We need to fight for Ren for his sake and for our own . The conversation that Ren opend up ,was like nothing i have ever seen . Men of all ages, talking about their dark times ,some crying unashamedly . The one thing experts have said over and over, is the tool that women have ,that men do not, is the ability to comunicate and discuss their feelings . So the one beautiful tool that opems men out , Hi Ren the song that allows them to comunicate, is to be snatched away ,by a headline chaser, for a sensationalist " news group" who offers no solutions and wishes to be the only voice on the topic .
REN's "HI REN", is beyond genius. I am a 65 yr old Widow and also a pen & ink artist. His song gives even me hope. This music must not stop ! It is no different than all of the statues that are being taken down. If we do not learn from history, we end up repeating it. REN, in all of his songs, speaks truth. As always, this seems to go against the grain for all of the things that CNN says. Truth needs to be 1st and foremost in importance, how much they are loved and when they are older and may have issues, they need to know that they are not alone, in their thoughts and issues. A 1, 5, 10 or 12 year old child should not watch videos like HI REN. Older children and young adults can only be helped by it if listened through to end.
Also, I am sorry about the loss of your son. 8 years ago, we lost our daughter suddenly to an unknown heart issue. 5 years after that, I lost her Dad to stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed during Covid, much later than he should had been due to Covid restrictions. Losing our daughter to horrendous, but we got through it together. Losing my husband of over 33 years was much harder. It took me more than a year to realize that it was harder because I had to walk through that one alone. Now, almost 3 years alone. I find everything harder. Not sure if it is being alone or watching this world fall apart in front of me. I am bless to know God, but it is still a tough time to be alone in this world. Things are changing so quickly. Faster then ever. I am not afraid of this change for myself, but for our youth. REN is not the problem. He and others like him, could turn this insanity around.
I am sorry for both of you with your different losses I too have know significant loss. I disagree with you Sue though a 1 year old and 5 yr old shouldn’t listen to HI REN but a 12 year old may well need to listen to HI REN. I was a very unhappy 12 year old and that song could have avoided many more years of sadness for me
I shared Hi Ren with My 2 Sons, 20 and the other is 13, turning 14 in a few weeks. They are very mature for their age, mostly because they have been through a lot with Me, as I am a recovering addict(prescription drugs mostly). After hearing and watching, they both appreciated Me sharing it with them. My youngest Son specifically* said to Me that he gets why I like it. My 20 yr old is a musician and plays guitar- He really enjoyed Ren's style on that song. And that a male artist is talking, singing about- addressing topics that ppl don't want to hear. But NEED TO HEAR HIS MESSAGE💖 I wish Ren all the Best!!! I hope He doesn't change anything about Himself🥰🎶🤩!
Oh kind sole, I wish I could take your pain away, yet I know that I cannot. I can only sit here in my tiny corner with you and her and all those within your circles in compassionate awareness. May you experience ease in your sorrow and maintain strength to heart and experience grace and mercy
@@lowertheshield thank you so much. I found your channel just a few days ago, and I think the universe knew I needed your help. I appreciate you and the sharing of your talents.
I cannot begin to imagine the loss of a child. I am in awe that you would, “Lower Your Shield,” enough to bring up and be so open on social media. Thank you. We cannot hide our head in the proverbial sand about these topics. We must share our experiences and communicate with one another. Please reach out to whomever you are thinking about, or missing. Give them a hug, call them or write them a letter. Express what you are feeling and ensure you have no regrets. Memento Mori.
I have three teenagers right now. In 2016, their older brother took his own life. It was war related trauma and TBI. His death, statistically speaking, automatically put my entire family at higher risk for future su*cides. After watching Hi Ren, and rewatching after your video about reactions to it, I realized that the moment that really pushed me over into feeling my feelings was when the Authentic Self named Hope and “the voice that you hear” when the noose is loosened at the end of the rope. Personally, I’m so tired! Seeing this piece of art naming and accurately describing what is a true, endless battle between the Authentic Self and shadow made me realize I’m definitely not in it alone. Though it feels that way when we aren’t allowed to speak it. I’ve never been one for sticking to harmful social norms. I’d rather be alone than out pretending I don’t struggle. So, I’ve been thinking about showing this to a couple of my teenagers. Because I know they’d get it. And I know they inherited my fathers poetic nature, which definitely has a foot in the shadow self… I’ll watch what other sources are saying first before I go ahead with any plan. But the critics are completely missing the point. I am grateful for your input! Glad these discussions are happening. It’s something I feel would have been forbidden in any other time and place during my lifetime. It’s about time!
My grandmother (who raised me) used to snap her fingers to get my attention when I was doing something she did not like. This was usually followed by her beating me relentlessly. I'm 54 years old. My grandmother has been dead for 18 years. To this day, I freeze at the sound of someone snapping their fingers. ✌🏼
Just hearing your voice is soothing to someone who did not feel seen nor accepted as a child. I'm sitting here saying "yes" to my heart and feel the blood pressure settle a bit. Ren and many others have stories to tell. Film and books do it too. We seem to need story to retell our lives.
