“Waking up this morning, I smile;24 brand new hours lay before me;I vow to live fully each moment,And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.” — morning gatha; Thich Nhat Hanh * * * * * So, I started this practice about 20 years ago, after reading one of TNH’s books. The…
Category: b) Psychology
116) Dealing with the Devil: Adventures in parenting, Part 4 — Role-play, kids, and personal growth
So, Siskenet had a pretty interesting discussion with a Lord of Evil eh? What fertile ground has been prepared! And seeded! Such rich soil, such abundant energy, for future conversations and questions about topics like power, compassion, maturation, stereotypes of masculinity, personal responsibility, and Lord (of Evil) knows what else! This is one of…
93) How to Not Murder People, Stay Addicted, or Commit Suicide: Part 2 – The Representativeness Heuristic is Sus
The Representativeness Heuristic is at the heart of much of the shitty things we suffer from. Yep, to the extent that you, and those you care about, have struggled with relationship problems, addictions, emotional issues, and other crappy things, this BOOOOOORING sounding nerd-speak Representativeness Heuristic thingy probably has played a key role in that suffering.…
92) How to Not Murder People, Be Addicted, or Commit Suicide: Part 1 – Making Decisions During COVID
The other day, I was in conversation with someone whose child had gotten mildly sick. Not super-sick, just, you know, normal kid stuff — maybe a mild fever for a night, mild cough for a couple days, runny nose, low energy, sneezing. Mostly it was just a runny nose, sneezing and feeling “blah”. So I…
90) Gratitude Day 8: Loneliness
I am grateful for loneliness. It also sucks. Being lonely isn’t exactly the kind of thing one yearns for generally. Imagine the kid in grade 2, and the teacher, all gung ho to connect with the kids this year and REALLY give them a good educational, inspirational experience. “So what do you want to…
83) How the fuck can you manage stress when the whole world is going to shit?
Are you having difficulty managing the stress of COVID-19? Staying at home with your kids, your family, unable to leave the house, unable to socialize in person, maybe unable to work, maybe you’ve lost your job, your stress is mounting, the bills are mounting, the feelings of powerlessness and worry are nagging away at you. …
76) Dances with Wolves, Part2: Relationship patterns with Gas-lighters, Narcissists and Spiritual Predators
What happens when you do fall into the orbit of a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (WSC)? Well, keep in mind, there are many trajectories. No “one size fits all”. But let me try and describe some common patterns. We touched on some of this in Part 1, but it’s worth expanding on the details, and…
75) Dances with Wolves, Part 1: Gas-lighters, Narcissists, and Spiritual Predators
In the previous post, I talked about the Law of Attraction, and argued that it was easily weaponized, often wielded to terrible effects in relationships, and in particular, a weapon-of-choice for certain types of unhealthy, difficult kinds of personalities, the kinds of people who cause a disproportionate amount of the struggles and conflict that happen…
27) Gratitude Day 7: Breaking Your Vows
I am grateful for a Rumi poem. It’s the opening poem to the beautiful book, The Illuminated Rumi. “Come, come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again , come ,…
26) Gratitude Day 6: Dad
I am grateful for my dad. There are a lifetime of reasons why, but let me share just a few. He taught me a fair amount of what I know about living in this world. These lessons weren’t always easy to learn. But so many of the important ones aren’t. My dad is tough as…