Category: Individual Growth
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Resilience, Humility, and the Temptation to Be Neurotic
Resilience involves embracing uncomfortable emotions like shame and guilt rather than avoiding them. True resilience is relational, allowing for emotional presence and accountability, particularly after causing harm. A meaningful apology acknowledges impact and fosters connection. By recognizing neurotic defenses, we can practice resilience and strengthen our emotional growth and relationships.
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The Practice of Differentiation: Becoming the Observer of Ourselves
Differentiation is the ability to observe our inner life without being consumed by it. In this post, we explore how becoming the witness to our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can create the spaciousness needed for real choice.
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Spiral Dynamics and Political Polarization: Why We Struggle to Govern Across Worldviews
How do we govern a nation when its citizens live in entirely different existential frameworks? This post explores Spiral Dynamics as a lens for understanding political polarization, authoritarian regression, and the psychological roots of our cultural divides. By mapping the values behind each stage of human development—from survival to global consciousness—we uncover why common ground…
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The Building Blocks of Emotional and Social Intelligence
The blog explores emotional and social intelligence, emphasizing their role in enhancing mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. It highlights essential capacities like empathy, self-awareness, and compassion, which contribute to navigating life’s complexities. These skills are not fixed but can be developed, fostering connection, clarity, and presence in everyday experiences and psychotherapy.
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The Dialectic of Courage
Courage exists on a spectrum and requires balance, as both underdevelopment and overdevelopment can lead to issues. It is a crucial emotional capacity that influences actions in response to fear. The challenge lies in deciding when to act courageously or heed fear, depending on individual responsibilities and the potential consequences of those choices.
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Anxiety as a Signal of Misalignment
Existential anxiety signals misalignment between our lives and core values. Rather than aiming to eliminate it, we should interpret anxiety as a message indicating areas where change is needed. By acknowledging it, we can address disconnection and seek environments that align with our true selves, allowing for fulfillment and integrity.
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Does laziness cause depression or does depression cause laziness?
The content explores whether laziness causes depression or vice versa, suggesting a complex relationship. It lists 20 behaviors that might unintentionally promote depression and emphasizes the importance of intentionality and action in combating it. Each individual’s approach to wellness is unique, so addressing these factors can help alleviate depression.
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Addiction, Self-determination, Flow, Mindfulness, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, and Human Bonding
Addiction, Self-determination, Flow, Mindfulness, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, and Human Bonding What are the components of addiction? why is addiction less desirable? and what aptitudes help us to avoid addiction? “Let’s Turn the conversation towards Efficiency and Away from Morals” The Psychobiological and Relational causes of undesired, addictive, and compulsory behavior: Flow (peak experience) – Humans are…
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Do you Like your self when you are with this person?
I had a client share an age old piece of wisdom with me a couple months ago – he said that he often asks himself the following question when evaluating his relationships: “Do I Like myself when I am with this person?” “do I like who I am when I am with this person?” this…
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Reflection and Psychotherapy
Reflection is the ability to hold a stimulus in the present moment without reacting automatically. In a state of reflection, a person can notice or observe the presence of a thought or feeling that they are experiencing… noticing or observing can then lead to two different reflective actions; either the person can continue to observe…
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The difference between good intentions and good actions = understanding, humility, and empathy
There are many saying about how many “evil actions” have been the result of good intentions. So how are we to know if our actions are good? Are there actions which are indisputably wrong and indisputably right? Instead of going into a heady philosophical investigation as to why good and bad are infinitely one, inseparable,…
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Face your Suffering on your way towards Freedom and Balance | The Effects of Resistance
There is a widely held belief (especially by males) that it is a person’s duty in life to “just get over it” … which in my experience entails using a great deal of energy to deny and repress what is.
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Dialectics – open your mind and balance will occur naturally
Quick summary: There are many different definitions of what “dialectic” means and most are relatively related while others are a bit different (the Hindu and the Buddhist dialectics are more similar than the Socratic dialectic). I intend to talk about Dialects as a subject which helps us to experience the idea that all things are…
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Authenticity and Stress | you are healthiest when you are your real self | “don’t plant corn in the sand”
You are the you that you are supposed to be… allow yourself to have the humility to let yourself be as you truly are.
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Drink too much? Try being yourself in your life… choose to stop inhibiting yourself
Many people find themselves drinking significant amounts of alcohol to uninhibited themselves… there is a simple and perhaps strange question that doesn’t seem to be given enough space or attention surrounding our drinking culture… I am not arguing here that there are not indeed some rather positive benefits of overindulgence, and by looking at these…
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Overcoming anger | are you angry with another or are you truly angry with your self?
Quick summary: the answer to the title question is almost invariably “both”, but to move forward with the false dichotomy noted I am going to comment on how anger is often an emotion that we feel for ourselves…though we are often quick to blame something external for our feelings. Though the environment might have done…
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Why should I focus on my Breathing? – Worry reduction.
Quick summary –Normally breathing is something which is done automatically – you don’t think about breathing it just happens. When you intentionally focus on your breathing you give your mind something to do and this limits your minds ability to worry, which is often the source of your distress. Breathing is happening in the present…
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Euphoria and gratitude… a runners high at 9,000 feet
Quick summary: If you can teach yourself to feel gratitude for a greater diversity of things… then you can add a positive association to any experience that you want.