Читать книгу Temporal Psychology and Psychotherapy. The Human Being in Time and Beyond - - Страница 9

Summary

The human being is not an abstract subject: we are rooted in a web of external rhythms – from the daily light—dark cycle to multi-year waves of solar activity and economic cycles. This chapter combines philosophical reflection (the anthropic principle, the metaphor of the «cosmic human») with an applied view: which levels of external rhythms have clinical and diagnostic significance for temporal psychology, how they can be tested, and how to treat cultural corpora (astrology, myth). The chapter stresses methodological caution: metaphors broaden our view, but empirical claims require rigorous testing.

Key Concepts

Anthropic principle (psychological reading) – the idea that the parameters of the world are «pre-tuned» in such a way that an observer can appear here; in a psychological reading, a working hypothesis about the attunement of the psyche to external rhythms.

Cosmic Human / Adam Kadmon – a metaphor of the unity of macrocosm and microcosm; phenomenologically rich and clinically usable as an image, but not empirically valid without testing.

External rhythms – cycles outside the individual: daily (circadian), lunar, seasonal, multi-year (solar activity), long-term historical/economic waves.

Zeitgebers – external «conductors» of biorhythms (light, social schedules, etc.); key to understanding why «biorhythms» are at once internal and externally relevant.

Methodological caution – distinguishing between metaphor, phenomenological corpus and testable hypothesis.

Aims of the Chapter

– To explain why discussion of external rhythms is important for temporal psychology.

– To describe five key levels of external rhythms relevant for clinical work and research.

– To provide recommendations for testing hypotheses about attunement between psyche and external rhythms.

– To clearly distinguish the cultural-symbolic domain (astrology, myth) from the empirical field of research.

Main Text

1. Philosophical Reflection: The Anthropic Principle and the «Cosmic Human»

In physics, the anthropic principle points out that the laws of the world are such that an observer is possible within it. A psychological reading of this idea is not a magical claim, but a way of posing the question: how do the properties of the surrounding world and its rhythms form the field in which the psyche arises and develops?

The metaphor of the «cosmic human» (Adam Kadmon and analogous images in different traditions) offers a rich phenomenological material: it fixes an intuition of the person’s co-belonging with the cosmos. But it is important to separate metaphor from empirical assertion: in science we put forward hypotheses about attunement and test them against data.

Here we immediately turn to a practical angle: external rhythms act as «addresses» for an extraverted temporal handwriting (people oriented toward external cycles tend to react more strongly to these rhythms), whereas an introverted handwriting is more oriented to inner temporal dimensions. This distinction is a working hypothesis, not a dogma.

Critical remark: always distinguish the context – philosophical (the metaphor of the «cosmic human») versus empirical (correlations between rhythms and mental state). Metaphor widens our view, but does not replace data.

2. Biorhythms as Both Internal and External

It is important to clarify: «biorhythms» are endogenous oscillators of the organism that are internally generated but entrained by external zeitgebers (light, temperature, social schedules). In other words, biorhythms are internal in origin but externally modulated; therefore the boundary between «internal» and «external» in rhythms is always relative. Contemporary work in circadian biology and its impact on health and mental functioning provides detailed support for this position.

3. Five Key Levels of External Rhythms

(clinical observations and verification)

Below is a working overview of levels useful for clinicians and researchers. For each, we sketch clinical observations and suggest avenues for verification.

3.1. Daily (Circadian) Rhythms

Phenomenon. The 24-hour organisation of sleep/wake, hormonal fluctuations and circadian patterns of activity.

Clinical picture. Variability of mood and performance across the day; morning apathy in depressed patients; suicidal and cardiac peaks in the early morning – clinically relevant markers.

Verification. Actigraphy, hormonal profiling, collecting time-stamped data on events (hospitalisations, cardiac episodes). Modern reviews highlight the major impact of the circadian system on health and immunity.

3.2. Monthly / Lunar Cycles

Phenomenon. The 29.5-day lunar cycle; historical beliefs about its connection with menstrual, behavioural and criminal patterns.

Clinical picture. Patients sometimes report insomnia or increased emotional lability during full moon; at the regional level some reports have described rises in emergency calls.

Verification. Prospective actigraphic and registry studies. There is robust prospective evidence for effects of lunar phase on sleep onset and duration, but meta-analytic reviews point to mixed findings and high sensitivity to methodology and sampling. Prospective registration and careful control of retrospective reporting are necessary.

