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Five Minute Articles For Your Consideration
Everyday Mysticism: Part II
From Unity to Duality: The Mystical Advantage of Polarities
In Part One of Everyday Mysticism we talked about Unity as representative of the Whole. However, in order for the Whole to perceive itself it must become the focus of its own inquiry. In doing so it becomes both a subject and an object, or a polarity. The focus of Part II is on the mystical advantage of polarities. Continue Reading
Why Marriages Fail
Jim and Jenny have been married for seven years. Their marriage is failing. The spark that was there at the beginning no longer exists. They no longer take the time to talk to each other with curiosity and interest. They no longer hunger for each other sexually. Jim has become preoccupied with his career and Jenny feels she’s stuck at home with two kids. I could go on, but you get the picture. So, wouldn’t you be interested to know that their marriage isn’t failing at all. It’s just changing and maturing in ways they did not anticipate. Continue Reading
Everyday Mysticism: Part I
Exploring the Mystical Advantage of Unity
Mysticism isn’t as farfetched as you think. Although it often seems shrouded in ancient rituals that are reserved for the initiated, symbols of mysticism surround every one of us, every day. We often think of mystical experiences as being otherworldly and not related to everyday life, when in fact, they actually define our daily lives. Continue Reading
Everyday Mysticism: Part III
From Duality to Creativity: The Mystical Advantage of Creativity
This is the third and final part in the Everyday Mysticism series. In Part One of Everyday Mysticism, we discussed Unity as a representation of the Whole. Part Two then explored how unity gives way to polarities, creating a unique transference of energy between polar extremes. And finally, in Part Three, we will explore the mystical advantage of Creativity. Continue Reading
Five Ways To Promote Marital Health and Harmony
Every marriage completes something in us and omits something we need. The sense of completion is what draws us to each other while the familiar void of the omission is what we fuss about. For instance, if we come from a large loving family we may feel a sense of completion when we marry someone who is kind and wants a family too. Yet, if we were personally overlooked because individual needs were sacrificed for the sake of the larger group, we may feel the familiar edginess of not being taken into consideration when our spouse suddenly announces “we’re going to Spain on our next vacation”. Continue Reading
5 Reasons Why the George Zimmerman Trial is Important to You!
In 1964, Canadian scholar Marshall McLuhan proclaimed, “the medium is the message.” He was not referring to the enormous influence “the medium” exerts on society, but rather the “unintended consequences” that innovation brings to society. Over time, the unintended effects of the medium can become so great it determines how people perceive events to a much larger degree than the content warrants. The medium can be anything that takes innovation to the next level including, in this case, the media. Continue Reading
Marketing the Disease, Selling the Medication
The big business of drug revenue is constantly being fed by new and inventive ways of creating markets for drugs to affect. This inventive marketing strategy was developed by SmithKline (today known as GlaxoSmithKline), a British pharmaceutical company, to market their depression drug Paxil in 1991. It has since been adopted by many other pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer in marketing Viagra, and Merck in marketing Zostavax, their drug for Shingles. It’s a very effective strategy, contributing to over 4 billion total prescriptions being written in 2012 and drug spending topping $320 billion. Continue Reading
A Call to Cultural Leadership
Last year there were approximately 12,000 gun related homicides in the United States. By now we’ve heard so many stories of senseless drive by shootings, office shootings, and domestic violence that we’ve become numb to their reports. The grim ones hold our attention and then slowly fade away. Aurora and Sandy Hook were different. They held our attention longer and reminded us that Columbine wasn’t an isolated incident. Continue Reading
Self Esteem: Losing it, Finding it, and Keeping it
Self esteem does not exist in the external world; it is purely a construct of the mind. We cannot see self esteem, only evidence of it. It is a completely subjective and internal experience. In nature you do not see animals with self esteem issues. If a dog doesn’t catch a ball there is no self-recrimination. That judgment is reserved solely for humans. A dog doesn’t tell itself that it is a bad fetcher. Dogs just live to fetch another day. We, on the other hand, come up with all sorts of stories about how good or bad we are, all of which affect our self esteem. Continue Reading
Is it a Symptom or a Syndrome? Psychology’s Struggle for Legitimacy
Creating an effective and accountable standard of measurements to determine the efficacy of psychotherapy is a perplexing task made even more confusing by the DSM itself. The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is the sourcebook of diagnostic criteria for mental health professionals and the basis of all insurance reimbursement. The biggest problem with the DSM is that you can’t define a mental disorder using the manual. Continue Reading