Published in Mind Cafe·PinnedMember-onlyDemystifying Your Unconscious MindOn the importance of inner work and attending to one’s shadow. — Most of us are generally aware that there are both conscious and unconscious aspects to our minds, but most of us know very little about what constitutes either one. Consciousness as a phenomenon itself is difficult to explain as it is, but most of us understand what we mean when…Mindfulness13 min readMindfulness13 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·PinnedMember-onlyHow to Befriend Your Shadow SelfOn patting your dragon, feeding the dark wolf, and finding harmony within. — Shadows can be ominous. They play tricks on our eyes. We think we are seeing something that we are not. They may trigger our fight or flight mechanism and increase our heart rate, so it’s no wonder that the notion of a shadow self can sound intimidating at first. Yet…Self9 min readSelf9 min read
Sep 5Member-onlyThe Haunting Metaphors Hidden Within WestworldSeason 4 holds powerful and provoking symbolism worth pondering. — I’m fascinated by practices, tools, and various methodologies that help us look at our lives in different ways. Tarot, the I Ching, prayer, meditation, and counseling, for instance, are such frameworks that can help us dissect reality and look at life from new angles. Metaphors and stories are perhaps the…Westworld10 min readWestworld10 min read
Apr 30Member-onlyDumb, Spellbound, and DistractedOn the lifeblood of a new world. — Part 1 Experiencing Reality Through the Collective Unconscious, Intuition, Tradition, and Self-Awareness. A mechanized world believes only in condensation of problems and not in a continuous dialectic struggle between man and the questions he construes. ~ Joost A.M. Meerloo The old faded photographs of my parents and grandparents appear lonely and isolating to me. …Society15 min readSociety15 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·Apr 26Member-onlyThings Don’t Get Easier, You Just Get StrongerOn the transformation we experience in the pursuit of our desires. — Many of us have this notion that if we could just have a certain set of circumstances then life would be easier and perhaps more enjoyable. The reality is that getting exactly what we think we want, when we want it, would likely result in misery. …Goals5 min readGoals5 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·Mar 29Member-onlyOur Brains Are Being Hijacked and the Consequences Are GraveOn the ethical implications of the attention economy. — Demands for our time and attention will not relent. The attention economy has gone parabolic and we are inherently caught up in the tangled web of it all. There can be value in many of the things we access through our digital screens, but much of it is also mindless…Self6 min readSelf6 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·Mar 28Member-onlyWe Are Not Living In the Natural Order of ThingsOn reclaiming our potential for human flourishing. — The irony about the rise in mental health awareness is that the corporate and political sponsors of such initiatives are largely the reasons people have mental health issues in the first place. The propaganda and theater from political agendas out of touch with the common citizen either isolates individuals or…Mental Health5 min readMental Health5 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·Mar 21Member-onlyYour State of Mind is Your Greatest Form of WealthOn reclaiming a truer and more liberating sense of success. — Maybe it's just me, but it seems the type of people most widely celebrated for being successful are the type of people I least desire to emulate. You know, the people who work 60–70 hours a week, marry their jobs, and become enslaved to their phones? But Lance, you have…Mental Health4 min readMental Health4 min read
Feb 3Member-onlyThe Challenge of a Meaningful (Private) LifeHow our digital social culture inhibits our ability to make independent value judgments. — In this digital landscape, the connection we share with one another is holographic at best. It is exciting and it has its merits — yet the hollow and pixelated reality often flickers through. …Social10 min readSocial10 min read
Published in Assemblage·Dec 22, 2021Member-onlyYour Consciousness is Worth More As a Dead Slab of Human BehaviorOn the primacy of conformity over innovation. — In a fair, balanced, and unfettered free market, there is a clear competitive and economic incentive toward innovation and authenticity — both in business and personal expression. However, as social and economic centers of power begin to centralize, it creates an imbalance where greater primacy is placed upon conformity and…Future7 min readFuture7 min read