3.3. Seasonal / Annual Rhythms

Phenomenon. Annual variations in day length, temperature and associated behavioural and biochemical shifts.

Clinical picture. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is the classic example; the efficacy of light therapy has been clinically demonstrated.

Verification. Clinical trials of light therapy; population-based studies of seasonal patterns in morbidity and birth rates.

3.4. Multi-year Cycles of Solar Activity (~11 years) and Geomagnetic Disturbances

Phenomenon. Cycles of solar activity, flare events and subsequent geomagnetic disturbances.

Clinical / societal picture. Retrospective analyses have found correlations between solar activity peaks and changes in acute medical utilisation, cardiac and psychiatric statistics; epidemiological work has shown associations between geomagnetic disturbances and increased mortality on some indicators.

Verification. Longitudinal multicentre studies that link satellite indices (Kp, sunspot number) with clinical registries. Existing studies show carefully derived associations, but the mechanism remains contested and requires replication.

3.5. Long Historical / Economic Waves

Phenomenon. Decades-long cycles in the economy, technological development and public mood (long-wave theories, Kondratiev and his successors).

Psychological significance. Mass temporality – collective expectations, perceived risks, readiness for innovation – generates societal scenarios that become embedded in individual life plans (career, family, migration).

Verification. Interdisciplinary studies combining historical data, sociological surveys and psycho-demographic measures. Methodologically this is a demanding but promising area.

Important caveat. Observed correlations at these levels do not equal proof of causality. Each association demands strict control for confounders and prospective registration.

4. Attitude Toward Astrology and Cultural Traditions

Astrological systems represent a large phenomenological corpus: centuries of observation, symbolism and interpretive technique. For temporal psychology they may serve as a phenomenological resource – a source of observations and meaning maps – but cannot automatically be treated as an empirical causal model without testing.

Put differently: astrology can be legitimately used as a cultural and therapeutic repertoire (working with symbol and meaning), but its postulates require verification if one wishes to claim scientific explanatory power.

Methodological recommendation. Use astrological and mythological motifs in therapy as metaphors and semiotic tools, but do not let them replace clinical diagnosis and statistical testing of hypotheses.

5. Hypotheses for Interdisciplinary Testing

(directions for research)

Below is a brief list of operational hypotheses that should be tested prospectively and with preregistered protocols:

– Circadian dysregulation correlates with increases in acute psychiatric exacerbations (to be tested via actigraphy and hospitalisation registries).

– Lunar phase modifies sleep parameters in sensitive individuals (prospective actigraphy under controlled conditions).

– Geomagnetic disturbances are associated with changes in the rates of acute events (lag analysis, multilevel modelling, satellite data).

– Long socio-economic cycles influence collective temporal scenarios that, in turn, shape individual decisions (historical-psychological research).

Each of these hypotheses is a candidate for prospective multicentre projects with preregistered protocols.

Practical Tool – Mini-Questionnaire

«Connected with Rhythms» (5—7 minutes)

(Use as a screening instrument; positive answers are a reason to deepen the temporal profile.)

1. Do you notice changes in your mood at different times of day? (never / sometimes / often)

2. Do you experience insomnia or worse sleep during full or new moon? (no / sometimes / yes)

3. Do you have seasonal fluctuations in mood/energy? (no / moderate / pronounced)

4. Have you noticed any link between your dreams and major external events (disasters, accidents)? (no / sometimes / yes)

5. Do you experience periods when «time falls out» – meaning seems to stop? (no / sometimes / often)

6. Do recurring family scenarios appear across generations? (no / a few / many)

7. Is your sleep disrupted when you change time zones or work schedules? (not at all / moderately / strongly)

Instruction for the therapist.

Answers such as «often / yes / pronounced / strongly» are a reason to expand the assessment of temporal handwriting (see Chapter 1) and, if appropriate, to compare events with external indicators (lunar phase on the date of the event, local weather/seismic data, Kp-index). Full diagnostic tools are presented in Part II and in the Appendix to Chapter 2.

Transition to the Next Chapter

In Chapter 1 we introduced the concept of temporal handwriting; in Chapter 2 we have added the layer of external attunements. The next chapter (Chapter 3) examines inner rhythms and the issue of the psyche stepping «beyond» material connections – atemporality and altered states of consciousness.