In a 1974 song, Stevie Wonder says, “They say that heaven is 10 zillion light years away” and asks what’s taking God so long. The reply is, “[I]t’s taken Him so long / ‘Cause we’ve got so far to come…” (from “Fulfillingness’ First Finale”). It is a musical truth about the nature of evolution. In terms of geological time, it hasn’t been that long since dinosaurs were the dominant—and most intelligent—life on the planet. Humans are relative newcomers; and humans who speak in sentences, write long books, and play video games are the newest of the new. We like to . . . → Read More: Human Evolution
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The word “epigenetics” is so new, most spell-checkers will flag it as misspelled. A long time ago on a planet you may be familiar with, the best minds in a number of branches of biological science believed that DNA was fixed. Your genes were fixed at conception, and they determined every facet of your life: gender, eye color, health risks, intelligence, height, weight, and even propensity for shyness. Your genes defined you. Thus began the big search for the genes that “caused” cancer and a variety of other ills. The big problem with the theory of a fixed genetic . . . → Read More: Having Fun with Epigenetics If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you have undoubtedly noticed how many people are becoming frazzled by the rancorous exchanges between and among the various hostile factions, not only in the States, but also around the world. It is easy to be influenced by the unraveling of the metaphorical rope that holds society together. With wear and tear, the end of the rope becomes frayed. The question I want to address in this post is how you can stay above the fray, above the frazzled end of the rope without becoming detached from “everyday life.” . . . → Read More: Above the Fray Note: Blog entries before 1 September 2010 have been archived. In the movie, “Jerry McGuire,” football player Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), says to agent Jerry (played by Tom Cruise), what has become a famous line, “Show me the money!” It’s understandable. If you are going to hire somebody who will improve your contract and make sure that you are being paid what you are worth, you want to see the most important evidence. It’s a concept that we all need to keep in mind regardless of who is promising what. We need to ask to . . . → Read More: Show Us the Money Note: Blog entries before 1 September 2010 have been archived. A long time ago on what now seems like a different planet, the Beach Boys sang, “Be True to Your School.” The themes focused on aspects of life in high school, especially football and cruising from back in the days when street rods were “king.” Being true to your “school,” whether high school, college, or other organization is one kind of integrity. It isn’t, however, personal integrity, and sometimes you have to choose between loyalty to an organization and personal integrity. Regular readers of this blog probably . . . → Read More: Personal Integrity Note: Blog entries before 1 September 2010 have been archived. If you watch any TV at all, you have undoubtedly seen ads for Ciallis, the wonder drug for “erectile dysfunction.” And while you may be wondering if your (or his) erection might actually last for 4 hours, I’m wondering if you have noticed the metaphors being used in the commercials. Walls come down. The waters flow. The beams and chimneys are erect and standing tall. The couple goes happily into nature. And then … and then they end up in separate bathtubs. Most of the metaphors are . . . → Read More: What’s a Metaphor? A persistent question of mine is the degree to which individuals shape their own destiny through a combination of what author Abraham-Hicks calls The Law of Attraction and what we might call chance. I’m starting this blog entry on a date burned in the minds of most of us in the U.S., 9/11. My sense is that most of those who worked in and around the World Trade Center had not been spending a lot of time focused on their potential as targets for assault. Some of them probably had fears about one thing or another. My guess is that . . . → Read More: Vicissitudes Have you ever noticed how many of the early hypnotists were European? James Braid (June 1795 – March 1860—Scottish), Anton Mesmer (May 1734 – March 1815—German), Jean-Martin Charcot (November 1825 – August 1893—French), Emile Coué (February 1857 – July 1926;—French)—Emile Coué? Hypnotist? Yes, one of the best…. Coué is, of course, best known as the “Father of Affirmations.” He came up with the concept of repeating the saying, “Every day in every way I am getting better and better.” At the time, the common belief was that a strong conscious will constituted the best path to success: “I think, . . . → Read More: The Hypnosis of Affirmations Note: Previous blog entries are archived. Most people like to think that they are completely congruent, consistent in word and deed, with all their beliefs in perfect alignment. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Most of us have a number of competing—or conflicting—beliefs. Conscious awareness of conflicting beliefs causes what social psychologist Leon Festinger called cognitive dissonance. When individuals become aware of the dissonance, they can change beliefs to eliminate the dissonance. It is more likely, however, that they will find a way to justify it, rationalize it, deny it, or blame it on someone or something else. . . . → Read More: Competing Beliefs and Values |
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