 Good a mate 40 here. So when the water is flowing down your drain, no problem. There's no backup. I do you You go You know snake your drain When when everything's flowing just fine. No, you don't snake your drain When when the water is flowing through just fine. When do you snake snake the drain? It's when water is pooling and taking way much too much time to Go down your bath tub or go down your sink Then you snake Snake the drain right you then you start sending wires and stuff down down the drain and try to unclog the the hairballs And any of the gunk and usually after you do that then the water just flows down the drain But if you don't unclog the drain Then the water kind of backs up in your sink or in your bath tub and it just leaves You know gunky film all over your bath tub or over your sink So you have to do more cleaning and the problem never gets better on its own, right? It it just builds and builds and builds until you take care of it And so I don't think most people would would would benefit be better off with you know a 40 in a level of introspection I just don't think that would help most people. I did 10 years of psychotherapy. I Don't think most people would benefit from 10 years of psychotherapy. I Participated in five different 12-step programs. I don't think most people need to be in five different 12-step programs. I Typically spend 20 30 minutes a day just writing out everything that comes to me writing everything that I'm I'm grateful for Writing everything that I've done right just writing down everything that comes to mind Writing about okay if I was feeling jealousy or pettiness right now or in security What would it be about and just like just journal everything that comes to my mind And I don't think most people would necessarily benefit that much So when I just write out everything that comes to my mind, it's like unclogging the drain So usually I get ideas like this wonderful live stream that that I'm doing Right now. Okay, this came about because I unclogged the drain I picked up my journal and I just started writing everything that was that was coming to me and So then as a result I get to share the gift of this this live stream with you and Just a few minutes ago. I was like unclogging my my Bathtub drain just sending that snake down there and and then you know pumping it with the plunger and then now everything's flowing much better It's really satisfying sound hearing the water gogle down the down the sink. So when do you know? Whether you need to unclog your drain when you've got a problem. So for example I sometimes think about something I said approximately in seventh grade to a friend of the family You've been staying with us for about a week then after about a week I said to the dude, you know, how much longer you're gonna stay here eating our food and like every time I think about that I I wince because he's been a good friend of the family incredibly generous. It was such a an ugly Awkward stupid thing that I said and I still can't think about it without wincing or Some of the aggressive ways that I pursued women at Jewish singles events when or the inappropriate humor that I've used when the rabbi is reciting kiddish And sometimes I still think about these things. It's like All right, so I'm assuming that indicates something that if I if I can't think about an event or some awkward thing I've said without just just flinching Maybe there's still some more unclogging of the drain. I need to do but I don't think most people need like a 40 and level of introspection but if if things are getting clogged up in your life, then you need to unclog the drain right if If you can't talk about certain events with having, you know weird Facial contortions and your voice dropping off Then then that's probably something that you need to explore and come to peace with if there certain people who are virtually triggering you then Therapy or a 12-step program or you know some kind of mechanism for unclogging the drain for some people They'll find it in their religion and Judaism. We call it hashbon and nafesh where you examine the soul but You know if the water's flowing like if your emotions are flowing if your reactions to life are flowing and they're not Getting in your way, you know, you're not having reactions to stimuli that are setting you back then Then you probably don't need to unclog the drain You don't need to go to you know 40 and levels of introspection and psychotherapy and 12-step but If there are things that you're not doing in your life like if there are not there there's a woman that you need to Hit on and ask out if there's like a better job that you need to apply for if If there are Situations in your community you need to step up to and if you have you know health problems you're not taking care of So if things are getting clogged up if you're suffering from back pain or skin diseases or digestion problems You know most most health problems that we suffer are the result Nor likelihood said dr. John Sarno of repressed unconscious rage So if you're suffering from back pain neck pain repetitive strain industry, there's no repetitive strain industry 50 years ago How come we've only had in the whole history of the human race? We've only had repetitive strain industry Strain injury in the last 30 years Like why do we have this epidemic of back pain when when we know through radiographic studies There's there's no difference in the radiographic studies of people with back pain and people who don't have back pain So you can point. Oh, I've