Welcome to TransThought!
Our Mission and Benefit to You
The overriding mission of TransThought is to reduce suffering in the world.
The first step and the one that is probably of most immediate benefit to you is to provide instruction in Rational Self Counseling (RSC), a self help method that you can use to make your life happier and more effective. It is based on the idea that what and how we think profoundly affects our lives and that we can learn to think in a more effective way. Click on the Rational Self Counseling tab to learn more.
Two other facets of our mission are 1) to explore the concept of Community and how people can live in greater community with each other. 2) Related to that is communication and we provide an introduction to Non-Violent Communication, a potentially transformative way of communication.
Then we go full circle and discuss with you how our thinking has broader implications than we might expect and affects global outcomes.
Explore the site in any order you wish but I recommend starting with the RSC section. If you sign in for a free account, you gain access to a complete course in the fundamentals of RSC that you can begin to study and use right away.
A Key Observation
"We have met the enemy and he is us." (Pogo) Our species has developed to the point where most human suffering is self-imposed through both individual and cultural thought distortions and the resulting internal and external conflict. Also our actions now severely affect our planet's ecosystem. Our rapid advances in technology far outstrip our ability to develop the wisdom to handle that technology in a constructive manner. Something needs to change.
The good news
On many levels, our problems are in large part due to "irrational" thinking and lack of skills in effective communication and non-destructive conflict resolution. That is fortunate because this is something we can change. TransThought invites you to explore with us four particularly effective methods of transformation.
Method & Focus
Through a combination of presented material and interaction with you, our readers, using blogs, TransThought addresses four main areas of relationship and how to improve them:
- Relationship with self is addressed using Rational Self Counseling (RSC).
- Relationship with other is addressed using Nonviolent Communication (NVC).
- Relationship with larger groups is addressed using Community Building (CB).
- Relationship with the ecosystem is addressed using a combination of the other three methods.
TransThought emphasizes the role of thought in creating suffering, violence and separation and how those can be transformed by examining our thinking in various ways. The name TransThought is meant to suggest transcending dysfunctional patterns of thought and developing new patterns that create health where there was "disease." Our major focus is on Rational Self Counseling, the foundation that examines our individual and cultural thought disorders and their alternatives. But we also cover a method on communication and one on creating community in groups of people.
Human thought and behavior significantly affect our co-inhabitants of Earth and its environment. We explore the thinking and attitudes that lead us to behave destructively. The reduction of suffering extends to non-human life!
TransThought is divided into four sections, one for each area of relationship mentioned above..Each method and its section addresses a key aspect of relationship. Briefly...
Rational Self Counseling (RSC)
RSC (developed by Albert Ellis and Maxie Maultsby) is a powerful method for self-change through examining one's thoughts, beliefs and attitudes and changing them if doing so would be helpful. It deals primarily with one's relationship to self but also has powerful implications for our relationships with others and the planet.
Nonviolent Communication (NVC)
NVC (developed by Marshall Rosenberg) deals with relationship to others, primarily one-to-one. It teaches a way of communication that is truly transformative, helping you communicate in a way that promotes your getting your needs met while being totally respectful of others. It is an excellent complement to RSC and the two methods have many concepts in common.
Community Building (CB)
CB goes one step further and addresses the relationship of people in groups. It shows how people can transcend their differences and experience a group in a new and joyful way. TransThought relies mainly on the work of M. Scott Peck described wonderfully in his book, The Different Drum, though there are many other similar approaches to community building.
The Ecosystem in its Entirety
Unlike in the other three sections, there is no specific method here, but we have noticed that many approaches to human problems stop with humans as if we lived in a vacuum. In fact, we are part of a larger ecosystem and everything else on this site has implications for that. In this fourth section we will specifically address the ecosystem and how the other sections could transform our relationship to and effect on it.
Invitation
The purpose of this site, then, is to explore certain ways in which the common, but unhelpful, ways we think and behave can be transformed. It is not meant to be comprehensive (which would be impossible) but to delve into a few key areas.
I hope you find it stimulating and of direct practical use in your life. Try the RSC on-line course and participate actively in the blogs and comments. I hope you share in the growth and excitement that I have received from these transformative methods and ideas.