Essence: Finding or unable to find stable values.
Concepts Stage 10 Carbon series Summit Centre Individual Person I
Success Glittering Values Meaning
Self-worth
Self-evident Ethics: Good and bad
Independent Noble Body Life Lust
Self assured Haughty Possessions
Balance Hero
Stable Unstable I-weakness
Rigidity Magic Myths
Child
AnalysisA balanced personality: stable.
A self-evident I.
Self-worth is a matter of course: dignified.
A noble person: dignified.
An unstable person.
Not being in control of
Self.
Unstable borderlines: sentimental, hyperaesthetic emotional syndrome.
Self-evident values; normal.
Searching for stable values.
Rigid values.
Balanced with regard to possessions: unselfish.
Rigidity around possessions: selfish.
A successful life: working.
The central figure in values: father.
The ultimate master of values: God.
Radiating life.
The shining hero.
Rigidity of the body.
A balanced person: stableThese people have a very stable personality. They experience everything as a matter of course, they are who they are and that’s it. ‘I am O.K. the way I am’. They feel they are the centre of their own world. This side will be most prominent if they have received lots of encouragement during their childhood.
A noble person: dignifiedTheir sense of self-worth is well developed. They feel that in spite of all the faults they may have, they are still O.K. They radiate self confidence; it shows in their dignified behaviour. In the extreme they may even seem or be aristocratic.
Unstable self-worth: shyOne way the theme of self-worth may be expressed is in shyness. Their self confidence is easily shaken. ‘Timidity’ is a rubric (Complete repertory, page 349), wherein the Carbonicums feature most prominently. The shyness and the dignity are two sides of the same coin. The underlying theme is self-worth and finding one’s life purpose.
An unstable personAnother expression of the theme can be found in a person who is very unstable. They can’t find their own centre. They are no longer master of their feelings and ideas, but become prey to outside influences. A typical symptom is that they get upset by all sorts of minor incidents. A mere trifle becomes a huge problem to them. Like a leaf in the wind they get swept away by a thousand and one minor little things during the day. They seem to have no stable frame of reference to measure things by, no firm set of values that gives them stability.
Their moods are changeable, they get angry, sad, fearful etc. They often cry without an obvious reason. When they visit a doctor this tendency is aggravated, mainly because they are not sure whether something is terribly wrong.
Sentimentality is a keynote symptom. They get emotional from things that leaves others completely unperturbed. They cry when watching a sad film or when they hear a band or an organ playing (Complete repertory, 1994, page 370). But as long as they can talk about a problem they soon get over it. Advice and support from someone like their father or their doctor gives them the stability they lack in themselves. The whole problem of what is important is given to someone else to determine on their behalf.
Sometimes they look like one of those little toy people that always right themselves: ‘Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.’
Unbalanced borderlines: hyper aesthetic emotional syndromeIn the extreme form it leads to a situation where all stability has been lost. They become extremely emotional and sentimental. This can be caused by grief such as the loss of one of their parents, and it may only be a temporary state. But it can also turn into a permanent state of having to depend on someone else because they can’t get a grip on their emotions anymore.
The picture of the wobbly toy turns into someone who is top heavy. He is unable to stay upright and keeps falling.
This side of the picture is likely to come up if they have a very low self image.
Stable values: normalThey feel a need for well defined and unchanging values to hold on to. They prefer these not to be too extreme: something quite normal and straight forward suits them fine. They often use the word ‘normal’. They tend not to think too deeply about life, things are the way they are and that is fine as far as they are concerned.
Searching for stable valuesTheir search for stable values may not always be successful. Sometimes you notice their desperate search to have the meaning and purpose of life translated into simple standards to live by.
Rigid valuesThey apply themselves steadily to their tasks, undisturbed by anything or anyone. This is how they learned it should be: ’and God saw it was done well’.
They probably adopted their parents’ and grandparents’ views on life and were quite happy to carry on in the same tradition. ‘This is how it was always done, and this is how I will do it too’.
The danger of this line of thinking is that they may get stuck and can’t adapt as times change. They would rather not listen to new ideas because it would only disturb the way they have always done things.
Balanced with regard to possessions: generousThe way they think about their possessions is quite balanced. To them it is a natural part of life, that there are certain things you need in life, but it isn’t necessary to hang on to them at all costs. They can give and take quite easily, because they know that there are more important things in life. (’Generosity’, Morrison 1988, page 15).
Rigidity around possessions: selfish
Once again we see that that the opposite is also possible, i.e. the need to hang on to their possessions. They may even be quite selfish in this regard. They may cling to things that represent the old family traditions like a house or a farm that they have inherited, even in situations where it makes no sense to go on like that.
A successful life: workWork is the central theme, because it is here that they find social acceptance and their own sense of what they are worth. Work is what life is all about, or at least it gives them a firm material base.
