December 23, 2006
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Fear is the mind-killer
So, as I sat down in the dentist’s chair before my oral surgeon removed two of my wisdom teeth, I realized I was scared. I’ve been scared before. But this was like that time I went to the doctor to get my vaccinations when I was 4, and I ran away from the guy with the needle. This is one of my earliest memories, which may explain why my fear was so visceral.
I was able to stop my hands from shaking by relaxing them. I was able to stop by legs from shaking by concentrating on breathing through my nose. But when the oral surgeon said, “OK, there’s gonna be a lot of vibration and noise now”, my legs started shaking again.
So, in an attempt to be a serene Bene Gesserit witch, I became reciting the Litany Against Fear:
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.This worked very well for about 10 seconds. However, I only remembered the first two lines. Note to self: make sure you memorize the whole thing before you get your other two wisdom teeth out.
Oddly, the thing that relaxed me the most was when the doctor started talking to his assistant about sports. I couldn’t even hear what they were saying, but I found it reassuring that the operation was going well enough that they could talk about other things. At least they weren’t saying things like, “We’re losing him! Get the defibrillator!”
P.S. I’m fine now. All hail Vicodin, king of pain-killers.
Comments (11)
I need me one of those right now…
I’m sure you’re glad to have that over with! Nice..
I can’t imagine working as an oral surgeon. Come Monday morning it’s time for another root canal – woohoo!
Enjoy the holiday:)
good luck with the second 2… i had general, i was conked out but then again i had 5 wisdom teeth, thanks to some freak of nature. the freak of nature being my parents, who i’m sure are somehow responsible…
merry christmas bobber!
Good times….and you made it out alive. Liquid diet for a week!
God, I love Dune.
Apparently, your fear is very common. So much so, that people neglect their teeth for years because they simply do not want to get these kinds of procedures done. You’re a trooper.
That’s so funny. I didn’t calm down during my c-section until one of the nurses patted my shoulder and said (it was Friday morning) “Don’t worry honey, we all watched one of these on ER last night so we really know what we are doing.”
oh man, i remember when i got this done. i chose to be knocked out when this happened, but when i woke up and had to wait in the room for a bit, i was high as a kite of the meds and very talkative. it’s a good thing my parents are pretty cool, because i have no idea what i told them.
HIS REALLY WORKS.
1.Say the name of the guy or gurl u wanna be? with the rest of your life 2 times.
2.Say your best friends name 5 times to yourself.
3. Post this to 5 videos then press F8 and your crushes name will appear on the screen.
Dune was good.
I’ve memorized a few things from my favorite books. I think this one would be a good one to memorize (I love Dune).
My favorite is Kurt Vonnegut, “Cat’s Cradle”
“Oh a sleeping drunkard up in Central Park
And a lion hunter in the jungle dark
and a Chinese Dentist
and a British Queen
All fit together in the same machine.
Nice, nice, very nice
nice, nice, very nice
so many different people
all in the same device.”