Courses by Robert F Mullen
Roughly one/third of LGBTQ persons have social anxiety disorder which severely disrupts the abili... more Roughly one/third of LGBTQ persons have social anxiety disorder which severely disrupts the ability to establish and maintain healthy relationships. The symptomatic avoidance of social situations is aggravated by the resistance to disclosure or seek treatment due to the stigma of diagnosis, public opinion, victimization, family rejection, homophobia, heterosexism, and identity. The innate desire to love and be loved is no less dynamic than any other group, but the fear and anxiety of intimacy and connectedness impede the ability to establish and maintain sustainable social connectedness. 4 video lessons63 views
Neuroplasticity is the scientific evidence of our brain's adaptation to learning. By deliberately... more Neuroplasticity is the scientific evidence of our brain's adaptation to learning. By deliberately enhancing the process, we can proactively transform our thoughts, behaviors, and perspectives, creating healthy new mindsets, skills, and abilities. All experience notifies our neural pathways to restructure, generating a correlated change in behavior and perspective. This course demonstrates how information creates the electrical activity that restructures our neural network. The deliberate, repetitive neural input of information strengthens and solidifies the connections between neurons, dramatically accelerating and solidifying learning through synaptic neurotransmission. 4 video lessons137 views
Videos by Robert F Mullen
One of the characteristics of social anxiety disorder, or its appropriate acronym, SAD, is the di... more One of the characteristics of social anxiety disorder, or its appropriate acronym, SAD, is the difficulty in establishing interpersonal relationships. SAD persons find it hard to establish close, personal connections. The avoidance of social activities and fear of rejection limits the potential for comradeship, and the inability to interact rationally and productively makes long-term, healthy relationships difficult. Social anxiety disorder is arguably the most underrated and misunderstood psychological dysfunction. A debilitating and chronic affliction, SAD affects the perceptual, cognitive, personality, and social activities of the afflicted. It wreaks havoc on the person‘s emotional wellbeing and quality of life. Almost one out of every three persons in the U. S. experiences some anxiety disorder at some point in their lives; 30 million are impacted by social anxiety disorder. 37 views
The etiology-driven, pathographic, disease model of mental health is detrimental to the emotional... more The etiology-driven, pathographic, disease model of mental health is detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of the impacted individual, urging a paradigmatic shift to a positive wellness model that emphasizes the character strengths and virtues of the recovering personality. The current DSM medical model embraces a deficit, disease model of human behavior. Its ineffectiveness is augmented by DSM fluidity and variations in assessment, definition, treatment, and symptomatic similarity. A wellness model of mental healthcare embraces the character strengths and virtues that generate the motivation, persistence, and perseverance to recover. It targets the individual personality through empathy, communication, collaboration, and integration of historically and clinically practical methods. Decades of pathographic focus in psychological research, negative diagnostic attributions, stereotyping and stigma, public and institution resistance evidence the need to transition to a wellness paradigm. 13 views
Plasticity is our brain's natural adaptation to new input. When our neural pathways realign, ther... more Plasticity is our brain's natural adaptation to new input. When our neural pathways realign, there is a correlated change in behavior and perspective. Our brain does not think or analyze; it is an organic reciprocator. The toxic thoughts and behaviors that we feed our brain are transmitted back to our nervous system in the electrical and chemical signals that sustain us. This negative reciprocation supports an unhealthy cycle that affects our self-beliefs and image, and our perspective on life. But what has been learned can be unlearned and relearned. A conscious input of positivity reshapes our neural network to a structure conducive to emotional wellbeing and optimum social functioning. 129 views
Papers by Robert F Mullen
ReChanneling, 2024
Neuroplasticity is the scientific evidence of our brain's continuous adaptation and restructuring... more Neuroplasticity is the scientific evidence of our brain's continuous adaptation and restructuring to information and experience. It is what makes learning and registering new experiences possible. Our brain is a dynamic and malleable neural network, constantly realigning its pathways and rebuilding its circuits in response to registered stimuli. Scientists refer to this process as structural remodeling of the brain. The neural network of a person experiencing social anxiety disorder is replete with toxic information established by the negative trajectory of childhood disturbance, core beliefs, negativity bias, SAD onset, intermediate beliefs, cognitive biases, and irrational thoughts and behaviors symptomatically manifest by emotionally driven negative self-appraisal. Until recovery, they are impervious to rational explanation. We learn through hemispheric synchronization, which means collaborating our brain's left and right hemispheres to achieve optimal emotional coherence. This process is facilitated by neuroplasticity, a term that describes our brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Social anxiety's negative self-appraisal and irrational thoughts and behaviors consume our right hemisphere to the detriment of the left.
