Category » Applied Philosophy & Psychology
Mental Hygiene
Mental hygiene is a new concept to me. I admit, I was immediately taken with the mind-body parallel in the same way we looked at that parallel with homeostasis (in the past two weeks). I was surprised to see that an American Council for Mental Hygiene was established in 1922! (And I thought I was […]
The Battle of First-Order v. Second-Order Values
Last week’s blog focused on homeostatic responses in addiction and otherwise. But it also ventured into newer terrain: homeostasis, for most of that concept’s life, has been considered a physiological phenomenon. For example, when your body temperature rises rapidly, you start to perspire and reduce activity, while blood rises to the surface of your skin […]
Invisible Chains: Homeostasis in Addiction
Most people look back on big changes in their lives with appreciation. The change may have been hurtful, costly, or even life-threatening (e.g., major surgery) but the other side offers an enriched perspective for which most of us are grateful. The reason we’re thankful is that we’ve leaped another tall building. And we feel smarter […]
Fear of Decision-Making
In a course I’m taking this semester, on career development, one of the underlying premises is that people will enter therapy believing they have a troublesome career issue to discuss. After a few sessions, that troublesome issue is found to relate to something bigger, older, and entirely personal. What that says is that there is […]
Energy, Engagement, & Connection
For a long time, I have subscribed to a daily email called Wordsmith. Five days a week, subscribers are emailed a piece about a word, its history, an example of its use, and a quote for the day. This September, one day’s quote was from the Italian actress, Sophia Loren. There is a fountain of […]
Patterned Investments of Attention
Last week we learned about window washing. Internal window washing. The kind you do by taking things for granted, not the bucket & sponge version, because these windows are invisible and located just behind your eyes affecting how and what you see. Today we revisit John, who is still trying to kick his cocaine habit. […]
Barriers to Clarity
We’ve looked at two of Csikszentmihalyi’s main ideas: flow, and the control of one’s own mind or consciousness. This week we’ll look at the genetic, cultural, and ego-based barriers that can hamper seeing life clearly. At this point in our history it should be possible for an individual to build a self that is not […]
Controlling Your Mind
Last week we looked at flow; this week we’ll look at Csikszentmihalyi’s take on the control of one’s own mind or consciousness. Here’s how he gets to it: The thesis of this book is that becoming an active, conscious part of the evolutionary process is the best way to give meaning to our lives at […]
Flow & Recovery
There are (at least) three concepts discussed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi that might be of value to those trying to change their lives. Those concepts are flow, the power of self-knowledge, and the control of consciousness. (I wrote six blogs on the Delphic Know Thyself in March-April of 2021, for those who want two takes on […]
Exiting the Stages of Change & Neuroplasticity
In the preceding blog, two arguments were presented against exiting the Cycle of Change (CoC). This blog looks at the neuroplasticity implicated in addictive behaviour and thus in leaving the CoC. From my recent training in psychology, from independent reading, and from working with groups of people coming to terms with addiction, two strains of […]