I think Ren's post where he addressed CNN and it's poor reporting on the subject was spot on. I think it was simply lazy reporting, someone trying to make a deadline and offered no substance or anything at all to help in any fashion towards mental health. Just wild accusations based off of incomplete data. Loved your breakdown reaction to Ren's song HI Ren. Learned so much more than I thought I was going to lol, but it's greatly appreciated. To me reaction videos are about perception. Being able to see how someone sees or feels something different than you, something you may have never even thought about is what reaction videos mean to me. And in this day and age we could all use a little more perception and understanding. Thanks so much for your time in the videos they are so informative.
I'm so sorry about the loss of your son. I raised five children and I can't imagine it. I would say what you're doing though is of a great service to the world. I truly appreciate it and I have shared it wirh a bunch of people.
Thank you for your heartfelt message. I'm so sorry you have experienced such loss and could feel your pain to speak of your son, even now. I'm astonished that you went on to continue the video. And glad you did. Vulnerability is a risk. It takes courage. Thoughts of 'How will I be received? Will I be believed or ridiculed? Rejected..? Humiliated..??' What saddened me about the CNN incident was that Ren had taken that risk. He'd made himself vulnerable online, told his story for millions of people to hear and see. What CNN did was exactly what our shadow tells us people may do. They reacted with judgement, took his message out of context and made an example out of him. It seemed in complete contradiction to what they claimed their article was about ie protecting mental wellbeing, albeit he isn't a teen (but he is still a human being). Again, it's been interesting to watch online reactions. Perhaps because of his vulnerability he has touched so many people so deeply that they have jumped to his defense.
my heart is broken. your son.... you are amazing, to have the strength to go on......and to help others....and lower your shields...that takes on a whole new meaning.🥺😢 my heart, prayers, condolences and great respect goes to you. ren commented on the cnn vid, you can listen to his voice about that. he titled it love you cnn. this morning he gave an update saying they had taken down that video for edit and reposted it without any of the clips, including his. no apology or airing of hi-ren though. I bet the only reason why they had done that much and so soon is how many Ren fans commented on their "story" demanding an apology for ren. on top of emailing, Twitter, reporting the vid to RUclips and hitting the dislike button. I cannot express how disgusted that "story" got me. I'm so sorry you had to relive that moment.... I hope the winds change and a bit of happy memories grace your thoughts tonight... love & respect Ann
I had no idea when I clicked the link that I'd be so emotionally affected by what you said, and then again by the comments. Please keep going with this. I have the feeling you're building a community here.
Once again thank you, Mark. This one led me to find a book I had bought and read a bunch of years back. Its title is "Learning to Listen" and it's subtitled "Positive Approaches and People With Difficult Behavior". The author is clinical psychologist Herbert Lovett. He addresses communication with folks having mental health issues, especially stressing the notion of behavior *as* communication. This seems to fit well with the focus of your channel. Thanks again!
For me, the song 'Mother' off of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' encapsulates some of the stuff you were talking about near the 15 minute mark, while also reminding me to have compassion for parents who couldn't give that safe space to their children because they themselves have walls up that they don't know how to bring down.
I appreciate your trust in me to begin to know, see, and understand you. I cannot begin to know how you must feel having lost your son. I can, however, work toward understanding, possibly by examining my own experiences of losing family members and close friends. I know for certain it hurts and the emotional pain and sense of loss felt unbearable at times. CNN missed the opportunity to use their platform to reach out to young people by seeing the true value of the video presentations by Ren and others. Eight seconds of a nine-minute video is hardly sufficient to actually discover the true value in and love expressed by Ren through Ren - Hi Ren! The CNN story hinders and undermines the true value of the message Ren is sending that is knowing, seeing and understanding his viewers and Fans. Thank you, Mark Foreman, Psy.D. for teaching me to practice knowing, seeing and understanding the people around me and the people I meet.
Heard Ren a few weeks ago. He has so much talent. I think ' Hi Ren' should be sent to every NAMI office. It would help friend's/family empathize. Too bad he's getting so much publicity from people who obviously didn't listen to the song or any of his other songs. He can do any genre. His voice and musical talent only comes around once maybe 2x a lifetime. AND HE ACTUALLY PLAYS INSTRUMENTS!!! And not just 'studio talent'!! INSTRUMENTS!!!
Ren is absolutely 💯 not supporting any such thing as suicide, as @CNN tried to put it anyways! Ren is speaking on his own mental health battle and his own personal fight with health problems and continuing to get up every day and push through. I can understand his message, my brother committed suicide in 1998 by hanging himself in his bathroom. It devastated his son as well as myself & kids, my grandmother and younger sibling, so I understand that need to continue to get up and keep pushing. We lost our parents very early on and he just couldn't seem to handle it. I thank Ren for his vulnerability, honesty and transparency of his own mental health. "Journalist's" should do their homework on Ren and his backstory before saying this stuff. That's all I gotta say about that 😊❣️ but I understand what you were saying 😉
This was really interesting and you kept me captivated to the end. I felt your pain throughout the video; as a parent, the death of one's child is the worst imaginable event. Friends of mine lost their son, who had just turned 20, to a road accident. The funeral was so incredibly emotional, I cried for weeks afterwards, spontaneously and sometimes for no reason. I bet you still talk to your son everyday.
