The journey of life is really about living into our authentic selves. The first big gotcha is to hide that fact from us, to enculturate us in ways that foster the interests of society as a whole or of an elite few, while organizing the rest of us to conform and thereby consume. And that’s exactly what most of us do — consume more information (and more goodies!) and in doing so separate ourselves from our real selves. I once enjoyed a wonderful lecture from Professor Carl LaPrecht. In the ... Read More
Do you have the one idea needed to change your life? One of the most interesting things you will ever observe in nature is the creative force driving all life. Present a problem to a small child, or an animal, and watch them go to work figuring out how to find a solution. Put the cookies or the food reward just out of reach and watch the cleverness that manifests. The simple fact is this: we are creative beings with a believing brain. Our brains are designed in such a ... Read More
“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” Mahatma Gandhi Imagine that we have six witnesses from whom we are collecting evidence. One witness states emphatically that the accused broke into her home. The next witness is equally adamant that the accused was home in bed with her at the time in question. Another witness states that they saw the man crawl through a ground level window as they were passing in their automobile, and yet still ... Read More
I am often asked two questions, “What is an authentic life?” and “How does one know whether or not they are living authentically?” Sometimes the best way to answer a question is to provide a clear understanding of its opposite, so what would an inauthentic life look like? After all, we are living, breathing, eating animals, doing natural things, so just what is meant by living inauthentically? The quick answer is probably less than satisfying. The quick answer is living a life untrue to ourselves, but then, what exactly does ... Read More
There seems to be a lot of conversation these days about the so-called “entitled ones.” Indeed, like a label designed to besmirch certain groups or ideas, “entitlement” is used to demean many social welfare programs just as “Tea Party” is used to belittle and categorize certain conservatives Part of my research involves evaluating positioning methods used to frame arguments and people and I have therefore invested a great deal of thought on labels. Recently, I had an experience that gave rise to a realization. Let me flesh that out some. ... Read More