It’s hard to accept that just when you think you have a good grip on life, it does something to upturn it. Fear and anxiety come at every turn. Some people are good at facing it, others like myself not so much. For most of my life, I kept safe, but in recent years my […]
The rut of despair and getting out
Probably the worst thing I had to deal with is the depression that can come with my fear. There were times when I just couldn’t be bothered to do anything; I felt a listlessness with my circumstances that can lead to all-pervasive apathy. It’s a negative spiral of loneliness, worthlessness, powerlessness, and meaninglessness (what I […]
Personal Development and The ‘Improvement’ myth
‘Self-improvement is masturbation. Now self-destruction…’ Tyler Durden Fight Club. In facing my anxiety and depressed moods, I’ve read my fair share of self-help books. But after many years, I became somewhat disillusioned with the genre. My quest for personal development leads me to read, listen and watch so much advice. But a part of me […]
Buddhist Causality: Interdependent Co-arising
One of the most challenging ideas of Buddhism is their understanding of causality. It’s not based upon the western idea of because it doesn’t trace its history back to ancient Greece and the ideas of Aristotle and Plato. The Pratityasamutpada of Buddhist teachings asserts neither direct Newtonian-like causality nor a single causality. But a multiplicity […]
Successful creativity requires a system
The problem with my art right now is it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere; creativity is challenging. I thought it because of the low level of my commitment, which is partly true. I’m unclear about my vision, goals or how to get there—another task to work on. But also I don’t seem to have […]
Buddhism is a medicine for the mind
Unlike many other religions, Buddhism doesn’t give you the answers, the purpose, the ultimate truth to existence. They recognise that such answers either don’t exist or if they do, we’re unable to find it. It tells us way a good way to live, not why we live. Buddhism is more focused on life, that is […]