Thank you for your openess of your own experiences, and for offering calm intelligent and insightful views on what you saw in the two news pieces. I also really appreciate you encouraging your viewers to watch them and form their own opinions.
I so appreciate your insights. I often struggle knowing where my shadow/light stops intergrade when it comes to telling the difference between my inner honesty and my inner saboteur, which always sounds so reasonable and "honest". Thank you for being so open. In my experience it's a very rare thing to really be seen, known, and understood, even by people who love you, but you remind me that it's worthwhile to try to be vulnerable and authentic no matter what. I have kids, and my heart goes out to you for the loss of your son.
Thank you for this reaction to CNN's hit piece accidental or not, of Ren. When I saw the CNN piece I was so angry I actually teared up. Pacing back and forth with rounded fists in a full on white knuckle, visceral, furry that I had no idea what to do with. I suffer from CPTSD on top of D.I.D. Ren's music along with NF, Dax, and Tash Sultana are the crutches I have used in the last 6 years to make it day to day alive and breathing. I do think that CNN should do a correction on the story. They owe Ren and fans that much.
Thank you sir for the lecture and the inspiration and introspection. I also had to learn to accept me and who or what I am as a life long disabled person that was born with "spina bifida". It was and still is not always easy to just let go of the thoughts that constantly tell you what you cannot do because of it and you always think about what you do not have that others do, so simple things like just walk on ground that I never can move on that easily with my wheelchair or buildings that are not made for it, so many hurdles you have to go through. And then you realize, in time, what you DO have and learn to cope better with your situation, learn to "dance" like ren said it wonderfully at the and of "hi, ren". Realize and accept who you are and that you are worth it to be accepted like you are from others. Or also learn to be gentle to yourself, patient. A band that helped me realize many things about myself was "tool". And on the topic of patience they did a song named "the patient" which also has a double meaning. Anyway, maybe also another song to give the "ren treatment" here on the channel. Listen to it with it's intro named "eon blue apocalypse" which fits like glove to this song and is placed right before it on the album. Thank you again for this video and a wonderful day to everyone who reads this long monologue of a comment.^^ Warm greetings from here in germany
CNN was despicable for taking those few seconds of Hi REN out of context. Did they ever even listen to the song? I can’t believe they could have listened to the whole thing and still thought in any way that is was anything but hopeful and inspiring of inner strength.
You are so insightful and thought provoking, not only in what you say but also in how you say it. Thank you. Your voice is also mesmerizing, calm and explanatory. Your delivery reminds me of Art Bel. God bless ...I look forward to future analysis of other songs by Ren. Bob Clark
Bless you . If CNN cant see that Rens video is an opportunity for young people to understand the trauma they might have experienced and its effect on mental health through Rens own story. CNN are the unwitting promoters of Rens heartfelt story . I cannot understand how they misinterpret it so badly but Im sure Rens message of hope will find those who need it Thanks for making this Bless B
An interesting analysis, reacting to reactors. Big up for Ren and don’t be silenced by current power structures. It can be a lot of pressure, you do you Ren and we will continue to seek you out and if needed our collective strength, will always continue to be there for you. I feel incandescent that your message through the form of your performances, are being attacked. 🤗
I'm a 57 year old white male - i don't know but, maybe like you , i grew up in a very conservative home with lots of intentional -OR unintentional duplicity and deception. It breaks my heart that a minority of Humans on this Earth are so wounded and angry that they are lashing out at Teens, disenfranchised groups , trying to force them to conform to their skewed artifacts of safety and compliance that they have erected against their own pain and suffering.
You have my subscription friend. Haven’t gone through what you have but my ‘problems’ are my current mountain, right. So you are and have helped me. Peace.
Great honesty fine sir. Thanks for lowering that shield, One more time. For in that understanding that it must be done, is the paradox of life: That from which is our point of real weakness, Is where we find our greatest strength. And we learn it is out of our hardest struggles, Against that which has most weakened us, We gain the truest power of a will to last, that will. "The more intensely the light Shone, The darker the shadow it cast." Ren It took his greater suffering, To shine brighter than most. For in his dancing with shadows, He found the light within his voice, With a touch that so deeply goes, A way to illuminate our spirit, And so too, differentiate, our ghost. You would enjoy the book: The War of Art
Thanks bud for the heart.❤ on the comment but I forgot a comma, and that won't stand. I am always willing to lose a little heart, to be heard and say the words the best I can. Maybe that is all it takes, for someone else to see a little more light in them. Keep it up, I like the point of your work and the approach. Clearly you know people at a deep level, and bring yourself to the table as well, In your work, that isn't always possible, but you need to to grow as well I am glad to see a professional ... let down the shield. There is always space for that to be heard by more.
