Meaningful Connections

A RADIO APPEARANCE TONIGHT

Hello Fellow Gatherites! 

 

Just a quick note to say I’ll be interviewed tonight about my recently released book:

DEMYSTIFYING MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCES (SYNCHRONICITIES): The Evolving Self, The Personal Unconscious, and The Creative Process.

 

Anyone interested in hearing the show live go to www.gcnlive.com  and click on "LISTEN NOW" in upper right hand corner. A box with "The Dr Laurie Show" and "Amerika Tonight" will open up and you can click on either channel to hear "The Dr Laurie Show." You can call in at 800 259 9231.

 

The show is also taped so you can download it anytime you wish.

 

 It is a two hour show from 10:00 P.M. to midnight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Happy Listening.

JUNG'S WRATH?

SNOW STORM COINCIDENCE ?

Well this is an interesting turn of events. My book on Demystifying Coincidences was delivered to me today. That is the good news. The not so good news is my scheduled book release event supposed to be held on this Thursday night from 7 - 9 PM at the Synchronicity Cafe in New York City looks like it will be in the epicenter of a major snow storm.

Now I find that really interesting. I have been wondering how Jung might react to my book's contents if he were somehow able to be conscious. Considering the fact that he was not shy about making categorical assertions concerning synchronicities such as - "Their [synchronicities] inexplicability is not due to the fact that their cause is unknown, but to the fact that a cause is not even thinkable in intellectual terms."

Now this is serious stuff. This icon - the leading authority in the synchronicity world for the last 54 years is revered by millions. When Jung speaks the collective listen. So if the man is somehow conscious - although officially dead and buried which of course means he is not really dead and who knows where he actually hangs out -  I don't think he is going to be exactly supportive of my equally strong assertion asserting my irrefutable evidence that there is in fact causal explanation for these perplexing occurrences which is in fact the byproduct of critical thinking.

Now I appreciate the factual absurdity of what I am saying. Yet if Jung is to be believed as revealing absolute truth then he is conscious of the fact that my book makes an equally strong claim that while his ideas about the origin of synchronicities are seductive they are also fanciful and illogical.

Now here is the bottom line. As a psychoanalyst practicing for the past 44 years I am quite aware that people who are so absolutely certain of their positions don't take lightly to those who challenge them - I can't easily dismiss the possibility that Jung probably collaborating with Pauli may very well have whipped up this predicted blizzard to shall I say massively snow on my parade.

Well so be it. I will weather this and any similar storms they may send my way. I will not be intimated by Jung, Jung and Pauli, or any other combination of cosmic bullies. In the meantime if anyone is planning to come Thursday night it looks as if there is a strong possibility it will be called off and to be scheduled for another day. BRING ON THE STORM!

The BEST LAID PLANS .... ON THE WAY to PUBLISHING MY FIRST BOOK

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

So my publisher - (Doesn't that have a poetic ring? My publisher) calls on February 8th to tell me that my book is scheduled to leave the printer in two days. Fine - I tell people - They all respond the same way... Aren't you excited? The truth is I am not.   Dreams of  glory  are unimportant  now. Instead I crave tangibility and concreteness like a firm object in my hands, composed of 340 pages with my words printed on them, three of which is my very own name confirming that what I have done is really real.

Then the 10th comes. I call the publisher to see if they have sent out copies for distribution. No answer. Damn, I think the staff is never there when I need them. I wonder, how many meetings is it possible for one group of people to attend. And they don't even send me an E mail. This is disappointing.

The 11th comes. Another call - this time an answer. "Sorry - the office is closed because of the snow. (They are located smack in the middle of the last storm.)

Today - the 12th - I call again. No answer but I do get an E mail. "Gibbs so sorry you have had to wait with no news. You know we were snowed out." Then a line followed which was totally unexpected. It was almost like a throw away with no explanation. [I inferred a 'by the way' introduction]: "The printers roof partially collapsed under the weight of the snow so your book wasn't sent out yet."

