This book introduces a new vision—a simple and comprehensive approach to understanding different aspects of humanity, and the complexities of this world, exemplified by a collection of extraordinary stories, and supported by a pile of science and evidence.

For thousands of years, humanity has been suffering from illnesses at individual, societal, and international levels. Anxiety, depression, prostitution, crime, and worldwide wars are only a few of these examples. Despite hundreds of spiritual, religious, and non-religious leaders, and in spite of tremendous advancements in science and technology, our collective problems are only growing. The question is why. What are we missing? The root of these problems points to one common element—not fully understanding the multidimensional human being. We cannot solve the dilemmas of humanity with the same mind that created them!

This book is intended to help the general population explore some of the most complex mysteries of our world and seemingly unsolvable problems created by mankind. It provides a fast track for personal and global transformation based on science and evidence, using a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model. Many concepts have been borrowed from outstanding scientists, philosophers, researchers, teachers, and leaders in the past and present, and a few more have been added by the author.

The Third Vision

THE SCIENCE OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATIONBy FRANCIS H. VALA

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Francis H. Vala
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4525-6395-4

Contents

Preface.......................................................................ixIntroduction..................................................................xiPART 1. Setting the Stage.....................................................1CHAPTER 1. Beyond Human Nature................................................3CHAPTER 2. Who Are You?.......................................................13PART 2. Biological Aspects: The Body..........................................19CHAPTER 3. The Brain and the Nervous System...................................21CHAPTER 4. Neuroplasticity....................................................30PART 3. Psychological Aspects: The Mind.......................................49CHAPTER 5. The Human Psychology...............................................51CHAPTER 6. Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Destiny..........................67CHAPTER 7. Human Psyche and the Ladder of Personal Growth.....................77CHAPTER 8. The Pain-Pleasure Principle........................................92CHAPTER 9. Defense Mechanisms of the Ego......................................109CHAPTER 10. Roots of Unhappiness..............................................126PART 4. Spiritual Aspects: The Soul...........................................135CHAPTER 11. The Science of Spirituality.......................................137CHAPTER 12. Secrets of the Soul...............................................155PART 5. Social Aspects: The Outer World.......................................171CHAPTER 13. Social Aspects of Human Beings....................................173CHAPTER 14. Sexuality.........................................................184CHAPTER 15. Money and Mind....................................................196CHAPTER 16. Mind and Conflict.................................................203PART 6. Connecting the Dots...................................................221CHAPTER 17. The Third Vision..................................................223CHAPTER 18. Conclusion........................................................235Acknowledgments...............................................................255Endnotes......................................................................257About The Author..............................................................265

Chapter One

"Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure." —Rumi

Beyond Human Nature

For thousands of years, humanity has been suffering from illnesses at individual, societal, and international levels. Anxiety and depression, prostitution and crime, and worldwide wars are only a few of these examples. Despite hundreds of spiritual, religious, and non-religious leaders, and in spite of tremendous advancements in science and technology, our collective problems are only growing. The question is why? Why do we still have so many problems today?

The root of these problems points to one common element—not fully understanding the multidimensional human being. We cannot solve the challenging dilemmas of humanity with the same mind that created them! Of over thirty million species living on planet Earth, the two-legged human being is the only one changing the course and fate of this planet.

In order to make our dream of living in a better world come true, we must understand all aspects of the human being—biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually—especially how these are all interrelated. The following true, unrelated cases represent some of the most complex dilemmas endangering mankind at three levels—individual, social, and international. Although it may sound impossible to understand the root cause of these disorders, specific universal patterns and formulas explained in this book will unveil some of the mysteries of the mentality behind these scenarios.

Case 1

AK smiles, running his hands through his grey hair. He is a sixty-seven-year-old retired university professor. He had several visits to our Sexual Medicine Clinic at the Vancouver General Hospital. He appears intelligent, kind, and passionate about life. Had it not been for past experience in my career, it would have been very difficult to believe what he was there for.

AK presented with multiple forms of paraphilia (sexual deviations). Some of these included transvestism (feeling aroused when wearing the clothes of the opposite sex), pedophilia (engaging in any sexual activity with minors), zoophilia (engaging in any sexual activity with animals), porn addiction, urophilia (condition in which the person derives sexual excitement from urination), and more. However, he did not have sadism or masochism; he did not like to inflict physical pain on himself or others.

Without the knowledge and understanding of medicine and psychology, it would be easy to judge AK as a "bad person" with "evil" thoughts. But when I got to know him, he was actually a sincere, pleasant, and generous person who had lots of love for the world. AK had insight into his problems.

"The reason I'm here seeking help is that I have major problems in my mind and do not want to cause any physical or emotional harm to anyone. I just don't know how to stop these thoughts," he said. "Whenever I feel distressed about something, these thoughts continue to haunt me, and depending on my mood, I feel impulsive to act upon them, but then I would feel guilty and suffer even more." AK felt less guilty with acts that did not involve others, such as transvestism and porn addiction. He tried hard to avoid acts that involved others, such as zoophilia or pedophilia. He was fully aware of the legal consequences of these acts and hence sought help to get rid of these intensely provocative thoughts and feelings.

