HOW TO TURN YOUR SNAKES INTO LADDERS

                                             

 “I challenge you to a game! Or, rather, I am inviting you, the reader, to play a game with me, the psychologist, a game of Snakes and Ladders. Now I know you feel you `grew out' of that game years ago, You might want to read no further, saying that you don't feel like playing childish games. 
“First of all, let me tell you that we are going to play the game in a completely new way. We will even change the board somewhat. Secondly, to start to turn our snakes into ladders, we need to look again at some of our childish `games’. You might change, in a positive way, at least some of the things in your life; whatever you truly want to change.” 

How to Turn Your Snakes into Ladders” is a practical guide, operating at many levels. Its aim is to give the reader both insights and tools to live life at a more optimal and fulfilling level……This book contains the result of many years of accumulated experience and wisdom. This is a valuable and practical self-help resource that should assist people …..in a humorous and insightful manner.”  

(Dr. Michael Berk. Associate Professor . Dept. of Psychiatry. University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg. S.A.) 

Although this book has been written in a Jewish context, its words and concepts speak to everyone.

How to Turn Your Snakes into Ladders, was originally published by Targum Press in 1999.  It was then republished by myself on an independent publishing platform.

Two editions were published. One stuck exactly to the original and the second was lightly edited and enlarged.

Just a taste of what the book contains…

FANTASY OUR OTHER SIDE

You are at a dinner to raise funds for a Jewish educa­tional institution. You have been listening to several speakers, eaten far more than you usually would on a weekday evening, caught up on all the latest news, and are feeling somewhat drowsy.

On the table is the card you received upon entering. In the bottom left-hand corner is the number 277. The top left-hand corner, presumably with the same number, has been torn off.

Just then someone stands up and makes the announce­ment that the guests should look at their cards and note their number. After the next round of music he is going to an­nounce the lucky winner of five thousand dollars.

You check your number again and listen to the music. It is a meditative tune, and you let the melody envelop your mind. As the music fades, the master of ceremonies approaches the microphone and clears his throat. He is going to announce the winner! He pushes his hand into the depths of a large box and studies the corner of the card he has taken out.

He makes the announcement slowly and deliberately.

"The winner of the five thousand dollars is….ticket num­ber...277."

You draw in your breath sharply. You look at your ticket, aware that your face has become a fiery red. You put up your hand, quite sure that at least ten other people in the hall must have the same number.

 The man repeats the number. Once more you look down at the card. Yes, it says most defi­nitely 277.

You stand up and move slowly to the front of the hall, al­ready, in your mind, spending the money on all kinds of things. You check the number over and over, and with a sud­den rush of paranoia you look over your shoulder to make sure no one is planning to steal your card and run off with it.

You are approaching the front. People are cheering. You will soon be there to receive your prize. It is almost within your grasp.

But then you come back to yourself, and you realize that you are still seated at your table. The music is still playing, and they have yet to announce the winner. You realize that you did not win the five thousand dollars.

You have been daydreaming, indulging in a flight of fancy.

We all go on them.

Most of us feel that we have at least a few thoughts and emotions other people couldn't possibly have, fantasies we would never admit to, even to those clos­est to us, little thoughts that come into our minds just at the wrong moment.

Our minds have the habit of thinking the oddest things at the oddest moments, things we would not dream of think­ing about. Let me give you an example:

One of your best friends calls to say he has just been given a senior position in his firm. He is ecstatic. His finan­cial problems have been solved. He calls to tell you because you are his friend, and he wants to share the news with you.

 He expects you to be happy for him. And you are happy, you really are. He is your best friend, and you want the best for him.

But a thought creeps in from nowhere and whispers,

 I hope it doesn't work out. He'll be disappointed, but he'll get over it.

And then, shocked and horrified, you think:

How could I possibly have thought that? Of course I want him to be suc­cessful!

And then another thought comes.

But it's a pity. Now he won't be struggling anymore. And we were struggling to­gether.

You berate yourself for your disloyalty to your friend. And you begin to wonder: Was he really such a good friend? Do I really like him?

Yes, he was and still is a friend, and you did and still do have love and affection for him. But very few things are to­tally pure in this world, and mixed with that love and affec­tion are all kinds of jealousies and insecurities, which might be only a very small percentage of the relationship.

They come out in these odd thoughts. Nevertheless, it does not de­tract from

 

the very deep and genuine love you have for him.

 

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1	Snakes and Ladders
2	Return Tripping
3	Fantasy: Our Other Side
4	Sifting the Past for Anger
5	Coping with Stress and Tension
6	Burnout
7	Stress and Tension within the Home
8	The Black Depressive Trip
9	Guilt Trips
10	The Victim
11	Negative Words
12	Regaining an identity
13	Disability- A unique Opportunity
14	The Psychology of the Jew
15	Snakes and Ladders Again
16	Bibliography

        

SO LITTLE TIME

SO LITTLE TIME 

by  Dr. Ruth Benjamin

“This case needs a couple of private detectives and their fees are exorbitant. They would have to go beyond American borders into  highly dangerous situations.”

“Why can’t we go, ourselves” asked Petra?

