''Be yourself, no matter what they say'' is the advice that Sting gives us in his elegant song Shape of My Heart. I agree. But how do we do that? How can we be ourselves? Deeper still, what does it mean to be ourselves? And how do I know who my-self is? After all, whatever I …
Author: NC
keep exploring!
Spreading the Word: Facing Ourselves
Today, I share with you a touching, relatable, and strangely compassionate little story captured in a short 7-minute animation film by the UK filmmaker Sam Gainsborough. It is called 'Facing it' and shows us what it would be like, if all our emotional experiences were clearly available to us (and others), visible on our faces. …
Timon, Pumba, Existentialism
Here is an interesting example of why it is worth the effort to invest time and energy into self-development and learning. It is an example from personal experience. If I were to ask you, what do Disney movies have in common with philosophy, what would your first thought be? I can say for myself - …
Spreading the Word: ‘No-mind’ Idea
In one week I will resume my studies and one of the courses I am very much looking forward to is philosophy of mind. In this light, it was a timely and pleasant surprise when I came across the following article recently published on Aeon: "The mind does not exist". A controversial and provocative title, …
Do Not Think About The Polar Bear
When Leo Tolstoy was a mischievous young boy, there was one time after another mischief that his "grandfather told him to stand in the corner until he could stop thinking of 'the white elephant'... He tried very hard... The harder he tried to eliminate the thought and the more he desired to be free of …
Spreading the Word: Gapminder
"Gapminder is an independent educational non-profit fighting global misconceptions."gapminder website This Friday, I share with you a website of an independent non-profit dedicated to reducing global misconceptions - Gapminder. They offer fact-checked educational material delivered in an interesting, engaging, and interactive way. I found out about them not too long ago and thought their initiative …
A Quote for the Week
Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves, and realize where we are and the infinite extent of our relations.H.D. Thoreau in Walden keep exploring and don't be afraid of being lost from time to time!
Spreading the Word: What Went Right This Week
When you watch or listen to the news, how often are you left with a feeling of having received a balanced, well-rounded overview of recent events in the world? I can say for myself - rarely. Mostly I find myself feeling sad, disappointed, angry, dismayed, and many other hope-stealing emotions. If left unchecked, this accumulates …
Continue reading Spreading the Word: What Went Right This Week
Thoughts on Ian McCrorie’s Book “A Lifetime Doing Nothing”
This short book by the Canadian author Ian McCrorie is a collection of personal stories, stories of others, and insights gained from experience, all of which centres around one skill - doing nothing. If that sounds like no skill at all, keep on reading. Doing nothing, understood in the way McCrorie explains it, might be …
Continue reading Thoughts on Ian McCrorie’s Book “A Lifetime Doing Nothing”
Spreading the Word: How to Stop Procrastinating
I don't remember where I read it, but the saying went something like this: when we don't control our lives, we try to control the lives of others. Indeed, the more I think about it the more I am inclined to agree. Self-control is a hard thing to master, but it is a self-reinforcing process, …
Continue reading Spreading the Word: How to Stop Procrastinating