AK related his problems to childhood. He was a survivor of World War II and grew up in Germany in the post-war era. His father was killed in the war, so AK grew up with his harsh mother, who barely survived the war. He had few memories of early childhood (due to a defense mechanism called repression), but what he did remember was mostly negative.

Unfortunately, the treatment for these complex psychological disorders is very difficult. AK was referred to another psychiatrist with extensive experience in psychoanalysis, for psychotherapy, and my supervisor and I were following him on the side. At the time, I was training in my fellowship for Sexual Medicine. Over time, his condition improved as he gained more understanding of his thoughts and feelings. His life was less miserable but nowhere near satisfaction. We were thinking of starting him on medications to reduce sexual desire. These medications are generally used for the hypersexual criminals, and there was no clear evidence whether AK would benefit from them or not.

Case 2

I was approached by my supervisor in the corridor of the clinic. His eyes sparkled with excitement. "You don't want to miss the next case. I'll see you in half an hour," he said, smiling as he walked away. I was eager to see the next case. I rushed to finish my paperwork and grabbed the next patient's chart for preparation.

BT was a very interesting case from a psychological point of view. He was a middle-aged, Caucasian successful business owner. He had seen my supervisor over several visits and was happy to tell us that he finally found a surgeon to agree to amputate his hand.

BT had been struggling for a long time to find a surgeon to agree to amputate his healthy left hand. Initially, he sought help from his family physician and was referred for psychological assessment. He had seen multiple psychiatrists who formed a joint committee and approved his request, referring him to an orthopedic surgeon who agreed to comply unwillingly.

Who on earth would want to amputate a healthy part of the body? The condition is called apotemnophilia, also known as Amputee Identity Disorder. It is a rare psychiatric disorder where the person feels incomplete in the complete body, and feels complete in the incomplete body. There is a desire to amputate a specific part of the body to feel complete and healthy. In the absence of a surgeon to perform this procedure, some patients have gone as far as performing it spontaneously, leading to disaster and death. This condition is also referred to as Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID).

BT left the clinic that day enthusiastic about seeing the orthopedic surgeon and having his hand amputated. Apparently, the "extra" part of his body was his left hand, not the right one or any other part. This seems to be a common feature of the apotemnophilia patients; they are obsessed with eliminating one specific part of the body. I had never even heard about this disorder before that day. After interviewing the patient, my supervisor gave me a small book. The author had collected all the case reports and the latest expert opinions on how to deal with this disease.

How did two fairly successful individuals from a relatively high social class end up with these odd disorders?

These two cases are extraordinary. However, as you will see, they share some of the basic principles of human psychology, yet on a much exaggerated scale. By the end of this book, some of the most complex aspects of human behavior, including the ones above, can be understood in a more simplified approach.

Case 3

It was a hot summer day in 1997. I jumped out of my seat when the phone rang. It was my superior officer. "Mark your calendar for tomorrow for a special task," he said in a mysterious tone. "You cannot miss this."

Curious to know more, I asked, "Do you want to tell me anything more about it?"

He replied, "All I can tell you at this time is that this is a special situation."

I was serving my mandatory military service as a medical doctor in the police force in a small town in southern Iran. At the time, all men had a mandatory obligation to serve their country for two years at age eighteen or after graduation from university. As part of my duties in that specific area, I had to act as a forensic physician or "legal doctor" in criminal cases.

I was informed later in the day that, following a nine-month trial, two men were convicted of first-degree murder and were to be hanged as part of their death penalty the next day. They had hijacked a taxi and murdered the driver when he refused to give them the money they had demanded. My job as a medical police officer was to check their heartbeats and make sure they were dead, as part of the hanging ceremony, which was held in public! Unfortunately, I had no choice but to accept; otherwise I would be penalized for disobedience.

The death penalty is a routine practice in many countries, including Iran, for first-degree murderers and serial killers. In many cases, the task of executing the criminal offender is offered to the closest person to the victim. In this case, the victim's brother accepted the responsibility of completing the execution.

I cannot forget the scene. He kicked the chairs on which the offenders were standing with the rope around their necks, one at a time. After a little while, both villains were announced dead. There was chaos among the public. The relatives of the murderers were screaming in agony, while the friends and family of the victim were cheering and shouting words of justice.

Why do some people commit crimes regardless of the consequences? Why do others never commit a crime, no matter how desperate their circumstances may be? Why is the crime rate increasing throughout the world? What are the root causes of crime? How can it be reduced or prevented?

Case 4

It was 1948. Criminals who were prosecuted after World War II in international courts, for taking part in the Holocaust, were found guilty of crimes against humanity.

