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Deep In The Grooves
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
During a Rolling Stone interview, Shania Twain conveyed a beautiful metaphor to encapsulate the period of time in our life when our personal world is amiss and we must encounter ourselves on a deeper level than ordinary awareness allows. She said, “Once I made it, it was, ‘Wow, I don’t have to worry about running out of gas until I get my next 20 bucks’, but that challenging part of life is still deep in the grooves.”
Continue ReadingJan 30th, 202312 comments
The Emotional Twisties
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
The “twisties” is a term popularized during the Tokyo Olympics when Simone Biles pulled out of her best events because she lost her sense of balance in mid-air. After years of competing at the highest level, her rhythm was suddenly off, and she couldn’t connect her body and mind to complete skills she had mastered long ago. What followed was a wave of self-doubt, confusion, and a loss of confidence. Every time she failed to land a routine, that disconnect compounded, further eroding her self-confidence and eventually forcing her to the sidelines.
Continue ReadingMay 19th, 20226 comments
Magic in the New Year
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
Lately I’ve been thinking, where did the magic go? The thought became increasingly intrusive, spurred on by the crappy news cycle we’ve been listening to for the past two years. To help process this thought I began freewriting, which led me to recollect Herman Hesse’s book, Magister Ludi, a book of parallel lives and spiritual insight published in 1943. Following my recall of Hesse, I promptly Googled “Herman Hesse quotes” and on the first page of my search were the words, “in all beginnings lies a magic force”. That was interesting, magic occurs by just doing it. Nike had it right.
Continue ReadingJan 5th, 202218 comments
The Fauci Dilemma
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
My neighbor won’t wear a mask. My other neighbor won’t talk to him. If they were on an airplane together, there would be a brawl. This is what it has come to. Welcome to America.
Continue ReadingSep 1st, 202112 comments
Post-Traumatic Growth During COVID-19
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
We’ve all heard of PTSD, but not many people are familiar with post-traumatic growth. Developed by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, in the mid-1990s, Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) suggests that people who endure severe psychological struggle following adversity can often see unexpected growth afterward in the form of appreciation, family bonding, reprioritization, new possibilities and spiritual enhancement. Continue Reading
Jul 12th, 20212 comments
What Do You Want?
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
In season three of Ozark, Marty Byrde is kidnapped by a Mexican drug lord, Omar Navarro, his partner in a money-laundering scheme. Navarro doesn’t trust Marty and holds him in dimly lit cell until he can prove his trustworthiness. In several scenes Navarro asks Marty what he wants, all the while torturing him if his answers aren’t truthful enough. Of course, Marty wants to see his wife and kids again. He wants to live. But, he’s a money launderer. He loves the challenge. He loves the money. He’s in it because he is it. Finally, after taking beatings for many false answers, Marty says he wants two things; to launder money only when he says it’s safe and to turn an FBI agent who can then guarantee immunity should he get caught. This satisfies Navarro and Marty is released. You can’t watch those scenes without asking yourself the same question, what do I want? The answer has to pass the Navarro test. It must be fundamentally honest.
Continue ReadingSep 9th, 20209 comments
Welcome to MaybeLand
From the category Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
When my son was little he would drive me crazy repeatedly asking “why?” It was a good way for him to learn but the never-ending game of infinite regression got old, and by the end of the day I wanted to smack him. I didn’t. My restraint paid off, and now he’s an Emergency Room doctor in Los Angeles who has created a successful path in life by never being afraid to ask “why?” Our roles have recently reversed, as I am now the one repeatedly asking him “why?” especially in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. His answer is generally the same, “maybe.” No matter how many times I ask, his answer doesn’t change because there is no certainty in MaybeLand.
Continue ReadingMay 20th, 20208 comments
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About the Author
Larry Laveman, LCSW, BCD, is a Psychotherapist and Author in Solana Beach, California. His publications include topics on marriage counseling, supervision, mental health and spirituality. He is the former Chief Clinical Director for Harmonium, Inc., a community based nonprofit organization specializing in children, adolescents and families. You can find contact him via Google +, LinkedIn, or this website's contact page.