I love this...the soundtrack to this movie is wonderful...I listened to it endlessly for a long time when the movie came out...and today I did again.
Epigenetics — genes do not determine your future! (or your mental health)
Epigenetics -- genes do not determine your future! (or your mental health)
You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.
"If we fix on the old, we get stuck. When we hang onto any form, we are in danger of putrefaction. "Hell is life drying up. "The Hoarder, the the one in us that wants to keep, to hold on, must be killed. If we are hanging onto the form now, we’re not going to... Continue Reading →
Mindless Mindfulness
Mindfulness is often defined as “bringing all of one’s attention to the present moment” or “paying attention in a particular way.” But how should one bring all of one’s attention to the present moment? And what should one pay attention to in order to be “mindful”? And for what purpose does a person engage in mindfulness? A frequently used mindfulness meditation technique is to notice the breath as it goes in and out. This task is very boring and done over long periods sitting upright can be very painful. They don’t tell you that in the marketing though! The benefits emphasized are things like gaining a more peaceful mind, “changing your brain,” reducing stress, and improving concentration. Let’s take the last claim. What is concentration exactly, and what kind of concentration do we want to develop?
Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond
This poem came to mind today via a friend who quoted one line from it, which I used in the title. It's a favorite of mine and so I'm sharing it again today. The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some... Continue Reading →
A brilliant madness: more about John Nash of Beautiful Mind (the film)
Below is the full documentary from The American Experience about John Nash from the film A Beautiful Mind. Underneath that video I've included a cut and paste of another post which includes more commentary and two more videos of him in an interview where he reveals he only very briefly took medications and ultimately recovered... Continue Reading →
The above is an article that was posted on Beyond Meds about a year ago that explores the source of the statistic about early death and psychiatric drugs. Yesterday's post on the high rate of deaths associated with psychiatric drug use did not have a link to the source of the statistic used in that... Continue Reading →
Wouldn’t it be easier to just deal with reality?
"We know that all is impermanent; we know that everything wears out. Although we can buy this truth intellectually, emotionally we have a deep-rooted aversion to it. We want permanence; we expect permanence. Our natural tendency is to seek security; we believe we can find it. We experience impermanence at the everyday level as frustration.... Continue Reading →
A deadly epidemic, psychiatric drugs
These deaths are very early deaths among patients taking psychiatric drugs. When I heard Mr. Whitaker quote one recent study that put the average age of death among a group of medicated patients at 45, I was stunned. Forty-five years old.
With such a large percentage of the American population taking psychiatric drugs, this is adeadly epidemic. This is a medical emergency.
I’m 47. I’m mostly unable to leave my house from the iatrogenic damage psychiatric drugs left me with. I do this blog that I might help others make better choices. I was not given a choice.
Today, drug-free, my mind and spirit are clear, but my body is wrecked. Please educate yourselves.
Desire and deep longing
Embedded in desire is a longing to experience full love and aliveness. In this brief talk, we explore the process that carries us from fixation to fulfillment.
Prison Abolition, Daniel Hazen: Madness Radio
What is it like for a prisoner diagnosed with mental illness? Should we have more mental health treatment in prison -- or should we work to abolish our prison system? Daniel Hazen spent three years in prison and experienced firsthand the ways prison creates madness. Today he is director of Voices of the Heart, a... Continue Reading →