Google [Chronic stress can wreak havoc on the body] for research that ties right into my last post, Right state of peaceful mind, p.494. Note how the lightening bolt (graphic right) hits the brain before traveling through the rest of the body. The article puts it this way: āThe effect of stress starts in the […]
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Fear & Need Born in Nothing
Fear and need are the primal life forces underlying many of my observations. I know this basis often raises more questions than it answers, so clarification is in order. Not that I havenāt tried beforeā¦ see Fear is the Bottom Line, p.139 and What are the roots of thought? p.602. Well, third timeās a charm, […]
Continue reading…Loss Aversion Management
Recent research reveals how we canāt help but shoot ourselves in the foot. When I look around, I see our aversion to loss influencing just about everything we do, albeit often in very subtle ways. The innate emotional aversion to loss, when reinforced by thought, traps us even more. Iām going to explore this issue […]
Continue reading…āFixation on same sameā
Recently my friend Andy teased me about my āfixation on same sameā, as he put it. My habit of noticing similarities between apparent opposites bugs him a little. āFixation on same sameā was his response to my comment, āFolks on the left use folks on the right as scapegoats and vice versaā. The underlying needs […]
Continue reading…The Only Safe Escape
The only way Iāve found to escape life without unintended consequences is to give myself to life. It is a bit ironicā¦ as chapter 78 says, Straight and honest words seem inside out, or as D.C. Lau put it, straightforward words seem paradoxical. At times, I can lose myself in the flowing moment by utter […]
Continue reading…Fear Rules
The 2011 disasters in Japan triggered much anxiety among some people in America. This is curious considering how far removed we are from that experience. Thinking easily exaggerates (or minimizes) reality and makes matters feel even worse than they actually are, or vice versa. Media only adds to this by feeding our fears and needs. […]
Continue reading…Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
I often mention the benefit of watching out for similarity. The more literal translation of chapter 56 puts it this way, Knowing doesnāt speak; speaking doesnāt know. Subdue its sharpness, untie its tangles, Soften its brightness, be the same as dust, This is called profound sameness. Focusing on differences, while often stimulating, is not as […]
Continue reading…Playing With Dolls
I’ve been amused for years by societyās attempts to blame culture for things that are obviously biological. This is the old nature vs. nurture debate. Naturally, I could never convince others that nature was at least 50% responsible by reasoned debate alone. I suppose those who blame nurture and culture most vociferously, do so because […]
Continue reading…Balancing Difference With Similarity
Noticing differences greatly assists survivalā¦ up to the point of diminishing returns, especially for a thinking animal like us. Even so, the naĆÆve acceptance of difference as a true portrayal of reality would not have been a problem for our hunter-gatherer ancestors, given their truly down to earth circumstances. Conversely, our naive acceptance of difference […]
Continue reading…The Worry Gene
Have you noticed how something always seems to be wrong no matter how right things appear initially? There is an apparently endless supply of issues to fret over. After we resolve our pressing life and death issues, youād think we could relax and appreciate that victory. Alas, no sooner is one problem solved than we […]
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