Thinks I find along the way
Let us be thankful for the AI industry. Its leaders may be nudging humans closer to extinction, but this year, they provided us with a gloriously messy spectacle of progress. Source: The Big Questions About AI in 2024
When society believes something is good, does it necessarily mean it’s true? Is it wrong to live life differently? And what is life like when we go against the grain? Let’s explore life without marriage, children, and other stuff we’re supposed to have, the nature of social norms, and some existentialism.
Books show us what it is like to be another and at the same time return us to ourselves. We read to learn how to live — how to love and how to suffer, how to grieve and how to be glad. We read to clarify ourselves and to anneal our values. We read for the assurance that others have lived through what we are living through. “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read,” James Baldwin reflected in his most personal interview.
And yet while books may give us a foothold for the disorientation of being and an antidote to our existential loneliness, the paradox of living is that no example, no parallel, no borrowed wisdom is a substitute for life itself. The story of our own lives is only ever written on the blank page of living, our store of wisdom only ever found in the deepening truth of our own experience.
In 1918 — more than a decade before he penned his magnificent essay on the timeless magic of books and three decades before he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature — Hermann Hesse (July 2, 1877–August 9, 1962), entering his forties, captured this paradox in a short poem of great simplicity and loveliness, found in the posthumous collection The Seasons of the Soul: The Poetic Guidance and Spiritual Wisdom of Herman Hesse (public library). Source: What Books Give Us: Hermann Hesse on Reading and the Heart of Wisdom
Learn how to let go and accept change. Source: What Are the Moments That Matter Most in Life?
You can’t have a successful relationship until you can take ownership of your experiences!
It is our nature to have lots of thoughts, judgments, and feelings. Some that we want to identify with; others that we don’t.
It is common to confuse judgments with facts because we believe them so strongly. It is also common to confuse feelings with judgments (e.g. “I feel like you’re so wrong about that!”) and to have conflicting reactions, such as “You’re a jerk” and “I love you” at the same time.
While our experience is involuntary and overwhelmingly strong and real for us at times, as conscious beings we can pick and choose our truth and what we say and do about it.
Ultimately, we are responsible for what we feel, think, say, and do. There are no victims in the conscious adult world.
Taking ownership gives us power over our choices and destiny, and thus is the key to a successful and happy life full of rewarding relationships. Source: 4 Steps To The Healthiest Relationship You’ve Ever Been In
Why are Americans more lonely and socially isolated than ever before? Source: The Epidemic of Loneliness
Meditation, Emotional Healing, and Spiritual Awakening from Tara Brach, PhD – Psychologist, Author, and Meditation Teacher. Source: Finding True Belonging in the Midst of Stress – Tara Brach
Continue reading “Finding True Belonging in the Midst of Stress”
Is it any wonder that most people in the US are walking around like a ticking time bomb? A trauma therapist summarizes WHO’s 2023 report on ACEs. Source: Majority of Adults Have Adverse Childhood Experiences
Continue reading “Majority of Adults Have Adverse Childhood Experiences”
When you feel alone, what is your version of stealing Christmas trees and presents? Source: This Christmas, Conquer Loneliness Better Than The Grinch
“And if it’s true we are alone, we are alone together, the way blades of grass are alone, but exist as a field.”
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: Belonging – Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer – Mindfulness Association
Is your heart open?
This is the temple of my adult aloneness and I belong to that aloneness as I belong to my life.
David Whyte: The house of belonging – David Whyte – Mindfulness Association
“When my husband was financially unfaithful, it hurt more than if he had cheated.” Source: The $20,000 Secret That Ended My Marriage
It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still, and just like that, something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice of judgment drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up to life is what we were born for. As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward without even knowing where I’m going, that many times I can make the choice to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk slowly into the mystery.
Danna Faulds, Source: Walk Slowly – Danna Faulds – Mindfulness Association
Keeping goals in mind gives our brain a place to focus other than our troubles. Source: Are You Constantly Struggling? Try Grit
A new article suggests there are serious limitations in how we study happiness. Source: Can You Trust Research on How to Become Happier?
“The subtleties of human communication are profoundly complex, often deeply intertwined with our emotions and relationships.
Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in shaping the way we communicate, particularly in how we use and respond to certain phrases.
It’s intriguing to note that research from Yale University suggests that simply changing the way we phrase our words can significantly alter the emotional impact they carry.” Source: People who lack emotional intelligence use these 9 phrases without realizing they’re being unkind
If you’re spending the holidays with family this year, Jeremy Mohler has some advice for staying present when old wounds pop up. Source: How Self-Compassion Can Help Us Through the Holidays – Lions Roar
A new book by Robert Sapolsky argues that we’re not in control of or responsible for the decisions we make. Source: Do You Have Free Will?
In his new book, Stanford professor Robert Sapolsky argues that free will is a myth. Source: What our brain chemistry says about free will
Therapeutic pathways to transform the inner critic. Source: Taming the Critic Within
Bright, shiny objects! 
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