Union Point

Bye Bye!

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:39:00 +0000

Because of a lack of personal inner and outer support, the blog Union Point will go off line at the end of 2008.

Wish you find the guidance you need to deal appropriately with your personal issues.

- Alain

Hyperthyroidism and Paranoia

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:38:00 +0000

In November 1993, I have been diagnosed for a hyperthyroidism condition; the Graves�?? disease. I was then a 25 years old Quebecer studying full time in geography at the University of Montreal, province of Quebec, Canada. I was also working part time as a travel agent in a suburb of Montreal. My doctors were recommending me a radioactive iodine treatment but I have refused this standard treatment in Quebec. Instead I have opted for the control of my hyperthyroidism condition with antithyroid medication prescribed by my endocrinologist. In parallel to my antithyroid pills regime and my periodic medical follow-ups, I have undertaken a journey of personal inquiry and alternative healing.

Experiences of paranoia

In my attempt to get a better understanding of the hyperthyroidism phenomenon and to heal my hyperthyroidism condition, I have progressively journeyed toward the insight in 1997 that I was experiencing paranoia. During these experiences of paranoia of various durations and intensities, I was dominated by feelings sometimes vague or sometimes very precise that certain members of my family and my surrounding, strangers, life, the dominant order, the medical system, the universe and God were mean, sadistic, cruel and that they were conspiring to persecute me and even to kill me.

In Quebec, the main stream medical system acknowledges these kinds of experiences of paranoia in relation with the hyperthyroidism phenomenon. For example, in an article on the thyroid gland published in a Montreal French daily news paper in 1999, a journalist was reporting the case of a woman with a hyperthyroidism condition who was experiencing paranoia:

�??Another patient met by Dr. Gilbert, suffering of hyperthyroidism, has developed a paranoid delirium. She perceived plots everywhere, and she was not able to trust anyone anymore. Once she has been treated [for her hyperthyroidism condition] and healed, her behaviour has completely returned to normal.�??
- Carole Thibodeau. Comment va votre thyroïde in La Presse, Montréal, dimanche 18 juillet 1999. (Translation by Alain)

Having an insight about being a paranoiac is too simply said! To conceive and to accept that I was experiencing paranoia has been quite a challenge. However, this insight has not been the most disturbing fact for me. The most disturbing fact has been the acknowledgment that paranoia was already active in my life well before the manifestation of my hyperthyroidism. In deed, I had already experienced different kinds of paranoid states in various circumstances of my life many years before the development of my first hyperthyroidism symptoms. As an example, in some of my extreme paranoid experiences triggered by cold and uncaring people or circumstances, I was possessed by a dominant impression that these people were somehow aliens and the life circumstances were governed by Machiavellian people or aliens. I didn�??t understand these kinds of weird experiences. I was scared of them and I was in a perpetual state of conflicting debates with them. I was more trying to avoid and reject them then trying to understand them. These weird experiences, that at the time I was not able to acknowledge as paranoid manifestations, were simply a part of my personal experience and view of reality.

With this new information about paranoia, I have then made the hypothesis that my paranoid states were directly related with my hyperthyroidism condition. However, I was considering that my paranoia wasn�??t just a simple symptom or development of my hyperthyroidism, like the preceding excerpt on the case of a woman with hyperthyroidism experiencing paranoia suggests it, but rather one of the causes of my hyperthyroidism condition. Since that moment, I have oriented my journey of personal inquiry and alternative healing toward the attempt to better understand my experiences of paranoia.

Many causes involved in my hyperthyroidism condition

Different practices like personal journaling, books studies, body work, psychotherapies, Bohm�??s dialogue and Yoga has help me to better understand and deal with my hyperthyroidism condition mixed with paranoid experiences. I have never been prescribed specific medication for my paranoia. I have not been able to find a single psychologist in the public medical system of Quebec that was willing to treat me for my paranoia in one way or another. The two psychiatrists that I have been able to encounter during my journey didn�??t accept to treat me mainly because I was refusing to treat my hyperthyroidism condition with radioactive iodine and because they didn�??t agreed with my interpretations of my experiences of paranoia.

During my journey towards my healing, I have tried to work with different kinds of health professionals inside and outside the main stream health system of Quebec but I believed that none of them were attuned to the specifics needs that my changing condition and situation were requiring. During that period, I have also discovered that other significant causes were involved in my particular hyperthyroidism condition mixed with paranoid states like stress, physical pains, fears and problematic personality structures mainly.

In my personal journey, I have never encountered a single doctor, endocrinologist, psychiatrist and psychologist in the public medical context of Quebec open to the perspective that stress, physical pains, fears, paranoia and problematic personality structures could play a significant role in certain hyperthyroidism cases. This general absence of openness and support from the public medical system in Quebec for anything that is not in the scope of his own vision of the hyperthyroidism phenomenon caused by an autoimmune disease has represented a major problem that I had to deal with in the course of my healing journey. I now consider that lack of appropriate support from the public medical system and society in general toward my particular hyperthyroidism condition like one of the causes that was involved in its perpetuation.

Ending my antithyroid pills regime and signs of a stable healing

In 2002, at the age of 34, during a medical follow-up I have come up with a blood test that was indicating that my thyroid indicators were all in the interval of a normal state of health. Many months before that particular blood test, after some improving signs in my hyperthyroidism condition and my paranoia, I have cessed, without the authorisation of my doctors, to take any form of medication in order to control my hyperthyroidism condition. Since 2002, I have never taken again any kind of antithyroid medication.