Clio's Psyche, 2022
Putting practical application to theory, this paper illustrates how the research techniques of ps... more Putting practical application to theory, this paper illustrates how the research techniques of psychobiography are incorporated into a comprehensive recovery program for social anxiety disorder.
Psychobiographical Illustrations on Meaning and Identity in Sociocultural Contexts, 2021
For over a century, psychobiography has focused on the eminent individual who has achieved histor... more For over a century, psychobiography has focused on the eminent individual who has achieved historical or social recognition. Ignoring the character strengths of the 'ordinary' individual who has reached a significant and noteworthy personal milestone is a disservice to psychology and those who might benefit from its research. Some experts claim that embracing a psychobiographic focus on the ordinary individual would pervert the process, some open the door for innovation, and others have, unwittingly, provided templates. The psychological benefits seem apparent if consideration of the character strengths and virtues of the ordinary extraordinary supplement psychobiographic research. Their motivations are no less extraordinary or worthy of consideration than those of the accomplished individual who has achieved historical or social recognition; each complement psychological research both generally and topically. The full chapter can be accessed at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-81238-6_13
Evolutionary panentheism and metanormal human capacity: A psychobiography of Michael Murphy, 2014
This psychobiographical study explores the research and conclusions of
Michael Murphy’s theories ... more This psychobiographical study explores the research and conclusions of
Michael Murphy’s theories on evolutionary panentheism and metanormal human
potential. Murphy’s diverse oeuvre renders it impossible to produce a
comprehensive study without accounting for Murphy’s integrality; multiple ways
in which separate personal and professional events unite to create a whole. The
current literature on Murphy appears as segmented overviews which inhibit
the thorough chronicling of his work. This lacuna contributes to a resistance to attend
to Murphy’s philosophy within an academic schema. By addressing his
achievements as components within the totality of his worldview, the researcher
demonstrates that Murphy deserves stronger academic recognition.
This qualitative study incorporates features of psychobiography,
hermeneutics, and narrative analysis. Psychobiology emphasizes biographical and
psychological development, allowing the researcher to use these aspects of
Michael Murphy’s activities to provide additional insight into his motivations,
philosophies, and work-product.
v
This psychobiography uses Michael Murphy’s literary and nonliterary
works, as well as data obtained from interviews with Murphy, as representative
constituents of his philosophical totality. Murphy’s works integrate his (1) theory
on evolutionary panentheism, which proposes a God that not only desires
humanity within Its consciousness, but also “cares” for Its creations, residing
within and evolving with them, (2) faith in the theories of involution–evolution,
which maintain the existence of accessible levels of advancement, (3) innate trust
in the interrelationship of all things, (4) evidence that advanced human potential
has been part of humanity’s development since the origins of contemplation, (5)
conviction, stemming from data-driven research of metanormal occurrences, that
humanity can evolve and transmute, (6) commitment to overcome the divisiveness of science and religio-mysticism, as well as the disparities of
religious tenets, (7) humanist efforts to mitigate problems of the disenfranchised,
persecuted, diasporic, and powerless factions of humanity; and finally, (8) trust in
the inherent value and possibilities of human life. These components reflect
Murphy’s overarching goal: building a bridge between science and religion in
order to facilitate an intelligent, integrated understanding of the natural and
cosmological order—and the future it portends
International Handbook of Love. Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives, May 5, 2021
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychophysiological malfunctions, affecti... more Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common psychophysiological malfunctions, affecting the emotional and mental well-being of over 15 million U.S. adults who find themselves caught up in a densely interconnected network of fear and avoidance of social situations. These observations provide insight into the relationship deficits experienced by people with SAD. Their innate need-for-intimacy is no less dynamic than that of any individual, but their impairment disrupts the ability (means-of-acquisition) to establish affectional bonds in almost any capacity. The spirit is willing, but competence insubstantial. It is the means-ofacquisition and how they are symptomatically challenged by SAD that is the context of this research. Notwithstanding overwhelming evidence of social incompatibility, there is hope for the startlingly few SAD persons who commit to recovery. A psychobiographical approach integrating positive psychology's optimum human functioning with CBT's behavior modification, neuroscience's network restructuring, and other supported and nontraditional approaches can establish a working platform for discovery, opening the bridge to the procurement of forms of intimacy previously inaccessible. It is an arduous and measured crossing that only 5% of the afflicted will even attempt in the first year of onset.
