TED Talks on happiness
#133580610 / gettyimages.com Last Friday, August 15, the theme of National Public Radio’s “TED Radio Hour” was “Simply Happy,” and carried the message that “finding happiness may be simpler than you...
View ArticleThe Devil’s Sooty Brothers
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, 1855. Painting by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann “People think stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way round.” – Terry Pratchett “The Devil’s Sooty Brother” is...
View Article100 Years Ago – The Battle of the Somme
Cemetery at Poziers, France, in the Somme River Valley “I’ve never met a grandson of someone who fought on the Somme, or a granddaughter, who hasn’t said to me, ‘My grandfather never recovered.'” – Sir...
View ArticleWhat would James Hillman say about all this?
James Hillman (1926-2011) James Hillman, a genius in the field of psychology, is largely unknown to the general public. Only one of his many books, The Soul’s Code (1997), is widely known, and only...
View ArticleThe White Snake – An Enigmatic Tale from the Brothers Grimm
Illustration for “The White Snake” by Walter Crane, ca. 1886, Public Domain I once had a professor who made an extensive study of world folklore and said the greatest predictor of success for a...
View ArticleCycles, Gyres, and Yugas, Part 1
Turning and turning in widening gyres Over the last year, I’ve thought a lot about the idea of cyclical time, time without beginning or end, as opposed to the view time as linear, which implies a start...
View ArticleA Contemplation of Heroes, Toilet Paper, John Wayne, and John Ford.
Paramahansa Yogananda told a story of two families, one Hindu and one Muslim, who were neighbors during the violence that preceded Indian independence in the late 1940’s. Food was scarce due to...
View ArticleAnti-vaxxers, mask-slackers, and maybe pessimism is good for you.
Dr. Serizawa in Gojira, 1954 When I was a kid, scientists were a big deal, almost as important in the movies I watched as cowboys. At the Saturday matinees, we learned that when you’re under attack by...
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