In August 2006, in the anticipation to offer a bone marrow donation to my sister suffering of leukemia, I have been submitted to a myriad of medical tests. My global state of health has been judged acceptable to proceed to a bone marrow donation. My thyroid indicators all tested with special attention has all showed normal results despite the fact that I was going through a period of crisis and intense stress in relation with my sister�??s disease.

Even If I don�??t have any form of official acknowledgement of my healing from the medical system of the province of Quebec other then my last blood tests in 2002 and in 2006, I now consider my hyperthyroidism condition definitely healed since 2006. On the other hand, my experiences of paranoia, despite of being definitely less invading and possessive, are still occurring from times to times. But the frequencies, the intensities and the durations of the paranoid states are far lesser then they were in the past. I now have a better understanding of the causes of my paranoia and I don�??t considerer my self as a crazy fellow because of these paranoid experiences but more as someone with parts of himself deeply hurt and conditioned. Welcome to my life!

Targeted readers and general context of my personal account

My Union Point blog is one of the means that I�??m taking advantage of in order to express and share my personal account of the healing of my personal hyperthyroidism condition mixed with paranoid states. While Union Point is public, I mainly wish to share my personal account with people concerned by the hyperthyroidism phenomenon and opened to the perspective that the hyperthyroidism phenomenon may in certain cases have one or more causes that differ from the impersonal and systematic diagnostic of the autoimmune disease promoted and defended by the main stream medical system.

Could it be possible that some relations of cause and effects in some particular hyperthyroidism conditions mixed with paranoia are misinterpreted? Could it be possible that some complex interactions between causes and symptoms of hyperthyroidism mixed with paranoia are misunderstood? Could it be possible to discover a kind of union point in the experience of some particular conditions of hyperthyroidism and paranoia? My personal account will mainly focus on my own sensed, intuitive, reasoned and documented understanding of my experience of a hyperthyroidism condition with paranoid states and my journey towards the healing of this condition. I will, mainly but not exclusively, situate my personal account in the global context of what I have assimilated so far of the teachings of a contemporary spiritual path named the Diamond Approach.

* Source of the image not noted.

Voluntary Help Wanted

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:28:00 +0000

1) Examiner(s) for correcting the Union Point's English messages before publication on Union Point;

2) Translator(s) for translating Point d�??Union's French messages to Union Point English's messages;

3) Original images creator(s) (Collages, drawings, cartoons, etc.) for illustrating Union Point/Point d�??Union�??s messages.

- For more information, please Contact Me.

My Starting Point

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:11:00 +0000

A jigsaw puzzle which has a thousand and one pieces! That�??s one of the ways that I perceive the hyperthyroidism phenomenon and more particularly the Graves�?? disease phenomenon. In fact, I have to admit that I don�??t know exactly how many pieces the hyperthyroidism jigsaw puzzle has. What I do know though is that in order to begin to have an appropriate picture of the hyperthyroidism phenomenon many significant pieces has to be adequately joined together.

Hyperthyroidism as a complex phenomenon

For me hyperthyroidism is a complex phenomenon. Attempting to understand the hyperthyroidism phenomenon is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle of a thousand and one pieces. In order to get the most accurate understanding of the hyperthyroidism jigsaw puzzle, it�??s necessary to have the essential pieces, the maximum of the most significant pieces as possible, and above all, to connect the pieces that we have in a suitable manner.
For an optimal diagnosis
From my point of view, diagnosing the presence of a hyperthyroidism condition is one thing, while attempting to diagnose the cause or the combination of causes responsible for a particular hyperthyroidism condition is something else.
» Comments
I have a central believe that it is possible that different causes or combinations of causes could be responsible for the hyperthyroidism conditions of different people. Various nuances of hyperthyroidism conditions can affect different people. I also think that some causes responsible for a hyperthyroidism condition might not be possible to heal while other causes might possibly be nursed and healed with the appropriate treatments.

For a person that has been diagnosed of hyperthyroidism, the main challenge in order to decide which treatments program is the most suitable for her specific condition is to try to discover the real cause or combination of causes responsible for her particular hyperthyroidism condition. From my point of view, diagnosing the presence of a hyperthyroidism condition is one thing, while attempting to diagnose the cause or the combination of causes responsible for a particular hyperthyroidism condition is something else.

Diagnosing the presence of a hyperthyroidism condition

For me a diagnosis that uses a sophisticated blood test of different thyroid parameters offers a reliable way to confirm the presence or the absence of a hyperthyroidism condition. This kind of blood test combined with a careful evaluation of the symptoms by a competent person allows determining with a high level of certainty the presence or the absence of a hyperthyroidism condition. This kind of blood test seems to me an essential option when it is possible. It�??s a desirable component of an optimal diagnosis. Diagnosing the presence of a hyperthyroidism condition with the highest level of certainty represents an essential piece in a hyperthyroidism jigsaw puzzle.

