^One ^Simple idea

My promise is that from a remarkably ^Simple idea about ^How our ~mind~ ~works~ and our ~commitment~ to ^Try, we can ^Work our ~way~ to ^More ~health~ and ~happiness~ in our ~mind~.  However, the trouble we ^Face about healing our ^Own ~mind~ is that we don't ^Always ^Know ^How ~healthy~ or ~SICK~ our ~mind~ is.  And we may ^Never ^Know ^How ~SICK~ or ~healthy~ our ~mind~ was until we have ~found~ ^Significant healing.  The trouble with helping others to ^Heal their ~mind~ is that healing ultimately must ^Come from within. 

Those are the ^Dual obstacles: to ^Heal our ^Own ~mind~ and to ^Help others.  We can't even ^See the ^Inner struggle of others and at ~BEST~ we can only ^See a distorted ~view~ of our ^Own struggle; for that is ^How the ~mind~ ~works~. 

If anything, that is ^Why mental ~health~ is a hard ~problem~.  To the extent we can ^Overcome that, we can ^Manage our ^Own struggle ^Better and even be healed.  To the extent we don't, we may ^Never ^Reach ^Sufficient ~awareness~ to ^Know the extent of the problems that ^Make us hostage to ^Needless suffering. 

^When we ^Persist in our ~lack~ of ~awareness~ about our ^Own mental ~health~, it is called anosognosia.  For ~example~, we ^List this ~lack~ in ~connection~ with schizophrenia, bipolar, post-traumatic stress, stroke or traumatic brain injury. 

Besides anosognosia, some of us have been ~hurt~, have had to ^Endure trauma or, have had a lapse or flood of ~memories~.  We may have suffered from a ~lack~ or ~loss~ of ^Community or ^Family support.  We may have ^Become ~avoidant~ in ~regard~ to ~life~ in some ^Particular ~way~ or in ~general~. 

For some of this ^Needless suffering, we may ^Receive a diagnosis.  However, none of us ^Need a diagnosis to have distorted ~thoughts~, ~feelings~ and ~actions~.  These distortions are inevitable and a major theme of The Book of ^MESH is that distortions are not ^Inwardly bad either!  However, the ^Needless suffering from these distortions is bad.  I claim that anosognosia and lesser distortions are a feature of our ~mind~ and not an ^Internal ~problem~.  ^Outwardly we may ^Worry that we suffer ^Needlessly and ^Cause others around us to suffer ^Needlessly. 

Any suffering, ^Irrespective of the size of the distortions in our ~mind~, doesn't mean we deserved it yet it does mean we ^Need to ^Heal to ^Discern it.  For that healing I have coined the word MESH.  It is an acronym for Mental-Emotional-Self Healing or Mental-Emotional-Self ^Help. 

Many distortions ^Hide the bulk of themselves from ~view~ ~like~ an iceberg, and so we may ^Find they have unexpected power to ^Stay.  ^As ^Such they may arbitrarily threaten or ^Help us on our ~journey~.  A few of them are even ^More hidden or dangerous.  ^Like a ship that travels unknowingly through shallow ~water~.  Although we rarely ^Take ^Direct ~notice~ of a distortion in ourselves ~as~ ^Such, we may ^Experience them ~as~ we struggle against ourselves, others and our world. 

We can ^Still have ~hope~ ^When we have the crush of looming suffering in mental illnesses (diagnosed, undiagnosed or misdiagnosed) or ^When we ^Feel we can ^Endure other pain and suffering.  We can ^Still have ~hope~ ^Irrespective of our ~need~ to ^See or ^Hide from our distortions in our ~mind~.  We may ^Hope ^Irrespective of the ~help~ of others.  We may ^Always ^Find ~hope~. 

So, it is my ^Firm ~hope~ that we may all ^Find healing and a degree of ~immunity~ against the unnecessary struggles.  I ^Hope that ^Together we can ^Reduce ^Needless suffering.  And I ^Hope we may ^Gain a ^Better ~interest~ in ^How much we all suffer and ^Maximize our suffering in ~respect~ to our distortions and that of ~one-another~ ^Needlessly.  For that is a ~point~ I did ^Gain over and over in my ~journey~ to ^Write The Book of ^MESH. 

With that ~purpose~ in ~mind~, here is ^What I will do for us.  I ^Share and ^Establish a ~model~ of our ~mind~ ~as~ a ~combination~ of a few ^Simple building blocks.  I ^Give or ^Identify some methods to ^Use.  I ^Apply some of those methods to ^Help me ~as~ I ^Develop this very book.  I ^Show some concepts that are descriptions of ^Common distortions, some concepts that ^Work to ^Adjust our ^Own distortions, some concepts that are evidence of healing and even some concepts that may ^Help others or our ~relation~ with them. 

A little about the style of The Book of ^MESH.  In ~truth~ it is my ~intent~ that I don't ^Offer ~proof~ of the ~model~ I ^Give except to ^Show its possibilities.  I ^Avoid any ~aim~ to ^Prove these models and concepts on paper here.  We can easily ^Recognize that models and concepts are ^Always at least ^Partially wrong because they are not the ^Real thing and sometimes ^Like distortions (and this book) the ways ^Where they are wrong (in the literal ~sense~) may ^Serve a ^Good ~purpose~ (in that its ~metaphor~ may ^Hold power to ^Inspire).  I ^Find that ^What may ^Matter ^More is whether they can ^Provide ~insight~ into a monolithic or ^Complex struggle and that is for each of us to ^Decide ^Individually.  ^Proof of these ideas is a topic for a ^Whole ^Different ~category~ of book.  The ~model~ and its concepts ^Magnify ^How a ~mind~ may ^Appear from within itself without getting ~lost~ in the ~complexity~ and large ~variety~ that we may ^Find or ^Judge to ^Be ~healthy~ or ~SICK~. 

Although someone might ^Contend that in some ~respect~ The Book of ^MESH may ^Favor a ^Specific ~kind~ of ~mind~, I ^Believe the principles here are fair ^Enough to ^Accept any ~variety~ of ~mind~ with all its boldly exquisite ~talent~ or its delicate ~beauty~.  If I have done my job ^Well to ^Write The Book of ^MESH in ~accord~ to its ~purpose~ then those ^Who ^Study it will ^See that our ^Own ~mind~ and that of others ~works~ or is ~perfect~ yet we have ^Ample room to ^Improve too.  That untapped potential will ~persist~ in us: to ^Heal ourselves, to ^Help others and to ^Heal our world in the most remarkable ~way~. 

^Now it is your ~turn~.  Shall we begin?