Posted by Stuart Gilman (67.68.201.121) on December 16, 2002 at 06:16:20:

In Reply to: Re: Quote from Gleanings posted by Rob on December 15, 2002 at 15:34:51:

Dear Rob and others -

I am grateful for your comments and quotes and feel I have some Baha'i guidance which was absent before. Naturally, while protecting my former friend's identity, I have discussed this subject with other Baha'is and found it to be very awkward. In the first place, the subject is distasteful - the description of the problem is by itself an assault for many people, not just Baha'is. I understand.

I should also tell you that my work is very often like a visit to hell. The secrets I am professionally told take a toll - I have a temporary breakdown roughly every five years and need a few months before re-entering the minds of the mad and the psychopathic.

The work of analysis and psychotherapy reveals inner truths that no "normal" person would ever suspect. I am, after thirty years, difficult to infect, but there are patients whose lives - tho not violent - are so decadent, mendacious, cruel and deviant - even I am surprised that I can be taken by surprise and find myself terribly hurt by new and unbefore heard truths.

This in effect taints my view of life in general, making my choice of Baha'i, if I may be allowed, special. The 'truth" of life, when they come from the therapist's couch, would destroy the faith of any ordinary man or woman - pardon my self-complementarity.

I promised everyone that my days of testing you were over. I shall keep that promise, partly out of respect to my own promise, and partly from gratitude to those who have honestly shared their opinions on this subject ("gay promiscuous male, verbal elaborations and photos...).

seg

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