“I’m interested in everything that might be flawed and messy about empathy, how imagining other lives can constitute a kind of tyranny, or artificially absolve ourselves from guilt or responsibility. How feeling empathy can make use feel we’ve done something good when we actually haven’t. “We start to like the feeling of feeling bad forContinue reading “Comforting Thought: Empathy Between Gift and Invasion”
Tag Archives: psychology
Book Review: Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Book Review: Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Ikigai (生き甲斐 Reason for being, Japanese n. Having a clear purpose in one’s life that makes it worthwhile, give one a sense of satisfaction and give meaning to one’s life. Read more on Wikipedia InContinue reading “Book Review: Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life”
Ancient word of the day: Nekyia
“The Nekyia is no aimless or destructive fall into the abyss, but a meaningful katabasis … its object the restoration of the whole man. Carl Jung
Comforting Thought: Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself
To forgive is to assume a larger identity than the person who was first hurt, to mature and bring to fruition an identity that can put its arm not only around the afflicted one within, but also around the memories we carry of the searing emotional blow. We imagine ourselves in the light of ourContinue reading “Comforting Thought: Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself”
Ancient Word of the Day: Weltschmerz
Weltschmerz: n: (literally) World Pain (from German). The feeling of sadness at the suffering that surrounds you in the world. The pain of being an empath and sensitive to all despair and distress in the world. An ill-defined weariness at the burdens carried universally by all of humankind. “Sickness brought me this Thought, in thatContinue reading “Ancient Word of the Day: Weltschmerz”
Comforting Thought: Some teachers walk on two legs, others on four or more.
“I am still learning how to be a good creature. Though I try earnestly, I often fail. But I am having a great life trying – a life exploring this sweet green world – and returning to a world where I am blessed with a multispecies family offering me comfort and joy. “I wish IContinue reading “Comforting Thought: Some teachers walk on two legs, others on four or more.”
Comforting Thought: Doubt is a virtue, certainty is blinkered tunnel vision
If I know, then I don’t need to listen “In our risky society, you have to be sure about things to be heard. You need to issue out confident proclamations: ‘Research shows that serotonin deficiency in the brain is the cause of depression’; ‘We now finally have a diagnostic system that deals with mental illness.Continue reading “Comforting Thought: Doubt is a virtue, certainty is blinkered tunnel vision”
The wisdom of children
Children often use rich metaphor to describe their inner states. Far from being meaningless ramblings, often their insights into how the mind works are profound, philosophical and meaningful. In this TED talk Alise Shafer Ivey shows how children’s open minds reveal a Jungian and symbolic way of understanding consciousness, creative ideas, ancestral knowledge and howContinue reading “The wisdom of children”
Comforting Thought: The pursuit of our ‘true feelings’ infantilises us
Or to put it more bluntly and less delicately – Fuck your feelings! At least that’s the general idea that I extracted from this quote by Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann. “There is nothing about feelings in themselves that means we must trust them – let alone express them. In an ever-changing cultural situation,Continue reading “Comforting Thought: The pursuit of our ‘true feelings’ infantilises us”
10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44
Roll-up, roll-up to the bizarre three-ringed circus of 10 Interesting Things, where acrobats breathe fire and things go bump in the night. I hope you enjoy this carnival of weekly delights…. Fairytale images from Yakutia, Siberia by Alexeï Vassiliev I love the ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ vibes of these places and the combination ofContinue reading “10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet #44”
