I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent listening to the vocals of Sarah McLachlan interlaced with electronic dance music (EDM). Some of the most cherished memories of my raving days were accompanied by the vocalist’s siren songs which influenced joy and pleasure.
One such track is the Rabbit in the Moon remix of “Possession,” aptly named “Possession (Rabbit in the Moon Mix).” It was featured on McLachlan’s album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff (1996).
I enjoyed the song so much that I decided to purchase Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993), on which the original song was featured, along with other McLachlan albums. With the remixed lyrics, McLachlan states:
Fallin’ for you
And I would be the one to hold you down
Kiss you so hard
I’ll take your breath away
And after, I’d wipe away the tears
Just close your eyes
Back in the ‘90s, if asked to describe why the sampled lyrics were meaningful to me, I likely would’ve fumbled with words to explain a logical reason. The cognitive, emotive, sensational, and behavioral consequences of my beliefs about the track were difficult to justify.
Have you also struggled to adequately describe your feelings (emotions and sensations)? Matters of this sort aren’t always easy to clarify through use of something as straightforward as a modus ponens syllogism: If x, then y; x; therefore, y.
If I listen to “Possession (Rabbit in the Moon Mix)” [x], then I can precisely illustrate why I feel joy and pleasure correlating with the song [y]. I listen to “Possession (Rabbit in the Moon Mix)” [x]. Therefore, I can precisely illustrate why I feel joy and pleasure correlating with the song [y].
Although in my example I described an occurrence, I didn’t adequately explain how or why joy and pleasure were correlated with the track. I may as well have told you that McLachlan’s voice possessed me, and call it a day. Nothing more to discuss. That’s it. Guh’bye.
So, too, is the experience for many people with whom I work when practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). It takes effort to explore, identify, explain, and even justify feelings. For instance, prior to reading this post, were you even aware of feelings as they actually are?
Sometimes, when using the ABC model of REBT, I’ll ask an individual to tell me what was felt during an Activating event. Instead of hearing about a Consequence (i.e., emotive or sensational reaction), I’ll hear about Beliefs.
“I felt like they weren’t listening to me,” a client may respond. If “felt,” “feel,” “feeling,” or any derivative of these words can be replaced with “think,” “imagine,” “believe,” and other cognitive-based (thought) words, then I got news for ya…that ain’t a feelin’!
“I thought they weren’t listening to me,” “I imagine they weren’t listening to me,” “I believe they weren’t listening to me,” “I had a hunch that they weren’t listening to me,” and so forth and so on are proper descriptions of cognitions. These aren’t feelings!
“But wait,” you may protest, “didn’t you list ‘cognitive’ as a Consequential ‘reaction’ up above? What gives!?” I see someone’s paying attention! (If you’re new to my blog, I talk to myself like this quite a bit.)
Yes, generally speaking, cognitions (thoughts) which carry with them a prescriptive component are what are known as Beliefs. As an example, if you were to describe the type of toothpaste you use I imagine that discussion of the brand doesn’t much influence your feelings.
This is because your non-prescriptive thought is simply a form of identification. That toothpaste goes in this mouth. Not a very exciting topic, is it?
However, if you were to tell me of a fluke occurrence whereby you squeezed toothpaste from the tube and out poured maggots, would your Belief about the Activating event influence additional cognitions (Consequence) about the situation? “This is awful,” you may originally assume.
When prescribing to yourself that something is terrible, horrible, or awful, I imagine that you’d then experience an additional thought such as, “I think I’m gonna be sick,” an emotion like fear, a bodily sensation like nausea, and behavior related to regurgitation (Consequences).
Voila! Whereas we started off discussing joy and pleasure which were influenced by McLachlan’s music, highlighting that I was once ignorant (lacking knowledge) about how such feelings manifested, I’ve now illustrated two psychoeducational lessons herein.
First, I’ve drawn a distinction between cognitions (thoughts or beliefs) and feelings (emotions or sensations). Second, I demonstrated how and why self-disturbing Beliefs (cognitions) can produce additional unfavorable thoughts and assumptions.
See? It wasn’t that McLachlan’s music ever possessed me and brought about joy and pleasure. My beliefs about her music did that. Likewise, you aren’t possessed by malevolent spirits when experiencing projectile vomit after witnessing maggots pour from your toothpaste tube.
“Why’d you use such a grotesque example, Deric?” you may ask. Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to explain, imaginary reader. (Hey, I told you that I talk to myself. Did you think that I was joking?)
I used the maggot example, because it’ll likely pop into your head the next time you brush your teeth. If this occurs, you’ll then have a chance to try to remember at least one of the two lessons I’ve provided herein.
I sometimes use a similar approach with clients, often with a bit of humor. If you’ve found my approach to REBT helpful, I invite you to review other blogposts I’ve written. In the current entry, I’ve linked to other posts. If you have any questions, I look forward to hearing from you.
(Oh and, I’ve used a Rabbit in the Moon logo for this post rather than an artificial intelligence-generated image of maggots and toothpaste, because you likely would’ve passed over this entry. Amirite or amirite?)
If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost EDM-influenced REBT psychotherapist—promoting content related to EDM, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Bandcamp. (n.d.). Rabbit in the Moon [Image]. Retrieved from https://rabbitinthemoon.bandcamp.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, November 15). Assumptions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/assumptions
Hollings, D. (2024, August 7). Awfulizing. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/awfulizing
Hollings, D. (2024, May 15). Behavioral experiments. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/behavioral-experiments
Hollings, D. (2024, October 29). Cognitive continuum. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/cognitive-continuum
Hollings, D. (2024, March 19). Consequences. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/consequences
Hollings, D. (2024, October 27). Correlation does not imply causation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/correlation-does-not-imply-causation
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2023, January 8). Logic and reason. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/logic-and-reason
Hollings, D. (2022, June 23). Meaningful purpose. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/meaningful-purpose
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2022, October 5). Description vs. prescription. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/description-vs-prescription
Hollings, D. (2024, January 1). Psychoeducation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychoeducation
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, March 14). REBT and emotions. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rebt-and-emotions
Hollings, D. (2025, January 15). Satisfaction. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/satisfaction
Hollings, D. (2022, November 1). Self-disturbance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/self-disturbance
Hollings, D. (2024, April 21). Sensation. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/sensation
Hollings, D. (2023, October 17). Syllogism. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/syllogism
Hollings, D. (2025, January 9). Traditional ABC model. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/traditional-abc-model
Hollings, D. (2023, May 12). Use of humor. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/use-of-humor
Official Sarah McLachlan, The. (2022, February 18). Possession (Rabbit in the Moon Mix) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/1SiuqnLriIg?si=UAntOsZtkqcPATGl
Official Sarah McLachlan, The. (2009, October 25). Sarah McLachlan – Possession [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/itydwcyywBc?si=RYHrBIyLcTSD3k6j
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fumbling_Towards_Ecstasy
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Rabbit in the Moon. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_in_the_Moon
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rarities,_B-Sides_and_Other_Stuff
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sarah McLachlan. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_McLachlan
Comments