Editor’s Pick. Video of Tony Robbins.
Category: Self Improvement
Rethinking “Evil”
If you watch the news (not recommended) you see people committing despicable acts of violence, and the general consensus is that these people who do evil… are evil. Ironically, when you have decided that someone is evil, bad, or wrong, it’s easy to justify doing evil things to them. “An eye for an eye” makes everyone blind. All this evildoing perpetuates the false belief that humans are inherently evil and would behave badly if not for our prohibitive laws and the constant threat of punishment.
The Reality of This Moment
Editor’s Pick. Written by Leo Babauta. As you sit here reading this, pause and expand your awareness beyond your computer/phone … what is the reality of this moment? You’re reading, and there are a bunch of other tasks you want to do on your computer, yes … but there’s also your body. How does that…
How to Practice Nonviolent Communication
Editor’s Pick. Written through crowdsourcing. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) includes a simple method for clear, empathic communication, consisting of four steps: observations, feelings, needs, requests. NVC aims to find a way for all present to get what really matters to them without the use of guilt, humiliation, shame, blame, coercion, or threats. It is useful for…
Don’t Get Addicted to Powerlessness
Wise words from T. K. Coleman, whose blog I read daily: Being a victim is rewarding. It elicits sympathy and attention while insulating us from the challenges that come with taking responsibility for our lives. These rewards, however, come with a cost. The benefits of victimhood can only be procured at the expense of personal…
What’s So Bad About Servitude?
Editor’s Pick. Written by Paul Rosenberg. Some years ago I found myself at dinner with a small group of people. We had a pleasant time, but soon enough, someone brought up my “weird” opinions. I explained that I was an advocate for freedom and opposed restrictions on it. A spirited debate followed, of course, and…
A Positive Outlook Isn’t Turning a Blind Eye
Editor’s Pick. Written by Pam Laricchia. Last week I talked about finding joy, that deeper sense of self that no longer seems quite so susceptible to the whims of life and luck. Yet, as I mentioned, it’s not that life no longer has disappointments or challenges, so I thought I’d talk a bit about when…
Finding Joy
Editor’s Pick. Written by Pam Laricchia. First, what do I mean by the word joy? Certainly it means happiness, pleasure. Most people can find happiness in response to good things that happen to them or around them. Yet when disappointing things happen, they are thrown into despair. It’s tough to be at the mercy of…
Why You Should Run Away
Editor’s Pick. Written by Paul Rosenberg. One of the more instructive experiences of my life occurred when was when I was a teenager, barely sixteen years old. My dad, whom I had previously considered to be incredibly over-protective, put me on a cross-country bus and sent me, alone, to visit my grandmother, some two thousand…
A Guide to Practical Compassion
Editor’s Pick. Written by Leo Babauta. If I’ve found two guiding principles in my life, they are contentment and compassion. With these two ideas, life becomes better. Contentment makes every moment better. And compassion makes your connection with others better. What Compassion Is, & Some Difficulties Let’s talk about compassion for a few minutes, because…