The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme
Our temperatures have been very fall like, with our first freeze on Friday. I had to close my windows in the evenings. The leaves are turning, and I have been enjoying pumpkin spice coffee. Both read-a-thon sign-ups are posted. I hope you join in the fun. I gifted myself 24 months of Kindle Unlimited for $143.00. (birthday cash for the win) They have a 6 and 12-month plan. If you already have it, the gift will start after current plan ends. If you want to check it out, here is the link: Kindle Unlimited Gift Subscription. Annndd then Saturday my kindle wouldn’t charge. The light stayed orange. Despite all efforts, it died. R.I.P Oasis. What timing. SMH. You shall be missed. Stay Caffeinated.
Last Week on the Blog
The Bullet That Missed By Richard Osman (audio review)
A Turn Of The Tide By Kelley Armstrong (book review)
The Good-Bye Girls By Juliet Domvile (book review, guest post)
The Book Haters’ Book Club By Gretchen Anthony (audio review)
Ho-Ho-Ho Readathon Sign Up (event)
This Week on the Blog
Dead Man’s Hand By James J. Butcher (audio review)
The Akseli By Dianne Duvall (audio review, giveaway, spotlight)
The Fossil Hunter By Tea Cooper (book review, guest post)
The Art of Psychotherapy and the Liberation of the Therapist is an academic work by Dr. Len Bergantino, Ed.D., Ph.D. This book educates the reader on psychotherapy and shows how it has progressed throughout the career of Dr. Bergantino as well as the work of many other experts whose work he has carefully studied and evaluated, and the experiences and views of the patients.
At the beginning of the book Dr. Bergantino points out that on the cover of his book is a picture of the American Revolutionary War hero Patrick Henry who was noted for his famous quote “Give me liberty or give me death.” Dr. Bergantino explains that the only way to see progress in psychotherapy is if both the psychiatrist and the patient are completely liberated from everything around them and are entirely open and honest in the work that they are doing, and that is the approach he tried to use throughout his career.
This enlightening book is divided into two parts, with part two being a continuation and deeper dive into the topics in part one. This work covers topics from the existential moment, working with children, the holistic approach to psychotherapy, narcissism, couples therapy, schizophrenia, clinical psychology, and more. It also includes experts such as Freud, Whitaker, Frankl, and others. The book is filled with stories from Dr. Bergantino’s career and shows readers how he handled situations with different patients such as a very tall, overweight man who carried a knife with him which made for a very unpleasant, unsafe, and stressful work environment, or a recent widower who was left alone with his young children, and many more.
A key term in this book is ‘existential moment’ which is defined as a full sense of being between patient and therapist. Those two human beings are capable of experiencing the focus of the moment, as it is applied to therapy. It deals with authenticity and the vulnerability that comes from two people facing each other as equals. Readers will also be met with the question that Shakespeare asked so many years ago, “To be or not to be?” The book explores how we interpret that question in our own lives, along with psychotherapy, and more interesting topics readers otherwise may not have thought about.
The Art Of Psychotherapy and the Liberation of the Therapist is an informative and thought-provoking book that I would recommend to readers looking for a compelling memoir or an edifying book on the topic of psychotherapy. This book takes an incredible dive into the world of psychotherapy and will appeal to practitioners, psychologists, or students in the psychotherapy field, as well as patients who want to learn more about psychotherapy.
Higher Connections is part humor, part educational, and part real-life experiences, all in relation to the use of cannabis and how it can help create deeper connections and meaning in life. Why was this an important book for you to write?
To be up-front, I NEVER thought I would write a book, especially about a topic like this. I am a Certified Public Accountant – I deal with numbers all day, every day! So writing a book was WAY outside of my comfort zone.
However, after I started having some of these interesting experiences and connections while high, I eventually got up the nerve to speak to my wife (Alexandra) about what thoughts I was having and she encouraged me to write them down.
It wasn’t until after I had my out-of-body experience that I detail in Chapter 5 of the book that I really thought people might want to hear and understand what I was going through.
The real importance to this book, however, comes in Chapter 6 where I talk about the benefits to me and my relationships from cannabis that I never had with alcohol. I am more at peace, I am able to understand others better and my “elevator music” stops and I can focus on the important things in my life much better than I can otherwise.
I know some people grew up hearing cannabis was evil or a gateway drug so I thought it was important for me to tell my story and hopefully others will be more comfortable at least trying the plant out, going forward.
What is one thing cannabis that you think is misrepresented in the media?
As I note above, some people have heard that marijuana is a gateway drug or that is addictive, which based on my experiences is very far from the truth. I am not addicated (I just took a mone month tolerance break and was just fine) and it has not led me to do acid, shrooms, LCD or any other pschodelic drugs.
One thing I stress in the book is that if you look at other things that most humans consume on a daily basis (e.g. red meat, sugars, fried foods, alcohol, cigarettes, etc.) that are perfectly accepted in society, you will find that marijuana is likely better for you (or at least not as bad) as several of these items yet it is still federally illegal because of xenophobic positions taken all the way back in the early 20th century.
Hopefully as more professionals and others come out in support of marijuana, this will change and marijuana will FINALLY be legal and I can advertise my book on Amazon
Did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?
Overall, the research was really just attempts by me to somehow support the crazy thoughts that were in my brain.
When I was researching the information about witching hours, multiple personality disorders, paranoia, possessions and reincarnation, it really did amaze me how most of those concepts could be explained by the ability of humans to connect to other humans or other energy in the universe through the concept of a third-eye.
I am not saying that is what is actually happening but it was interesting to research the impacts on the brain when those situations are occurring and to potentially explain what causes each of those circumstances to occur.
It was also interesting to read the limited research on marijuana in humans to strengthen my arguments about what is happening in my brain when I am high (i.e the brain does seem to speed up under the influence of THC).
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?
As I mentioned, I am not a writer. Explaining some of these thoughts around third-eyes, souls and simulation theory was not easy and I tried my best to do it but I am sure it may be perceived as just ramblings of a guy high on cannabis. That is fair and I would certainly be apprehensive about some of the things I write about in this book.
However, when you step away from that and look at all of the cool connections and experiences that Alexandra and I have had, I hope people become more open and willing to try this for themselves in order to (Hopefully) develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with those around them. You can try to connect with anyone in your life – a friend, family member, work colleague – it doesn’t have to exclusively be to someone you are in a romantic relationship with. Chapter 7 gives a summary of how anyone reading can attempt to connect with someone around them to see if they feel or think something different than they normally would.
On our podcast, Higher Connections, Alexandra and I came up with a great way to do this. If you are trying to connect with someone – watch THEIR favorite movie together while you are high (Alexandras was Boomerang) and see if you react similarly to how they are reacting. This may be a great way to determine if you are able to connect with someone else.
Either way, Alexandra are I really enjoyed the process of writing this out and hope the readers enjoy the content as well!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
Most people go through life worrying about silly things: careers, mortgages, family strife, the size of their biceps, how many Instagram followers they have, and most importantly, fantasy football. What if there was a way to get more out of life through deeper and more meaningful connections with those you care the most about? Some people turn to religion or meditation for these connections; I turned to my one true friend, cannabis. The book summarizes my experiences with cannabis, the interesting connections I have made, the benefits to me from making these connections, what I think is happening that allows me to make these connections, and some other random and (hopefully) funny observations I have written down while high. I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did.
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The Bullet That Missed By Richard Osman (audio review)
The Akseli By Dianne Duvall (audio review, giveaway, spotlight)
