The Breakthrough in Two Acts

Fredric C. Hartman Ph.D.

Description

Offering a complete practical plan for overcoming emotional distress, this guide in play form reveals ways to embrace a calmer and more fulfilling way to experience life.

In The Breakthrough in Two Acts, Dr. Fredric C. Hartman paints a vivid picture of emotional pain and its context within the human mind and brain. Set in the dramatic backdrop of a therapy session as a stage play, featuring Dr. Hartman as the psychologist and Human Consciousness itself as "the patient," this is a practical guide for anyone who struggles with negative or painful emotions.

In his play, Dr. Hartman tells the story about our vulnerability to painful emotions, which flare up from the depths of our brains, casting distressing and destructive spells over us. As the play unfolds, he develops two new experiences to help strengthen our consciousness: one, by actively breaking the spell of the two thoughts that lie at the heart-and generate the distress-in each of our negative emotions, and two, by embracing the strange, fleeting collection of conditions that come along with the present moments of our lives as they each flash by.

The Breakthrough in Two Acts is an appeal to humanity and a plan for how to use one 'part' of our brain-consciousness-to quiet down another, chronically overheated 'part'-the limbic system-which has ravaged our species with troubles ranging from emotional illness to war. Here is a way of thinking for hard times to help overcome emotional distress and embrace a calmer and more fulfilling way to experience life.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être émotionnel
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Bien-être
• Serenity
• Happiness
• Consciousness
• Self-help
• Transcendence
• Present

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 08 mars 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781532009280
• Langue: English

Extrait

First Place, 2014 LuckyCinda Award in Self-Help
Winner, 2015 Beverly Hills Book Award in General Self-Help
First Place, 2017-2018 Literary Award in Self-Help
Winner, 2020 Independent Press Award in General Self-Help
 
“A perceptive, persuasive analysis of self-imposed suffering with a practical formula for relief and release … The setup is entertaining … the discussion is neither dry nor cut off from the heart … ”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS
 
“Hartman speaks directly to the reader and often seems to be there in the room with you. He explains so much about how the mind can be affected by the pain and yearning of the past and presents a means by which one can escape that hold and live more fully in the present. I was profoundly impacted by what I read within this book.”
—Five-Star review by Jack Magnus for READERS’ FAVORITE
 
“With much wisdom and knowledge to be considered on the power of thought and finding that last bit we need to beat our fear, The Breakthrough is a strongly recommended addition to self-help and inspirational collections, highly recommended.”
—THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
 
“Dr. Hartman has created a self-help book unlike any other...the book is both a refreshing read and a surprisingly helpful guide to understanding how and why we experience anxiety, depression, and panic about our emotional states. By advocating an understanding and appreciation of our actual relationship to the universe (as opposed to a fanciful or childish holdover) we can begin to fully inhabit each moment of our lives. Using experimental font sizes, inventive dialogue in the format of a play, and carefully chosen anecdotes from his own life and experience, Hartman creates a memorable and helpful guide to reclaiming happiness and leaving behind nameless dread.”
—IndieReader
 
“... amazingly smooth to read ... wonderful scene titles and quotes ... As complex as psychology is, the author has made it quite approachable to countless people - I would almost hope that this text becomes required reading for all teaching, nursing, political science, business (in fact every subject) students, if not all high school students!”
—Five-Star review by Melinda Hills for READERS’ FAVORITE
 
“ The Breakthrough in Two Acts , a remarkable evaluation, assessment, and practical revelation of human consciousness and our intimate connection with it, reads more like Fredric C. Hartman is a poet, not a doctor ... That is the pleasure one feels while reading: not like he is listening to a lecture, but like he has wandered into a private conversation revealing the big secret behind our existence ... the effect of Dr. Hartman’s book is to make one feel enlightened, and yes, a bit more light-hearted. But, in a most down-to-earth and useful way ... Everyone needs to read this book. Everyone should read this book.”
—Five-Star review by Joel Dennstedt for READERS’ FAVORITE
 
“ The Breakthrough in Two Acts written by clinical psychologist Fredric C. Hartman is a transformative piece of non-fiction ... The tone is intelligent, but also so relatable that I feel even a pre-teen reader would be able to grasp parts of it. It’s definitely a book that would have interested me at a young age ... I can easily say that The Breakthrough in Two Acts is an epiphany in written form ... You need this book, and your sister, brother, cousin, father, and mother. The stranger you don’t know on the corner needs it. It’ll change you and give comfort in a way that you never would have thought possible.”
—Five-Star review by Erin Nicole Cochran for READERS’ FAVORITE
 
“This is probably the strangest, most unsettling, most oddly structured book I’ve ever read, and may possible turn out to be one of the wisest.”
—a review of the audiobook version by Tad Davis, Philadelphia, PA, USA
THE BREAKTHROUGH IN TWO ACTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
The Breakthrough in Two Acts
Breaking the Spells of Painful Emotions and Finding the Calm in the Present Moment
 
Copyright © 2007, 2020 by Fredric C. Hartman, Ph.D.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
iUniverse
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Bloomington, IN 47403
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses
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since publication and may no longer be valid.
 
