When A Cat--Angel

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=40 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#66CCFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>When A Cat--Angel</B><B> <A NAME="writings"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>    </B></FONT><B>  |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Philosophy"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>  |   </B><A HREF="id17_bio.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bio"><U><B> Bio</B></U></A><B>   | </B><B> </B><A HREF="id19_writings_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings: Philosophy Psychology"><U><B>Writings  Menu</B></U></A><A HREF="id19_writings_1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings: Philosophy Psychology"><U><B>: Phil. & Psy.</B></U></A><B>  |  </B><B>Writings Menu:  General Topics</B><B>  |</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>OTHER ARTICLES</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id26_lear.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writing: On Lear"><U><B><IMG SRC="0be15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><I><B><---</B></I><I><B>Language as a Metaphor:  Translation as a Model for Understanding Johathan Lear's Analysis of Freud's   </B></I><I><B> Concepts</B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id27_myth_metaphor.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writings: Myth"><U><B><IMG SRC="0be15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><B><----</B><I><B>Myths, Metaphors and Mental Worlds:  </B></I><I><B>An Incorporative Model for Describing Ego Dynamics</B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id28_karla_faye.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writing: Karla Faye"><U><B><IMG SRC="0be15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><B><----</B><I><B>Texas' Stone of Stumbling:  </B></I><I><B>On the Occasion of the Texas Execution of </B></I><I><B>Karla Faye Tucker </B></I><I><B>(February, 1998)   </B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id47_the_dynamics_of_culture__.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writing: Management "><U><B><IMG SRC="0be15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><B><----</B><I><B>The Dynamics of Culture In Relation to</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Management </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Philosophy </B></I><I><B>and </B></I><I><B>Methodology</B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id49_making_a_stray_cat_prolific.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writing: Making a Stray Cat Pro"><U><B><IMG SRC="0be15150.gif" border=0 width="21" height="21" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><B><----</B><I><B>Making a Stray Cat Prolific:  </B></I><I><B>Thesaural Imaging and Remote Viewing</B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id80_cassirer.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Selected Writings: Cassirer/Buchanan"><U><B><IMG SRC="0bd18180.gif" border=0 width="24" height="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></FONT><I><B>Cassirer, on the Expressive Form of Mythopoeic Thought:</B></I><I><B> A Foundation for Buchanan's C</B></I><I><B>oncept of Ambiance </B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id50_influence_med__concept.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Med. 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D.</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Distinction Among Cats</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Controlled Remote Viewing primarily follows the old adage about what to do with stray cats: "Don't feed them and maybe they'll go away."  Seen as an intrusion of imagination, Stray Cats (referred to as "analytical overlays" by some) are "set aside" to starve, to die the death of denial. We might be wise, however, to look more closely as such intruders.  A stray stranger which has stealthily crept between the cracks of our concentration may be a special gift delivered from the basement of our mind, one which has a note tied to its tail. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Association dynamics drive the Stray Cat/Analytical Overlay phenomenon.   These dynamics can be formative or functional, and this distinction determines for CRV whether the images called Stray Cats should be taken as "messages" from the Unconscious about a target or as simply logical implication of the conscious mind (imagination). Being </B><B>formative</B><B> usually indicates that an image has something in common with the </B><B>form</B><B> of that to which it is associated. Being </B><B>functional</B><B> moves an image to a new level: An image is functional, not by virtue of its being associated to a particular concept or related image, but by a more complicated relationship.  The formative dynamic is primarily eidetic; the functional, though eidetic, is metaphorical. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>When a CR viewer has constructed an ideogram for "non-manmade" (natural) and subsequently lists a Phase 1 descriptor of "steep," he often finds himself facing a Stray Cat (AOL) produced from a logical implication (and image formation) of "mountain." Such a Stray Cat is most likely the work of the imagination. However, if an image comes, as we say, "out of the blue," and surprises the conscious mind because no linkage to other data is apparent, the image is probably the result of a "primary process" of the Unconscious in the production of a functional metaphor.  Metaphor is a tool for depicting action more than form, i.e., the analogue of a metaphor is more the </B><B>function</B><B> of an image than its form per se. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Metaphor illustrates functionally with images, but in a different way than simple association. For instance, if I say, "I was a bear (image) when I woke up this morning," I am not communicating that I looked like a bear (form) when I arose; I am depicting through the analogue of a bear's disposition (function) how I felt and acted.   Associative images of imagination, on the other hand, primarily deal with image similarities and are more form oriented than function oriented.  Consequently, when we set aside a Stray Cat, we need to be mindful that the Stray Cat resting on the side of our page may actually be a functional "pearl of great price" and not some imaginative glass marble which inadvertently rolled through our mind. (Note: Following the dynamics above, this metaphor of a "pearl of great price" is not saying that we are facing something which is round and shiny (form), but something which is valuable to us! (function)) A Stray Cat may be the Unconscious shouting to us that there is something in the target which the metaphor expresses, but not something in the target that looks like the image which has intruded into our mind. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lessons from Language Distinctions</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This distinction between form and function may best be illustrated by citing the difference between Semitic linguistic descriptions and non-Semitic ones.  In the biblical writing called Song of Solomon, the poet describes the beauty of the woman by using various images. To our Western mind, the description is usually taken as an expression of form and not of function.  