New Trends in Psychobiography, 2019
A psychobiography is a well-researched, comprehensive, multi-method presentation of a series of o... more A psychobiography is a well-researched, comprehensive, multi-method presentation of a series of occasions through the documentation of events and the ex-plication of the causes, motivations, and consequences thereof. In the fashion of Whitehead, occasions are dynamic and ongoing activities unfolding or producing themselves through time. The creative events that precipitate-originating, anchoring, and turning points-are fixed in time as opposed to the unfixed spatial-temporal reality of an occasion. The psychobiography uses both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis because of their interactive objective and subjective contributions. The psychological aspect of the qualitative system allows for the in-depth case study, which presupposes that the issues under investigation are best understood from a perspective inclusive of the subject's personal, subjective and phenomenological world. The quantitative study utilizes verifiable occurrences and statistics to determine the validity of interpretation. An accompanying facet of a carefully crafted psychobiography is the hermeneutic circle, another component susceptible to error due to the varying definitions and understandings that accompany all manner of texts. These potentials for misinformation are aggravated by the researcher who is susceptible to (1) incorporating personal sensibilities, (2) bias and misinterpretation due to the nature of the investigation , (3) the suggestiveness of the subject and (4) the researchers own condition. A psychobiographical study is also subject to misinformation revealed by the subject, sources, and contemporaries. Awareness of these potential impediments to ve-racity is essential; however, the researcher cannot allow the search for truth to overwhelm the authenticity of the product.
Constantin Stanislavski's Russian acting system, further developed by contemporary methodological... more Constantin Stanislavski's Russian acting system, further developed by contemporary methodological practices, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of the body as object-subject are compared to illustrate how simple, learned techniques can assist in the production of authentic and transparent interrelational presence. Authentic presence requires three components: (1) honest exposition of a person's singular, essential being; (2) empathy towards the needs of other, distinct and separate from the self; and (3) mutual reciprocation, which means giving back or responding somewhat equitably to the other with whom the self is in communication, and accepting the same respondence from the other if afforded. The comprehension of Merleau-Ponty's ontology combined with Stanislavski's performance technique is uniquely suited to interpersonal communications in the 'real world'. Stanislavski's artistic vision demands an intensity of attentive involvement in order to achieve onstage authenticity. Merleau-Ponty provides supportive philosophical schematics, especially in his controversial but effective use of the expression 'flesh'. While this study may initially appear to focus on the artist, the development of interrelational skills is reliably applicable to anyone who desires to obtain a higher degree of authenticity in collaborative presence.
This paper explores the comparative dynamics of self-mutilation among young, contemporary, female... more This paper explores the comparative dynamics of self-mutilation among young, contemporary, female self-cutters, and the holy stigmatics of the Middle Ages. It addresses the types of personalities that engage in self-mutilation and how some manipulate their self-inflicted pain into a method for healing and empowerment. The similarities between teenage cutters and female stigmatics are striking in their mutual psychoanalytical need for self-alteration as a means of escaping their own disassociative identities; and offers evidence of how their mutual bricolage of pain, imagining, languaging, and subsequent self-mutilation often provide a transformation from bodies under siege to a resemblance of health and transformation.
Drafts by Robert F Mullen
Firmly establishing wellness models in mental health requires nothing less than a reformation of ... more Firmly establishing wellness models in mental health requires nothing less than a reformation of language, power structure, and perspective throughout the mental healthcare community and beyond. 65 million U.S. adults and 18.5 million adolescents have major depression and anxiety. Estimates show that 60% of those with anxiety also have depression symptoms, and both are comorbid with substance abuse. The LBGTQ+ community is 1.5-2.5 times more likely to have anxiety and depression than their straight or gender-conforming counterparts. Similar numbers hold for LGBTQ+ persons with other mental and emotional disorders. Anxiety and depression are primary causes of the 56% increase in adolescent suicide over the last decade. High school LGBTQ+ students are almost five times as likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers, and 40% of transgender adults have attempted suicide in their lifetime. Wellness must become the central focus of mental health because the disease model has provided grossly unsatisfactory results. Rather than obsessing on disease and deficits, wellness models emphasize the character strengths and virtues that generate motivation, persistence, and perseverance essential to recovery. Psychological science is there, but it needs positive implementation through program integration, positive evaluation, transparency, and information management. Empathy and communication must supersede etiology and misdiagnosis. Wellness impacts more than mental health; it is a paradigmatic perspective that seeks to promote a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. This paper will show how the wellness model's sociological emphasis on character strengths and attributes not only positively impacts the self-beliefs and image of a mentally ill person but resonates in sexual and gender-based identities and portends well, the recovery-remission of an LGBTQ+ person with a mental illness.
