Religious insecurities

People are insecure in their beliefs when it comes to religion. The belief in God requires accepting some things purely on faith. Belief in Jesus as the messiah requires even more blind faith and belief that you will be rewarded by gaining a place in heaven requires yet even more blind faith. That’s why people [...]

Film: Reservation Road

My wife and I watch a lot of videos and last night we watched Reservation Road featuring two of my favorite actors: Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. I can’t say it was a great movie, but the performances by Phoenix and Ruffalo made it worth watching.
The theme of the movie was that just because [...]

Mindfulness — the latest fad therapy?

The practice of mindfulness was the topic in a N.Y. Times article about psychiatric therapy. It seems that using the Buddha’s teachings have become a kind of fad therapy. Many therapists are now instructing their patients to practice mindfulness during the sessions as a way for the patients to accept events that have caused their [...]

Living a mindful life

I got back on the path yesterday after having veered off course into a drainage ditch of mind-clutter. This morning, I started practicing mindfulness as soon as I woke up, which quelled the urge to just lie in bed daydreaming or ruminating.
To live mindfully requires Right Concentration, Right Effort, and Right Mindfulness (from the Noble [...]

Fell off the path again

I tell you, practicing Buddhism is one of the toughest things I’ve ever tried to do. I try. I have a little bronze Buddha statue right next to my monitor to remind me but I still fall off the path, especially when it comes to living a mindful life.
One reoccurring problem I’ve been having is [...]

Scientist finds bliss through a stroke

This article was in the N.Y. Times today. A scientist suffered a stroke and with it, temporarily lost the functionality of the left side of her brain — the side responsible for logic. The result, she claims, was bliss.
Link
When we meditate, we do the same thing. We don’t use process any thoughts but merely observe [...]

I’m not dead yet

I’ve been fighting social anxiety all my life and at the ripe old age of 50, I’m still fighting. By “fighting” I mean trying to deal with it in a way that will reduce the suffering in my life that is caused by my problems dealing with people.
There is the philosophy that one should [...]

Beta-blocker for performance anxiety

After researching SSRIs, SNRIs, and all sorts of other anti-anxiety medications, I decided to try a beta-blocker for my performance anxiety. My doctor wrote me out a prescription yesterday and I’ll go out and get it filled tomorrow some time. I asked my doctor if I should take one before hand to see if there [...]

I wanna new drug

I’ve been on Paxil for several years to help me sleep, and it works fairly well as a sleeping pill, but does very little for my social anxiety. My therapist told me she wants me to make an appointment with a psychiatrist so I can try a new medication. I was reluctant and told her [...]

I did a bad thing

We have a four year old German Shepard who sometimes gets aggressive towards other dogs. We got her from my bother-in-law who couldn’t keep her because she didn’t get along with his other dog. I’ve spent a lot of time getting her under voice command and she’s become a good pet.
Scooter (our dog) loves to [...]