e calm in the eye of a hurricane.[2]

The great Christian pastor, Dietrich Bonhoffer, pointed out that "just
causes" for anger did not exist in the earliest accounts of Christ's
Sermon on the Mount.[3]

* * * * *

Dealing with Interpersonal Conflict.

1. Miller, Angelyn. The Enabler. -- When Helping Harms the Ones You
Love. New York Ballentine Books, 1988.

2. Stevens, John. Abundant Peace -- the Biography of Morehei Ueshiba,
the founder of Aikido. Boston: Shambhala, 1987

3. Bobhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York:
Macmillan, 1963.

* * * * *

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Interpersonal Problem Solving:

Drama and literary analysis as a tool in personal problem solving.

The structure of Aristotle's Pentad [1] for five act plays is useful
as a framework for solving personal problems.

1. Who is the hero? What are his weaknesses? How is he likely to
fall?

2. Who is the villain? Is the villain another person, nature or
society?

3. What external events lead to the climax with the villain?

4. How does the climax with the villain turn out?

5. What did the hero learn about his own internal weaknesses in the
encounter with the villain?

This five part framework is useful in separating the external foes we
face from the internal conflicts that are our weaknesses.

External Conflicts.

External conflicts are usually found to involve either another man,
nature or society. In the man versus man conflict, another person is
the adversary. In the man versus nature conflict, the adversary might
be a hurricane, or the rigors involved in climbing a mountain. In the
man versus society conflict, the opponent might be industrial
organizations or lobby groups advocating nuclear waste disposal in the
ocean.

The man versus self conflict, such as a man facing a crisis of
courage, is an internal conflict.

Internal Conflicts.

Internal conflicts are man versus himself and man versus God
conflicts.

The man versus God occurs when a person violates his conscience and
does something that he knows to be wrong. Many religions advocate
resolving the man versus God conflict by admission of wrongdoing and
restitution to those harmed. There may be some people that have no
conscience, and the internal conflicts they face are not, as yet,
well understood.[2] Those people without a conscience are a continuing
source of grief for humani