The concept of recollection as proposed by Socrates in the Meno is Plato’s proposition that human... more The concept of recollection as proposed by Socrates in the Meno is Plato’s proposition that humanity’s access to “hidden secrets” is provided by divine allowance via the deathless human soul. There is no stultifying cognitive disconnect between the reincarnate soul’s acquisition to apriori knowledge, Aurobindo’s rungs of the ladder to Supermind, or Teilhard’s ascent to Omega Point. The theory of involution-evolution neatly supports the recollection of eternal truths or forms without the need for a reincarnate soul. Involution-evolution is best served by evolutionary panentheism, which provides that divinity resides within and evolves with humanity. Accepting that the highest principle is omniscient and makes all knowledge available, then is humanity imbued with the potential for access to all knowledge. The-great-chain-of-being and the concept of involution-evolution each establish that the accession of knowledge facilitates the ascension to God, the Supermind, and the Omega Point in similar fashion to Plato’s Doctrine of Recollection.
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Courses by Robert F Mullen
Videos by Robert F Mullen
Papers by Robert F Mullen
Michael Murphy’s theories on evolutionary panentheism and metanormal human
potential. Murphy’s diverse oeuvre renders it impossible to produce a
comprehensive study without accounting for Murphy’s integrality; multiple ways
in which separate personal and professional events unite to create a whole. The
current literature on Murphy appears as segmented overviews which inhibit
the thorough chronicling of his work. This lacuna contributes to a resistance to attend
to Murphy’s philosophy within an academic schema. By addressing his
achievements as components within the totality of his worldview, the researcher
demonstrates that Murphy deserves stronger academic recognition.
This qualitative study incorporates features of psychobiography,
hermeneutics, and narrative analysis. Psychobiology emphasizes biographical and
psychological development, allowing the researcher to use these aspects of
Michael Murphy’s activities to provide additional insight into his motivations,
philosophies, and work-product.
v
This psychobiography uses Michael Murphy’s literary and nonliterary
works, as well as data obtained from interviews with Murphy, as representative
constituents of his philosophical totality. Murphy’s works integrate his (1) theory
on evolutionary panentheism, which proposes a God that not only desires
humanity within Its consciousness, but also “cares” for Its creations, residing
within and evolving with them, (2) faith in the theories of involution–evolution,
which maintain the existence of accessible levels of advancement, (3) innate trust
in the interrelationship of all things, (4) evidence that advanced human potential
has been part of humanity’s development since the origins of contemplation, (5)
conviction, stemming from data-driven research of metanormal occurrences, that
humanity can evolve and transmute, (6) commitment to overcome the divisiveness of science and religio-mysticism, as well as the disparities of
religious tenets, (7) humanist efforts to mitigate problems of the disenfranchised,
persecuted, diasporic, and powerless factions of humanity; and finally, (8) trust in
the inherent value and possibilities of human life. These components reflect
Murphy’s overarching goal: building a bridge between science and religion in
order to facilitate an intelligent, integrated understanding of the natural and
cosmological order—and the future it portends
Drafts by Robert F Mullen
Michael Murphy’s theories on evolutionary panentheism and metanormal human
potential. Murphy’s diverse oeuvre renders it impossible to produce a
comprehensive study without accounting for Murphy’s integrality; multiple ways
in which separate personal and professional events unite to create a whole. The
current literature on Murphy appears as segmented overviews which inhibit
the thorough chronicling of his work. This lacuna contributes to a resistance to attend
to Murphy’s philosophy within an academic schema. By addressing his
achievements as components within the totality of his worldview, the researcher
demonstrates that Murphy deserves stronger academic recognition.
This qualitative study incorporates features of psychobiography,
hermeneutics, and narrative analysis. Psychobiology emphasizes biographical and
psychological development, allowing the researcher to use these aspects of
Michael Murphy’s activities to provide additional insight into his motivations,
philosophies, and work-product.
v
This psychobiography uses Michael Murphy’s literary and nonliterary
works, as well as data obtained from interviews with Murphy, as representative
constituents of his philosophical totality. Murphy’s works integrate his (1) theory
on evolutionary panentheism, which proposes a God that not only desires
humanity within Its consciousness, but also “cares” for Its creations, residing
within and evolving with them, (2) faith in the theories of involution–evolution,
which maintain the existence of accessible levels of advancement, (3) innate trust
in the interrelationship of all things, (4) evidence that advanced human potential
has been part of humanity’s development since the origins of contemplation, (5)
conviction, stemming from data-driven research of metanormal occurrences, that
humanity can evolve and transmute, (6) commitment to overcome the divisiveness of science and religio-mysticism, as well as the disparities of
religious tenets, (7) humanist efforts to mitigate problems of the disenfranchised,
persecuted, diasporic, and powerless factions of humanity; and finally, (8) trust in
the inherent value and possibilities of human life. These components reflect
Murphy’s overarching goal: building a bridge between science and religion in
order to facilitate an intelligent, integrated understanding of the natural and
cosmological order—and the future it portends