For instance, the lady speaks to the bridegroom: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers." (8:10) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>She is described by the bridegroom: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> "Thy neck is like a tower of David builded for an armoury </B></div> <div> <B>      whereupon there hang a thousand bucklers, </B></div> <div> <B>            all shields of mighty men. (4:4)) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The imagery is not a description of form.1 [1Thorlief Boman, </B><B>Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek</B><B>, p. 77 f. London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1960.]  The poet was not implying that the lady has breasts which are like towers in the sense of being Dolly Parton big. In the passage, the "towers" portray the dynamic of strong defense; she has withstood assaults on her; i.e., she has been inaccessible, remained pure and a virgin. Also, the bridegroom is not saying that the lady has a very large neck. He is describing her pride and dignity. (Somewhat like our common metaphor of "holding your head high.")  The descriptions are functional and serve as metaphors for her virtue in action. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lessons from Mythopoeic Thought</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Being functional, metaphors in our language are barely once removed from the more symbolic mode of early mythopoeic thought forms of primitive cultures.  In ancient Egypt, the Sun god, Ra, could be depicted as a falcon, a chariot or a scarab beetle (pushing a ball of dung). In each image there is some essential aspect which is common to each, the dynamic of a certain type of motion similar to the sun's.  Primitive cultures had no problem in describing the same event as the work of more than one god. The Storm god could be experienced as present in the destruction of war (usually ascribed to the God of War) simply because the essential common factor of destruction is experienced in both. This function of images in dreams became Freud's "royal road" to the Unconscious.  He simply treated these images as if they served as complex pantomimes for revealing (and concealing) dynamics of the Unconscious. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Metaphor and Right Brain</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I would suggest that analysis of CRV data take seriously Stray Cat images which are produced during a session, especially when more than one surfaces within the context of work on a particular ideogram. A skiing scene as a target might produce a Stray Cat images of hang gliding, a kite and a soaring eagle. All three overlap in the aspect of "flight-like" and, consequently, may be the work of the Unconscious saying something about the target.  Consequently, it may be true that if you don't feed a stray cat, it will go away.  However, we may need to apply the biblical injunction to some of our Stray Cats and "be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels [messengers] unawares." (Heb. 13:2)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The distinction between imagination and the Unconscious' production of metaphor outlined above reflects two types of data processing exhibited by the two distinct hemispheres of the brain.  The right brain processes information differently than the left. And it seems that the Unconscious' production of images (which are not simply produced by imagination) is through right brain processing.  The right brain is very good at compensating for the left brain's lack of ability to describe feelings and for illustrating principles which become very pedantic in left brain fashion. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>For instance, there are two ways to express the same truth: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Left brain:   You are better off to take an immediate benefit which is certain than to </B></div> <div> <B>                           depend on the potential of multiple benefits in the future.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Right brain: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Left brain:   Being a little proactive in preventing a bad situation is a better    </B></div> <div> <B>                     investment than putting effort in correcting the situation later.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Right brain: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In fact, feelings can't be described at all. To do so is as useless as trying to get the length of a room in Fahrenheit.  But the right brain processing can still transfer information about feelings. It can paint a picture or tell a story. And in the process of empathetically putting yourself in the image of the situation being shown or described, you can experience the type of feeling that is being "depicted" (but not explained.) So when someone asks us how we feel, we usually say something like the following:  "I felt as if I were [image of a situation (ambiance?)] … as if I [in some activity]." We sometimes have to speak in parables, and tell stories and simply illustrate, hoping that the other person has been there and can project himself into the scene and simply say back to us "I know what you mean." </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Show Cat vs. Stray Cat</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I suggest that the difference between the associative images of imagination of the conscious mind and the Unconscious production of metaphors which arise in a CRV process can be illustrated by expanding the CRV metaphor of the Stray Cat. We might do well to distinguish between a Stray Cat and a Show Cat. To develop these metaphors we need to observe that the Show Cat is a type, the representative of a pedigree. It fits a preconceived image. A Stray Cat, however, is a mongrel. It has variation and is more particular than universal. In extending the CRV metaphor,  a Show Cat would be the work of imagination, an image of a typical thing (mountain). The Stray Cat, on the other hand, can be of many colors and sizes. Although Stray Cats can be different, they can have an essence which lets us call them all cats.  Likewise, metaphorical images which erupt as if from nowhere and spring from no key word or image (ideogram) should be noted and made part of analysis.  Taking two or three Stray Cats and finding the common denominator within the three diverse images will most likely give information about something essential in the target, but in a condensed form and much more inclusive than an image per se. </B></div> <bR> <div>   </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="516" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000066 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 138 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="0a66f830.jpg" border=0 width="111" height="131" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="378"><div> Bill Stroud, of Richwood, Texas, has an extensive background in three areas: theology, philosophy and psychology (B.D, Th.D., Ph.D). Although semi-retired, he is active as a speaker, free-lance writer and a workshop presenter for educational and service agencies.  He is currently in training in the theory and methodology of remote viewing under the tutelage of Lyn Buchanan of Alamogordo, NM.  Address comments to <A HREF="mailto: drstroud@comcast.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: drstroud@comcast.net"><U>drstroud@</U></A><A HREF="mailto: drstroud@comcast.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: drstroud@comcast.net"><U>comcast.net</U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>