CIPS NewsBriefs - Summer 2024
Feed the beast
Submitted by Joseph Bobrow, PhD
Training Analyst, LAISPS and Author
He’s insatiable.
An amuse bouche?
An antipasto platter?
Nah, that won’t do
His appetites know no bounds.
Keep it moving! The beast gets ornery
When you mess with his feeding
schedule or provide meager portions.
Keep the assembly line cranking.
The foreman barks ’no slacking’!
We’ve got a quota to meet.’
Human sacrifices
He likes them fresh, the
younger the better.
This is the meat grinder.
This is how the war sausage is made
Don’t worry which side they come from,
or who’s to blame.
He could care less.
Just keep them coming.
You think it’s about Hamas and Israel?
Israel and the Palestinians?
Maybe it’s Iran and Israel.
Or, if you’re an astute
geopolitical analyst, you might see it as a proxy war between Iran and the US.
Stop it! The beast laughs and snarls.
He knows better.
It’s all him all the time.
His rapacious hunger.
Where’s the meat? he growls.
Horror for us means fresh
supplies for him.
New recruits for this
ancient dance of death.
Joseph Bobrow Ph.D. practices psychotherapy and psychoanalysis and is the author of three books. His approach is informed by years of practicing and teaching Zen mindfulness. He lives and practices in Studio City, CA and consults and teaches widely on psychotherapy, Buddhism, and how they enrich each other in transforming suffering.
Joseph is also the founding director and Roshi of Deep Streams Zen Institute which offers Zen practice, interdisciplinary education, and community service. He has long been bringing together the best from Buddhist and psychodynamic traditions in his work to alleviate individual and collective anguish. Most recently, he developed integrative retreats for military veterans, and their families and care providers that help heal the unseen wounds of war.
Website: https://josephbobrow.com/