You have got to be kidding... Immediately I had a vision of my 200 copies floating in a pool of melted ice. That was my first reaction. My second was to laugh at the absurdity and the irony of it. My third was and is resignation. As I have literally waited 50 years for this dream to become a reality - I can certainly wait another few days. I think.

My conclusion is: The best laid plans often go (is the word) aglee? And persistence and patience tends to greatly increase the odds of eventual satisfaction.

Onwards and upwards..... if interested see   http://www. meaningful-coincidences.com

ANNOUNCING the PUBLICATION of MY BOOK: DEMYSTIFYING MEANINGFUL COINCIDENCES (SYNCHRONICITIES)

                            PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF 

Imagine you are attending a one trick magic show. As the performance ends you find yourself in a state of awe. “Now that you are dazzled,” says the magician, “I’ll either repeat the trick as often as you like, or I’ll show you how it’s done.” The choice is yours.

WHAT'S YOUR CHOICE? Grou  p

“Gibbs Williams has struggled with awe-inspiring coincidences in his own life and combed the relevant literature to formulate a rational psychodynamic theory of synchronicity. This book is both a personal journey and a guide for psychotherapists to harness their patients’ creative processes to liberate the sense of self from its traumatically imposed restrictions.” —Frank M. Lachmann, PhD

ABOUT THE BOOK

Demystifying Meaningful Coincidences (Synchronicities) offers an original theory of the nature of meaningful coincidences (synchronicities) and their practical use from a naturalistic (non-supernatural and non-Jungian) perspective. The findings are the outgrowth of Gibbs A. Williams’ forty-year investigation, both as a professional observer of some of his synchronicity prone patients receiving psychoanalytic psychotherapy as well as of his own intimate experience of these intellectually challenging and emotionally powerful occurrences. Williams concludes that meaningful coincidences are the surface manifestations of an individual’s unique creative process, accommodating the “best” available resolution of a problem for a person initially feeling “stuck” in a seemingly intractable dilemma.

Readers are treated to a rich mine of historical data, novel concepts, and theoretical insights drawn from speculative philosophy, depth psychology, and esoteric occult and spiritual traditions, and they are shown how to decode their own synchronicities in order to be able to use their embedded “messages” for increased self-awareness, cohesiveness, and expanding consciousness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gibbs A. Williams, PhD, is a psychoanalyst and supervisor in private practice in New York.

ISBN 978-0-7657-0702-4 2009 330pages Regular price: $70.00 / After discount: $56.00 Amazon:

I am aware these are recessionary times so the price appears steep. If you would like to read the book but can't afford it I urge you to call your local library and request they order it. Better still tell your family members, and all of your friends who might be interested in this subject to call as well. Then if any of you read the book I would very much appreciate your writing a review on Amazon and or Barnes and Noble. Thank you.

I PREDICT: IN TWO MONTHS THERE WILL BE A JUNGIAN RESURGENCE

      JUNG is FOREVER YOUNG?

When the time is right a new trend can bloom almost overnight. What follows are some of the conditions that are associated with new trends catching on:

• Fresh material -
• New facts to illuminate unresolved issues
• A dramatic context
• Controversial
• Powerful personalities
• The passage of time
• Ideas or experiences which challenge basic assumptions concerning the nature of reality and the acquisition of the knowedge of reality

In this connection I received an E mail yesterday that had a link to an article that is to be published in the weekend edition of the New York Times magazine. The link is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?_r=2&hpw=&pa    Magazine Preview

The story is:

The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

written by Sara Corbett    September 16th, 2009

The first paragraph of the article is:

 

"This is a story about a nearly 100-year-old book, bound in red leather, which has spent the last quarter century secreted away in a bank vault in Switzerland. The book is big and heavy and its spine is etched with gold letters that say “Liber Novus,” which is Latin for “New Book.” Its pages are made from thick cream-colored parchment and filled with paintings of otherworldly creatures and handwritten dialogues with gods and devils. If you didn’t know the book’s vintage, you might confuse it for a lost medieval tome."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The author of the New Book is Carl Jung detailing his personal descent into madness and presumably his ascent into wholeness resulting in his finding a variation of analysis he called Analytical Psychology.

