In one of my support groups, there are some brilliant and wise people having moments of pure genius. In the best meeting I’ve ever been to, a shining star said something that moved us all. To paraphrase, she said that we, as recovering addicts and alcoholics, have qualities that the post-COVID world will desperately need.… Continue reading Why the Post-COVID World Needs Addicts
“We live submerged at the bottom of an ocean of air.” – Evangelista Torricelli There was a time before air. There was a time when what we saw around us between the ground and the sky was a void, comprised of absolutely nothing. We still kind of see things this way – in her wonderful… Continue reading The Science of Nothing
It’s everyone’s favorite – flow. Video gamers know it. People who are super-into their craft know it. Athletes know it. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did the research and thinking that defined the condition, and described it as a state that “occur[s] if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to… Continue reading Addiction and Flow
Hi there. We are here. You and me. And you. And you. This planet has been here 4.5 billion years. 3 billion years ago, there were microbes, enterprising little living things that somehow invented the ability to replicate themselves. 250 million years ago, weird swimming lizards and amphibians appeared on the scene. Forests covered the… Continue reading I’m So Glad You’re Here
The mind can be a terrible place. The chorus of thoughts running through our heads can be abusive, needling, relentless, and cruel. “My partner must not reciprocate my love, how dare they act like that.” “The cat didn’t eat well this morning, they must be dying.” “Does my best friend love me back?” “My boss… Continue reading A Tempest in a Teapot
Sam Harris has these great lessons on his app (highly recommended) that cover a range of ways you can be a happier and more mindful person. One of my favorites is, “Don’t Meditate Because It’s Good for You.” This lesson makes a lot of good points – that the science, for instance, asserting that meditation… Continue reading Serving the Silver Liger
This planet teems with life. It’s been changing everything from the atmosphere to rocks for 4 billion years. It’s everywhere. It’s in crevasses in the Antarctic to the bottom of the Marianas Trench to the clouds above – it’s absolutely in every nook and seemingly uninhabitable cranny. Where conditions are friendly, it’s absolutely run amuck… Continue reading Life – Everywhere, Life
