Tag Archives: My Opinions

Taking Responsibility

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I like the idea of saying to myself (maybe as a mantra), “I am experiencing EXACTLY what I WANT to experience right now or I’d be experiencing something else. I am doing exactly what I most want to do right now or I’d be doing something else. I have exactly what I want to have right now or I’d have something else.” (BE-DO-HAVE) I believe that when you adopt this as a personal truth, you tend to take responsibility for your life and magical things start to happen. For one, when YOU are the responsible party, YOU have the power to make changes – NOT because you don’t like what you have; rather, because you LOVE what you have and want to experience something ELSE you love.

If you want to make a substantial change in your life, consider taking responsibility for your life – acknowledge that you are, do, and have what you currently experience because you WANT TO. How you feel about what you experience is your PAYOFF. Embrace your payoff – you love it, after all – and you’ve gone to some effort and energy to achieve it. Then look into what OTHER PAYOFF you might enjoy JUST AS MUCH and begin embracing that instead. You might also enjoy achieving your current payoff in a different manner. Like the kid in the sandbox making a sand castle, you can play with your design as much as you wish until you get it “just right” – that is, you experience sufficient sensational payoff.

Sex of Ideas

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Matt Ridley presents what I believe is a compelling argument for global connectedness, understanding, and cooperation. Especially as the global population of humanity grows, we no longer can afford the “luxury” of isolationism, war, and religious bigotry. At a level beyond, yet including the physical, sex makes great sense. Beyond pleasurable, it’s necessary. I really like Matt’s idea about the sex of ideas and how that specific sexual revolution has led humanity to where it is today – and will lead us into a hopefully brighter future. Yes, maybe it’s time for more sex!

Who Am I Really?

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Am I morphing into some kind of monster?

Am I morphing into some kind of monster?

It’s a little-known or at least little-appreciated fact that a rather large percentage of my biomass is not human. Let me repeat that just for emphasis -

I am NOT ALL HUMAN!

About 99% of the outer covering of my body is NOT human. Rather, it is a “coating” of bacteria – mostly feeding on my dead skin – while some feed on my living skin cells. That’s just my skin! Within my gut are many more species of bacteria. Some help and some hinder my digestion process.

The point is – my body is not just “mine”. It is home to a large number of single-celled plant and animal life – as much as 90% of my biomass!* Each of those microscopic creatures has its own “mind” – with its own volition, decision making processes, and behaviors – maybe thoughts, too.

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The LGBTQ Bias

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Perhaps our definition of "normal" needs redefining.

Perhaps our definition of "normal" needs redefining.

I’m always on the lookout for thinking errors I may have previously overlooked. Here’s a dandy bias that affects a growing proportion of the world’s population. Marginalized and dehumanized, a significant segment of our population has endured censorship, hatred, bigotry, and worse at the hands of their heterosexual neighbors while contributing greatly to the overall sweetness and vitality of our human experience. Even research about them has been tainted by bias favoring heterosexual relationships as the “norm.”

“The underlying assumption of research on LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) families has been premised on the idea that the children of gay and lesbian people will have unique challenges because of their parent’s sexual orientation. LGBTQ people have had to establish that they are good parents by raising children who are heterosexual and gender-normative, i.e., not like them.”

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Feeling Low? Maybe It’s OK

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It's perfectly normal for humans to have mood swings.

It’s perfectly normal for humans to have mood swings.

Feeling a bit low or blue during the winter months? Or maybe just feeling a little depressed now and then? Well don’t despair or feel anxious over it – adding to the feeling. It’s perfectly normal for humans to have mood swings – and to have negative moods that can last for days or even weeks.

The slightest shift in the balance between serotonin and melatonin, adrenalin and noradrenalin, and other chemicals in the body can affect our moods – and it is NORMAL for us to do so and feel that way when we do.

According to University of East London psychologist Professor Mark Rapley, “Bottling up anger and sadness is never a good way of dealing with things; problems tend to come back and bite us harder further down the line. The trouble is, we’ve become so obsessed with being happy that we now see being down as a real problem – when, in fact, it’s perfectly normal.

“We’re constantly encouraged to be anxious about whether we are happy or depressed, yet these feelings are not illnesses, simply part of regular human experience. Life would be so much duller if we just muddled along in the middle without feeling any emotions at all. Learning to recognize that it’s normal to feel angry or sad is a good thing for our mental health.”

Balance is boring!

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