“No matter how large the tissue of falsehood that an experienced liar has to offer, it will never be large enough … to cover the immensity of factuality.” (Hannah Arendt) I found this quote by the philosopher Hannah Arendt in an article about truth vs. certainty from another philosopher, Max Popper. All of this in […]
Yes, it’s humbling to see all the things we can do, say or wear in order to display competency, hide insecurity and be taken seriously. I don’t believe that a French accent is an asset of credibility – it’s a joke! If I take myself too seriously, you won’t take me seriously at all… But I […]
We all have “unshakeable faith,” or more simply, sacred attachment to beliefs and mental models that ultimately don’t make us happy or feel fulfilled. The dilemma of being attached to an unhelpful mechanism is captured well in the question: “Do you prefer to be happy or to be right?” It may sound like a “cliché question”, […]
It’s Spring break! No additional comments and no reflective thoughts for this week, but I look forward to continuing SINGING WITH YOU ALL later in April (after a short break)! Warmly, Carole
Ecosystems are in danger. It’s been a reality for decades. It is essential to continue advocating for elephants, lions, tigers, chimpanzees, fish, bees, coral, bio-diversity of trees, seeds and flowers. My moral barometer about “Caring for Nature” is very high. Although it is easy to feel discouraged, it is important to keep our vigilance alive. […]
I love exploring the tension between being somebody and being nobody. If we are too attached to being somebody, we experience scarcity and fear. We push, control, hide, distort… We exhaust ourselves and others. If we are too attached to being nobody, we miss the opportunity to allow the gifts of our life to blossom. […]
About Self-hatred: I heard Jack Kornfield* at a conference tell the story of a Western student asking the Dalai Lama how he was dealing with self-hatred. The Dalai Lama couldn’t understand the question and after asking for help from several people around him, said: “This is a mistake!” There is no word in the Tibetan language […]
Anger can be a fiery expression of our energy, and a fiery energy can definitively fuel our inner driver and foster good will in the world. However, most of the time, anger is an authoritarian emotion that escapes our control and lashes out at others with no discernment. Anger destroys safety, trust, and connection. More […]
I don’t know if animals have egos, just as I don’t know if they have consciousness, but I do know that human beings have both, consciousness and ego – and there are an abundance of definitions and approaches to describe what these concepts mean! It has been my long-lasting passion to better understand these two […]
It is terribly incorrect to have a wise master offering such uncaring advice, but the joke made me laugh! If my own fear of being judged can be recycled in a little bit of dark humor… is that so bad? That being said, perhaps “the cloud over the head of somebody else” is a metaphor for […]