However, this kind of diagnosis based only on the acknowledgment of the symptoms and a blood test, as sophisticated as it can be, has its limits. At the present time, numerous points of view exist in order to explain the symptoms and the potential causes of a hyperthyroidism condition. Heredity, autoimmune disease, stress, intoxication, exposure to radioactivity, exposure to electric field, inappropriate diet, physical pain, fear, traumatism, expressivity and creativity underdeveloped, emotional and energy blocks, problematic personality structures only represent a few examples of the potential causes proposed and explained by different approaches that focus on hyperthyroidism. Many perspectives that make sense about the potential causes of a hypothyroidism condition exist but, considered individually or in various combinations, they might not be appropriate for a particular condition. Beware of the perspectives that make sense but may not be O.K. to a particular hyperthyroidism condition upon further inquiry. Makes sense but is it O.K.?

A diagnosis only based on a blood test and an evaluation of the symptoms might help to consider certain potential causes like the presence of an autoimmune disease for example but it is not suitable for taking into consideration all the potential causes of a particular hyperthyroidism condition. To take into consideration all the potential causes of a hyperthyroidism condition, a complementary form of a more global and complete diagnosis seems necessary to me.

Diagnosing the cause or the combination of causes

A more global form of diagnosis of the potential causes of a particular hyperthyroidism condition needs a more holistic approach of the human nature then a simple blood test and an acknowledgement of the symptoms. A more global form of diagnosis based on a more holistic approach that takes into account the totality of the inner and the outer field of experience of a person needs from my point of view alternative modes of investigation and evaluation of the potential causes. Attempting to understand the particular hyperthyroidism condition of a given person is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle that only exists in one exemplar. For me a more global, intimate and personal form of diagnosis represents another component of an optimal diagnosis of a hyperthyroidism condition. Sure this kind of a more global diagnosis implies different forms of personal participation and investment: interest, motivation, efforts, time, money, information gathering, study, learning, practices, self-observation and self-inquiry among other things.

On the way to an optimal diagnosis

I don�??t know any quick solution to establish an optimal diagnosis of the potential cause or combination of causes for a confirmed hyperthyroidism condition. Have you already attempted to solve a thousand and one pieces jigsaw puzzle in just one or fiew evenings? It�??s not realistic at all! However what I do know is once the hyperthyroidism condition is diagnosed with the highest level of certainty possible, trying to make a more global diagnosis of the potential cause or combination of causes of a particular hyperthyroidism condition is not an obvious endeavor when we are not informed on the subject, when we don�??t know where to start or what to do first, and above all, when one is in a state of crisis related to an hyperthyroidism condition. From my point of view, trying to understand a particular hyperthyroidism condition by making an optimal diagnosis is like attempting to make a thousand and one pieces jigsaw puzzle that only exists in one exemplar and for which you don�??t even have any perfect image of the jigsaw puzzle to be solved to refer to in order to guide you in your attempt.

*Image by Alain

Makes sense but is it O.K.?

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:28:00 +0000

Plausible points of view, believable interpretations, credible explanations and perspectives that make sense abound constantly in our heads and in our lives in relation with our different experiences, activities and preoccupations. Unfortunately sometimes these kinds of perspectives that make sense at first glance may sometimes prove to be inappropriate, wrong or not O.K upon further inquiry. To try to illustrate this troubling fact, I will share a personal account of a short story that I have read many years ago in a book full of French humor by Jean-Jacques Sempé entitled �??Raoul Taburin�??*.

The secret of Raoul Taburin

Raoul Taburin, a man in good health and most likely in his forties, is a bicycle seller in a small French village called Saint-Céron. Raoul�??s expertise about bicycle is so well appreciated in the region that people don�??t use anymore the words �??bike�?? or �??bicycle�?? to talk about there vehicles with pedals but use instead the expression �??taburin�??. In the �??Canton de Saint-Céron�?? people don�??t ride bicycles anymore; they ride «taburins». Charming and good-humored, Raoul has developed a solid friendship with Hervé Figoune; a well known photographer. Father of two children, Raoul benefits form the love of his charming wife named Madeleine and who works in a hospital as a nurse.

Regardless of his happiness, Raoul Taburin lives his life trying to hide a terrible secret. Despite all his attempts in the course of his life, Raoul has never been able to stand on bike without falling down. Raoul is simply not able to ride a bicycle. In fact all his knowledge about bicycles comes from his attempts to try to understand the mechanic of a bicycle when he was a young boy. With the hope to clarify the mystery of his failures, he has studied with method and steadfastness all the bike�??s components from the bench to the bearings. Well even with the expansion of his knowledge about bikes, all his attempts to ride one have always ended in failures.

Nobody has ever seen the young Raoul Taburin riding a two wheeled bike. During his youth, Raoul has only been seen walking aside his bike which had always something broken. Everybody was just assuming that the young Raoul was just an intrepid stunt boy. That assumption was their way to explain why Raoul�??s bike was always broken and why Raoul was sometimes showing signs of injuries. Raoul has already tried to share his secret with someone, but his confident has not taken him seriously. This event has deeply wounded him and he has decided long time ago that he would never try again to reveal his secret; he would hide by all sort of means to others his inability to ride a bike. Even Madeleine, his wife, doesn�??t know about his secret.

