Physician and psychiatrist Jerry Jampolsky makes no bones about how he overcame the darkness of addiction and emerged as a renowned writer, speaker and co-founder of the International Center for Attitudinal Healing with 130 centers in 29 countries. Now, an octogenarian, he has reached the pinnacle of success and has finally let go of any ego needs for approval. In his latest book, “The Oh Sh*t Factor: Waste Management for Our Minds,” Jampolsky employs humorous anecdotes to illustrate that GIGO (garbage-in, garbage-out) is a universal reality. He encourages readers not to fall into the common trap of blaming others for what he calls self-fulfilling directives.
“The bad news is that we have fallen into an ego belief system that other people’s sh*t causes all our unhappiness, stress and lack of peace,” writes Jampolsky. His way of this common dilemma is through practicing self-acceptance and forgiveness. “The good news is that we can discover that it’s not other people’s sh*t causing the turmoil in the world, it’s our own sh*t that’s the culprit.”
He emphasizes, “We all have the power to choose…” Some of his noteworthy guidelines for learning to harness that power include the following:
- Stay in the present and stop living in the past.
- Take responsibility of your own happiness.
- Decide you are not a victim, and let go of guilt and shame.
- Decide each day not to hurt others or yourself with your thoughts or actions.
- Expand your sense of humor and learn to laugh at yourself.
For people stuck in addictive thought patterns and unhealthy behavior that continues to bring them unwanted results in life, Jampolsky’s tiny and timely page-turner is written in simple language with profound undertones. Early on in the book, he explains how S.H.I.T. began as an acronym for “Ship High In Transit” back in the days when manure was transported on cargo ships. The letters were stamped on crates warning dock workers not to store the highly volatile material below deck, in order to avoid blowing up the ship if the combustible material inadvertently got wet.
Jampolsky exploits the word, claiming, “Sh*t is a metaphor for the toxic thoughts we put into our heads. This results in constipation of the mind and eventually causes verbal diarrhea.”
For more information, visit http://www.jerryjampolsky.com/.
Comments