and in some cases what they disliked or found uninteresting. As our highly diversified culture continually expands and partitions various categories of aesthetics (entertainment), living persons with families may have to decide whether the artists being evaluated as well as many other influences on their children are to be approached or avoided. This includes food and various restaurants. On a primal “hedonic” level, each person prefers some food over other food and most people have foods they strongly like and dislike. Moving up the scale, people like some media more than others and prefer some types of prayer services over others. We find “good” aesthetics something to be grateful for and “bad” aesthetics something to be uneasy or even alarmed about. If you took your family to a special symphonic orchestra one week you are probably not going to be happy if your teenage son and daughter decides to attend a decadent heavy metal ‘concert’ in a big field outside the city limits the next week. What is their motivation? It might start off being “cool” and “with it” for peers but after they attend together for hours and hours in a peer to peer experience, they now have memories reinforced by the “music”… and then when they relive the “adventure” at various times in the future, the imprint on their taste and judgment might be long lasting. One thing that aesthetics may study in psychology in the future is why certain people have a very wide and developing taste in music and others, even in their 60s or 70s have been focused on “rock and roll” that with certain groups like Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones or “Grateful Dead”. When it comes right down to it, they are not particularly interested in most Christian music and many other genres available. They seem “stuck” in their likes and their likes are very narrow and in the minds of many “distasteful” and “juvenile”. Yet these very same people could very well be high functioning businesspeople, scientists, teachers, professors or school principals. There is some mystery here, but the reality of these people’s taste influencing future generations is quite significant if not formidable. In one high school environment I saw a high school band learn how to play a particular song almost soley because the principal was a big fan of the painted rock band that created it! In a number of other instances I have seen how leader’s aesthetics was something quite influential if not contagious among many students. In the most lamentable scenarios, I have seen at least one high school theatre teacher produce a school play with immoral and amoral undertones and overtones so thick you could cut them with a knife In such environments it can be quite uncomfortable to challenge entrenched ‘affinities’ and cultural acceptance or
PISD: Post Infidelity Stress Disorder
Express Bank Building of Oklahoma Bank – Clinton, OK 580-500-8050 Extended Hours Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM Saturday : 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Sunday : Closed See Richard’s Interview With Rick Amato: “Working Through Post Infidelity Stress Disorder” “PISD” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ovaw7mNdY If you would like to discuss your situation with Richard and possibly schedule an appointment, click the assessment to the right. Log in and then fill out the PISD form (entirely online). This instrument has been carefully developed to assess you and your situation in a holistic, reasonable way with an eye towards developing an effective treatment (intervention) plan. Questions? Contact Richard Waguespack at richard@new-life-counseling-oklahoma.com. NOTE: There are special provisions possible for persons living in the state of Oklahoma as well as special week long accommodations for individuals and couples who wish to travel here. During your stay, we can work together at some scheduled intervals each day. In addition to rest in recreation in a small city, there are some interesting activities such as hikes in secluded mountains, lakes and a wildlife refuge. More more information call 580-500-8050 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email WhatsApp Pocket PISD ASSESSMENT INTAKE FORM New Life Counseling DIRECTIONS FOR NEW LIFE COUNSELING Things To Do In Clinton OK Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Quartz Mountain State Park Crowder Lake Redrock Canyon Tom Stead Lake Fort Cobb State Park Southwest Airlines United Airlines American Airlines ——————————————————— Will Rogers World Airport – OKC Amarillo International Airport ——————————————————— Churches in Clinton, OK Clinton OK Hotels Clinton OK Restaurants
Marriage Concepts
