Philosophy and Happiness related topics
I’m sorry for not blogging for awhile, life has carried me away since my last post. My time and energy have been spent supporting family with mental illness through tumultuous times, working diligently as a therapist, and caring for my very pregnant fiancee. Caeli McKamey and I are engaged and getting married tomorrow and we …
Originally posted on Advantage Point:
On March 11th 2011, an earthquake struck Japan along with a massive tsunami, killing tens of thousands of people and causing a nuclear melt down at the Fukushima Diachi Nuclear Power Plant. I had a comfortable life, living with my brother in a beautiful house a few blocks from my…
Originally posted on Advantage Point:
Winston doesn’t fuck around Winston Churchill once quipped, “never waste a good crisis”, it wasn’t Dick Cheney which somehow I got in my head. There’s no American alive who has lived through a crisis on as big a scale as the Covid-19 pandemic and unfortunately for American citizens, our leadership…
Reasonable trumps rational Feelings and thoughts with a side of logic vs. Emotionless calculated logic Reason breeds empathy Rational may obfuscate morality
I appreciate truly all of you who contributed your own knowledge and ideas to my 3 questions about Christianity, I enjoyed your answers and respect every one of you for boldly sharing of your hearts, minds, and souls. I’ll leave that thread open for anyone who wants to offer further thoughts. My conversation with Deacon …
We all talk to ourselves every day, the content of which causes us to feel certain ways and take defining actions. We may not be able to control aspects of mental unwellness inside ourselves but we may have more significant sway over our manner of being than we give ourselves credit for. We can’t control …
“Drink it slow or it’ll burn.” On a trip my brother and I were on many years ago some guy at a gas station said this to as were buying Naked smoothie drinks. I remember to this day for many reasons. Applying this concept metaphorically in our lives can perhaps help us enjoy things more …
True spiritual death is never experienced by any living creature, at least that is my belief. Our physical bodies may expire but souls live on for what we choose as our next experience or are karmicly forced into. I believe, at a certain point of fetal development, perhaps at heartbeat a soul enters its body …
This is my girlfriend Caeli’s blog. She inspires me every day with her authenticity in being true to who she is and with her incredibly beautiful creative spirit she expresses in so many ways; among them her writing, art, music and passion for life . I hope you find her art and poetry moving and …
Most, if not all of us carry chips on our shoulders each day. Even for those who’ve been able to identify and remove their chips, they have a tendency to return when one’s guard is down. They wreak havoc in our lives, especially in relationships. The feeling of being offended is a strong emotion and …
Relationships are usually fun at their beginning, at least at the point we decide its worth it to invest ourselves in getting to know a person and giving them a chance to know us. Something catches our interest, draws us to them, or we may be just lonely and seeking someone. At first we have …
Many, if not all of us suffer or have suffered from fatigue and burnout. Lingering tiredness, exhaustion, a feeling of needing significant rest even after a night’s sleep. Both negative mental states have innumerable causes including biological, physiological, psychological, and circumstantial. Feeling the relentless weight of the need to constantly pursue productivity and produce results …
Need a little spice in life? Try something new, something different. Excitement is out there waiting for us to discover. Getting in touch with our feelings is a good place to start. We can let our feelings guide us – what feels right, what feels attractive, alluring or appetizing. When boredom threatens to overtake us …
Power is choice. We have choice in most things even when we think we may not. Choices tend to change our lives, someone else’s or the world whether momentary or lasting. Some are of little consequence in our grail quest, others critically imperative. Sometimes after we make a choice we later find we wish had …
Sometimes we may feel bitter, jealous, angry or threatened by the success of others. As we’re able to notice these feelings overtaking us it creates opportunities for growth and increased access to feelings of happiness and contentment. Competitiveness can be a good thing, inspiring us to be the best we possibly can in the things …
Sharing our story produces wonderful feelings. Among them catharsis, satisfaction and relief. Spilling our guts, releasing our emotional energy, it feels good. Having a bond of trust and unconditional acceptance allows us to share freely and get things off our chests. Painful memories, joyous triumphs, feelings and opinions. No judgement, instead validation, positive regard, the …
Our external reality is comprised of many things, including actions and words others do and say to us. Things that happen to us, that we experience through our senses. Our external reality is also made up of our job, our living environment, our life situation. As we grow up and live, our external reality has …
All positive change begins with an idea. Good writers are masters of creatively innovating and persuasively conveying ideas. By writing about our ideas it helps us critically evaluate them and by sharing them with others we create the possibility of collaboration which opens a gateway to infinite possibilities. The more people become aware of injustices …
Intentions: A thing intended; an aim or plan Underneath everything we do or say are intentions, without exception. I think often times we misinterpret other people’s intentions which affects how we respond as well as the outcomes of situations. Someone might make direct eye contact with us and we interpret it as a glare, that …
Many of us can’t see our loved ones during this time of quarantine. I’m following our governor’s order not to mix households. It’s a tall order to ask us to stay away from our loved ones who we’d walk through fire to be with. It’s tough not being able to see my mom, but even …
Metaphorically, rain is always there. Fear, adversity, trauma, depression, anxiety, you name it. I tried to find an inverted representation of this picture I saw some time ago depicting a person standing under an umbrella, however, rather than it protecting them from the rain, it is only raining inside the umbrella. Once they notice this, …
I’m not sure who to credit this quote to but I find it inspiring, it reminds us of the progress we’ve made, all the steps we’ve taken toward our goals, all that we’ve accomplished in life and why giving up is not a worthwhile option. We’ve lived, we’ve loved, we’ve worked hard, we’ve coasted, on …
Of course, as humans one of our primary objectives is to help others. You are told on an airplane that in an emergency and oxygen is required, when the masks drop down, to put your own on first, before assisting others. This seems like an obvious thing, but as many people are more concerned about …
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” -Dalai Lama This is perhaps one of the most powerful quotes of all time, wisdom at its finest. The way we as humans allow ourselves to perceive and treat others manifests in our choices of actions and the …
In the same way we create karma in the good we do for others, I agree with Voltaire that we also create karma for our lack of doing good when faced with opportunities to do so. We may not always realize the potential or opportunity for doing good until after the fact and Captain hindsight …
“Time is Money” – Benjamin Franklin Our most precious currency is time and we only have a finite amount. 24 hours are gifted to us each day, and that’s all the time we ever have to take action. We likely only have access to a limited number of those hours due to demands of our …
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. -Carl Rogers Often, I think we find ourselves so focused and narrow sighted on what we don’t like about ourselves or our situations, we wear a metaphorical blindfold that prevents us from having insight about this state of …
Here I will describe how to throw a dart. Hold it in your hand, grasped between thumb, pointer, and middle finger. Hold your arm in front of you loosely but with intention. Focus your gaze on the area of the board you wish to hit. Pull your arm back slightly and then with a small …
“Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” -Thomas Jefferson Being honest in all things and fighting against the temptation to spin a lie to avoid perceived consequences or negative reactions makes us stronger, better people. People deserve to have the whole truths about things so they can make decisions with full relevant knowledge. …
“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way” -Babe Ruth If we try at something we have the possibility of succeeding; if we are persistent we have an even greater chance of success. If we let our fear of failure or of something else stop us from trying we’ve already lost. We …
Hey everybody I’d like to introduce the newest member of my cat family, Arya! A new kitten in the house brings so much joy! Laying on your head. Curling up on your shoulder or around your neck. Zipping around like a cannonball that’s lost its ability to catapult linearly. Arya. Caeli wanted to name her …