Thank you so much for this video! I am deeply sorry for what happened to your family. What a gift though to be sharing the terrible loss of your son with the tubes, in spite of knowing that showing vulnerability so publicly can come with the risk of people trying to use it against you. I strongly believe that it takes a lot of courage to lower the shields, so it actually is showing a mountain of confidence and strength, which automatically makes you less vulnerable. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose a child, but as I am dealing with my own sufferings (like everyone does, as you so rightfully stated) I benefit so much from the wisdom you are sharing, even the wisdom that you draw from the most unimaginable pain of having to bury your child. I am a fan of yours and of the content that you put on your channel!
I love the synchronicity of finding this channel and video trough my obsession with Hi Ren and mental schields holding center stage in my salience landscape the last few months. I spent a lot of thought of what are the things that hold the space in such a way, so that a person might lower their shields enough so you can actually help them. Things like receiving attention in a gentel way, care being expressed, feeling safe, even the repetitiveness of ritual that affords transcendence instead of obsession with out own finitude. Have you heard of John Vervaeke's work and his 'Awakening from the meaning crisis' series. I think they migh resonate deeply with you.
I found Ren and He sung about exactly how I feel and what I go through, often. Like Him, not by My own choice. It is therapy for Me. Good Music 🎶 often is therapy.
I'm afraid I took a bite out of you about not mentioning the failure of medicine to diagnose Ren properly, for which I am sorry. I now realize It was my own dark shadow that sustains me, perhaps the only thing that keeps me animated but not alive. I lost my first and last-born sons one at 24 the last at 32. How prescribed medications can spiral into disaster overwhelms me. The shields come up when there is nowhere left to go. Of course, in my own wisdom, I don't believe any therapist could tell me what I already know and medication is 1000% out. As fathers, it is impossible to feel we hold no responsibility. Ren reminds me so much of my boys, it is hard to see him suffer physically, and is now used by the media. Thank you for trying to be a force for good.
It's late for me so I'll continue watching later.. but just want to say so sad about your son (and his friends) .. so intimate to share such a deep experience between strangers xo
Thanks again. I had to learn to forgive god for suffering childhood sexual,abuse. At 79 I know the best revenge is living life well. I am star dust and for me that is enough. Serenity!
I understand your subject matter, I find it interesting, we seem to be of the same age, perhaps not so much in the mindset, yours being stronger than mine. Lots are searching, Utube is Essential in the human experience, but with a control, that’s perhaps one sided. Have you ever listened to Tool? 46&2? It was a start of some of this analogy in the 90’s.
When you misrepresent those with positive messages about any condition be it mental health chronic illness food disorders and only show the dark side of their experience then you massively hinder things. I won't even cover how parents don't know when their children are asking for help with mental and brush it all off as "You're just going through a phase and you'll grow out of it". Or the countless numbers of adults who don't actually realise they have problems they need help for and hide until everything comes crashing down around them they then commit suicide or go onto violent acts not only on themselves but even others. There have been mental issues for decades I know of children who I grew up with who winded up in therapy or prison one even died having fallen so far down the rabbit hole they started taking drugs and no one in their family saw the signs. Part of getting help is often seeing something someone else expresses or is going through that trickers then into getting help if they don't see then they carry on until the crisis is reached.
CNN was just an example of the laziest kind of snowball rolling,begging for numbers,jouralism. No thought for the damage they were doing to an artist who's work has offered nothing but understanding and has given voice to many cutting through the isolation.
there is that much propaganda being fed to Americans that despair seems the only option , conciously or subconsciously Americans are feeling constricted by thought and deed , it can be a heavy and burden on a person having losing some values and missing core elements of life , its a fairly dark and gloomy place , not to mention the inclusive amount of necessary stress and anxiety that a normal person in as free society gets , too much of a bad things drives people over the edge .
We need to fight for Ren for his sake and for our own . The conversation that Ren opend up ,was like nothing i have ever seen . Men of all ages, talking about their dark times ,some crying unashamedly . The one thing experts have said over and over, is the tool that women have ,that men do not, is the ability to comunicate and discuss their feelings . So the one beautiful tool that opems men out , Hi Ren the song that allows them to comunicate, is to be snatched away ,by a headline chaser, for a sensationalist " news group" who offers no solutions and wishes to be the only voice on the topic .
Yes!
Thank you for making this point x
❤❤❤
CNN try to trash talk Ren but I think they have actually promoted his story
Anyone in need of the message will I am sure discover it
Bless
REN's "HI REN", is beyond genius. I am a 65 yr old Widow and also a pen & ink artist. His song gives even me hope. This music must not stop ! It is no different than all of the statues that are being taken down. If we do not learn from history, we end up repeating it. REN, in all of his songs, speaks truth. As always, this seems to go against the grain for all of the things that CNN says. Truth needs to be 1st and foremost in importance, how much they are loved and when they are older and may have issues, they need to know that they are not alone, in their thoughts and issues. A 1, 5, 10 or 12 year old child should not watch videos like HI REN. Older children and young adults can only be helped by it if listened through to end.