The photography of an amazing bike flight

One day the photographer, Hervé Figoune, comes up with the idea to make a picture of Raoul Taburin riding one of the bikes he sells. Hervé have a very precise idea in mind of the picture he wants to make. He has spotted a spectacular emplacement; a small road in the surrounding mountain that meanders aside a gully. Hervé will post himself at the bottom of a hill and will picture Raoul coming down the hill on his �??taburin�??. Sure, Raoul opposes himself to his friend�??s project and tries by various means to decline Hervé�??s repeated demands. However, under the pressure of Hervé and Madeleine, Raoul finally accepts to pose for his friend photographer.

At the decided moment and emplacement, upon the signal of Hervé, Raoul after a few hesitations jumps on his �??taburin�?? and goes down the hill. As you can imagine, Raoul loses his equilibrium and the control of his bike. Unfortunately, the bike run off the roads and brings Raoul in a flight over a cliff. Raoul finally crashes on a tableland at the bottom of the cliff. Raoul�??s crash is not fatal but he gets out of it with many broken bones.

Hervé Figoune realizes an amazing picture of the event. The spectacular picture of Raoul in flight over a gully makes the front pages of many gazettes and magazines. In one of the gazette, an article entitled �??The crazy exploit of a crazy bicycle rider�?? accompanies Figoune�??s picture. The picture that gives an account of an apparent failed cascade becomes the subject of many discussions among the people that know or don�??t know Raoul Taburin.

A misleading explanation

At the hospital where Raoul�??s wife works, Madeleine in a discussion with one of his friend who is a psychologist learns interesting things about the behavior of his husband. His friend psychologist explains to her: �??Some men who have known an intensive athletic life feels, with the aging process, the need to prove that they are still able to accomplish a last exploit. We could not blame them. It is even salutary. The ultimate exploit that they are attempting is enabling them to live, without neurotic melancholy, their physical decline.�?? While taking into consideration this explanation, Madeleine, so far a bit troubled by the behavior of his husband, feels some comfort and even a little bit of pride for the apparent failed attempt of his husband to jump over a gully in the manner of Evil Kneivel. A short wile after her discussion with her psychologist friend, Madeleine gives a television interview in which she repeats almost word for word her psychologist friend explanation about his husband behavior. Makes sense but is it O.K.?

Beware of the «Makes sense but not O.K.» pitfall

In this except of Raoul Taburin�??s story, the explanation of the psychologist is from my point of view a perspective that makes sense but that is not O.K.! The perspective of the psychologist in order to explain the apparent failed attempt to make a last exploit by Raoul makes sense but it is not totally appropriate to the situation. When we know, contrarily to Madeleine and the psychologist, that the apparent physical exploit by Raoul is nothing less then the result of his inability to ride a bicycle, it becomes totally obvious that the psychologist�??s explanation is false in Raoul�??s particular case. The psychologist�??s explanation of the need to make a last exploit makes sense to Madeleine, but ironically it doesn�??t reflect the truth of Raoul�??s real situation. Unfortunately, as long as Madeleine will adhere to her psychologist friend�??s explanation, she might never try to learn more about the truth behind the scene of her husband�??s bike crash.

In the Raoul Taburin�??s bike crash jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of explanation proposed by the psychologist, even if they make sense, simply don�??t seem to be the right pieces in the right spots for me. Beware of the perspectives that sometimes make sense at first glance but which could reveal to be inappropriate on further investigation! I hope this little story clarifies what I mean by the expression �??Makes sense but is it O.K.?�?? because trying to avoid the pitfall of the perspectives that make sense but are not O.K. represents a big challenge for anyone dealing with a particular hyperthyroidism condition or simply interested by the multifaceted hyperthyroidism phenomenon.

If you are somehow dealing with a hyperthyroidism condition in your life, it�??s most likely that you and people around you have one or various points of view that make sense on this particular hyperthyroidism condition. Are those points of views that make sense O.K.? In order to be truly helpful in your relation with the particular hyperthyroidism condition you are dealing with, it�??s not enough that a piece of information makes sense; it has to be totally appropriate to the truth of the situation of the person affected by the hyperthyroidism condition.

*Sempé, Jean-Jacques. Raoul Taburin, Gallimard Jeunesse, 1998, 107 p.
**Image portion, Ibid., p.77.

So Lonely

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:37:00 +0000

I can�??t stand anymore to be judged
About my way of being and of thinking
I�??m so fed up of the hierarchy
From distant places

The small gangs and the gossips
It�??s cool for a moment but you don�??t go far on these
When I speak, I�??m constantly interrupted
Because people don�??t have enough interest in me
Or because I don�??t have enough life experiences

I would like to make a place for myself to share my opinions
I would like to open myself and be spontaneous
It seems that it�??s been only a week that I�??m in the region
But I was born here

I feel so lonely
But in fact it�??s not even the case
I would simply like to find someone to talk with
Someone who lives the same things as me

It�??s just fine for the ones that have it all already set up
Who know in the morning what they are going to eat for diner
Who never put themselves out about life
Wearing good blinker it�??s awfully effective

I�??m saying all this but in fact you know that I envy them
Because they seem in good health and to be sane
They have the fine role in the big screen
Me, I�??m standing in line, waiting to be an extra

I feel so lonely
But in fact it�??s not even the case
I would simply like to find someone to talk with
Someone who lives the same things as me

I just need a landmark
A good moral
A bit a of discipline and some familial affection
People has told me too many lies
Thinking that they would protect me
Now my vision of life is all distorted
But I swear to you that I�??m going to get out of this ignorance
That causes the culpability of my existence

Even if I feel so lonely
I know that it�??s not even the case
I would simply like to find someone to talk with
Someone who lives the same things as me

Yeah, I feel so lonely
But it�??s obvious that it is not even the case
Because I know that they are people here tonight
Who live the same things as me

- Song by Kevin Parent entitled "Si Seul" (Translation by Alain)

For an optimal diagnosis

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:03:00 +0000

From my point of view, diagnosing the presence of a hyperthyroidism condition is one thing while diagnosing a probable cause or a combination of probable causes for a particular hyperthyroidism condition is something else.