ISBN: 978-1-5320-0926-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-5320-0927-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-5320-0928-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016917867
 
iUniverse Rev. 06/14/2021
 
 
 
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
 
Names: Hartman, Fredric C., author.
Title: Breakthrough in two acts : breaking the spells of painful emotions and finding the calm in the present moment / Fredric C. Hartman, Ph.D.
Description: Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2017.
Identifiers: ISBN 978-1-5320-0926-6.
Subjects: LCSH Self-actualization (Psychology) | Self psychology. | Consciousness. | Meditation. | BISAC PSYCHOLOGY / Emotions
Classification: LCC BF637.M4 .H37 2017 | DDC 158.1/2--dc23
 
 
 
The information, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this book, you should consult your personal physician or mental health professional. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions in this book.
NIGHT AND DAY
Words and Music by Cole Porter
Copyright 1932 WB Music Corp.
All Rights Reserved Used by Permission of ALFRED PUBLISHING CO., INC.
Excerpt from “ It’s a Wonderful Life ,” (1946)
Used by Permission of The Frank Capra Archive, Wesleyan University Cinema Archives
Excerpt from “ Cantos from Dante’s Inferno ,” (2000) published by Talisman House Used by Permission of the Estate of Armand Schwerner
Excerpt from Dante’s “Paradiso,” translated by John Ciardi (1970) Used by Permission of W W Norton & Company, Inc.
Excerpt(s) from Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss, TM and copyright © by Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P. 1990. Used by permission of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
From Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, © by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. 1960, copyright renewed 1988.
 
 
 
 
For/with Doug
For everyone I’ve worked with And everyone I haven’t
For Amanda and Julie
And for Celia
And K
 
 
 
All that a man has to say or do that can possibly concern mankind, is in some shape or other to tell the story of his love,—to sing…
Henry David Thoreau Journal, 6 May 1854
Contents
The Urgent Reason for Referral
Cast of Characters
The Setting
The Beginning
Overture to Just One: Consciousness, You Mean the World to Me
Overture to the Whole World of Humans: Is There Anyone in the House Who Wants an Emotional Breakthrough? And Oh that Civilization! When Will It Want One?
Prologue My Own Search for that All-Powerful Pause Called Serenity
Introduction The Written Word, the Spoken Word, and the Word that Changes You Forever and a Day
A Short Guide for the Moments to Com e— Can I Interest Anyone in Some Growing Pains?
Act I The Inside of Your Mind and That Past of Yours, Particularly, those Hypnotic Thoughts that, I’m Afraid, are Forever in Revolt at the Heart of Every Single Painful Emotion
Scene 1 What in the World is the Mind Anyway? Does it Really Exist? And Isn’t it Mysterious?
Scene 2 The Mind is Better than a Clock: It Doesn’t Just Mark Each Moment; It Collects Them All; It Socks Them All Away.
Scene 3 The Basic Equipment: Consciousness (that Means You) and the Rest of Your Mind. Or in Other Words: The Playgoer, the Playhouse, and the Show
Scene 4 Is It an Emergency for Us to Realize Certain Things About Our Own Minds and Our Lives, Or What?
Scene 5 A Preview of a Fantastic Mass of Moments Inside Our Brains Where All—I Tell You, All—of Our Emotional Pain Comes from
Scene 6 The Present Moment. This Very Instant. Now! (It’s Everything to Us. Well, Almost Everything.)
Scene 7 Ladies and Gentleman, the Limbic System is Truly Amazing. It’s One of the Wonders of the Natural World. Watch It Completely Reject the Present Moment Right Before Your Eyes. Just Like That!
Scene 8 Doubts About Any of This? Or All of This?
Scene 9 And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, For Your Entertainment Pleasure, Introducing Our Painful Emotions …
Scene 10 And Here, Ladies and Gentlemen, are the Ways We Experience Our Painful Emotions …
Scene 11 And Last but not Least, Ladies and Gentlemen, Here are the Ways We Express Our Painful Emotions …
Scene 12 And the Cure, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Extremely Simple but Extremely Radical—All We Have to Do is Morph Our Consciousness into a Big, Giant Pause. In Other Words, We Need to Learn to See and See and See and Se e and Keep Seein g .That’s all there is to it.
Scene 13 Are You Ready to Se e this Thing Inside Your Mind? It’s Awesome! It’s Out of this World! It’s Practically Celestial!
Scene 14 But First I Badly Need to Give You More Proof that there are Moments Inside Our Brains, Clusters and Clusters of ’em
Scene 15 Okay, Folks, Now Her