Wednesday, December 28, 2005

I'm Having a PBS Moment

Last night I was flipping the TV dial, in my customary drooling semi-conscious haze, when I landed on a PBS series hosted by spiritual guy Dr. Wayne Dyer. Dr. Dyer appears to be the house guru on Public TV for the time being.


There have been others. About decade ago, John Bradshaw was the wise potentate on BPS during the 12-step-derived toxic whatever & recovery craze. That's a wide net, man. I mean, who isn't a hopeless addict of some sort?

Bradshaw would stand next to a giant mobile sculpture which carried labels of constituent family roles on its drifting panels: "daddy", "mommy", "sister", "brother", etc. The mobile was there to symbolize the mechanics of the dysfunctional family. "When daddy starts drinking"... Bradshaw would say, nudging the 'daddy' piece of the mobile, "daughter fills the void and compensates in an unhealthy way". Bradshaw would then draw attention to the 'sister' piece suddenly clanging about on the other side. I kinda' miss that John Bradshaw.

Fashion has always been a part of spirituality and religion. Impassioned movements led by charismatic figures would sweep through the land, followed by quiet years where the flock finally tiptoes away and re-assimilates back into faceless tract-house vistas (or they go completely berserk and drink the kool-aid) , which creates a vacuum for the next movement. --Not that there's anything wrong with that. Hey, I'm not here to judge.


Listening to Dr. Dyer, it became clear that he was pitching one simple idea. Doing this took about an hour of gesticulation, as well as both hands frequently coming together in holy symmetry. "Don't expect to find happiness, you must make happiness." The rest of the presentation was filler... LOTS of filler. After all, you can't just expect to shoot a whole show around a single sentence. Not without dancing girls! You must mold it, shape it and drive it home. You need to accessorize with spiritual lingo, which tends heavily toward: "energy", "universe", "channel", & "vibration". You are always safe when using these words.

I guess people like the nurturing approach (damn bunch of soft pansies!!! They need a swift kick from Dr. Phil!). It obviously presents an alternative to the paternalistic, angry God stuff that was plowed into people's heads from childhood. I understand that to a point, but too much affirmational navel-gazing turns ghastly saccharine and gives rise to accompanying imagery of unicorns flying over vast cosmic seas of amorphous purple plasma. You'd think you'd been held prisoner in Doug Henning's underwear drawer. Aesthetically something needs to be reconsidered, and quick!


Call it his gift, Dr. Dyer does have a focused and nurturing demeanor. His voice is even-tempered. His gaze, thoughtful. His cranium is pleasantly smooth, almost erotic; very soothing to gaze upon. Very much like his own vibrating universe channeling energy.

9 comments:

Joey Polanski said...

"An wile yer makin th happiness," says th good Dr D, "Ill make th Kool Aid."

simple said...

I'm feeling peaceful and lulled. Thank you Geritopia.

I believe fulfillment is only a day or two away.

Anonymous said...

Doug Henning looks like a chipmunk. I feel sick.

Geritopia said...

You can get splinters sitting on certain rainbows. Take care, beware.

Cocovan said...

I was manifesting my destiny the other day when it occurred to me that I should be collating it....

HEY KOOLAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

So, Mr. Wayne Know-It-All Pompous Ass has had the "Secrets" as to making "My Destiny" (and yours too) a reality for all these years?

And now he's holding "My Destiny" hostage until I fork-up the big bucks to have him finally hand over "My Destiny" to me? I'm not buying into that scam!

I'm calling up some "Big Shot Media Whore Lawyer" right now as to sue this Snake-Oilsman Charlatan!

For I have "No Future".....if I have no destiny.

Dick Edgemont
Inspirational Coach

P.S. By the way, don't drink the "Rainbow Kool Aid" people! Unless you want to end-up in some terrifying "Unicorn Prison World" for the rest of your days where "Nothing is Real".....

Geritopia said...

I don't think of Dyer as a snail-oil guy. He probably wrote a couple of common-sense books that people could connect with. The problem is that you have to keep the franchise going. That's when things get mannered and programmed, putting a distance between him and the reader. People somehow have to magnify the idea that there's something cosmic or mystical going on, when it's really pragmatic. That's the corrupt part. I do think that the marriage between TV and these sort of presentations is very dodgy (as the Brits would say)... just like the grotesque legacy of electronic churches, although they have sometimes yielded entertaining folk-heroes like Dr. Gene Scott!!!

RIP Dr. Scott!

Anonymous said...

Ancient Hidden Secrets for
Your "Road to Success"

The Road to Success is not straight....
There is a curve called failure....
A Loop called confusion....
Speed bumps called Bad friends...
Red lights called enemies...
Caution lights called family....
But if you have a spare called determination...
An engine called preseverance...
Insurance called faith...
A Driver who owns his own destiny....
And a good Navigator (God, Guardian Angels, Imaginary Friend, The Force, etc.) who will help guide you to that place called "SUCCESS," you'll fulfill the destiny of your dreams........

Candy Kisses,
The Sugar Plum Fairy

P.S. Yet it's not the destination (your destiny), as much that it is living every moment called the journey....

Geritopia said...

Please... PLEASE STOP!