I put my trust in you

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 17:12:00 +0000

A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali)
Originator of the Diamond Approach to self-realization.(More details in the DIAMOND ORIENTATION section)
�??In time, you develop basic trust and you learn to trust the dynamism of the inquiry. This will happen as a result of several things: First, clearly recognizing the optimizing force in the dynamism of your own unfolding; second, truly seeing that optimization is the nature of the dynamism; and third, having faith that the optimizing is occurring even when you can�??t feel it in the moment. Then you are trusting the guidance and the unfoldment. Basic trust �?? the knowing that you just need to relax and things will work fine �?? is an automatic result of this developing knowledge of [the holy ideas and the view of the objective] reality.�??
- A.H. Almaas from Spacecruiser Inquiry, p.122.

You know sometimes the world is so cruel, warm each day and suddenly cool
You lead your life feeling real strong, before you know it, everything is wrong
When there is no where to hide
When I need someone by my side
All that I must do is put my trust in you
I believe what you say is true
I have faith in what you do
Yes I do, you are my dream come true
I put my trust in you
And I know when I am blue
Yes I know, you carry me through
Yes I do, all that I need to do is put my trust in you

The taller you feel, the harder you fall
When you�??re down, now who do you call?
When you need someone to hold your hand
Someone who helps you make your stand
When there is no where to hide
When I need someone by my side
All that I must do is put my trust in you
I believe what you say is true
I have faith in what you do
Yes I do, you are my dream come true
I put my trust in you
And I know when I am blue
Yes I know, you carry me through
Yes I do, all that I need to do is put my trust in you

Oh! You�??ve always been there for me
You�??re the wind that has carry me
Your love has set me free
Your love has made me
I believe
I believe what you say is true
I have faith in what you do
Yes I do, you are my dream come true
I put my trust in you
And I know when I am blue
Yes I know, you carry me through
Yes I do, all that I need to do is put my trust in you

I put my trust in you

- Song by Gregory Charles on the album "I think of you".

Thank you for diffusing the teachings of the Diamond Approach!

Namaste!

Moving Operation

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 17:03:00 +0000

Longing to live the optimizing dynamism of life.*

I have been notified that my actual rent won�??t be renewed. I have to leave at the latest by June 30, 2007. I don�??t know yet where I will be moving.

Will I move in an apartment worst then the one I was renting or in a place more appropriate for me and my blogging project? I�??m in an internal state of conflicting debates towards my unknown future.

This imposed but desired moving operation is introducing new delays in my blogging project.

* Drawing "Déménagement" by Luc, D-Blog-Pas: Encore une pause pour ce blogue!. (http://dblogpas.free.fr)

Welcome to my life

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 16:16:00 +0000

�??When inquiry addresses exactly where our heart is, the heart responds; if it is seen and cared for, it will open up.�??
- A.H. Almaas from Spacecruiser Inquiry, p. 303.

Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum

Do you ever feel like breaking down? / Om
Do you ever feel out of place? /Mani
Like somehow you just don't belong / Padme
And no one understands you / Hum
Do you ever wanna runaway? / Om
Do you lock yourself in your room? / Mani
With the radio on turned up so loud / Padme
That no one hears you screaming / Hum

No you don't know what it's like / Om
When nothing feels all right / Mani
You don't know what it's like / Padme
To be like me / Hum

To be hurt / Om
To feel lost / Mani
To be left out in the dark / Padme
To be kicked when you're down / Hum
To feel like you've been pushed around / Om
To be on the edge of breaking down / Mani
And no one's there to save you / Padme
No you don't know what it's like / Hum
Welcome to my life / Om Mani Padme Hum

Do you wanna be somebody else? / Om
Are you sick of feeling so left out? / Mani
Are you desperate to find something more? / Padme
Before your life is over / Hum
Are you stuck inside a world you hate? / Om
Are you sick of everyone around? / Mani
With their big fake smiles and stupid lies / Padme
While deep inside you're bleeding / Hum

No you don't know what it's like / Om
When nothing feels all right / Mani
You don't know what it's like / Padme
To be like me / Hum

To be hurt / Om
To feel lost / Mani
To be left out in the dark / Padme
To be kicked when you're down / Hum
To feel like you've been pushed around / Om
To be on the edge of breaking down / Mani
And no one's there to save you / Padme
No you don't know what it's like / Hum
Welcome to my life / Om Mani Padme Hum

No one ever lied straight to your face / Om
No one ever stabbed you in the back / Mani
You might think I'm happy but I'm not gonna be okay / Padme
Everybody always gave you what you wanted / Hum
Never had to work it was always there / Om Mani Padme Hum
You don't know what it's like, what it's like / Om Mani Padme Hum

