• On Fear

    According to Jung, every culture lives by myth. The myths that affect culture most are usually the myths that blend empirical truth with fiction. The truth is, fear is a pretty good short term motivator. Nothing like a shark fin to clear a beach. That said, over time fear can change the way our brain processes emotions and non-verbal cues. Long term exposure to fear produces anxiety and impacts our thinking and decision making in negative ways. Fear leaves us susceptible to intense emotions, impulsive reactions and stress. Living under constant threat weakens our immune system and can cause long term health problems. Despite all these facts, fear as a motivating force remains a convincing myth. That kernel of truth – that we run when scared – maintains the power…

  • Be the Light

    The truth is always deep beneath the surface level of the words.  It is the silent, peaceful knowing that is infectious. This feeling of peace is beyond measure, beyond reason and certainly beyond words. Many years ago the communication scholar, Marshall McLuhan, famously coined the phrase “the medium is the message.” In other words, McLuhan understood “medium” in the broadest sense. He used the example of the light bulb to describe his theory. A light bulb does not have content in the way that a newspaper has articles or a television has programs, yet it is a medium that has a profound effect on the environment. A light bulb creates an environment by its mere presence. Similar to the light bulb, the life of every individual in their every thought,…

  • Our Movie is LIVE

      We’re thrilled to announce that the Tuning the Student Mind movie is now available for free online. Click here to view the 27 minute movie as well as our 13 minute deleted scenes. Enjoy!

  • Our New Year’s Resolution

      Over 120,000,000 people voted in last year’s Presidential election. 96% of the individuals who voted did so in person. Our guess is that if you consider the commute to the polling location, standing in line and the act of voting itself, it likely took an average of an hour and a half to get the job done. We wanted to share a few thoughts regarding this reality. 1.) Voting is the lowest common denominator of true engagement. While voting is important, true responsibility of citizenship requires engagement beyond an hour and a half commitment. The very nature of voting implies asking someone else to do something for you, rather than figuring out what you can do for yourself and/or others. 2.)  If those 120,000,000 voters mentioned above offered an…

  • On Love

      I have a beautiful garden in my backyard. The woman who helped me plan it made it clear that we needed to have a diversity of flowers in the bed. We laughed a lot during the planning – you see, I happen to really love lilies and other July blooming flowers. Debra reminded me that I wanted a garden that flowered throughout the year. And, she was right. In the spring, I have tulips and daffodils, in the summer I enjoy my lilies, in the fall I have mums and in the winter berries. Love is born out of allurement – a gravitational pull toward something. This allurement or attraction is related good smells, a soft touch, a pleasing image, a shared laugh. Love is born out of this…

  • On the Distinction Between Love and Desire

      Feelings of love can sometimes seamlessly merge with feelings of desire. Culturally this connection is continuously reinforced by the media, by conversation, by our understanding of modes of expression. But, in truth, love and desire are distinct from one another. Certainly, expressing our love in a physical way can be meaningful and enjoyable. But it is not necessarily a required parallel action to be pursued every time we feel the stirrings of love deep in our heart. This is not a judgment. It is simply a reflection that is often overlooked in our hyper-sexualized culture.

  • On Happiness

    Real happiness is found in increasing the happiness of others. In giving to others, we forget ourselves. Forgetting ourselves – even momentarily – allows us to feel our own internal silence. That silence is actually the truth of our nature – pure happiness just waiting to be found.

  • Moving Beyond the Meme

    Popular culture is littered with tag lines intended to lead us to enlightenment. “Live in the moment.” “Don’t be attached.” “Meditate.” “Just Breathe.” “You are who you choose to be.” Operating outside a broader understanding of an articulated spirituality, these abstracted ideas become diluted and meaningless. Like signposts in a desert, they point in the right direction but they leave us without any road to travel. Our new series “Moving Beyond the Meme” will expand on the following abstracted ideas both by offering short blog posts and directing students to our developed book club offerings.  Up first:  On Thinking Thinking is important. It is also complex. In order for you to read this sentence several million neurons needed to fire together coherently. A working brain is an important asset. However, it is not all you are. Thinking is…

  • From Anger to Clarity

    From Anger to Clarity: Transforming Frustrations into Effective Actions This past week offered many in our country a true opportunity for reflection. The atmosphere felt ripe with heightened emotions. Limiting my interactions in this atmosphere felt like a smart move. The temptation to blame anyone, everyone, someone for my internal sense of rumbling emotions felt overwhelming at times. And, so I slept. I meditated. I listened to music. Fuming internally is no fun. I actually woke in the middle of the night to the smell of burning embers. It took me a minute to realize it was my own emotional stew pot simmering on a low boil. Experience offered me the comfort of knowing that this too shall pass. We have all heard the expression anger begets anger. Which leads…