Also, I am sorry about the loss of your son. 8 years ago, we lost our daughter suddenly to an unknown heart issue. 5 years after that, I lost her Dad to stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed during Covid, much later than he should had been due to Covid restrictions. Losing our daughter to horrendous, but we got through it together. Losing my husband of over 33 years was much harder. It took me more than a year to realize that it was harder because I had to walk through that one alone. Now, almost 3 years alone. I find everything harder. Not sure if it is being alone or watching this world fall apart in front of me. I am bless to know God, but it is still a tough time to be alone in this world. Things are changing so quickly. Faster then ever. I am not afraid of this change for myself, but for our youth. REN is not the problem. He and others like him, could turn this insanity around.
I am sorry for both of you with your different losses I too have know significant loss. I disagree with you Sue though a 1 year old and 5 yr old shouldn’t listen to HI REN but a 12 year old may well need to listen to HI REN. I was a very unhappy 12 year old and that song could have avoided many more years of sadness for me
I shared Hi Ren with My 2 Sons, 20 and the other is 13, turning 14 in a few weeks.
They are very mature for their age, mostly because they have been through a lot with Me, as I am a recovering addict(prescription drugs mostly). After hearing and watching, they both appreciated Me sharing it with them. My youngest Son specifically* said to Me that he gets why I like it. My 20 yr old is a musician and plays guitar- He really enjoyed Ren's style on that song. And that a male artist is talking, singing about- addressing topics that ppl don't want to hear. But NEED TO HEAR HIS MESSAGE💖
I wish Ren all the Best!!! I hope He doesn't change anything about Himself🥰🎶🤩!
Ren is therapy for so many from one song he helps so many people open up in ways therapists struggle to do in person
Please keep making content. My wife died today and your videos are helping me process this. I thank you good sir
Oh kind sole, I wish I could take your pain away, yet I know that I cannot. I can only sit here in my tiny corner with you and her and all those within your circles in compassionate awareness. May you experience ease in your sorrow and maintain strength to heart and experience grace and mercy
I am sorry for your loss - please keep connected with others who can listen and offer support.
@@lowertheshield thank you so much. I found your channel just a few days ago, and I think the universe knew I needed your help. I appreciate you and the sharing of your talents.
All the prayers and blessings for her journey on or whatever you may believe. I hope you can hold plenty of dear good memories to ease the pain.
I'm truly sorry for your loss and glad you have found your way to this channel to find some comfort 😓
I cannot begin to imagine the loss of a child. I am in awe that you would, “Lower Your Shield,” enough to bring up and be so open on social media. Thank you.
We cannot hide our head in the proverbial sand about these topics. We must share our experiences and communicate with one another.
Please reach out to whomever you are thinking about, or missing. Give them a hug, call them or write them a letter. Express what you are feeling and ensure you have no regrets. Memento Mori.
I have three teenagers right now. In 2016, their older brother took his own life. It was war related trauma and TBI. His death, statistically speaking, automatically put my entire family at higher risk for future su*cides. After watching Hi Ren, and rewatching after your video about reactions to it, I realized that the moment that really pushed me over into feeling my feelings was when the Authentic Self named Hope and “the voice that you hear” when the noose is loosened at the end of the rope. Personally, I’m so tired!
Seeing this piece of art naming and accurately describing what is a true, endless battle between the Authentic Self and shadow made me realize I’m definitely not in it alone. Though it feels that way when we aren’t allowed to speak it. I’ve never been one for sticking to harmful social norms. I’d rather be alone than out pretending I don’t struggle.
So, I’ve been thinking about showing this to a couple of my teenagers. Because I know they’d get it. And I know they inherited my fathers poetic nature, which definitely has a foot in the shadow self…
I’ll watch what other sources are saying first before I go ahead with any plan.
But the critics are completely missing the point.
I am grateful for your input! Glad these discussions are happening. It’s something I feel would have been forbidden in any other time and place during my lifetime. It’s about time!
CNN has removed the portion of his Hi Ren video. They realized they messed up.REN’s video response to their original video was so very on point.
No, they haven't. Just checked the YT video and the one on CNN's site and both still have the Ren portion included.
@@saxonturner1370 correct. It's still there @1:14 in the CNN YT video
They aired the story again without the clips but the original video is still up on RUclips.
My grandmother (who raised me) used to snap her fingers to get my attention when I was doing something she did not like. This was usually followed by her beating me relentlessly. I'm 54 years old. My grandmother has been dead for 18 years. To this day, I freeze at the sound of someone snapping their fingers. ✌🏼
I'm 50...I understand this so much..for me it's work boots walking slowly 😢 oxoox love sent to you
Just hearing your voice is soothing to someone who did not feel seen nor accepted as a child. I'm sitting here saying "yes" to my heart and feel the blood pressure settle a bit. Ren and many others have stories to tell. Film and books do it too. We seem to need story to retell our lives.