To be hurt / Om
To feel lost / Mani
To be left out in the dark / Padme
To be kicked when you're down / Hum
To feel like you've been pushed around / Om
To be on the edge of breaking down / Mani
And no one's there to save you / Padme
No you don't know what it's like (what it's like) / Hum

To be hurt / Om
To feel lost / Mani
To be left out in the dark / Padme
To be kicked when you're down / Hum
To feel like you've been pushed around / Om
To be on the edge of breaking down / Mani
And no one's there to save you / Padme
No you don't know what it's like / Hum
Welcome to my life / Om Mani Padme Hum
Welcome to my life / Om Mani Padme Hum
Welcome to my life / Om Mani Padme Hum

Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Mani Padme Hum

- Song Welcome to my life by Simple Plan on the album "Still Not Getting Any" mixed with the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" associated to the consciousness quality of compassion in the Tibetan Buddhism.

*Web image: source not noted.

My Night

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:47:00 +0000

Why all theses detours and do it anyway?*

My Night

No money in my pockets �?? In my head,
Battling, the idea of being someone
Anyway
If childhood explains a lot
Seeing big, projecting one�??s self in the future
Well

It�??s my night
It�??s my own night
My unutterable experience, my lack
The annoyance, it�??s when I don�??t want it

For false or good reasons
It is so long
The road that leads to myself
All these detours I�??m taking �?? scared by everything
By all these little things and to do it
Anyway

It�??s my night
It�??s my own night
My unutterable experience, my lack
The annoyance, it�??s when I don�??t want it

My heart is a river
My eyes, a fire
Your Love, it is a forest
A warm wind on my night
On my life
It�??s my own night
My unutterable experience, my lack
The annoyance, it�??s when I don�??t want it

- Free translation of the song Ma nuit by Sylvie Paquette, on the album "Souvenirs de Trois".

*Original web image modified by Alain. Source not noted.

Union or Disintegration Point?

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 16:41:00 +0000

This project is under construction.
Don�??t worry, it�??s gonna be cool...
Homer�??s on the job, Man!*

It seems that the ending is never ending! It feels like it is almost impossible to lay down the foundations of my blogging project! I�??m experiencing a multiplication of inner and outer events in my life that stands against my intentions.

*Original Drawing by Matt Groening modified by Alain. Source not noted.

General Feedbacks

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:57:00 +0000

What do you think of the Union Point blog?
What are your feelings in relation with the Union Point blog?
Does Union Point help you in your relation with hyperthyroidism?

Union Point Outline

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:55:00 +0000

SORRY FOR THE MULTIPLE REPUBLICATIONS OF SOME MESSAGES. I'M PRESENTLY LEARNING HOW THE INDEXATION PROCESS OF MY MESSAGES BY GOOGLEBOT WORKS. HAPPY NEW YEAR. WISH YOU THE BEST FOR 2008. NO NEW MESSAGE.>>

Hi, I'm Slowmo!
I'm just coming by
to warn you that the
author of Union Point
blogs at a snail's pace.

The Union Point blog presents a personal account of my experience of a hyperthyroidism condition with paranoid-like episodes and my journey towards the healing of this condition. My personal account focuses on the considerations that seem to me the most relevant in my personal journey towards a better understanding of reality and what has been my hyperthyroidism condition; the Graves�?? diseases more specifically. While my journey has been holistic, my personal account presents a particular emphasis on psychosomatic considerations, a bit like the work of the doctor and psychologist Franz Alexander.

Please note that French Canadian is my mother tongue and that English is a second language that I'm still trying to learn. Pour une �?dition Franco-Canadienne: Point d'Union. In general, the posts, the updates, the comments and the feedbacks are published once a month during the last weekend of the ongoing month.

In the making!

Introduction
1.My Starting Point
2.Hyperthyroidism and Paranoia
3.My relation to the Diamond Approach
4.Learning to inquire
5.Reading and Tips for Navigation
6.Post a Comment

Starting Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:38:00 +0000

Union Point? What exactly do I mean by that?

Hyperthyroidism: Real possibilities of healing in certain cases or not?... Who�??s Telling the Truth?... Feasibility of My Blogging Project?�?� Potentials and Limits of my Blogging Project?... Modalities of Management?... Public versus Private?... Copyright?... Advertisement?... Relations with Visitors and with Readers?... Comments Publishing Rules?... Positive and Negative Impacts of my Blogging Project?... My Personal Account?... Advises?... My Intention(s)?... My Influence?... My Sources of Influences?... My Capacities?... My Competence?... My Skills?... My Knowledge?... My Expertise?... My Mistakes?... My Interest(s)?... My Motivation(s)?... My Orientation?... My Guide(s)?... My Place?�?� My Friends?�?� My Opponents?... My Isolation?... My Community?�?� My Role(s)?�?� My Vocation?�?� My Mission?�?� My own Way of Earning my Life?... My Deep Longing(s)?... My Dream(s)?... My Fantasy or Fantasies?... My Desire(s) to Be Seen?... My Obsessive and Compulsive Desire(s)?... My Attachment(s)?... My Will?... My Health?... My Life?... My Preoccupation(s)?... My Fears?... My Worries?... My Anxieties?... My Anguish?... My Scepticism?... My Negativity?... My Resistance?... My Cynicism?... My Inner Judge?... The Attacks from Judge Figures?... My Deficiencies?... My Despair?... My Sadness?... My Physical Pains?... My Revolt?... My Shame?... My Culpability?... My Negative Anticipations?... My Repeating Life Scenarios?... My Desires of Vengeance?... My Episodes of Invalidating Crises?... My Confusion?... God?... My Paranoia?... Reality?... What�??s going on?... Who I am?... Where I�??m going?.. My Questions?... My Answers?... Guidance?... My Night?

