BetterTROM.com - TROM 101: THE EIGHT CLASSES OF OVERWHELM

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TROM 101: THE EIGHT CLASSES OF OVERWHELM

Earlier we spoke about Timebreaking, which is the simultaneous viewing of the past and present. Timebreaking, whether on objects, people or events when done properly according to the instructions in Dennis Stephens’ book “The Resolution of Mind a Games Manual” will reduce the upsets related to the objects, people and events.

But there will come a time on level three when no matter what you try to Timebreak, it just fades back into the past right away. At that point, you will need to stimulate your mind in order to find further material to handle in session. That’s when you use the Postulate Failure Cycle Chart on levels four and five of TROM.

If it seems confusing, don’t feel bad. No one gets it at first glance.

Instead of trying to tackle this whole chart at once, for now let's focus on the column furthest to the right. This column contains what we call The Eight Classes of Overwhelm.

Forced to know
Preventing from being known
Prevented from knowing
Forcing to be known
Forced to be known
Preventing from knowing
Prevented from being known
Forcing to know

There are an additional eight lines that are simply entitled "Game". We'll cover those later.

Remember, a postulate is an intention. It could also be called a purpose or goal.

Though there are many possible postulates, there are four that are fundamental to existence. These are called "The Basic Goals Package" and they are:

To know
To be known
To not know
To not be known

When I have a conversation with you, I want to be known to you, and to know you. You want to be known to me and to know me.

When I want your attention, and you give it to me, or in other words, I want to be known and for you to know me, and you do, our postulates are in agreement. This we call “complementary postulates”. When postulates complement each other, there is no game.

But let’s say I want you to know me, and you ignore me or not-know me, then our postulates are in conflict. Now there’s a problem. Problems are the building blocks of games.

I could just decide to leave you alone, and that would end the game with you not-knowing me and my no longer postulating to be known to you.

This would be a complementary postulate situation just like if I were making myself known to you and you decided to know me.

But let’s say I insist on getting your attention. I speak more loudly or walk up closer to you. I get your attention. I’ve overwhelmed you. I am forcing you to know me. You are now forced to know me.

Then you get away from me, this time successfully, and prevent me from knowing you (I'm prevented from knowing). I follow suit and ignore you, preventing you from being known.

This offends you, so you now yell in my face about it, forcing me to know you (I am forced to know).

This is the cycle of a compulsive game between you and me, each one of us opposing the postulate of the other, and each of us resorting to overwhelming the other to get their way, rather than one of us voluntarily changing their postulate to accommodate the other.

Overwhelms one commits are called overts. When one is overwhelmed, they receive a motivator. It’s called a motivator because it motivates one to commit an overt. You prevent me from being known, so I am now motivated to commit the overt of preventing you from knowing me.

Not every child or every woman acts this way, but there are events in one's life where one gets so overwhelmed by others' postulates that they make that postulate their own, and level it against others, or once they get their way, they change their postulate. Forcing>Prevented>Preventing>Forced>Forcing. Overt>Motivator>Overt. Lather, rinse, repeat.

When one starts out forcing another to know, and ends up being forced to know, at that point every postulate he’s made has failed. This is why we call it the Postulate Failure Cycle. It’s a series of overwhelms starting with one overwhelming another and ending in one being utterly overwhelmed himself.

Life itself takes one downwards. That's why in TROM therapy, the overwhelms are addressed in the reverse order they occur in life. It's the most efficient way to handle the mind..

Knowledge of the Eight Classes of Overwhelm and the Postulate Failure Cycle gives us insight into many of life’s activities.

A boxer, for example, wants his fist to be known to his opponent, and his opponent wants to not-know that fist. That boxer overwhelms his opponent and forces him to know his fist.

When you give up on trying to call someone who won’t return your messages, you are prevented from knowing them. Their postulate of not being known to you overwhelms you. You could also say they want to not-know you, and you are prevented from being known. If you call the police on a noisy neighbor, and the police quiet them down, you are preventing them from being known. You are also forcing them to know the police.

All eight of these overwhelms occur in every person’s life. See if you can name which one it is the next time you see one. And don’t forget, one event can involve more than one of each of the eight classes of overwhelm, and the class of overwhelm depends on who is giving and who is receiving.

On TROM level four, only the overwhelms are addressed. On TROM level Five, the conflicts in between the overwhelms (games) are also addressed.