Why Should You Treat People How You Desire to Be Treated?

You get back whatever you put out to the world. When did it become acceptable to simply be rude to people? Seriously, when did it become acceptable to treat people with such disrespect? For example, it wasn’t all that long ago that when the President gave the State of the Union address, the other side got a rebuttal after it. Outright heckling? What are you, undisciplined grade school children? Name-calling, inappropriate gestures, and other disturbing behaviors have become increasingly normalized

So What if My Guru is a Muppet?

Some of the wisest words of wisdom I’ve encountered come from Yoda. When I was a small child, my parents took me to see a movie that would have a tremendous impact on my life. In 1977, Star Wars was this mesmerizing, amazing piece of fiction that had so many unexpected nuances wrapped into Campbell’s Hero’s Journey amid spaceships, lasers, and swords made of light. Yes, I’m well aware of the imperfections in the story and that it’s not high

Every Day You Get to Choose Your Life Approach

This is incredibly empowering for us all. Over the years, I’ve made some adjustments and alterations to how I define mindfulness. Specifically, what goes into it. Mindfulness, as I define it, is active conscious awareness. It’s the practice of being actively, consciously aware of your mindset/headspace/psyche self, here and now. In the present, the only time that’s really, truly, real. Initially, I quantified what went into practicing mindfulness as knowing what you’re thinking, how and what you’re feeling, and what

What Would You Do If You Could Do Anything At All?

No limitations, no restrictions, no caveats, just do the thing you desire to do. Lots of people talk about bucket lists. Those things they would do without restrictions, obligations, financial issues, and so on. Additionally, lots of people have things they will do when they have enough money, lose enough weight, get that promotion, publish the book, dump the dead-weight relationship, and so on. Get that one thing done, the prerequisite must be met, and then you do the thing.

I Don’t Hate Myself, But Some Days I Don’t Like Myself

Kindness, compassion, and empathy are necessary for ourselves, too. Today I got really upset. Angry, mostly. At myself. Why? Because I’ve put on a bunch of weight, I have a bizarre nerve pinch in my left hand that’s causing recurrent pain depending on my grip, I’m a bit flustered trying to decide on a new editor for my book series, I feel like I’m letting people in my life down, I’m failing to live up to my potential, work as

To Live Life, If Not Today, When?

The best time to live is now. Apologies if this is triggering, but I need to say it anyhow. You could die tomorrow. Death tends to be the most terrifying topic for many people. The thought of no longer being, the questions of what – if anything – might come after this life has led to debates, arguments, and wars. Somehow, we still ignore that it’s inevitable. Life ends at death. That’s the nature of every living thing that we

How do I Release the Discomfort?

What steps go into centering and balancing? Depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses have common threads to them. They are comprised of elements of thought, feeling, and various blended and/or mixed emotions. Though I can’t and don’t know for certain, I believe that everyone feels their feelings in different parts of their body. Sometimes it manifests as a buzzing in the back of your head. Other times, it’s butterflies in your stomach. Maybe you experience a sensation like a weight

You Can Always Take Back the Wheel on Your Life Path

Who’s driving this life anyway? It’s all too easy to get distracted and unwittingly allow outside influences to take the wheel and do the driving. Much of this is due to modern society’s near obsession with automation, ease, instant gratification, and the like. This obsession leads to doing more and more by rote, routine, and habit. So much so that even personal matters take that form, too. Rote, routine, and habit aren’t part of the conscious human mind, but rather

Why is Doing the Uncomfortable Thing Positive?

Growth comes only from leaving our comfort zones. As I’m writing this, I’ve reached the end of my third foray to Farpointcon. This sci-fi con in Maryland has allowed me to meet and hang out with other like-minded geeks. As a guest author, I also get to sit on some cool panels and get an hour at a table to sign and sell books. Despite being an actor in HS, a DJ in college, and serving as a court herald

Why and How Do Little Annoyances Add Up?

They might not be much by themselves, but altogether they’re something. I live in an apartment. It’s an amazing home for my wife, cats, and me. We each have our own office space, shared bedroom, decent-sized kitchen, and a small deck. The apartment is on the second floor of a three-floor unit, and in the winter we get sufficient heat from the neighbors around us that we’ve never had to run heaters during the winter. The neighbors below us have

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