Now for my prediction:

Jung's ideas have been highly influential in areas which have captured many people's interest. For example he coined the term New Age. 

Among the areas he has directly influenced are: 

• an explosion of interest in exploring and utilizing the content and methods associated with the esoteric occult: i.e. astrology, tarot, kaballah, readers and readings; UFO phenomena and the myriad spin offs of this content; the study of archetypes; precognitive and lucid dream contents and use; the joining together of quantum physics and human psychology which has resulted in a collective mantra of 'worshipping' the experience of at-one-ment - expressed in the phrase everything is interconnected; a heightened interest in the magical, mystical transcendent occult so called transpersonal realm of the so called collective unconscious; and last but not least: Jung's fascination and life long dedication to identifying, naming, experiencing, and persistent attempts to understand the nature and uses of meaningful coincidences- synchronicities. 

In this light it is quite likely that the publication of his NEW BOOK next month is likely to result in a revival of interest in Jung, the Jungians, Jungian theories, and concepts. 

On a personal note I hope I am accurate as in three months I predict there will be an equally noteworthy book that will place Jung's basic ontological and epistemological assumptions, derived theories, and concepts in a radically different perspective. This book will fit the criterion I outlined at the beginning of this article.

More to follow ............

HAS ANYONE PUBLISHED A NON FICTION E BOOK?

             I CAN'T GET HURT TRYING -CAN I?

So I have this completed manuscript lying around collecting dust. I also have another book soon to be published in December with an official publishing company. One alive book plus one on life support book should equal two potentially published books if I can somehow breathe life into the one that is inert.

Tired of wasting more time scratching my head, mulling my options, I looked at the contents of the bottom shelf of my bookcase next to my computer in the basement. (Yes I know these details are not terribly relevant but Gather is fond of saying print anything you want, so I am adding these seemingly extraneous details  for the hell  of it. )

Seque back to the contents of my book case.

Back a couple of years ago when I had an agent (who by the way took me for a ride and not on a horse driven carriage in Central Park), carried away with dreams of glory, deciding how I was going to handle being rich and famous being a noted author - the 12th rejection coupled by my agent saying to me that my writing needed a great deal of revision - even though I had paid her literally thousands to help me edit it ----- ugh!- I can't complete my thought - the thoughts of it is too distressing.

Please no need to explain (1) I should never have an agent who also plays the dual role of editor... and (2) 12 rejections is really no big deal... Both facts are true but the mind is not always rational or to be more precise, my mind is not always rational.

 I also know that persistence pays off and that a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. I also am aware that success may be achieved in multiple ways via walking alternative and or complimentary paths. So that the most effective formula for success should be combining all known pathways to obtaining a successful outcome - into an organized plan of concentrated action which is carried out on a day to day basis until success is reached. In this case- success would be having my dust gathering memoir finally published one way or the other.

Towards this end it makes logical sense to instantly begin the following lists of to dos starting tomorrow morning which is now this very morning.  This list includes, but is not exclusively limited to: Praying (to who I still have not figured out);   meditating both ways (by emptying the mind of all contents as well as  by trying to be aware of everything without judging); applying mindfulness techniques; free asssociating;  focusing; attending the Great Man burning or is it the Burning Man thing?; eating mushrooms if I dare;  throw the I Ching;  consult  a professional astrologer;  erect my own Astrology Chart to validate the professional astrologer's reading;  consult another professional to read my Tarot cards;  consult a rabbi for a Kabalah reading; cull the advice given from the ten marketing books that are on the bottom of my bookcase I bought in anticipation of the instant receit of a book contract from Basic Books congradulating me for the good sense of soliciting their company to publish my memoir.

