Richard Rohr writes:

“One of the phrases that has stayed with me from studying Latin in the seminary is “Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur.” This statement is not only kind of fun to say, but it has been critical to my understanding of how we process information. Directly translated, it means “Whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiver.” Thirteenth-century scholastics such as John Duns Scotus (1266–1308) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) intuited this. It was early psychology before we thought we had psychology! What it means, in other words, is that we don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are. We see the things we want to see, the things that confirm our assumptions and our preferred way of looking at the world. [1] Brian elaborates today on how confirmation bias, which he believes is the most powerful, operates:

We all have filters, [such as] What do I already believe? Does this new idea or piece of information confirm what I already think? Does it fit in the frame I’ve already constructed?

If so, I can accept it.”

Learn more here: Richard Rohr Meditation: Confirmation Bias

Amanda Gorman, 22, performed her work “The Hill We Climb” at the presidential inauguration on Wednesday. She’s the youngest inaugural poet in history: Amanda Gorman stole the show at Biden’s inauguration: Meet the 22-year-old poet laureate who gave a historic 5-minute speech that’s gone viral

Both parents and adult children often fail to recognize how profoundly the rules of family life have changed over the past half century: A Shift in American Family Values Is Fueling Estrangement

You missed your chance to be a prodigy, but there’s still growth left for grownups: Why It’s Not Too Late to Learn New Skills

No, this is not a documentary about searching for coffee. Rather, this is one of the most approachable explanations of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” you’ll ever find. Watch this as an alternative to all the controversy going on in the political realm right now. Go get some popcorn! You can watch the entire film at no cost here:

Don’t wait, act: You Will Regret These Choices in 10 Years

From ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’ by Bernie Siegel