Not a straight line

A friend once said that god draws straight with crooked lines. Perhaps there’s a connection to this thought there…

Karl Duffy's avatarMindfulbalance

The way to the goal seems chaotic and interminable at first and only gradually do the signs increase that it is leading anywhere. The way is not straight but appears to go around in circles. More accurate knowledge has proved it to go in spirals: the dream-motifs alway return after certain intervals to definite forms, whose characteristic it is to define a center. And as a matter of fact the whole process revolves about a central point or some arrangement round a centre.

Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy

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Finding the Calm Inside: How to Cultivate Self-Awareness to Create Inner Peace

Sarah Chauncey writes “In 2010, I decided I would try to rewire my wildly anxious brain for inner peace. Here are some of the key lessons I learned.” Source: Finding the Calm Inside: How to Cultivate Self-Awareness to Create Inner Peace – Tiny Buddha

And I did rise…

How can I not reblog this? Hesse’s Siddhartha literally changed the trajectory of my life. My master’s thesis was on the connection between Hesse’s Siddhartha and Hegel’s Dialectic. Had I continued on with my doctoral degree my goal would have been to become a world famous Hermann Hesse scholar. Search this brightshinyobjects.net for the words Hesse and/or Siddhartha and/or dialectic and you’ll see that my passion for this topic still smolders beneath the surface. If you haven’t read Siddhartha you owe it to yourself. It’s a book I have read every year for the past 45 years…

Live & Learn's avatarLive & Learn

(He) handed me a copy of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. “In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up.” Reading that sentence for the first time in the small bedroom I shared with Charlie, it was as if I were reading about myself: In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the highway near the droning automobiles, in the shade of the pine trees, in the shade of the dead-end street is where Tom Lowe Jr. grew up. Siddhartha and his search for who he was meant to be, it was me on that river, it was me on those banks, and it was me who began to see books as doorways to worlds that could only help me rise in this…

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11 Things to Do When You Feel Lonely

Many of us are feeling a bit lonelier these days. These tips may help—some involving other people, and some you can follow all by yourself. Source: Greater Good

3 ways to create community and counter loneliness

“Loneliness is complicated. You can feel lonely when you lack friends and miss companionship, or when you’re surrounded by people — even friends and family.

Either way, loneliness can have devastating health effects. It boosts risk for coronary artery disease, stroke, depression, high blood pressure, declining thinking skills, inability to perform daily living tasks, and even an early death. The remedy? Below we offer three ways to ease loneliness and add happiness by helping you expand your social network.” Go to the Source: 3 ways to create community and counter loneliness – Harvard Health

Surrendering to the Present Moment 

Father Richard Rohr says “If we watch our minds, we will see that we live most of our life in the past or in the future. The present always seems boring and not enough. To get ourselves engaged, we will often “create a problem” to resolve, and then another, and another. The only way many of us know how to motivate ourselves is to create problems or to need to “fix” something, someone else, or ourselves.” Source: Surrendering to the Present Moment 

PS I find repeating the phrase I learned from Tara Brach and Dorothy Hunt to be very powerful for staying in this present moment: “Peace is this moment without judgement“.

The legacy of the one and only Tony Bennett

You haven’t accomplished much until Mo Rocca does your Obit on CBS Sunday Morning…




Why Doesn’t My Spouse Listen?

When stressed, people are physically incapable of hearing each other. Source: Why Doesn’t My Spouse Listen?

The Brilliant Psychological Rawness of The Bear

This streaming show draws emotional truth out of food and family pain. Source: The Brilliant Psychological Rawness of The Bear

Draw Me Like One of Your French Girls

I asked my kitty Sadie to do her best Kate Winslet in Titanic and this is what I got…

3 Golden Rules For Finding Love Without Compromising Who You Are

There are men who love your strength and resilience. Embrace them — literally and figuratively! Source: 3 Golden Rules For Finding Love Without Compromising Who You Are

9 Men Reveal The Truth About Whether Successful Women Intimidate Them

Are smart, successful women intimidating? We asked men what they think. Source: 9 Men Reveal The Truth About Whether Successful Women Intimidate Them

Volunteering may protect older adults against dementia

“Volunteering… could serve as a simple intervention in all older adults to protect against risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” says Yi Lor. Source: Volunteering may protect older adults against dementia

How to Enjoy Solitude Without Feeling Lonely

Make a plan for your alone time. Source: How to Enjoy Solitude Without Feeling Lonely

Set yourself free

Raffaello Palandri's avatarRaffaello Palandri's Blog

When you allow something you have no control over to negatively impact on you, you become slave of your worries.

Get rid of those things and set yourself free.

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Morning Walk. With Chat GBT.

I am both amazed and horrified at the same time by the power of AI. I use it on a basic level every day for simple, benign tasks but I fear what unscrupulous people will do with it. Read on for a brilliant example of AI at use by my friend David Kanigan…

Live & Learn's avatarLive & Learn

I asked Chat GBT this question after my morning walk this morning: “Write a story in David Kanigan’s voice on his morning walks.”  Here’s what A.I. produced:


David Kanigan, a man of unwavering routine and gentle presence, embarked on his morning walks like clockwork. Every day, before the sun even rose, he ventured out into the world with a sense of purpose that only the dawn could bring.

His footsteps were a rhythm, a cadence that connected him to the world around him. As he strolled through the quiet streets, he noticed the subtle changes that only the early morning bestowed upon the world – the dew-kissed grass, the soft whispers of the wind, and the occasional song of a waking bird.

Each step was deliberate, as if he were savoring every moment of the new day. With every breath, he inhaled the crisp, invigorating air, feeling it infuse him…

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Staying fit as you age isn’t just about exercise; experts say to prioritize these 4 habits

A fitness regimen should incorporate mental and emotional fitness as well. Source: Staying fit as you age isn’t just about exercise. Experts say to prioritize these 4 habits

As a postscript I will share that at the beginning of the year, I asked myself the Jay Keller question ‘what’s the one thing such that by doing it everything else becomes easier or unnecessary’. The answer for me was get healthy and lose weight. At this midpoint in the year, I have done these things as a response:

  • I have lost over 50lbs going from a size 42 waist to a size 36 and from an XXL to a L in shirts
  • I have been to Planet Fitness 79 times
  • I rode my bike almost 500 miles, reaching a goal of an average speed of 17mph over 12 miles

The results? I have a new job, a new love and a new lease on life — none of these would have happened without the one thing.

The Zen Wisdom of Kenny Rogers and ‘The Gambler’

An earlier post by Raffaello Palandri about control made me think about this; the simple wisdom in an old Kenny Rogers song:

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em

Know when to fold ’em

Know when to walk away

And know when to run…

Source: kenny rogers the gambler lyrics – Google Search

Sunday Quote: Inner work

Karl Duffy's avatarMindfulbalance

When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything

Shunryu Suzuki roshi, Zen Mind, Beginniers Mind

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Cutting and Running From Relationships Comes With a Cost

What makes you leave a relationship? Is it time to adjust your bottom lines? Source: Cutting and Running From Relationships Comes With a Cost

Grieving the Living: Losing Those Who Are Still Here

A subtle, ongoing trauma tearing at the continuity of self. Source: Grieving the Living: Losing Those Who Are Still Here

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