They are solid workers like farmers or lorry drivers. They are usually quite slow but dependable: they plod on regardless.
The central figure in values: fatherAll previous themes can be seen as one aspect of the core theme: the father.
All issues around dignity, life purpose, work and social position can usually be brought back to problems with the father or other authorities.
In
Graphites the father is there and not there at the same time. He is often away from home, he is only there in the background. He works hard and is probably away from home a lot. He hardly gets involved in bringing up the children. The children don’t know what to think of him: ‘father wasn’t really there, we don’t know where he was or what he thinks’. This uncertainty about their own father seems to bring up uncertainties about the different values in life.
Mythology also speaks about the connection between father and the meaning of life. Campbell says: ‘Finding your father has to do with finding your own character and your purpose. There is a theory that we inherit our character from our father and our body and often our mind from our mother. The search for father is thus symbolic for the search for your own destiny’.
The ultimate value: GodApart from the father himself we see that other authority figures play an important part in their life: teachers, lecturers, priests and, of course, the ultimate authority - God himself. He is the key to all the values there ever were, the one who gives us our purpose here on earth.
Graphites people are often very concerned about questions such as ‘What are we here for? or ‘Where do we go when we die?’
Radiating lifeIn the positive expression of their character they will be the lively type of person who radiates light to his surroundings. They know how to inspire others in a very down to earth and simple way. They are very sociable and provide a nice, comfortable base for those around them.
The shining heroThis is the stage where the hero finally starts off on his quest. He simply takes on the task that is meant for him. He feels that it won’t be a big problem. But underneath this calm there is a little nagging doubt whether he will really be able to handle it, and whether this is really the right quest for him.
Rigidity in the body
The rigidity we spoke about earlier may also manifest itself in the body, for instance in a stiffness in the muscles and joints, or in deafness caused by rigidity in the bones in the ear. This deafness is ameliorated in a noisy environment, where they ‘loosen up’ little. They are generally both worse and better from motion.
MindFears: vague !!, unknown !, life, strangers, future, travelling, flying, crowds, streets, failure, disease, operations, cancer, death, dark.
Mood: timid, uncertain, indecisive, -> support, listless, meaningless, crying<< talking about the complaints !, gloomy, suicidal; > at home.
Mental: confused, slow, problems orientating, lack of concentration, forgetful, dementia.
Religion: magic, obsessive.
Causes: neglect, abuse, incest, parents absent, addicted or weak, loss of parents or protectors.
GeneralsBuild: overweight, fat body, thin legs, top heavy, unstable.
Locality: right.
Perspiration: feet.
Weather: < 7 pm.
Desires: sweet, normal food.
Aversion: strange, or ‘foreign’ food.
Physical: < exertion, climbing stairs: < movement !!, > movement.
BodyHead: pains in occiput.
Ear: infections; otosclerosis; deafness > noise.
Nose: colds; rhinitis.
Lung: asphyxia; problems from dust.
Limbs: bone problems: weakness, osteoporosis, fractures.
Skin: eczema!!, behind ears, flaking; fissures, bleeding, cracking on motion.
DD Carbon series,
Stage 10,
Aceticums, Muriaticums, Carbos,
Carboneums,
Carbo mineralis, Carbo umbra (= ‘miserabilis’, brown coal),
Kreosotum, Saccharum, Alcoholum,
Lacticums,
Oxalicums,
Picricums, Phenol,
Benzinum.
DD Boron: doesn’t know who he is or who he is allowed to be.
Graphites knows he is allowed to be here and he knows who he is, but he is not sure what he is really worth and whether he can handle what he takes on.
DD Silicatums: the father is an important figure here too, but more in the role of the head of the household, the central figure in the family. In the Carbonicums the father is more a symbol for the meaning of life, the person who can give his child direction in finding his life purpose.
The shyness is equally great in both groups.
DD: Pulsatilla is also rather unstable and weepy, but the aim is to attract attention.
Graphites cries because he can’t assess the situation. He doesn’t need company for the sake of it: he needs someone to tell him whether he is doing the right thing or not. Pulsatilla and
Graphites are complementary remedies.
DD Carbo vegetabilis: this remedy has a similar duality of rigidity and instability, but in this case it is mainly their metabolism (plants) that is disturbed and this is expressed in an increased desire for oxygen.
DD Carbo animalis: again a similar duality of rigidity and instability, with the emphasis on the theme of displacement (animals). This is expressed in an aggravation on displacement, moving house etc. They are like a lonely cowboy who finds himself in a ghost town.
DD Adamas (=diamond): has a similar sense of insecurity, aggravated when they are unable to get a clear view on the situation.
DD Petroleum: can also be very confused and unsure about his identity, together with orientation problems.