Money is important—it’s the grease in the economic machine. Some of us, though, get that grease all over our clothes, hair, and skin. When our body is overlaid with it, and every pore sealed up, the smear of cold cash turns our humanity blue. Money can be greasy to the touch, … [Read more...] about When Money Enriches Our Suffering
Depth Psychology
The Common Ingredient in Human Misery
What do binging, hypochondria, and hoarding have in common? On the surface they appear to be unrelated. Yet all three of these behaviors have the same source in our psyche. That source—inner passivity—is an unconscious sense of identity situated in our psyche that determines, … [Read more...] about The Common Ingredient in Human Misery
The Infantile Basis of Our Fears
This post is a revised and expanded version of an earlier story, “How Inner Fear Becomes Our Worst Nightmare.” Some people like digging around in the past---geologists, historians, archeologists, and genealogists---because the past is the foundation of the present and has a … [Read more...] about The Infantile Basis of Our Fears
Cynicism: The Battle Cry of the Wimp
Cynicism is the bravado of the faint-hearted, the strut of the weak-kneed, the battle cry of a feeble voice. This negative mentality, while self-defeating for its practitioners, seems to be gathering like storm clouds in the West. Barack Obama delicately brought this dysfunction … [Read more...] about Cynicism: The Battle Cry of the Wimp
Desperately Seeking Validation
Watch out for people who lean on you to validate their pain and misery. They may be using you to justify their unconscious decision to hold on to their brand of suffering. Sometimes, of course, we can help others in their suffering as we listen to them and comfort them. … [Read more...] about Desperately Seeking Validation