* Collage with web images by Alain. Sources not noted.

Neo Stand

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 15:35:00 +0000

When you purchase one or more item(s) at the NEO STAND of the UNION POINT, by using the Neo Stand Canada or the Amazon's search fields below, you automatically give an Indirect Voluntary Contribution to support the UNION POINT blog at no extra cost for you at the Amazon providers.

Thank you for your support!

Alain Cloutier, Blogger at Union Point.

» Neo Stand Canada

America: Canada and United States

Europ: France and England

Europ: Germany

The great big as yet unseen

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 01:26:00 +0000

But where are you going?

the great big as yet unseen

something is calling me
something is calling me
something bigger than me
something is attracting me
something bigger than me
is it the deep blue of the open sky?
is it the music in your voice?

I turn off the radio
the television is sleeping beneath the dust
I turn off the radio
the television is sleeping beneath the dust
the most beautiful light
is the sun in September

but where are you going
I�??m strutting like the wolf
toward the great big as yet unseen

I remember the clotheslines
strung tightly within me
fine memories of clotheslines
strung within, form one end of another within me
Love at the first snowfall
Love in lousy weather

I have faithful friends
lost in the wrinkles of time
I have faithful friends
lost
and found in the wrinkles of time
I keep in touch with them
with my songs

but where are you going
I�??m prowling like a wolf
toward the great big as yet unseen

they are days when I�??m sacred
they are days when I�??m hot
that there be no air left in the air
no water in the water
what are we waiting for?
what do we need?

There�??s country hiding, hesitating in the belly
of my guitar
a great country, uneasy in the belly
of my guitar
I still have to find the right cords
before it is too late

My tongue is slipping
and the words are spinning in my mouth
slipping and spinning seven times over and over
in my mouth
words of hatred hurt me
words of love touch me

but where are you going
I�??m crawling like a wolf
toward the great big as yet unseen

they are days when I�??m sacred
they are days when I�??m hot
that there be no air left in the air
no water in the water
what are we waiting for?
what do we need?

something is calling me
something bigger than me
something is attracting me
something bigger than me
is it the deep blue of the open sky?
is it the silence in your voice?

but where are you going
I�??m crawling like a wolf
toward the great big as yet unseen

- Jim Corcoran�??s original translation �?? host of the radio show �??A Propos�??�?? of the song �??le beau grand jamais vu�?? by Michel Rivard on the CD entitled �??Confiance�??.

*Original drawing, coming from an edition of a journal of the Laval University campus, modified by Alain. Exact source not noted.

Voluntary Contributions

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:53:00 +0000

Thanks for the interest that you manifest to support and encourage the Union Point activities. The Union Point blog is presently at the stage of a pilot project. Union Point is the initiative of a native French Canadian that is interested by the hyperthyroidism phenomenon and the Diamond Approach. At the present moment, the Union Point blog has no official administrative or legal status in Canada. For that reason, I�??m not able to offer you an official or a legal acknowledgment for your voluntary contributions.

Two main forms of voluntary contributions to the Union Point blog are possible.

1) Financial Voluntary Contributions

The PayPal service button below offers different options �?? PayPal account, credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, etc.), e-cheque, bank transfers, debit cards �?? to make a financial voluntary contribution to the Union Point blog. You need to have a PayPal account or a desire to open a free PayPal account to take advantage of the PayPal service.

If you would like to have more information in English or in other languages about the PayPal service you could visit the web site PayPal Worldwide.

- Please take note!

Before making a financial voluntary contribution with the PayPal service, there are two things I would like you to know.

There are no transaction fees for you. However PayPal automatically deducts a service fee that seems reasonable to me on every donation offered to the Union Point. Furthermore, if your country of origin is not Canada, it is possible that some important variations exist between the currencies and the costs of living of our respective countries. For these various reasons, I suggest a minimum donation of at least $5,00 Canadian (CAD). (Universal Currency Converter) so that your donation to the Union Point will still be meaningful at the end of the procedure. If for various reasons your are not able to make a minimum donation of $5,00 Canadian (CAD), it is better that you don�??t give any donation for now.

If you don�??t feel comfortable with the idea to make financial transactions on Internet, your could consider the alternative options described below or simply make a first test with a minimum donation of $5,00 Canadian (CAD) when you will feel ready. Thanks.

- Alternative options

Other options to make your donation or your financial voluntary contribution, like posting or email, are also available. Please contact me by using the Miscellaneous Considerations Form to get more information and/or my postal address details. Thanks!

2) Non-Financial Voluntary Contributions

Other forms of non-financial voluntary contributions, like text correction and text translation, are also possible. Please contact me by using the Miscellaneous Considerations Form for more details. Thanks!

Alain Cloutier, blogger at Union Point.

Thanks for your support!

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:52:00 +0000

Wow!

Another surprising contribution...

...that makes a difference even more surprising!

Thank you for supporting Union Point.

