The Roots of My Anxiety
For most of my life, at least until the age of 50 or so, I would not have said I experienced trauma. It wasn’t until I re-entered therapy after a 7 year absence that I began to wonder if I may have been wrong in that beleif. It started with the idea that I mayContinue reading “The Roots of My Anxiety”
Definitions of Trauma
Understanding trauma is hard and the more time we spend with it, the clearer our understanding gets. Here is what I know today. “Trauma is extreme stress that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope.” – Katherin Aubrey “If danger, perceived or real causes anything that overwhelms our system, we go into an energy conservation state,Continue reading “Definitions of Trauma”
Good Parent Messages
From Body, Self and Soul by Jack Rosenberg (available at ibponline.com) From the Journaling Worksheet at One Legacy: “According to Rosenberg, optimally, all of the messages below, both the good mother and good father messages should have been given by both of your parents early in your life. … According to Rosenberg, there is onlyContinue reading “Good Parent Messages”
Falling in a Hole
I used to tell this story as a self-deprecating tale about clumsiness. That was when I believed in self-deprecation1. Now I tell it as a story about bottoms and something deeper than bottom. It starts with a meadow. A meadow which was connected to other meadows. My dad and I first visited it when IContinue reading “Falling in a Hole”
A New Year and a New Project
2021 was a tough year for me, but I am looking forward to 2022 as I continue my journey to develop a resilient home-base of equanimity. In fact, like I did with the 100 lakes project, I have set myself a lofty new goal which will keep me motivated (I hope) for the next stageContinue reading “A New Year and a New Project”
What I Learned From 100 Lakes
For 7 years, from 2007 to 2014, I paddled 100 lakes on Vancouver Island seeking sabi in the ancient tradition of kanjaku. Kanjaku is a Japanese word that joins leisure or idleness (kan) with loneliness or stillness (jaku). Lonely idling, or leisurely stillness. This was the term that the renowned Japanese poet Basho declared shouldContinue reading “What I Learned From 100 Lakes”
The Ball of Wire
Why This Photo? This photo contains a story about how my schema’s developed. My brother and I appear excited to visit a strange and wonderous forest. My grandparents are less excited. If you look closely, I am not looking at the camera, have a look of anticipation, but I also look distracted. I am imaginingContinue reading “The Ball of Wire”
Distancing Myself from Empaths
Over 3 years ago I described my understanding of empaths and acknowledged that I fit the description. I reluctantly admitted that there was something more to the empath experience than just being a highly sensitive person (HSP). Today I revisit the Empath label, and explain why I can no longer identify with it. Firstly, inContinue reading “Distancing Myself from Empaths”
Pros and Cons of Being Highly Sensitive
Defining Terms Sensory processing sensitivity, SPS, is the accurate term for the trait behind a HSP or highly sensitive person. SPS is my preferred term because it describes the trait, rather than making the trait the defining attribute of the person. Variability in sensitivity is common across organisms and gives rise to at lease twoContinue reading “Pros and Cons of Being Highly Sensitive”
Reactive and Proactive
Introverted SPS are reactive where as extroverted non-SPS folks are the adventurers out there exploring the frontiers (proactive).
Truth and Beauty
“Truth and Beauty are fundamentally different. Whereas Truth is a property of statements, beauty reveals itself in the course of an experience with an object.” Howard Gardner Do you know what you value? I value beauty. I say in my profile that I value beauty and excellence, as well as truth and kindness. Beauty isContinue reading “Truth and Beauty”
The Quality of Light
My father was a master of illusion. Early in his career he was a photoengraver. He etched images in copper plates to run on mechanical presses. Later he worked the large camera in a newspaper’s composing room. He was an expert at creating half-tones, those images newspapers use that are made up of variously spacedContinue reading “The Quality of Light”
3 Most Formative Books
3books.co is Neil Pasricha’s ambitious project to uncover and discusses the 3 most formative books of inspiring people so that he can compile a list of the 1000 most formative books in the world. I heard about the project from an interview Neil did with Dr. David Van Nuys on Shrink Rap Radio. I quickly becameContinue reading “3 Most Formative Books”
Original Review of The Pagan Temptation
Re-post of a book review I made in 2010 of Thomas Molnar’s classic, Pagan Temptation in preparation for a new review of the book in 2020
Comparing 2 Takumar 55mm Lenses
A comparison of two lenses in the Takumar line of 55mm lenses, shows minimal difference, with the newer SMC version having slightly more accurate, less pink tones.
A Year of Bokeh
It started when I looked at a photo by Eden Bromfield and thought, “woah, how did he get that shot?” I’d been looking at photos for months, deciding what I was most drawn to. What type of photos did I want to take? I liked both the ultra sharp landscapes that I would later comeContinue reading “A Year of Bokeh”
Beauty Will Save the World
“Too often, beauty that is thrust upon us is illusory and deceitful, superficial and blinding, leaving the onlooker dazed; instead of bringing him out of himself and opening him up to horizons of true freedom as it draws him aloft, it imprisons him within himself and further enslaves him, depriving him of hope and joy….Continue reading “Beauty Will Save the World”
Westholme Tea Farm
Westholme Tea Farm is dedicated to reflecting wabi sabi in their tea and tea utensils.
Coming Out as an Empath
The same sensitivity and awareness that causes increased pain, also empowers empaths to know deeper and richer levels of solitude, sabi, and mono no aware. They see all kinds of beauty and they tend to see it everywhere. They feel deep connections in nature, and with others. Their heart it touched every day. I intuitively knew that if I numbed my pain, I would also numb my joy.
Meekness,Wu-wei, and De
Because powerful people lose empathy the longer they have power, some mechanism is needed to counteract this phenomenon if they are to remain responsive to those they lead, and a benefit to the community. Various traditions, including Christianity, Daoism, Zen, and Stoicism, have all discovered ways to foster meekness and related qualities.
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Still In The Stream 