Explorations of Conscious Reality Creation, Mindfulness, Nontoxic Positivity, and More
It’s nearly impossible not to come across as callous for this. I work hard not to be an asshole. This isn’t so much about me, as far as I’m concerned, as it is about being kind, compassionate, and empathetic. The world needs more kindness, compassion, and empathy; and giving them all comes with zero cost. This is what matters most. That said, sometimes my words and actions cause hurt. I never set off with the intent of doing this, but
Because you set yourself up to experience suffering that way. Comparison is the thief of joy because it’s endless. There is always someone or something you can compare yourself to. That person has it better than you. Those people look better than you do. Their home/car/yard is nicer than yours. Comparison will always find someone for you to see and feel less than. Similarly, comparison can make you feel superior to others. But that comes with a price, because if
You seldom experience or live the extremes. Everywhere you look the extremes are being emphasized. Rich and poor. Black and white. Brilliant and idiotic. Exciting and terrifying. Liberal and conservative. Good and evil. Extremes and opposites here, there, and everywhere. Worse than this, many push the viewpoint that you are either/or, for or against this, that, or the other thing. This extreme viewpoint is touted as the only viewpoint and opposite another. What’s more, the notion of either/or being your
A perfect example of why we all need positivity. While I was away on vacation, Kamala Harris chose her running mate. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. A whitey-white guy with an impressive record, morality, progressive stances on equality and rights for all, and a clear sense of humor. For the first time in a decade of some of the most partisan, ugly, awful politics I think anyone has ever seen, here’s a force of positivity. A genuine, positive, pleasant force for
The limits on energy are only what you assign them. I frequently write about energy. I believe that everything, at its core, is energy. It’s the point of origin for all. You and I begin and end as energy, neither created nor destroyed, frequently transmuted. From the tiniest subatomic particle to the largest star in the galaxy, all are sourced from energy. Hence, all are source energy. What is source energy? It is pure energy in the ethers, surrounding us,
Everyone prefers to feel good over feeling bad. Finding positivity is about learning/discovering ways to feel okay, calm, centered, and good. Yet you and I live in a fear-based society that feeds on a steady diet of negativity. Fear is a tool employed by many different leaders, so-called leaders, demagogues, celebrities, and the like to keep people in line. Similarly, sensationalism sells and gets more clicks on social media. This can make it appear to be far easier to live
An exercise in self-analysis. As I write this, I’m preparing for my annual vacation to southwestern Pennsylvania. I have attended an enormous medieval reenactment event every year since 1996 (save 2 years due to the COVID pandemic). This draws 10,000 people or more, and we spend up to 2 weeks hanging out with friends, enjoying classes on all sorts of medieval topics, eating, and partaking in various forms of combat. I have been doing medieval rapier combat (fencing) with the
Unless you intentionally withhold kindness, compassion, empathy, and hurt/harm others. Everybody has their own beliefs, values, and habits. No two people think absolutely, perfectly alike, or in sync. Opinions are like assholes, so everybody has one (unlike assholes they frequently have more than one). Concepts of good and bad are fluid and ever-evolving. Today’s good guy is tomorrow’s villain and vice versa. People change. The pendulum swings in both directions. It’s very easy to get caught up in all the
This is more of a choice than most people recognize. Emotions come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. They can be so small that they seem nearly invisible or so large that they seem unstoppable and overwhelming. Despite the idea that Star Trek’s Vulcans are emotionless, the truth is that they train tenaciously to tightly control their emotions. One of the most dangerous traits of toxic positivity is the denial of negative emotions. Toxic positivity puts on
It helps everyone to recognize and acknowledge this truth. I think it’s quite obvious that we’re in the middle of a massive mental health crisis (and for the sake of brevity I’m putting mental, emotional, and spiritual all under the aegis of mental health). This is especially true in the United States. First, there was a narcissistic President elected (Trump) who induced anxiety and caused division in ways we’re still dealing with (especially with him somehow running for reelection despite