got an annular tear here. I've got a slip disc here Well, all those things that you point out and and assume these are the causes of your pain Well, there are lots of other people with the exact same sort of problems, but they don't have any pain So if you're being if your life is being compressed and made smaller by these debilitating health problems for which there's no objective Cause that can that can be found. There's no medical cause that can be found and it's very likely psychosomatic a result of repressed rage So your own fear bitterness anger, you know petty feelings desire for love the things that you're blocking off and you're refusing to accept that you're experiencing They're coming back at you through attacking your body to distract you so that you don't have these painful realizations So if the water is clogging up in your life, your emotions are clogging up your health is clogging up your digestion is clogging up If you're having unsatisfying relationships with people if you're running into continual issues at work or at your church then then you've got you know problems that are They're clogging up your drain, but if everything's flowing then you know, who needs these Luke Ford levels of introspection Like who needs therapy? Who needs 12-step programs? Who needs, you know, 30 minutes of journaling every day. So If you're black if your drain needs to be snaked then snake it and for some people I think this means like a therapy and for other people that means 12-step program for other people It means talking to their pastor But it's good to snake the drain of their own soul To see what are we envious of what we're what are we resentful of you know, what's going on under the surface? That's that's why I love journaling. It's just a mirror mirror to the mind And so instead of going around unconscious and just repeating certain responses to stimuli that don't serve us So for example, I spent much of my life where I just automatically hated anyone who reminded me of my father. I remember going into therapy one time and talking about an engagement party. I'd just been at and these goals I Saw these these women Greet each other and they just like ran over to each other and they hugged each other and they kind of jumped up and down And they said oh, it's so wonderful to see you and so I was telling my therapist This is so stupid these these women these young women just like jumping up and down and Hugging each other and saying how wonderful it was to see each other. How stupid is that and my therapist said well Do you do you wish that that had been you? Oh? Yeah, yeah, I kind of did I felt very much on the periphery of that that party So my response to people doing what I wished that I was doing was to think oh How stupid these people are? But then my therapist caught me and he said well Do you wish that was you? Oh? I remember another time I went to therapy and I said I'm not sure anyone at my synagogue even cares about me I mean this is many many many years ago and my therapist said well. Do you care about anyone at your synagogue? Oh There's there's a good question. So the therapy KELP helped Snake my drain the drain of my soul He I would just come in there and start rambling But then we get down to brass tacks and my my therapist would confront me over certain things Like why aren't you looking for a better job? So for years and years I made peace with a very mediocre job and my therapist would try to prompt me To look for a better job, and it didn't do any good until I went to a 12-step program that addressed dating and a 12-step program that addressed underroading and Then by going to those 12-step programs Providing me with tools and a community and sponsors and ways to unclog my drain So that my life didn't just settle in my bathtub like water that wouldn't wouldn't drain down the hole So it always feels good when you can unclog the drain of your bathtub Or your sink and then suddenly it starts working again Or your your vacuum cleaner doesn't work and you figure it out and you get rid of the gunk and now it's all working again and I think same too with our psyche that if we're stuck and with the feeling of malaise or low level depression or Anxiety or fear or just you're just concerned that our life isn't isn't progressing Then snake the drain like sit down journal. What am I grateful for? What have I done right now? What am I yearning for? What do I wish? What am I thinking about just write it all out and the writing becomes a mirror to the mind and It starts to unclog Unclog the drain so that everything can start flowing again So that the circle of abundance can start flowing again money can start flowing again ideas can start flowing again Relationships can start flowing again so that I can start to encounter people as they are rather than just as projections of My past experience that I then put on to people. So I love this analogy of unclogging the drain I just had a very successful occasion, you know unclogging a drain Feels wonderful to see all the water flowing again. Then I felt so good. I'm sitting down with my air conditioning on It's 82 degrees outside, but in in Casa Ford. It's very pleasant 75 degrees Just writing out everything that comes to my mind. I thought oh, I really like that analogy of unclogging the drain Unclogging the drain of the soul Unclogging the drain of the psyche Unclogging the drain of self-defeating habits in the workplace It's time to it's time to do some depth work time to do some soul work some excavation of the soul Cheers