Santa Claus is a myth. Rudolph was created by a sales and advertising team. Scholars debate the historical existence of Jesus. Yet, Christmas remains the most powerful holiday on the calendar, and with good reason. Continue reading The True Power Of Our Artificial Christmas
In “What I’ve Learned about Life while Watching My Father Age,” a blog I wrote several weeks ago, I mentioned that I’d been reading On Death and Dying, a wonderfully insightful book written by Elisabeth Kϋbler-Ross. Throughout that tome, the author argues that doctors need to take a more “human” approach while treating dying patients. She also points out that the field of medicine stresses the … Continue reading Repost: The Real Secret to Being Happier and More Successful in the Workplace
Today, I surrender to the beauty of life Everything feels so light I woke up with a peace of mind And see no need to run or hide Today I feel free from all the ‘Should’ve’ Musts Or dancing between the ‘could’ve and would’ve Today I am all in And there is nothing in between I walk around, firmly feeling the ground Uninhibited, no longer … Continue reading The Beauty Of Life
Some days ago I received an email and it gave me Déjà vu. This story started back in 2022. I had been told that I should explore Tantra on many occasions over the years. Tantra? Should I explore sexuality with random partners and call it spiritual sex? No, thank you, that is not for me, I thought. Maybe it triggered my ultra-Iranian origins ; who … Continue reading A Tantra Way of Living
My greatest regret during my Peace Corps experience is that I wasn’t into taking photos at that time. I was into living life, though, as hard as it could be lived, tiptoeing right up to the line of being wildly self-destructive. It’s just that I don’t have much of a photographic record of all that living beyond the boundaries. I do have memories, tons of … Continue reading Repost: Places that “Made” Me: Installment Three
If you read my first installment, you know that I was a Peace Corps Volunteer and was sent to PĨock, Poland, a beautiful and fascinating city located on the Vistula River, to complete my Pre-Service Training (PST), a demanding educational regime that was designed to see if I’d be up to the various challenges I’d certainly encounter once I was sent off to the town or city … Continue reading Repost: Places that “Made” Me: Installment Two
My mind works in mysterious ways. For example, three or four days ago, for no particular reason, the following question popped into my head: I wonder who said, “Clothes make the man”? I then almost immediately forgot that I’d asked this question—my brain having its own unique way of functioning—and went about my daily business. This morning I got online and found out that Mark … Continue reading Repost: Places that “Made” Me: Installment One
I’ve been thinking a lot about anger recently. In fact, I’ve been looking at the topic long enough to be ready to put my thoughts on paper. For a person interested in studying anger and the angry response, this is a kind of perfect moment. There’s so much anger out there, being expressed in all sorts of contexts by all kinds of people, that there’s … Continue reading Repost: On Anger
On Friday, October 11th, I attended a professional development workshop at the college where I’m employed. The title of the session was “Communication Skills for Collaboration.” Looking back, I don’t think the title gave an apt preview of what the talk would cover. Plus, the title was boring; whereas, the actually workshop was quite interesting. During the early moments of the presentation, the presenter began … Continue reading Repost: A Meditation on Something I Heard the Other Day
I’m getting older. We all are. Of course, as we age, we lose things. For example, because I’m older and injured my knee playing competitive sports when I was a young guy, I can no longer jog without having significant pain afterwards. That sucks, but I’m fine with that limitation and loss. It’s not all bad news though. I’m gaining things too. For example, I … Continue reading Repost: On Dealing with Emotional Extremes
Step into the world of Qi Gong, an age-old practice that traces its roots back to the rich world of ancient China, where it first blossomed some 5000 years ago. This holistic discipline has been profoundly shaped by an interweaving of philosophical strands, including the profound wisdom of Taoism, the transformative teachings of Buddhism, and the ethical principles of Confucianism. Initially flourishing within the realm … Continue reading Explore the Ancient Origins of Qi Gong: A Journey Back in Time
I’ve been thinking a lot about defiance lately. Actually, because I’m very much a contrarian at heart, I’m always thinking about ways to defy. That’s what contrarians do; they defy conventional wisdom (among other things). (By the way, it seems pretty clear that we need a lot more contrarians in the world.) I guess you could also say that I’m part of the resistance against … Continue reading Repost: Napping as an Act of Defiance
I’ve been forgetful lately. I’m talking like, I’ll be in one part of my house, decide that I need something from another room, head to that locale, and as soon as I arrive there, I can no longer recall what I wanted to get. I know this is a near universal human experience because I’ve had numerous friends, once I’ve told them about this tendency … Continue reading Repost: Does Anyone Know Where I Left My Car Keys?
If you haven’t already done so, you might want to have a look at part one. That one was mostly about work. This second piece will be more focused on money; although, work and money really go hand in hand because without the former, the latter is hard to come by. In part one, I mentioned (and linked to) “The Shame that Keeps Us in Our … Continue reading Repost: On Work and Money: Part Two
Earlier this week I read “The Shame that Keeps Us in Our Jobs,” an article by Paul Millerd, one of my LinkedIn contacts. Millerd’s piece, about work, work culture, and money, got me thinking about a whole bunch of topics. This blog is the result of that rumination. I want to begin with something I’ve wondered about throughout my career as a college and university … Continue reading Repost: On Work and Money: Part One
I don’t think this is going to be anything like any of my other blogs. Actually, I’m not for sure what this is going to look like or how it might turn out. That’s why I’m calling it an “experiment.” I will conduct my experiment by asking a series of personal, self-discovery questions and then answering them. Each response will be used to generate another … Continue reading Repost: Experimenting with Self-Discovery in Real Time
Note: A version of this post was published earlier. As America gears up for the 2024 presidential campaign, a variety of Republican contenders, chief among them Ron DeSantis, are doing their absolute best to dethrone the Grand Poohbah, otherwise known as “The Donald,” the man who gives lie to the statement “It can’t happen here.” To achieve this difficult task, these campaigners are going … Continue reading Let’s Talk and Think about Skin Color
Before I get into the body of this piece, I’d like to say that the conflict in Ukraine is especially interesting and tragic because I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Poland during the mid-nineties, not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was sent to Rzeczpospolita Polska—I still remember quite a lot of Polish—to … Continue reading Repost: What Vladimir Putin’s War Has Taught Me
Knowing oneself is, to me, the key to the path of spirituality or on the ladder of awareness. Continue reading The art of knowing oneself
Exactly one week ago, on Saturday morning, my wife and I got into the backseat of my father and stepmother’s car, in Georgetown, Texas, pulled out of their garage, and headed eastward, to make the hour-long trip to the small town of Rockdale, Texas, population 5,323. Our goal was to attend a memorial service to commemorate the life of my uncle, a man I’d always … Continue reading A Sad Day, a Happy Day
