Even with the craziness and intensity of the current COVID-19 situation, I thought I was fine. Stressed about the state of the world and an uncertain future, sure. Who isn't? But I thought I was handling and processing it all in a good, thorough, "work through it and be able to function normally" kind of … Continue reading Self-Reflection during COVID-19: tackling the beliefs of anxiety
Earlier this year I was diagnosed with a herniated disc. This meant a total cessation of all high-intensity physical activity, which meant I had to cease doing several of the major things that bring me joy and keep my happy hormones regulated and high. The rest has been wonderful for my back (and probably my … Continue reading The paces of reading
When a person articulates an idea, they are less likely to change their minds because they must first admit that they were initially wrong. Maintaining an erroneous notion, such as a first impression, causes less anxiety than admitting an error and adopting another position.Psychologytoday.com I found a couple things in these two sentences fascinating. 1). … Continue reading Bound to my word (apparently)
Let's start off with the big one, shall we? Fear is one of the easiest ones to talk about when it comes to beliefs, because in some ways it's quite straight-forward. Identify what beliefs are giving rise to the emotion.#1 When we are afraid, we believe something is going to or could harm us. And … Continue reading Self-reflection during COVID-19: tackling the beliefs of fear
There are a lot of questions we have yet to answer and understand, but one of the most fascinating is the origin and function of our own consciousness. Now is an incredibly exciting time to be able to address that question, because of how much we are learning about the physical workings of the brain. … Continue reading Where did consciousness come from?! Two internet people insult each other
What does a "full life" mean? What are its parts? How does one do it? I recently bemoaned how often I default to reading when I have free time, and how I rely too much on books to fill my moments. What I had in mind were all the OTHER things I love doing -- … Continue reading On living a full life
As much as I love writing and would love more than anything to be in a group of thinking writerly friends like the Inklings, I've never been part of an intimate writing group. I did join an online group back when I was on facebook. I don't remember much about my engagement with the group, … Continue reading The joy of editing
3/8/20: Did about 50 minutes on the stair stepper this morning, then a hike, and now hitting the gym for some weights. I am going to eat SO MUCH when I finally get home to eat my first meal! Intermittent fasting is awesome until you have days like today. #hangry This is a photo of … Continue reading In-between Thoughts: I write to understand how I experience my mind
When I started my honesty project/goal/intention/resolution(whatever), I had no idea that surrender would be such a huge part of honesty. Honesty is a clear, bold, brave acknowledgement of and commitment to truth. Of what is. That means that to be honest and live honestly, we have to go beyond the appearance of things: what we … Continue reading Honesty and surrender
One of the things I like most about fiction is the way it presents ethical issues in helpful and novel (har har) ways. Every fictional story presents some kind of ethical conflict and its resolution, highlighting different kinds of people, different ways of thinking, different ways of relating to others, etc. Really, when we read … Continue reading Being vs. acting good — is there a difference?