Alain Cloutier, Blogger at Union Point.

Miscellaneous Considerations

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:51:00 +0000

Please use the form below for your particular consideration.

My Miscellaneous Considerations Form is processed by a secure service offered by Bravenet. I�??m using the free version of this service and that means that some advertisements are displayed on the preview and confirmation pages. You don�??t have to subscribe to any offers in order to successfully submit your information. When your information is successfully transmitted to me you are automatically redirected to a Thank You Page at Union Point.

P.S. You should always keep a copy of your message's details in a personal file before submitting it just in case a technical problem or a bad move occurs.

Thank You!

Thanks for your information!

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:49:00 +0000

Hi,

Your information has been successfully transmitted. Thank you for submitting relevant information and for contributing to the Union Point blog improvement. In the coming days I will take into consideration your information. Please anticipate that it may take me many days and even a few weeks to answer your question and/or to complete a verification process of the submitted information and to eventually integrate the information into the Union Point blog.

Alain Cloutier, Blogger.

Orientation Express Section

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:35:00 +0000

�??Inquiry as it is practiced in the Diamond Approach is a dynamic, exciting, open-ended exploration into the immediacy of our experience.�??
- Byron Brown, Editor of Spacecruiser Inquiry, p.xvii.

A new quote is displayed each time a page from this blog is loaded and/or refreshed. Enjoy! The ORIENTATION EXPRESS section expresses by the mean of quotes randomly displayed an outline of my personal orientation in life.

The ORIENTATION EXPRESS section also suggests an outline of the general context in which I�??m trying to do my blogging activities on Union Point.

The quotes randomly displayed in the ORIENTATION EXPRESS section are from the book Spacecruiser Inquiry: True Guidance for the Inner Journey by A.H. Almaas.

In this book, A.H. Almaas uses the metaphor of a spacecruiser to describe a method of exploring our own personal inner space �?? a way of investigating our moment-by-moment sensations, feelings, thoughts, motivations, reactions and behaviours through a process of open-ended questioning.

The quotes randomly displayed only represent a simple glimpse into the teachings of the Diamond Approach on open and open ended inquiry. The wider significance of each quote can best be seen in the original context of the quotes source and the overall context of the teachings of the Diamond Approach.

Complementary information centered on my personal orientation is available under the THEME: ORIENTATION.

Technical Acknowledgments and Credits

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 19:06:00 +0000

UPDATE: New info!>>
| Technical assistance and discussions? |
Here is a list of the main technical and logistical resources I have used to create the Union Point blog and/or I�??m taking advantage of in order to manage my blogging activities.

Web Services and Tools Providers
Amazon.ca Associates Program
Blogger Help Group
Bravenet: Free web sites and web tools
Co.mments: Track your comments
Feedburner
Google Blogger
Google Business Solutions
Google Products
PayPal
Ripway: Web hosting and file sharing service

Codes, «Hacks» and other Utilities Providers
activejump.com
- Links and Internal Links.

Beautiful Beta
- Blog Navigation: Top of Page/Top of Post; Customizing Feed Offers; Favicon; Message Board; New Blogger Templates Structure: CSS, (X)HTML, Scripts; Post a Link in Comments; Post Style Effects (Drop Caps, Blockquote(s), Pullquote(s)); Post Update Trick; Recent Comments Widget; Recent Posts Widget; Table of Contents (Blog Toc).

Blogger au Bout du Doigt
- Promotional Tips.

Blogger Buster
- Table of Contents (Blog Toc) considerations; Post Style Effects (Blockquote(s)); Promotional Tips.

Blog U
- Favicon; Optimal Loading; Post Style Effects (Drop Caps, Blockquote(s), Pullquote(s)); Removal of the Dotted Border from Links.

Dummies Guide to Google Blogger
- New Blogger Templates Structure: CSS, (X)HTML, Scripts; Promotional Tips.

Dynamique Drive
- Favicon Generator; Online Image Optimizer.

EchoEcho.com
- Pop Up Windows.

Hoctro's Place
- New Blogger Templates Structure: CSS, (X)HTML, Scripts.

Hackosphere
- Author Comment Highlighting; Beginning only /Full post (Expandable Post with Peek-a-Boo); Drop-Down Labels; Hide Blogger NavBar; Promotional Tips; Recent Comments Widget; Show/Hide or Expand/Collapse Posts in Label/Archives Pages (Peek-A-View of posts in label/archive pages).

HTMLSource
- Links and Internal Links.

Mandarin Design
- Post Style Effects (Drop Caps, Blockquote(s), Pullquote(s)).

PurpleMoggy's Blog
- Display Random Post Device.

Singpolyma-Technical Blog
- Show/Hide or Expand/Collapse Content of Different «Page Elements» (Peek-a-Boo Widgets).

Thanks!
Technical assistance and discussions?

It's possible to get more information and help about the previous resources by exploring the related links. I�??m sorry but I�??m not available for web and blogging technical assistance and discussions.

Project in Gestation

noreply@blogger.com (Alain) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 18:05:00 +0000

Love asks : be alive
Because from death nothing can come out.
Do you know who is alive?
The one who is born from love.

- Excerpt from the poem «L'amour demande: sois vivant» de Roumi.
in Roumi. Amour, ta blessure dans mes veines. �?ditions J.-C.Lattès, Paris, 2004.