It is often said that science and religion are two different paths to truth. Religion and spirituality offer a sense of personal truth (what I will refer to as knowing) through faith and subjective experiences of meaning and transcendence. Science, on the other hand, offers an objective sense of the world—knowledge of how things exist …
The Reconciliation of Personal and Collective Truth Read More »
If there’s one new year’s resolution we all need to make AGAIN, it is to be more humble. We need to listen more, and speak less. See the strength in modesty. And resign our egos—or at least try to. Because the world depends on it. Most of our problems today are driven by what lies …
Some days, I get a little closer to that feeling—being connected, or embedded, like I’m part of it all again, like I’m home. But most days, I’m not so sure. On most days, I wonder how everything got like this; how we let everything get like this. Whether individually or as a species, how did …
Fate whispers to the warrior, “You can not withstand the storm.”The warrior whispers back, “I am the storm.” —Jake Remington To call life the storm would be tempting but not quite right. It is THE WORLD that is the storm; the thing we struggle to navigate; the circumstances that try us, and break us, and …
“The present time has one advantage over every other—it is our own.” (Charles Caleb Colton) I keep hearing people say that there’s a lesson in all of this; that we have something to learn from this pandemic. Some say it will remind us of what really matters in life, while others believe it will forever …
If there’s one new year’s resolution we all need to make, it’s to be more humble. We need to listen more, and speak less. See the strength in modesty. And renounce our egos—or try to. Because the world depends on it. Most of our problems today are driven by what lies opposite to humility: egotism, …
What’s in a like? Not much, really—another toggle from 0 and 1; an electronic stamp of approval, existing nowhere real and barely contemplated. It is reactionary. Visible, yes, but hardly tangible. Constructed. Created. Imaginary. But it feels good. And sometimes it even matters. This week, in my Psych Café series at UBC (in which my …
Narcissism, egotism, aggression, dishonesty, far-right extremism, and white nationalism (all of which have been collectively referred to as “Trumpism”) are on the rise around the world, influencing average citizens and political leaders alike—and significantly compromising the common good. This is how to stop it… What follows is a slightly revised, late-night train of thought on …
Disabling Trumpism: Target the Followers, Not the Leader Read More »
Rising sea levels, ocean acidification, deforestation, ecological collapse—should our time on Earth end early, these are just a few of the ways in which catastrophe will unfold, given current trends. But these things are not our real killers… From a psychological perspective, it would be wise to consider the human qualities underlying the environmental changes …
The World Will End in Apathy & Entitlement (Or, Our Killer is Narcissism) Read More »
What is tolerance? What does it mean to be tolerant? And what exactly is it that should be tolerated in the first place? On its surface, the notion of tolerance may seem fairly simplistic and straightforward. But one need only peruse the comment section of any news story about human rights (either related progresses or …