All of which brings me back to my initial question. Has anyone published a non fiction E book?

I don't have to list the advantages and disadvantages of going this route. What I am looking for are hard cold facts. Once the Word manuscript is converted into a PDF file and then further converted into an E book ( all of about 30 minutes) the real issue - as it is with every newly published book: how best to MARKET it. 

So - for all of you who have gone the e book publishing route - after you have a marketable product what actually happened or is happening in reality? Did you have a marketing plan? Are there any bonified websites that allow you to keep your rights but also advertise your e book that really work?

I appreciate any and all comments....

P.S. The title of proposed E book is: A HEAD of CHANGES:

My Odyssey of the Turbulent Beginnings of Treating Drug Addicts in the Sixties

and my soon to be published book is:

Demystifying Meaningful Coincidences (Synchronicities):

The Evolving Self, The Personal Unconscious, and The Creative Process

PRESSING ON TO PUBLISH MY MEMOIR

                     THE BEST LAID PLANS.....

A NOT SO FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME

It has been over two years since I started to once again go all out to obtain a literary agent, editor if need be with the hope of being offered a contract to publish my memoir. The last update - 2/23/08 - four and a half months ago - ended with me saying:" Whereas getting a contact to publish my memoir has taken infintely more time than I would ever have imagined it would when I first began the truth is that all together I have a much better piece of work to present. I have finally reached a point where I feel it truly is the best I can do and am willing to do and can now devote much more of my energies to getting an agent I feel comfortable with."

AN UNEXPECTED TURN ON THE ROAD TO PUBLISHING

I should have taken my feelings of doubt about my agent/editor more seriously. If I had I would not have let her talk me into being my editor as well as my agent. It would have been a red flag that she often gave me double messages, would not follow through on committments, made numerous typos in her communications to me. When I felt competely undermined and betrayed I fired her. Whereas I am certain I did the right thing I was chagrined that  I did it again. I unwittingly got myself stuck with an untrustrworthy authority figure repeating the core issue in my memoir - ONE MAN'S ODYSSEY: The Turbulent Beginnings of Rehabilitating Drug Addicts in the Sixties - Getting stuck was understandable - staying longer than I should have is not.

MIXED REACTIONS

An initial week of relief coupled with renewed determination to find another agent was quickly dissipated turning into a prolonged period of profound lassitude. I felt I was drowning in psychological quicksand. Although I knew and know what steps have to be taken to find a resonant agent and am quite capable of doing so all attempts to beginning this process failed. In place of positive motivation I slipped into quintessential innertness, devitalized - out of gas. If I had a patient who complained of the above I would intstantly diagnose their sad state as one of obvious depression. But I experienced my set back not as a rational psychoanalyst but as a betrayed victim.

AN UNEXPECTED SURGE OF A DESIRE TO CONSTRUCT A WOODEN SHIP MODEL

After two weeks of moping around I felt an unexpected desire to build a wooden ship model. I plunged into this task. I researched the internet to find the just right model for me to construct. An important requirement for selection was that it had to be on the next level of difficulty from that level which I tended to repeat. There are 4 levels of difficulty in building wooden ships ranging from level one to level four. My last model of The Bounty was skill level 2. I felt compelled to advance to level three. I picked The Virginia - an elegant 18th century ship - with tall masts and billowing sails.

I PLUNGE MYSELF INTO CONSTRUCTING THE SHIP MODEL

Although I could not summon any energy to begin the search for a new agent, I was on fire when it came to working on my model. I spent every free moment I had on mastering each intricate task from building the hull utilizing a complcated process called double planking, adding features like a cabin from scratch, carefully filling in the complex rigging and the likes. I was determined to pay fine attention to detail with the overall aim of going beyond myself to make this particualr model as 'perfect' as I could. After three weeks I accomplished my goal.

