Category: Language Concepts
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The Power of Words
I value language; I value precision of language. I’ve often told people that “fish swim in water; human beings swim in language.” As such, language creates much of my world, and I need to be very careful as to what I am creating. Previous posts on sloppy language and shoulds were examples of such creating.…
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Difficulties: solvable or resolvable?
When you have a difficulty, is it solvable? Is global warming solvable? In this post, I want to explore the distinction between solvable and resolvable. To solve something means that the difficulty it represents goes away — you are complete with it. To resolve something means you are at peace with it — it may…
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Digression: difficulties versus problems?
When you encounter issues that trouble you, are they difficulties or are they problems? Is global warming a difficulty, or is it a problem? In this post, I want to clarify the distinction between difficulties and problems — I think it is an important distinction in the issues of cultural maturity. I explain it clearly…
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Read the fine print!
I am so tired of the duplicity of our culture! A colleague Paul Ray sends me lots of information about climate change issues, for which I am very grateful — not only are they usually pertinent, but he often highlights the significant components in the emails he sends. Such is the case here, referring to…
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Are you spiritual? What is spirituality? (Part 2 of 2)
In the first part of this post, I discussed religion; I suggest here that spirituality refers to something broader than religion, but includes religion. If we think of religion as expressed as one dimension (belief systems), spirituality has three dimensions: that of belief systems, value systems (faith development over time), and transformative experience (mystical experience).…
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Are you spiritual? What is spirituality? (Part 1 of 2)
A science that does not incorporate spirituality is dehumanizing; a spirituality that does not include science is delusional. I indicated in my last few posts that I would clarify what I mean by spiritual. When I was a therapist, many of my clients struggled with…
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What is Personal Growth?
I was going to talk about spirituality but I thought it would be useful first to identify personal growth; I imagine you the reader have heard the term personal growth. What does it mean? For that matter, what do the terms therapy and counseling mean? What is their relation to spirituality? What follows are my…
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Gamification
These posts are likely to be quite random in their content, at least for a while. I read a lot, and am often reactive to the content, especially when the content illustrates what I consider the insanity of our culture. Here is what I came across this morning: gamification, the latest gimmickry to sell you…
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Talking about important issues
A couple of people have asked me to comment on the fact that they do not know how to talk about issues such as their own personal growth and/or the nature of spirituality. When they do, when they talk about how important these issues are to them, and how much they personally have been changed…
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Sloppy Language, Part 2
To recap, this is my second post on sloppy language. Bottom line: if you will be meticulous with your language for six months, you will change your life, for the better. But remember: The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. Why?: “Why?” can be a very important question; the…
Awakening From Your Anger 