In one of his great poems, Robert Burns generously recognized wee Mousie, “earth-born companion, an’ fellow-mortal!” In another poem, he wrote (as rendered in modern English), “Oh would some Power the gift give us / to see ourselves as others see us!” Yes, that would … [Read more...] about Learning to See Ourselves Objectively
Consciousness
How You Can Save the World
I cringe at the thought of being cursed by future generations for not doing enough to stem the environmental degradation of our planet. My hope is they’ll just call me stupid and refrain from searing a big X—a token of eternal shame—upon any trace of my existence. My … [Read more...] about How You Can Save the World
Get Rid of Guilt with Deeper Insight (II)
“I have never smuggled anything in my life,” the great novelist John Steinbeck wrote in Travels With Charley. “Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?” Steinbeck’s guilt was irrational because, as he said, he had nothing to hide. So where … [Read more...] about Get Rid of Guilt with Deeper Insight (II)
The U.S. Government’s Flawed Intelligence on Clinical Depression
The whole world dwells in the dark when it comes to understanding human nature. Even the largest organization in the world specializing in mental illness, the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), has a huge blind spot. This agency of the U.S. government is giving … [Read more...] about The U.S. Government’s Flawed Intelligence on Clinical Depression
12 Ways We Fail to See or Experience Reality
We humans are capable of acquiring profoundly deep understandings of reality. We’ll likely at some future time have a much deeper intellectual grasp of what are now scientific, metaphysical, and cosmic mysteries. Reality is defined more narrowly, however, for the purposes … [Read more...] about 12 Ways We Fail to See or Experience Reality