March 31, 2016

March 31, 2016

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader,

In “Religion as Schedule-Induced Behavior” (2009) Strand sums up various occasions which can trigger religious faith in a person. He mentions “others attribute “being saved”, “reborn”, or otherwise brought back to spirituality to a host of monumental events, including addiction, social rejection, and dangerous compulsions.” This writer has discovered Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) at a time in his life when he was deeply disappointed by how people were talking with him. He felt rejected and lonely and he was so frustrated that he decided he should stay away and be by himself. 

It happened at an odd moment, while he was riding his bicycle. He was on his way to the place where he used to hang out with his friends, but short after leaving his home, he was overcome by a feeling of dreadfulness. He thought (private speech) about his previous conversations and wondered why he should even go there again. At that moment, he stopped pedaling his bicycle….He had been riding along a canal and was enjoying the sight of the seagulls that were flying around. As he stopped pedaling, his bicycle slowly came to a halt and then he stood next to it. This is when he decided he couldn’t go on with it. He couldn’t have another meaningless conversation. 

For a moment, he panicked and he felt he would go crazy, but his self-talk guided him to walk back home. He walked with his bicycle in his hand along the canal. It was a beautiful spring day, but he was worried about what he was going to do when he came home. When he arrived home, he went to the empty attic, where there was only a carpet on the floor. He sat on the carpet and felt okay. He knew the roof wasn’t going to cave in, but he absolutely didn’t know what he was going to do next. It seemed as if he had exhausted all his options and there was nothing else to do than to just sit there. 

He tried to meditate, but he felt restless and he looked around the empty attic. He spotted a small box in the corner underneath the roof. He pulled it out, opened it and saw that there were some old books in it. It also contained a gong and a stick with a ball on it and he hit that gong. Then, he said to himself “sounds good” and realized instantly that he himself sounded good too. It was a tremendous relief that he had found the gong, which had made him listen to himself. He stretched out on his back on the carpet and fell into a feeling of deep relaxation. Lola, the cat came in. Usually she didn’t like to be picked up, but this time she lay on top of his chest and started purring.