I think Ren's post where he addressed CNN and it's poor reporting on the subject was spot on. I think it was simply lazy reporting, someone trying to make a deadline and offered no substance or anything at all to help in any fashion towards mental health. Just wild accusations based off of incomplete data. Loved your breakdown reaction to Ren's song HI Ren. Learned so much more than I thought I was going to lol, but it's greatly appreciated. To me reaction videos are about perception. Being able to see how someone sees or feels something different than you, something you may have never even thought about is what reaction videos mean to me. And in this day and age we could all use a little more perception and understanding. Thanks so much for your time in the videos they are so informative.
I'm so sorry about the loss of your son. I raised five children and I can't imagine it. I would say what you're doing though is of a great service to the world. I truly appreciate it and I have shared it wirh a bunch of people.
Thank you for your heartfelt message. I'm so sorry you have experienced such loss and could feel your pain to speak of your son, even now. I'm astonished that you went on to continue the video. And glad you did.
Vulnerability is a risk. It takes courage. Thoughts of 'How will I be received? Will I be believed or ridiculed? Rejected..? Humiliated..??'
What saddened me about the CNN incident was that Ren had taken that risk. He'd made himself vulnerable online, told his story for millions of people to hear and see. What CNN did was exactly what our shadow tells us people may do. They reacted with judgement, took his message out of context and made an example out of him.
It seemed in complete contradiction to what they claimed their article was about ie protecting mental wellbeing, albeit he isn't a teen (but he is still a human being).
Again, it's been interesting to watch online reactions. Perhaps because of his vulnerability he has touched so many people so deeply that they have jumped to his defense.
my heart is broken. your son....
you are amazing, to have the strength to go on......and to help others....and lower your shields...that takes on a whole new meaning.🥺😢 my heart, prayers, condolences and great respect goes to you.
ren commented on the cnn vid, you can listen to his voice about that. he titled it love you cnn.
this morning he gave an update saying they had taken down that video for edit and reposted it without any of the clips, including his. no apology or airing of hi-ren though. I bet the only reason why they had done that much and so soon is how many Ren fans commented on their "story" demanding an apology for ren. on top of emailing, Twitter, reporting the vid to RUclips and hitting the dislike button.
I cannot express how disgusted that "story" got me.
I'm so sorry you had to relive that moment....
I hope the winds change and a bit of happy memories grace your thoughts tonight...
love & respect
Ann
I had no idea when I clicked the link that I'd be so emotionally affected by what you said, and then again by the comments. Please keep going with this. I have the feeling you're building a community here.
Cheers! A mystery is unfolding for us all
Once again thank you, Mark. This one led me to find a book I had bought and read a bunch of years back. Its title is "Learning to Listen" and it's subtitled "Positive Approaches and People With Difficult Behavior". The author is clinical psychologist Herbert Lovett. He addresses communication with folks having mental health issues, especially stressing the notion of behavior *as* communication. This seems to fit well with the focus of your channel. Thanks again!
For me, the song 'Mother' off of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' encapsulates some of the stuff you were talking about near the 15 minute mark, while also reminding me to have compassion for parents who couldn't give that safe space to their children because they themselves have walls up that they don't know how to bring down.
Great commentary sir. You had me engrossed throughout.
I appreciate your trust in me to begin to know, see, and understand you. I cannot begin to know how you must feel having lost your son. I can, however, work toward understanding, possibly by examining my own experiences of losing family members and close friends. I know for certain it hurts and the emotional pain and sense of loss felt unbearable at times. CNN missed the opportunity to use their platform to reach out to young people by seeing the true value of the video presentations by Ren and others. Eight seconds of a nine-minute video is hardly sufficient to actually discover the true value in and love expressed by Ren through Ren - Hi Ren! The CNN story hinders and undermines the true value of the message Ren is sending that is knowing, seeing and understanding his viewers and Fans. Thank you, Mark Foreman, Psy.D. for teaching me to practice knowing, seeing and understanding the people around me and the people I meet.
Heard Ren a few weeks ago. He has so much talent. I think ' Hi Ren' should be sent to every NAMI office. It would help friend's/family empathize. Too bad he's getting so much publicity from people who obviously didn't listen to the song or any of his other songs. He can do any genre. His voice and musical talent only comes around once maybe 2x a lifetime. AND HE ACTUALLY PLAYS INSTRUMENTS!!! And not just 'studio talent'!! INSTRUMENTS!!!
Ren is absolutely 💯 not supporting any such thing as suicide, as @CNN tried to put it anyways! Ren is speaking on his own mental health battle and his own personal fight with health problems and continuing to get up every day and push through. I can understand his message, my brother committed suicide in 1998 by hanging himself in his bathroom. It devastated his son as well as myself & kids, my grandmother and younger sibling, so I understand that need to continue to get up and keep pushing. We lost our parents very early on and he just couldn't seem to handle it. I thank Ren for his vulnerability, honesty and transparency of his own mental health. "Journalist's" should do their homework on Ren and his backstory before saying this stuff. That's all I gotta say about that 😊❣️ but I understand what you were saying 😉
This was really interesting and you kept me captivated to the end. I felt your pain throughout the video; as a parent, the death of one's child is the worst imaginable event. Friends of mine lost their son, who had just turned 20, to a road accident. The funeral was so incredibly emotional, I cried for weeks afterwards, spontaneously and sometimes for no reason. I bet you still talk to your son everyday.
