Personal Research

Category: philosophy

  • An Ancient Recommendation

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    Know Thyself! — Socrates Subjective experience is a strange subject. Studying your own experience is a different kind of challenge than is researching subjects such as chemistry or physics. When doing conventional research, we can safely assume that the cause-and-effect principles are the same in different laboratories. The results obtained by one scientists can be…

  • Is it Better to be Gullible or Skeptical?

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    The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.  —  Bertrand Russell An ancient school of thought known as Skepticism taught that nothing can be known with certainty; they advised us to suspend judgment so as to remain free of…

  • The Soul Illusion

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    I think my quarry is illusion. I war against magic. I believe that, though illusion often cheers and comforts, it ultimately and invariably weakens and constricts the spirit.  —  Irvin Yalom Some otherwise competent individuals repeatedly and knowingly act counter to their own interests. They are not intending to hurt themselves; they are taken in…

  • The Soul Illusion

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    I think my quarry is illusion. I war against magic. I believe that, though illusion often cheers and comforts, it ultimately and invariably weakens and constricts the spirit.  —  Irvin Yalom Some otherwise competent individuals repeatedly and knowingly act counter to their own interests. They are not intending to hurt themselves; they are taken in…

  • Ancient Wisdom

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      Nothing to Excess Know Thyself Certainty Brings Ruin Three recommendations were carved above the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: Nothing to Excess Excessive appetites [addictive disorders] and excessive emotional reactions [relationship problems and neurotic disorders] are traps that have become part of your psyche as you developed through your lifespan. (To…

  • An Invitation

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    . . . to choose the path of greatest advantage rather than yield in the direction of least resistance – George Bernard Shaw Addictions [excessive appetites] and relationship problems that result from excessive emotional reactivity are traps for the soul. Look back on your own history to see if there are recurring patterns of acting…

  • Studying Your Experience

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    Who looks outside, dreams Who looks inside, awakens — Carl Jung As remarkable and complex a structure as a neuron is, it does not possess consciousness. Consciousness requires a complex nervous system comprised of many neurons and sense organs. The nervous system you were born with is among the most complex structures in the universe,…

  • Attachment to Outcomes

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      Do not become attached to the things you like Do not maintain aversion to the things you dislike. Sorrow, fear, and bondage come from one’s likes and dislikes – Buddha Rational Emotive Therapy If you don’t get what you want you are disappointed, but if you don’t get what you need you will die. …

  • The Karma of Practice

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    Men are not punished for their sins, but by them.  —   Elbert Hubbard Performance becomes easier with practice. In fact, with enough practice, performance can become autonomous—that is, it requires no conscious attention at all. Consider activities such as driving a car or using a computer keyboard. When first attempted, performance is slow, hesitant, and…

  • The Truth Wants to Make You Free

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    “Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions— not outside.” —-Marcus Aurelius I often try to get pessimistic, self-critical clients to give themselves more encouraging suggestions. For example, I told Barry: "Act as if the people you are going to meet at the party like…