The term Holocaust is generally used to describe the killing of approximately six million Jews during World War II, a program of deliberate extermination planned and executed by the National Socialist German Workers Party in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler. This was accomplished in stages. Legislation to remove the Jews from civil society was enacted years before the outbreak of World War II. Concentration camps were established in which inmates were used for slave labor until they died of exhaustion or disease. Where the Third Reich conquered new territory in Eastern Europe, specialized units murdered Jews and political opponents in mass shootings. Jews were packed into ghettos before being transported hundreds of miles by freight train to extermination camps. If they survived the journey, the majority of them were killed in gas chambers. Men were forced to dig their own graves before being shot by SS troops. Every arm of Germany's bureaucracy was involved in the logistics of the mass murder, turning the country into a "a genocidal nation."

Other targets of the Nazi mass murder, or "Nazi genocidal policy," included Slavs (Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Serbs, Czechoslovaks, and others), Romani people, the mentally ill, homosexuals and "sexual deviants," Jehovah's Witnesses, and political opponents. R. Rummel estimates that over sixteen million people died as a result of genocide.

How is this sort of behavior even possible from the "intelligent being"? What could be some of the motives behind genocide? How could a criminal act to this extent become a national teamwork project?

The Big Question: Why?

Science and religion have somewhat failed to free humanity of its own-made problems. Politics and economics also play a major role in the process. This is partly justified by the complexity of our world and its inhabitants, and we may be thousands of years away from fully understanding the big picture. I wonder if the capacity for the big picture is even possible. Cognitive science seems to indicate that we are restricted by the capacity of our senses, and if phenomena are not perceptible by these limited means (or with their extensions, such as microscopes, telescopes, satellites, etc.), we will always have only part of the picture. Yet, truly, there is a bigger scheme that is humanly possible. However, one question is crucial to answer in order to reach our final desired destination: Are we on the right track? In other words, are we moving toward or away from who or where we want to be?

Some of the reasons for relative failures are outlined below.

1. Connecting the dots. While each path in life has helped identify pieces of the puzzle, the big picture is missing. In order to have a better sense of the big picture, we need to understand the connections between these pieces. Imagine a jigsaw puzzle, where you have all the pieces, and your task is to complete it to the best of your ability. How would that be possible without paying attention to the lines and connections in between?

2. Lack of unity. In general, humanity has failed to envision the entire universe—or at least Mother Earth—as a single unit. The lack of understanding of our ecosystem and its crucial role in our survival leads humans, organizations, and governments to behave in a destructive manner to achieve short-term gains, resulting in long-term consequences. One example is global warming, which is moving us closer to climate instability and the extinction of our own species. Similarly, our selfishness—and not necessarily our ego—may eliminate specific nations, people, races, religions, and other living creatures from the global benefits that belong to all inhabitants of the world. We can easily forget that humans are only one of the thirty million species that inhabit Mother Earth. This is predominantly based on our lack of understanding of the most complex phenomena in the world—the human brain, mind, and psyche!

3. Inadequacy of the scientific approach. Despite all our scientific achievements, what we know today is only a fraction of what is unknown to humanity. Furthermore, it is problematic to rely on science as the sole way to reach the ultimate truth and explain the big picture. Accessibility to science is limited, either due to the simple fact of illiteracy, or for other reasons, such as poverty, lack of technology and information, and politics. For most scientific literature, there seems to be a need for translation of information into simple and understandable language, in order to make it useful for the majority of the population. It seems like most specialists become enamored with their own jargon and create the illusion that specialized naming makes something real.

4. The class effect. When one is highly educated, there is a sense of belonging to a higher social class, limiting connection to other people from various backgrounds and social levels. This disconnection may limit the real purpose for which education was designed, restricting accessibility for many underserved populations in the world. The level of education is only one of the ways in which classes are determined, formally or informally. Wealth, race, nationality, etc. are all gradations that we choose to make distinctions about, assigning worth or importance.

5. The iceberg analogy. As mental health practitioners, those we see seeking medical help as the "ill" or "unhealthy" represent only the tip of the iceberg (which some believe reflects only about 10 percent of this population). The majority of "normal" people have hidden issues that may surface at some point. While millions of psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and other mental health practitioners primarily target the "cure of illness," the vast majority of the population—the rest of the iceberg—is missing out, with a significant proportion of them becoming ill at some point later in life. In fact, the supply simply does not match the demand! Mental health is much more than just the absence of mental illness!

Our existing models of mental health care delivery simply do not work efficiently, and it is time to change our approach and look at new ways to enhance access to the entire world. As we all know, the "global village" is significantly interconnected and needs to be treated as one "body," as opposed to separate organs or systems. Current educational and health care systems—at community, national, and international levels—are deficient in programs and resources that focus on the prevention of mental illness and promotion of mental wellness. Instead, they are focused on curative programs. We need more proactive and preventive programs to teach individuals at very early stages of development and personal growth, to self-manage their issues and distresses. "One ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure!"

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Third Visionby FRANCIS H. VALA Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Francis H. Vala. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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