 “Yes,” said John “I can go with a heroic flash instead of lying there till they stopped all the machines.”….

 “OK,” said Paul, as he saw both sets of eyes gleam with excitement.

 “You are dying and yet you are still a couple of kids,” he whispered. “If I was dying, I don’t know how I would be.”

Two young people, both diagnosed with terminal cancer, meet in the Oncology Treatment Center waiting room and decide to marry. They become involved in investigating a brutal murder where the young woman's brother is the suspect and is in prison. They travel across the globe, going into dangerous situations and unearthing a ghastly destructive plot. It is an exciting, tension filled and deeply moving story which unfolds into an unexpected conclusion.

We meet Zeek, a prison cat who always appears when needed. “He is here because he wants to be here not because he has been caught peddling catnip”.

We go to a small picturesque English Hotel where one can hear chanting far below.

We meet the leader of a sinister religious group whose powerful and dynamic personality and unusual knowledge of drugs binds his followers to him in complete devotion and hero worship

We meet the mysterious Mr.Ho who seems to be in charge of a secret powerful society, working mainly for good.

We go to the Slave Castles of Ghana and find Petra’s family connections.

We go to a human ritual slaughterhouse and a midnight chase through the streets of London.

We see the mysterious red-gold medallion with a sign neither human nor animal .

This book, among other sites is available on:

All Amazon Sites

                                                                 

Kalahari Books, South Africa

CreateSpace.com

Completelynovel.com

e-book on Amazon Kindle

Besides being a fast moving detective and adventure novel, it covers many aspects of Psycho Oncology.

Dr. Ruth Benjamin

AS A ‘TASTE’ OF THE BOOK, I WILL GIVE, HERE,

THE INTRODUCTION

It was the night of the concert. There had been so many bookings that the venue had to be changed and moved to the large State Opera House.

The audience was listening spellbound and he felt that his soul would burst with the sheer beauty of the music and the fact that he could be part of it all.

He looked up to one of the balconies and found it had several Chinese gentlemen They were all dressed in formal opera clothing consistent with the luxury of their seating. One of them waved just slightly.

As he went further into the aria he saw an unusual light in the balcony where the men were sitting,

He could see them, (though the audience couldn’t) clearly see that one of the men had stood up and was waving at him; waving?

No the man was frantically gesticulating, telling him wordlessly to move aside at least a meter from where he was standing.

He moved, and almost immediately two shots rang out hitting the stage floor behind where he had been standing only a few seconds before.

There was dead silence and the lights of the opera house were switched on and he saw a man surrounded by what must have been plain clothes policemen.

He wiped away the perspiration which had collected on his brow, ice cold perspiration. It had almost have been his last moment.

Looking at the audience he could see shocked, panicked expressions. In that moment he decided to take an action that was to seal him and his singing forever into the hearts of the people.

He continued to sing the aria going to the beginning of the bar which had been so forcibly interrupted.

The orchestra seemed to come out of its shocked state and individual moments of shock to continue with the music, and the theater lights once more dimmed as a man was led away.

When he had finished the aria the audience rose, cheering and clapping. The sound was almost deafening.

Antonio came up to him. “You are OK to carry on” he asked, himself obviously shaken?

“We have a program, don’t we? Next is Tosca, my favorite. How could I miss that?”

The concert continued, the audience thrilled by the singer’s courage.

But the story does not begin here. Our story begins in a doctor’s office in Upper Manhattan, a surgeon’s office.

With the predictions of the oncologist this might truly seem to be close to the end of the road.  

                                                                                                  

Instead it is only the beginning.

                                                                                             

Chapter 1.

The doctor was looking very serious as John arrived for his appointment and was treating him with a gentleness that made him feel uneasy. He found his mind latching onto various things in the consultation room, things, which he had not noticed on the previous visit. There was a picture on the wall of the sea, a large picture, with the waves sweeping the shore.  The sun was shining; lighting up the spray that was brought up by the movement of the waves. What a beautiful calming picture. He stared out of the window. The blossoms were beginning to come out as the trees gently burst their way into bloom; magnificent truly magnificent. The world was beautiful, more beautiful than he had noticed for many days. But why was he noticing it now? Was it a six sense? Was it awareness that his hold on the world would be loosened?

His mind snapped back to the present, to the consultation room, to the doctor in front of him who was still looking very serious and still speaking to him in that gentle way.  There was something wrong, there had to be. He had had a biopsy of a lump on his knee that looked perfectly innocent, that he would not even have thought to consult a doctor about.  The lump had been there for months, maybe even a year, and he had waited for it to go away. He had become aware that it was growing but had somehow told himself it wasn't really doing that, that it was his own imagination.  It had been his girlfriend, Fiona who had finally got him to go to the doctor. He had been jogging with her and he suddenly felt weak and faint and they had sat down beside the road. The way he had his knee placed made the lump very obvious and she had stared at it dubiously until she had plucked up enough courage to ask him about it. Had he hurt himself? Was it painful? Had it always been there? He had felt decidedly uncomfortable and she had not let-up until he had made a promise and eventually a doctor’s appointment on his cell phone..... 

............ continued in the book.

 

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