December 07, 2003
Gabor Mate on the energy field
If you meet someone with ADD on the spiritual path, the first thing you have to do is get their attention. I'll have to find a compelling image
This is from "Scattered" Gabor Mate's book about ADD. It's long, so try to stay with me. Actuallly it's not that long, the book is long. You can do it.
"Of all environments, the one that most profoundly shapes the human personality is the invisible one; the emotional atmosphere in which the child lived during the critical early years of brain development. The invisible environment has little to do with parentlng philosophies or parenting style It is a matter of intangibles, foremost among them being the parents' relationship with each other and their emotional balance as individuals. These, too, can vary from the birth of one child to the arrival of another. Psychological tension in the parents' lives during the child's infancy is, I am convinced, a major and universal influence in the subsequent emergence of ADD. ....
A hidden factor of great importance is a parent's unconscious attitude toward a child: what, or whom, on the deepest level, the child represents for the parents; the degree to which the parents see themselves in the child; the needs parents may have that they subliminally hope the child will meet."
He's talking about the energy field in which the infant is nurtured and the projections it absorbs from the parents.
Posted by Dakota at December 7, 2003 06:53 AMGabor Mate is one of these deeply wounded geniuses who survived his own trauma to become this almost supernaturally intelligent adult. I interviewed him for January Magazine a few months ago and found his personal vibes almost overwhelming. A scattered/shattered but blindingly brilliant mind, wheels within wheels, all of them spinning exceptionally fast. And I could almost hear Hitler shouting in the background. This guy was a mere infant when his family was persecuted, but it has affected every molecule of him. He emerged scathed, but with an ability to look deeply into people and analyse human problems in a way that is nearly spooky. I had coffee with him in October and found him to be a bundle of paradoxes who often contradicted himself. I wonder if he finds this plane of existence lonely. What doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger; what doesn't shatter or scatter me will focus the rays of my mind to a frightening laserlike degree. Whew!
Dear Margaret-
Thank you for providing such a lucid personal portrait. I look forward to reading the whole piece in January Magazine.
Best,
Dakota
Hi, Dakota. Your blog is intriguing and I particularly like the photos. Mate's new book WHEN THE BODY SAYS NO (an epiphany for me) also made my Best of 2003 list, which is now "on top" on the January site at www.januarymagazine.com. This book helped me figure out so many convoluted and poisonous things about my family of origin, and even led to a partial reconciliation with one family member. Powerful stuff. All the best to you.
Margaret
Gabor is my dad...hehe im just looking up stuff on him, and its funny to see what everyone else thinks. and no, he isnt lonely!
Hannah
Posted by: Hannah at January 3, 2004 03:04 AMThis reminds me once again that the 'net isn't exactly private!
My impressions of Mate came from limited contact, to be sure, but also from the books he has written. I think my point is that this level of intelligence/perception is uncommon. Then again, if you're seeing it every day it becomes commonplace. My "brilliant brother" in school was, at home, my extremely idiotic brother who stole my stuff and made fun of me. I could not figure out what all the fuss was about.
Plus, it helps to figure in my imagination. What I write, primarily, is fiction, which can be viewed as "storytelling" or (as my Irish granny used to put it) "a pack of lies". It can at least stretch and/or embellish the truth, and make the subject so much more interesting than it was originally. Readers want to know "what's he really like?" The more colourful, the better.
Hey, at least all this helps promote his book(s). Whatever he is or isn't, I believe he's a hell of a fine writer with a lot to say.
Posted by: Margaret Gunning at January 4, 2004 10:36 AM
Isn't the internet wonderful! We can be assured that Gabor Mate is not only not alone in his brilliance, but he has a very smart daughter.
Posted by: Dakota at January 4, 2004 02:35 PMI've just come across Dr.Gabor Mate,in a weekly magazine in the,Georgia Straight.To me he's got an interesting insight in emotional and physical health and I'm looking forward to reading his books!!!
Posted by: Sterling Carter at January 16, 2004 05:41 PMMe too! "When the Body Says No" has just arrived from Amazon. I am farther along in "Scattered" but cannot unearth it (a diagnostic sign).
Posted by: Dakota at January 17, 2004 06:28 AMGabor Mate
Posted by: Deborah at February 6, 2004 01:40 AMI know I'm posting this years late, but in the event that anyone sees it, I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to contact Dr. Mate that would be more direct than writing to him via his publisher? Like him, I have MS, and I'm interested in discussing any observations he (or anyone else) has of MS's spiritual and energetic effects.
Posted by: Hamsa Vicerra at April 8, 2005 11:28 PM