FEELING ACTIVATION IN A MEDITATION I had an experience in a deep meditation some months back, when the ground was still cold here in Colorado. The practice took place late at night, as I meditated for hours. As usual, I am listening to my meditation music in my studio, working to deepen my practice. There were convincing, … More Unfinished Business
RECALLING DREAMS Often, when I talk to people about dreams, people insist they don’t dream. I believe that research has shown that we all dream, and perhaps even that we must dream. Most people mistake not remembering dreams for meaning they don’t dream. Learning to remember our dreams usually takes some concerted effort. I learned early in my life … More DREAM ARCHETYPES: The Dream Stage
Awakening the Soul’s blueprint from Aristotle to Jung I’m thinking about the concept of stuckness in life, and how it’s challenging to recognize when we’restuck. We may be stuck in a certain job, a relationship, or a lack of a relationship. We may be stuck with a philosophy of life that is no longer serving us, and … More BECOMING UNSTUCK:
I often use metaphors to describe the human mind to clients. One commonly used metaphor, originally from Freudian psychology, compares the mind to an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg above water, represents the conscious mind– the thoughts and perceptions we are aware of. Just beneath the water’s surface lies the preconscious — thoughts and … More Fractal Lattices of the Mind
A DREAM REVISITED I have written in the past about the Ouroboros symbol of the snake biting its tail before. This symbol had adopted me, or I had adopted it after a dream I had in 2017. Perhaps it was always there, buried in my unconscious. The dream I’ve written of before was at my … More Trust in the Return: Ouroboros revisited
This week I am writing another article on the value of journaling and doing other forms of self-work such as artwork as part of our own internal journey. At a time when our country and world may feel torn apart by disagreements it is important to not simply jump into the fray of disagreements, but to once again turn … More Symbols We Share and Why Writing Works
This article was originally published on medium.com on June 6, 2022. With the goal of collecting my articles in one place, I am re-publishing it here with an audio version above. For this father’s day inspired article I am borrowing my title as homage to the fictitious thesis written by Robin William’s character Henry/Parry in … More The Fisher King: A Mythic Journey for Modern Man: Part 1
RATIONAL MIND There is a phenomenon that occurs regarding the nature of the conscious mind, that is called the Split Mind. The nature of the split mind was observed when in the 1940s doctors severed the corpus callosum in epileptics, the thick fibers connecting the left and right side of the brain, to stop debilitating seizures. … More Red Alert! When danger comes in, and rational mind goes out.
I remember when I began my sessions in psychotherapy nearly 30 years ago. Aside from feeling lost in my life, depressed, anxious, and angry – I was under the distinct impression at times that therapy wasn’t doing anything for me. Therapy felt like a slow glacier moving down a mountain. It was a grueling process of showing … More TIMELAPSE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
TRIGGER WARNING: Although I write at times about grief and sometimes pair my writing with a film or series that surrounds this subject, this series is different from a series like Lost Ollie on Netflix for instance. I am NOT recommending The Third Day as a series for those who may be treading the rough waters … More GRIEF: EXILED TO AN ISLAND
In my last article on grief, I wrote about living below our baseline, and talked about how even our dopamine level may be very low when we are grieving the loss of a loved one. That article can be viewed in the link below. AMPLIFIERS AND ROGUE WAVES I want to talk about how trauma and … More GRIEF: TRAUMA AS AN AMPLIFIER
As a psychotherapist, I sometimes talk to people about how grief and trauma may appear in their lives. Most of the time therapists speak of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who wrote about the five stages of grief, but this is not something I feel the need to explore today. In part because people may feel lost trying to figure … More Grief: Living beneath our Baseline
There is a particular children’s book that I read to my sons when they were little, that still resonates with me now that my oldest is grown, and my youngest is nearly grown up. Wolves in the Walls, by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean may fall under the umbrella of what I might … More FAIRY TALES: Neil Gaiman’s WOLVES in the WALLS
An audio version of this article is below, if you would like to listen instead. When I was in grad school I was watching the film, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi late one night as I was finishing up papers that were due. While listening to the film, I heard them quote Joseph Campbell. I … More ALL THE GODS ALL THE HEAVENS ALL THE HELLS ARE WITHIN YOU
There is a theme in films and streaming series that I am drawn to, and this is around the subject of grief. I recommend some of these films and series for people to help with processing, and understanding the grief that they may be experiencing in their lives. … More Grief in Films: Lost Ollie
Follow Your Myth 