COVENANT MARRIAGE A Covenant marriage mirrors the Covenant relationship of the Judaeo-Christian God of the Bible to His people. It is pregnant with the ideal that His people will accept His Covenant and ongoing guidance in a spirit of Filial Trust and clean hearted orientation to do His will on earth as it is in Heaven. It presumes that both persons entering this obligation have the will, knowledge and capacity to enter into marriage and at a minimum both believe that God permissively accepts the marriage and is willing to bless it. More ideally the couple will understand the marriage to be God’s unique and purposeful will for their lives, a bountiful refuge for offspring and a gift to the larger community. This therapist understands Covenant marriage as an interdenominational Christian construct defining a mutual consent that presumes both persons intend to enter into a union far beyond a mere contract – extending towards unconditional love and service to each other. This is a marriage with the clear intention of permanence and fidelity that disposes each person to receive the other and nurture children in their purview to live a Holy life and death. The linked article What is the Purpose of Covenant Marriage in the Bible1 provides additional context. SACRAMENTAL MARRIAGE A Sacramental marriage is a Catholic construct applied to the reality of two Baptized persons of the opposite sex who wish to marry in the context of Church authority, teaching and God’s grace, at least one of whom is a Catholic. Both are required to pronounce vows as self directed Baptized ministers of their union that validly meet the criteria of a Covenant Marriage in accordance with form that is recognized by the Catholic Church.1 Many Theologian’s emphasize that those in a Sacramental Marriage must consciously aspire to be Christ to one another. In essence, all Sacramental Marriages are Covenant Marriages, but not all marriages addressed as a “Covenant Marriage” meet the full criteria of a “Sacramental Union” as defined by Church Doctrine and Cannon Law. In other words, the marriage must be blessed or authorized by the Catholic Church (The Mystical Body of Christ on Earth) or other Rites in Apostolic succession as a precondition for Sacramental validity which remains an inviolable assumption unless one or both persons formally contest the marriage’s validity in a very detailed format to be judged by a tribunal at least a year after a legal divorce. Because a true sacramental marriage is held to be very Sacred and binding, many Pastors and Theologians strongly warn against divorce and express great alarm at the volume of annulment petitions invoked in modern western societies. While annulments existed early in Church history, they were very rarely invoked until the second half of the 20th century. Consequently in earlier times, many if not most people were either unaware or only scarcely aware of this venue and those that were were in trepidation about involvement with them. For example many know that Thomas More was beheaded by King Henry VIII because he refused to help facilitate an annulment Henry wanted for his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Bolelyn, the sister of Mary Boleyn with whom he was conducting an affair. Ultimately this led to much more persecution of Catholics and the creation of the Church of England in opposition to the Catholic Church he once attended with visible dedication. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE AND DISCERNMENT OF GOD’S WILL PERTAINING TO MARRIAGE IN YOUR SITUATION In an effort to speak to Protestant and Catholic Christians in a very general sense, the following guidelines are proposed in a region where the percentage of Catholics is small. In some instances a couple presumably “married” with inadequate foundation may need to examine their seemingly defective or less than lawful union in light of a Covenant marriage and upon discerning that God permits or encourages the relationship, embark on a path of being able to worthily pronounce vows invoking a Covenant marriage (Sacramental Marriage for Catholics). In an age filled with so many irregular, allegedly putative and otherwise complex marriage and family situations, often with tragic histories, estrangements and much dysfunction, conscientious therapists with a pastoral orientation are faced with formidable challenges in many categories. Most cases involve children, multiple generations, complex histories and many issues beyond the scope of this brief article. Some unions are merely common law, others invoked within a brief courthouse proceeding and others in a Church of some kind. Intergenerational history of commitment(s), quality of fidelity and intentions, levels of capacity, knowledge, experience, religious history, nature of adversity, current pressures and other relevant material affect how a conscience is formed as well as how it is exercised when determining one’s orientation towards marriage and family. Ultimately each person must render an account of his or her life to God in an individualized judgement which will assess the conditions of one’s conscience and capacity at various stages of life. Concepts of sin as well as recognition of conventional religious prohibitions / allowances in the Bible and Church teachings must be weighed in responsible, prayerful ways because decisions involving marriage and family are very consequential for both time and eternity. A prayerful disposition and holy fear of God is essential in determining how to move forward when a person or family is in turmoil or challenging situations. Prayerful discernment about how to move forward generally involve an effort to integrate relevant Christian teachings as one understands them together with prayerful attention to the guidance of conscience2 in submission to God. END NOTES 1 What is the Purpose of Covenant Marriage in the Bible 2 Contemporary Attention to Conscience also known as Primacy of Conscience is often associated with Thomistic writings and careful academic analysis (i.e. St. Thomas Aquinas on Conscience: Cambridge University Press) and modern pastoral interpretations (i.e. Two Wings To God: Rob Agnelli Blog and Understanding Conscience from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Marriage Concepts is written