GETTING BACK ON THE POTENTIAL PUBLISHING MY MEMOIR HORSE

As I effortlessly labored to construct my boat I thought carefully about my frustrated attempts to secure a book contract. At some point I had an insight. Whereas it was true that I had once again repeated a past problem by staying too long with this abusive agent, I had to take the major share of the 'blame' for overriding my instincts. I think it true that she took advantage of my weaknesses but I allowed her to do so. Why would I do this again? What was there of value to once again frustrate myself. The psychoanalyst part of me answered: isn't this symptomatic of behavior that goes along with a fear of success? Yes, of course. But I thought I had resolved that in my lengthy psychoanalysis. Apparently this is a remnant. But now that I admitted it I understood that it is my choice to either give up my dream of being a published author, or continue pressing on - doing what I know I have to do to achieve my goal.

YEATS' INSIGHT IS USEFUL

In his autobiogaphy Yates says that it took him many years to get in touch with his essential feelings. And many more years to acknowledge that these feelins were really real for him. I instantly resonated with his assertions. I have been going through the motions of being a serious author but not really identified with it as really real. So if I am going to go further with this seemingly never ending process I must exercize my will and dedicate it to a never ending pressing on to attain my goal.

FULL SPEED AHEAD

With a combination of playing and insight I found myself once again empowered to renew my attempts to get a resonant agent. I found a list of two hundred literary agents - culled twenty that seemd to speak my language - printed out their submission requirements. This whole undertaking took about 6 hours. Amazing how much can be done in a relatively small amount of time once the resistances are cleared up, the goal is clear, and there is a green light to focus one's energies on it like a directed lazer beam.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Many agents indicate that reading one or more books on How to Write an Effective Non Fiction Book Proposal would be very hlepful in maximizing the probabilities of at least getting the positive attention of a potential literary agent.

My first impression was to downplay the suggestion. But with an open mind I read four of them that were rated by Amazon as the creme of the crop. The first one,  Thinking Like Your Editor: How to Write Great Serious Nonfiction - and Get It Published by Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato is a gold mine of wise guidance that I am certain will be most useful.

Conclusion:

There is no way to know if I will ultimately be successful or not. But I do know for certain that I must press on no matter what if I am to reach glory. But I also know that taking myself seriously empowers me to not only expect and to tolerate inevitable obstacles and resistances along my publishing pathway but that if I face them directly and press on the probability of eventual success is dramatically increased.

I NEED YOUR HELP RE CHOOSING A TITLE FOR MY MEMOIR

FRUSTRATED ATTEMPTS TO PUBLISH MY MEMOIR - UPDATE 

BACKGROUND

As a budding psychotherapist in l966 I got a break to be a "psychologist" in an innovative therapeutic community - Odyssey House - treating heroin addicts. For the first 6 months of the 17 months I worked there I thought I had luckily stumbled upon my own personal and vocational 'Garden of Eden.'

JUSTICE THOMAS IS SUPREMELY DISTURBED and DISTURBING

                            IS JUSTICE JUST US?

Justice Clarence Thomas' autobiography will be officially released for sale tomorrow, October 1, 2007. This date coincidentally? happens to coincide with the beginning of the new Supreme Court term.

Since it is only Saturday, September 3oth I have not yet had a chance to read his book. However apparently others have. So what follows are my initial reactions to some of the reports I have read on Drudge and heard on NPR.

SOUR GRAPES? YOU CAN BET ON IT!

UPDATING MY VICISSITUDES IN SECURING A CONTRACT TO PUBLISH MY MEMOIR

BACKGROUND

It took me thirty five years to feel I could be objective enough in sorting out a life defining experience that happened to me from October, 1967 - through April 1969. I was offered a job as a novice psychotherapist to treat heroin addicts in an innovative seminal therapeutic community program located in the Greenwhich Village called Odyssey House.

I began my work there as a "psychologist" and ended up as an Assistant Director. During this time I secured a dilapidated "house" in Harlem, named it the pressure cooker, organized an entry program for raw heroin addicts, and successfully ran it.