Thank you for your openess of your own experiences, and for offering calm intelligent and insightful views on what you saw in the two news pieces. I also really appreciate you encouraging your viewers to watch them and form their own opinions.
I so appreciate your insights. I often struggle knowing where my shadow/light stops intergrade when it comes to telling the difference between my inner honesty and my inner saboteur, which always sounds so reasonable and "honest". Thank you for being so open. In my experience it's a very rare thing to really be seen, known, and understood, even by people who love you, but you remind me that it's worthwhile to try to be vulnerable and authentic no matter what. I have kids, and my heart goes out to you for the loss of your son.
Thank you for this reaction to CNN's hit piece accidental or not, of Ren. When I saw the CNN piece I was so angry I actually teared up. Pacing back and forth with rounded fists in a full on white knuckle, visceral, furry that I had no idea what to do with.
I suffer from CPTSD on top of D.I.D.
Ren's music along with NF, Dax, and Tash Sultana are the crutches I have used in the last 6 years to make it day to day alive and breathing.
I do think that CNN should do a correction on the story. They owe Ren and fans that much.
Thank you sir for the lecture and the inspiration and introspection. I also had to learn to accept me and who or what I am as a life long disabled person that was born with "spina bifida". It was and still is not always easy to just let go of the thoughts that constantly tell you what you cannot do because of it and you always think about what you do not have that others do, so simple things like just walk on ground that I never can move on that easily with my wheelchair or buildings that are not made for it, so many hurdles you have to go through. And then you realize, in time, what you DO have and learn to cope better with your situation, learn to "dance" like ren said it wonderfully at the and of "hi, ren". Realize and accept who you are and that you are worth it to be accepted like you are from others. Or also learn to be gentle to yourself, patient.
A band that helped me realize many things about myself was "tool". And on the topic of patience they did a song named "the patient" which also has a double meaning. Anyway, maybe also another song to give the "ren treatment" here on the channel. Listen to it with it's intro named "eon blue apocalypse" which fits like glove to this song and is placed right before it on the album.
Thank you again for this video and a wonderful day to everyone who reads this long monologue of a comment.^^
Warm greetings from here in germany
CNN was despicable for taking those few seconds of Hi REN out of context. Did they ever even listen to the song? I can’t believe they could have listened to the whole thing and still thought in any way that is was anything but hopeful and inspiring of inner strength.
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful mind and vulnerability. Your words are appreciated and I stayed to the end, you are worth listening to.
You are so insightful and thought provoking, not only in what you say but also in how you say it. Thank you. Your voice is also mesmerizing, calm and explanatory. Your delivery reminds me of Art Bel. God bless
...I look forward to future analysis of other songs by Ren. Bob Clark
Bless you . If CNN cant see that Rens video is an opportunity for young people to understand the trauma they might have experienced and its effect on mental health through Rens own story.
CNN are the unwitting promoters of Rens heartfelt story . I cannot understand how they misinterpret it so badly but Im sure Rens message of hope will find those who need it
Thanks for making this
Bless
B
Thank you for your message and deep insights, to be known, seen and understood. I'm so sorry for the loss of your son.
I am very sorry for your loss, and grateful that you shared some of the insights that your pain and journey towards some kind of peace has given you.
Wow! Appreciate you opening your heart and your knowledge to us. I'm so sorry about your son. Sending love to you ❤
An interesting analysis, reacting to reactors.
Big up for Ren and don’t be silenced by current power structures.
It can be a lot of pressure, you do you Ren and we will continue to seek you out and if needed our collective strength, will always continue to be there for you. I feel incandescent that your message through the form of your performances, are being attacked.
🤗
Well said and informative.
I'm a 57 year old white male - i don't know but, maybe like you , i grew up in a very conservative home with lots of intentional -OR unintentional duplicity and deception. It breaks my heart that a minority of Humans on this Earth are so wounded and angry that they are lashing out at Teens, disenfranchised groups , trying to force them to conform to their skewed artifacts of safety and compliance that they have erected against their own pain and suffering.
You have my subscription friend. Haven’t gone through what you have but my ‘problems’ are my current mountain, right. So you are and have helped me. Peace.
Dang sorry for your loss I have two daughters I can't imagine that pain
Great honesty fine sir.
Thanks for lowering that shield,
One more time.
For in that understanding that it must be done, is the paradox of life:
That from which is our point of real weakness,
Is where we find our greatest strength.
And we learn it is out of our hardest struggles,
Against that which has most weakened us,
We gain the truest power of a will to last,
that will.
"The more intensely the light Shone,
The darker the shadow it cast."
Ren
It took his greater suffering,
To shine brighter than most.
For in his dancing with shadows,
He found the light within his voice,
With a touch that so deeply goes,
A way to illuminate our spirit,
And so too, differentiate,
our ghost.
You would enjoy the book:
The War of Art
Thanks bud for the heart.❤ on the comment
but I forgot a comma,
and that won't stand.
