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December 29, 2002
Review: Journey through the mind
“EVERY action we take every thought we think creates our future. Our inner journey is the insight of our awakening. Be aware that every life has a purpose and events happen for a reason. If we open our minds and souls we will be part of the evolution of a new spirituality. You must commit yourself to making necessary changes with wholehearted effort and energy. Use your experience and the example of others and you will overcome immediate obstacles and find lasting success.”
These are words from the inside cover of Mariam Aftab’s book Journey of insights under review. This is her message to the readers.
Basically a psychologist, she was fascinated by intuition and occult sciences that led her into tarot reading. She combined the two to develop a unique way of providing relief and support to those who came to her for this purpose. She used her knowledge to alleviate the suffering and misery of her fellow human beings.
In the book she takes the readers on a psychological journey through the stories of the people she dealt with over the years and uses them as examples to analyze emotional dilemmas along with the underlying cause. Her stories, or rather her case studies turned into stories, deal with basic human emotions and issues. Through these stories we learn that a great deal of human misery is caused by the lack of discipline in society, the absence of family codes and irrational response to personal crises.
The characters of her stories are ordinary people from the world we live in. While reading the stories one has a strong sense of deja vu — a feeling that one has seen or heard a similar tale before. We have all heard about a young man driven to suicide, a teenager who has been forced to pursue a path totally different from where his aptitude lies, women who are victimized by their husbands but still prefer to cling to their marital status for one reason or another.
Through these characters we learn of the mechanisms that are at work and govern human actions in that particular situation. The author offers a possible solution to a difficult problem without dwelling much upon the intricacies of the problem itself. She presents her cases in a simple manner without philosophizing or dwelling for long on a single theme. This makes her style effective and convincing as the reader tends to grasp the subject immediately and without difficulty.
We learn a great deal about human nature, emotions and behaviour through these stories. Aftab seeks to give the readers an understanding of these factors and motivates them to show a little consideration for those in distress. She firmly believes that “a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude”, and this is the approach she has adopted while counselling her clients. But while laying emphasis on the approach to be adopted in dealing with a problem and exploring the right method of coping with it, the author highlights the significance of discerning between what can be and what cannot be changed.
Besides providing an insight into human emotions, Mariam Aftab candidly expresses her views on various social problems prevalent in our society such as the secondary status of women, honour killings, drug abuse and the low contraceptive prevalence. Most of the problems have their roots in the patriarchal system which characterizes our society.
Man’s pursuit for supremacy and domination preempt any improvement in the status of women. There is need to bring about a change in society by changing our attitudes. Many problems can be solved once their root cause is recognized, since understanding is the first step towards their solution.
Journey of insights: true stories
By Mariam Aftab
Mental Health and Social Development Foundation (in collaboration with Hashoo Foundation) 112-B, Main Gulberg Road, Sherpao Bridge, Lahore. Tel: 042-5751231
Website: www.easterntarot.net
180pp
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