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consciousness
September 2008 
The most inspiring thing I have seen today...
Posted on Mar 24th, 2008
by 
Quiche
Quiche
20/20: Struggle Street
Nick Chisholm's life puts a perspective on what is life, and overcoming insurmountable odds that few others could or have. His very existence since the accident on a soccer field that left him in "Locked-in syndrome" is an amazing example of the will to live, the power of spirit and of consciousness, and courage. For me, having experienced severe depression for over a decade, and some of the adversities that led to it, now thankfully post-depression, I realize, even more so after watching this, how precious my life and everyone else's is, and ashamed of how I was perfectly willing to give in all too easily, wanting to die over something that pales in comparison to what Nick faced. Reminds me of the scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail where the guy is pulling around the wagon of black plague corpses, "Bring out ye dead!", and they put this old guy still walking around on the wagon, and he insists, "I'm not dead yet!". Nick isn't, and neither are we, still able to change, adapt, overcome, inspire, make a difference, evolve, grow, to fight another day even, and I'm grateful.
Here is an article from a clinical review with Nick's journal entries describing his experience.
Access: PublicTagged with: Nick Chisholm, Locked-in Syndrome, trauma, life, living, consciousness, inspiration, overcoming, not dead yet
Wow. What an amazing story.
There is this part of me that resists stories like this - “Look how good your life is, you aren't out in the rain with no legs” and whatnot. I think that sounds callous, but that's the nature of my resistance. At the same time, of course, it's fascinating to take consciousness down to the most basic level, a level I really can't even grasp, and it is also, no matter how much I resist it, terribly inspiring.
The balance and cooperation between physical body and the consciousness it houses is especially interesting for me, and right now I'm coping with how much a minor physical issue, like screwing up my knee, affects how I am in the world. It's really easy for me to slip into thinking that the thinking part of me is who I am - until I realize how the physical part affects absolutely everything.
And then of course I feel guilty about even fussing about something so minor - I mean, Nick would be so glad to just have his knee messed up and otherwise be quite completely fine, right? It's not like I'm sitting out in the rain with no legs, it's not like I'm living with locked-in syndrome…
It's all very confusing and my raised-catholic guilt is sometimes bigger than life.
Great post, thank you.
Thank you Rapunzel!
I can relate to your messed up knee- I broke both bones in my right leg above the ankle (Nov 2006) and now have a steel shank and screws in there. It was odd to have to THINK about walking, and re-learning walking, and balance, which before the accident I never thought about, and don't remember thinking about it the first time (: Then there was this awareness of something foreign, and overall strangeness about the metal. Though I've gotten used to it, and walk fine now, I am still more conscious and aware of my right leg and maneuvering, not as confident. I think with age, I have become much more aware of my corporeality, and my physical health, that in youth I somewhat took for granted. I quite enjoy my corporeality (:
I didn't intend to come across as minimizing anyone else's experiences or make some comparison, or “look how good your life is” or the flip side, “If you think that your life sucks…”, as if it were some sick contest, because those are relative things and equally valid- one person's setback might be another person's undoing, athough in retrospect, after posting this, I thought perhaps it might be taken that way. I was simply amazed by the power of consciousness and of my own. I think the Locked -in Syndrome really challenges paradigms about consciousness, and makes for more research on the topic. I guess it has been a fascination of mine for awhile too, just thinking of all the books I have read that delve into it.
Noetic Sciences
I love the definition of Noetic sciences: “Noetic sciences are explorations into the nature and potentials of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing—including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the “inner cosmos” of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the “outer cosmos” of the physical world.” Their objective: “The institute's work is dedicated to transforming contemporary worldviews on the relationship between consciousness and matter. The implications of our empirical research and community education efforts extend far beyond the laboratory and the lecture hall. Indeed, our work speaks to a shift involving humanity's deepest knowing and understanding of ourselves and our universe.”
Nifty stuff!
Oh, we have that in common too! - I have a metal plate and six screws in my left leg, same reason (tib/fib fx). One of my big goals is to have the hardware removed soon. July 4th, 2005 - I wasn't even partying, just walking across the lawn to where we were intending to party and watch fireworks…oops.
It's one of the few injuries that haven't come from me being odd and reckless and was definitely the worst. I've become less and less reckless over time because the recovery period isn't worth it, but it bothers me to make that decision. I've always been the “I'll jump off the bridge first” kind of person. Or the “I think rollerblading is a great way to speed clean the house” kind of person. Or the “Oh, I can reach that rock if I stand here” kind of person. And a lot of the time my theories have worked out. And then there are the other times, memorable for their recovery periods.
Every time I come to grips with how much my body affects how I am in the world I'm stunned anew.
I wasn't actually implying that your post was once of those “you think you've got it bad” kind of “inspiring” things, I was just babbling on about how I take things in that way in spite of myself. When I was a kid I had a prolonged illness thingie that really affected how I feel about being here in a body, I think. It's a part of being in the world that can still catch me off guard, even though I've found all kinds of amazing ways to celebrate how nifty being here in a body is.
I'm stealing “nifty” from you, btw.
All smiles! I was told I couldn't remove mine unless it adversely affected me- they said it would be more likely to break again. I guess I must have really done a number on mine. I think the over a decade bout of severe depression has caused me some premature bone density loss. I haven't gotten a test yet, but if they don't readily suggest that before you have the hardware removed, you might ought to request it. You said, “Every time I come to grips with how much my body affects how I am in the world I'm stunned anew.” me too. It amazes me too how resilient the human body is- we've done our own Evil Knievel stunts to prove it! ha! Love the speed cleaning idea, though I'd prefer the old 4 wheeled skates.
Nifty- steal away! It's a choice word.
Well - yeah, i was told the same thing about removing hardware, but I believe that may be more compliance with insurance standards than reality, There's a lot of documentation online from people who found that removing hardware knocked out all the swelling, vague pain and general problems. It's often just about convincing an ortho doc to convince an insurance company to foot the bill.
Oh, also, leaving the plate in increases the risk of a fracture adjacent to the plate.
Thanks for that helpful bit of info! I had it done by the Veteran's Admin., so they may have told me the same for similar reasons. Let me know how it goes.