I am always willing to lose a little heart,
to be heard and say the words the best I can.
Maybe that is all it takes,
for someone else to see a little more light in them.
Keep it up,
I like the point of your work and the approach.
Clearly you know people at a deep level,
and bring yourself to the table as well,
In your work, that isn't always possible,
but you need to to grow as well
I am glad to see a professional ... let down the shield.
There is always space for that to be heard by more.
Sorry for the loss of your son. I know that pain and encourage you to strive to keep the good times in mind when the negativity hits.
Thank you Mark ❤ I’m truly sorry for your loss .
Great video. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this video! I am deeply sorry for what happened to your family. What a gift though to be sharing the terrible loss of your son with the tubes, in spite of knowing that showing vulnerability so publicly can come with the risk of people trying to use it against you. I strongly believe that it takes a lot of courage to lower the shields, so it actually is showing a mountain of confidence and strength, which automatically makes you less vulnerable. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose a child, but as I am dealing with my own sufferings (like everyone does, as you so rightfully stated) I benefit so much from the wisdom you are sharing, even the wisdom that you draw from the most unimaginable pain of having to bury your child. I am a fan of yours and of the content that you put on your channel!
REN’s song reminded me a lot of DMX’s song Damien. You should give it a listen!
I love the synchronicity of finding this channel and video trough my obsession with Hi Ren and mental schields holding center stage in my salience landscape the last few months. I spent a lot of thought of what are the things that hold the space in such a way, so that a person might lower their shields enough so you can actually help them. Things like receiving attention in a gentel way, care being expressed, feeling safe, even the repetitiveness of ritual that affords transcendence instead of obsession with out own finitude.
Have you heard of John Vervaeke's work and his 'Awakening from the meaning crisis' series. I think they migh resonate deeply with you.
I found Ren and He sung about exactly how I feel and what I go through, often. Like Him, not by My own choice. It is therapy for Me.
Good Music 🎶 often is therapy.
I'm afraid I took a bite out of you about not mentioning the failure of medicine to diagnose Ren properly, for which I am sorry. I now realize It was my own dark shadow that sustains me, perhaps the only thing that keeps me animated but not alive. I lost my first and last-born sons one at 24 the last at 32. How prescribed medications can spiral into disaster overwhelms me. The shields come up when there is nowhere left to go. Of course, in my own wisdom, I don't believe any therapist could tell me what I already know and medication is 1000% out. As fathers, it is impossible to feel we hold no responsibility. Ren reminds me so much of my boys, it is hard to see him suffer physically, and is now used by the media. Thank you for trying to be a force for good.
Outstanding! Thank you!
It's late for me so I'll continue watching later.. but just want to say so sad about your son (and his friends) .. so intimate to share such a deep experience between strangers xo
Cheers mate
thank you for speaking up it needs to be talked about cnn is just awful
Even the existence of Ren, being so open and raw, has exposed the lack of mainstream truth .. it's like CNN wrote an ironic Ren song for him.
Thank you so much for this
Spot on.
Thank you
6:24 Joharis Windows
you remind me of the late Alistair Cook and his "Letter from America".
Thank you ❤
Music is powerful
Thanks again. I had to learn to forgive god for suffering childhood sexual,abuse. At 79 I know the best revenge is living life well. I am star dust and for me that is enough. Serenity!
I understand your subject matter, I find it interesting, we seem to be of the same age, perhaps not so much in the mindset, yours being stronger than mine.
Lots are searching, Utube is Essential in the human experience, but with a control, that’s perhaps one sided.
Have you ever listened to Tool? 46&2? It was a start of some of this analogy in the 90’s.
thanks man, that was interesting
Don’t forget “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.” 😊
When you misrepresent those with positive messages about any condition be it mental health chronic illness food disorders and only show the dark side of their experience then you massively hinder things. I won't even cover how parents don't know when their children are asking for help with mental and brush it all off as "You're just going through a phase and you'll grow out of it". Or the countless numbers of adults who don't actually realise they have problems they need help for and hide until everything comes crashing down around them they then commit suicide or go onto violent acts not only on themselves but even others. There have been mental issues for decades I know of children who I grew up with who winded up in therapy or prison one even died having fallen so far down the rabbit hole they started taking drugs and no one in their family saw the signs. Part of getting help is often seeing something someone else expresses or is going through that trickers then into getting help if they don't see then they carry on until the crisis is reached.
Curious if you knew Bob Denton, co-founder of the NOVA National Crisis Response Team...
❤
❤️
CNN was just an example of the laziest kind of snowball rolling,begging for numbers,jouralism. No thought for the damage they were doing to an artist who's work has offered nothing but understanding and has given voice to many cutting through the isolation.
there is that much propaganda being fed to Americans that despair seems the only option , conciously or subconsciously Americans are feeling constricted by thought and deed , it can be a heavy and burden on a person having losing some values and missing core elements of life , its a fairly dark and gloomy place , not to mention the inclusive amount of necessary stress and anxiety that a normal person in as free society gets , too much of a bad things drives people over the edge .
🐝💚🌱