In essence, (contemporary) populism is an illiberal-democratic response to undemocratic liberalism. While populism supports the basic aspects of democracy—popular sovereignty and majority rule—it rejects some cornerstones of liberal democracy, notably minority rights, the rule of law and separation of powers. Its recent electoral success is a direct response to the barely controlled rise of undemocratic liberalism.

And this is, I believe, a scandal of the highest order.

Alternatively, a pro-choicer is a person who understands the abortion debate as a question of a woman’s autonomy and right to choose the fate of her own body. If anti-abortion legislation is a denial of this right, then abortion should be permitted; if it isn’t, then presumably abortion can be prohibited. Once again, we find that the people who frame the issue in this way do so in order to come to a specific conclusion: the pro-choice position is synonymous with the pro-abortion stance.

A pro-lifer is a person who understands the abortion debate as a question of the fetus’s status as a human life. If it is a human life, then abortion should be prohibited; if it isn’t, then abortion is permitted. Of course, people who frame the issue in this way overwhelmingly come to the conclusion that it does constitute a life. For that reason, the pro-life position becomes synonymous with the anti-abortion stance.

By serving as the foundational point of many other signifiers, the master-signifier comes to take a deep importance to the subject, who derives a great sense of meaning from it. When people speak of their commitment to ‘freedom’, ‘country’, or ‘truth’, we can reasonably suspect that a master-signifier is involved.

The conservative author Thomas Sowell argues that attempts at so-called social justice — pursuits to alleviate supposed injustices in the social and political spheres — are today just veiled attempts at cosmic justice, seeking to eliminate the natural phenomenon of spontaneous oppression. Whereas the civil rights movement could point to a clear oppressor, contemporary movements which claim to follow in their spirit are simply targeting cosmic injustices without knowing it.

The question of whether active oppression still exists in America today is largely a matter of perspective

Ms. Mann’s research has found that daydreaming — an inevitable effect of idleness — “literally makes us more creative, better at problem-solving, better at coming up with creative ideas.” For that to happen, though, total idleness is required.“Let the mind search for its own stimulation,” Ms. Mann said. “That’s when you get the daydreaming and mind wandering, and that’s when you’re more likely to get the creativity.”

The combination of dopamine release in the brain plus a conditioned response with motor movement (the swipe with finger or thumb), makes this dopamine loop hard to stop. One way you can get some control is to create a counter-movement—a physical movement you do that becomes its own conditioned response

But the dopamine wanting system is stronger than the liking system. You tend to seek more than you are satisfied. You can get into a dopamine loop. If your seeking isn't turned off at least for a little while, then you start to run in an endless loop.

It's not the reward itself that keeps the dopamine loop going; it's the anticipation of the reward.

With every photo you scroll through, headline you read, or link you go to you are feeding the loop which just makes you want more.

This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering it’s a feather bed.”

Winston Churchill once said, “It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.” Think about what you are working toward this year. Are you doing what is required or are you looking for a shortcut?

When I am well rested and working on something I am genuinely excited about, finding time is rarely a problem

What do these activities have in common? Why do they seem ideal candidates for a practice? All involve, as an aim or intention, the effacement of the ego. All require, to achieve their highest levels, a form of psychic surrender. All are—however we might define this—”spiritual.” The aim of a practice, in my view, is to seek the spirit by way of the body. In other words, using the physical to attempt to reach the ethereal.

I’m trying produce a “work,” yes. And I want the work to be good and even to “succeed.” But the real intention is to seek a form of “the zone,” to achieve a state of “play” that is beyond effort and exertion and beyond the constraining and limiting ego.

startpunt voor Geestelijke Verzorging in Nederland  In gesprek over levensvragen

Stop acting like there is infinite time. This—the way you are living right now—is your one life.”

Ironically, most electoral arsonists never intended to start a wildfire. They merely wanted to modestly express their understandable dissatisfaction, which also entails expectations no government will ever be able to meet. Perhaps only a god could. But in the Netherlands and its surroundings, God has finally been declared dead, for ever.

Het is hoog tijd om tricksters uit het centrum van de macht te halen. Dit vraagt een cultuur waarin we oneerlijkheid, gesjoemel en misleiding keihard afstraffen. In de politieke en bestuurlijke arena, aan talkshowtafels én keukentafels. Het grootste gevaar komt niet van mensen die trickstergedrag vertonen, maar van mensen die hier niet genoeg weerstand aan bieden.

Het raakt me hoe vatbaar wij met z’n allen zijn voor bullshitverhalen, marketingtrucs, schone schijn, leugens, halve waarheden en wilde verhalen.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the value of daily surprises: “Try to be surprised by something every day. It could be something you see, hear, or read about. Stop to look at the unusual car parked at the curb, taste the new item on the cafeteria menu, actually listen to your colleague at the office. How is this different from other similar cars, dishes or conversations? What is its essence? Don’t assume that you already know what these things are all about, or that even if you knew them, they wouldn’t matter anyway. Experience this one thing for what it is, not what you think it is. Be open to what the world is telling you. Life is nothing more than a stream of experiences — the more widely and deeply you swim in it, the richer your life will be.” Source: ​Creativity

One of the most widespread misunderstandings involving anger expression is the catharsis myth; many people believe that releasing anger via venting, physical actions, or writing is a healthy coping mechanism, despite a wide array of research stating otherwise (Lohr, Olatunji, Baumeister, & Bushman, 2007; Bushman, Baumeister, & Phillips, 2001). Bushman (2002) showed that venting was actually counterproductive, as it caused people to further ruminate about their anger rather than move on. Similarly, one study showed that anger actually increased when those listening reinforced participants’ venting behaviors, and decreased when the angering situation was reinterpreted by others (Parlamis, 2012). Additional research has shown that venting can be a healthy coping skill, but it must be used in a way that allows someone to release his or her anger and take a problem-solving approach to finding a solution for the cause of the anger. Nils & Rimé (2012) found that venting was only an effective coping method for dealing with anger when the person on the receiving end engaged in cognitive reframing directing the angered person toward problem-focused solutions