Do you love yourself? I know, it’s an extremely personal question. When a counselor first asked me this question I was taken aback. It’s offensive and puts one in a defensive position. And who likes feeling defensive? But therapy is about healing and I answered as best I could. Again,…
Tag: self
Is This You or Your Coping Mechanism?
Do you remember the term ‘coping mechanisms’? We used to hear this phrase often, usually when people were referring to our bad habits. Like, smoking is a coping mechanism for stress. Avoiding conflict is a coping mechanism for people who don’t want to get involved. Denial is a popular coping…
Pro-socialism, Community, and Love
I continue to be inspired by the interviews on The Great Simplification Podcast, by the host Nate Havens, and by his guests. It is rewarding to find support for ideas I thought were my own. So many thoughts have been swirling around in my head, and this podcast/blog/video channel is…
The DNA Acid Test: The Problem and The Questions
What is the question!!!???? Say you are studying the effectiveness of a vaccine against some pathogen. What is the question? Too many times we get wrapped up in the specifics. The details. The minutia. We forget WHY we are doing this in the first place. In this case, I would…
Understanding Math to Live a More Informed Life: The Normal Curve
Are you familiar with the ‘bell curve’? It’s also called a ‘normal curve’, or a Gaussian distribution because it describes what statisticians call a ‘normal distribution’. Here’s the wikipedia definition: a probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence…
What if We Miss Our One and Only Amazing Purpose?
I’m gearing up for my 100th Episode. Not the episode itself, really, but what will happen AFTER the episode. I’m gearing up for KEW episodes 101-200. The next few Episodes leading up to 100 are building up to a massive idea that has arisen from the first 100. Kind of…
It Takes a Village
Where do you stand on the whole ‘personal responsibility’ issue? I always assumed that I had to take care of my own stuff. I made my choices and had to deal with them. When I had kids, everyone kept telling me, ‘it takes a village’, and I honestly didn’t understand…
Awareness, Attention, and Meditation
Are you self aware? We all think we are. Just like we all think we’re right, as we learned from Paul Gadola in multiple interviews. And, really, if you are taking the time to wonder whether or not you are self aware, you probably are. Our awareness is one of…
Clarity is Evasive
Remember that time when everything seemed perfectly clear? Yeah, me neither. But once in awhile things DO seem clear. And it feels good. There’s no doubt (Episode 28) and things just make sense. Though these moments are fleeting, I think we can learn to maximize the amount of clarity we…
Domestication Without Consent
Don Miguel Ruiz, author of many books including ‘The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)‘ uses the term “Domestication” to describe the process by which humans are taught how to live. I have been fascinated by this process, whatever you wish to call it,…