I am so ANGRY and HATEFUL today!! So, much for the kinder and gentler Stucky, eh?
In today’s Shit Ledger. Some fat bug-eyed ugly Kneegrow woman professor at Rutgers University is teaching students that whites are “inherently evil” and the ONLY thing that can be done is to “take the motherfuckers out”. At the same university hundreds of students wildly welcomed Bernie Sanders who is stumping for the reelection of that socialist-nazi-commiefuk (he’s at least one of those three) Governor Murphy. Then there’s a long editorial that climate change is destroying NJ and we need to ban cars very soon, before it’s too late. And yesterday another editorial berating those denizens of NJ who are trying to make the key issues NJ’s property taxes (highest in the nation) and failing schools (among the worst in America) … HOW DARE THEY!!! … when clearly climate change and social justice are the ONLY things we should worry about. WHAT? THIS SHIT SHOULD MAKE ME HAPPY AND CALM???
Also, Elon Musk is apparently serious about starting a University; Texas Institute of Technology and Science. (In case you don’t get it, the acronym is TITS.). And PETA has asked baseball commissioner to change “bullpen” to “arm farm” because it’s offensive to bulls, and people who love bulls. Danny Devito tweeted that he wants “shortstop” changed to “vertically challenged stop”. At least the stories in this paragraph are somewhat funny.
Then there’s the arguments with my mother.
She is EXTREMELY critical. Hardly one day ever passes without her complaining about something I did wrong, and often many somethings; I left a teaspoon of crumbs on the counter, the fridge is filthy, too much salt, not enough salt, why was I gone so long at the supermarket, I didn’t vacuum correctly, I used to much bleach and ruined the pillowcase, the coffee is too hot, or too strong, or not strong enough …….. the list is nearly endless. On top of that she repeats two phrases literally a few hundred times a day. “OK, help me. OK.”, and “Dear God, why can’t I die.” It is weary to listen to, because it hurts my heart.
In addition to her physical pain, she is obviously suffering deep emotional scars … bad stuff that has been there since she was a child. I understand. I try to make her laugh as often as I can … and I do succeed at that. I wish I could do more. Make her happy ALL the time.
95% of the time I just ignore the criticisms and complaints. But, they build up like a volcano, cuz I ain’t no Superman who is impervious to all that stuff. Sometimes I blow my top. It never last but a minute or so, but the explosion is spectacular. And she knows which phrase will do it; “You don’t do anything around here!” This is beyond absurd, since I pretty much do EVERYTHING. Still, ol’ Rocky Top has an eruption.
And I’m sick and tired of my eruptions. You have no idea.
So, why do I do it? A good part has to do with all the shit going on in this country … a country I really believe is headed towards it’s end, and possibly even a civil war, in my lifetime. The other part is my own failings as a person. I am tossed to and fro like a ping pong ball on the ocean. Say something nice to me, and I’m a pal … say something not-nice, and I’ll jump all over your shit! You know I’m right … you have seen it for years.
Here’s my attempt to start fixing me.
Regarding the Daily Shit News? I’m Going Dark for 30 Days. NO television, NO newspapers, NO internet, NO radio, NO discussing news with mom ….. NOTHING! I’m cutting myself off from the world to the greatest extent possible. I’m even going to close my eyes when seeing a billboard.
“OK, Stucky … and do what exactly?”
- Spend more quality time with mom. 2. Read. 3. Meditate.
I’ll be reading two books. One is on Quantum Psychology. The other is a book written by a Scientist regarding the benefits of meditation. Let’s talk about meditation.
My goal is not to find God, or have a Damascus Road Vision (although I would welcome that, actually), or even to find myself. I have but One Singular Goal;
LEARNING HOW TO CONTROL MY REACTIONS TO WHAT MY MIND THROWS AT ME ALL DAY
I’m tired of being a bobbling ping pong ball. I’m tired of responding with “Blow Me, Asshole!!” every time someone insults me. I’m tired of being so damned sensitive that I can’t even handle a “you don’t do anything” comments from a sad, old, ailing woman.
In other words, I am sick and fucking tired of MYSELF. I am not kidding.
I have no idea what will emerge after 30 days. Big change? Little change? No change??? Who knows? Not me. But, I’ll never know until I give it a shot. The 30 days start on Monday … cuz I wanna read your responses today and tomorrow.
I’ve never meditated beyond daydreaming or moderately deep thinking for short periods of time. So, if any of you folks have experience in meditating, and have time to offer some tips, please do so!!
Thanks guys and gals …. and, yeah, I WILL MISS YOU greatly during those 30 days.
XOXO
Stucky
THE END
There’s still hope. Hold the line. Peace and love. ;0
===
https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2021/10/30/video-pharmaceutical-executive-followed-miles-from-casino-killed-in-home/
You have company on wanting to shut out the craziness. Can’t quite shut it all off but I’m going to cut it back some, and fully understand why you need to do it. Best of luck!
I’m thinking that 60 will give you a bit of insurance… smiling emoji….
nkit- I would bet Stucky won’t make it past a week or two. This is at least the 99th time Stucky was leaving . real 🙂
He is taking a “hiatus” Bea Attitude!
I’ve only seen him leave twice. Maybe thrice.
You weren’t paying attention Ghosty. He only lasted 30 minutes sometimes but he has left out threatening to leave more times than I can count. He already came back to tell someone to blow him……so there’s that.
I hope you find what you’re looking for. You will be missed in the interim.
Kev
Try doing something positive like building something. Sit back and relax and think of a place you visited and the nice view you liked. Consider moving away from the east coast, far away from the Capital. Dealing with our elderly parents, we’ve been there.
If you really want to get your head straight, you (anyone, not you specifically) should also exclude other types of propaganda like most books. Don’t be fooled because something isn’t labelled fiction. Mechanical manuals or scientific works are ok, but everything else should only be added once you resettle yourself. For instance, think of how subversive history books by modern authors are, and then think how far back in time you have to go to avoid that.
Good luck man.
My advice to anyone down with a case of the darkness is ….. get a dog, if at all possible. I know it is an added responsibility for Stuck, and it may be impossible. But dogs have an amazing ability to make life better. Just touching one for a moment helps. Win my monsters pass on the doggie heaven, I suspect I will get a smallish dog. I love Jack Russells. The size of toaster with the heart of ten lions. And loyal as any dog can be.
You know who else loved dogs.
I hear there’s a guy who works for the federal government who likes Beagles.
Now that is funny.
My neighbor had some relatives stay with them one time and they had a Jack Russell terrier. One day I saw that little bugger chase a rabbit through my backyard and I swear it was smiling
In Oklahoma, the neighbors across the street had a Jack Russell. He would stand in the middle of the street and stop the bus (or thought he did) each afternoon. His kids would get off and pick him up because that little stubborn dog would stand there and bark and bark until “his” kids got off.
One day, they weren’t on there and I actually went and picked “Jack” up so the bus could move on down the road.
I didn’t say they were clever kids. The cat was “Kitty.”
Lucky he didn’t try to chew your arm off. His kids were on that bus, or so he obviously thought, and you were interfering. They are loyal, those dogs.
My advice is to use meditation to train yourself to become comfortable with emotional discomfort. Most people spend their lives running from their unpleasant emotions. It’s a huge waste of time to chase after happiness and trying to maintain it.
So….
my son is settled, debt-free and has a wad of money in the bank.
Did I make you laugh?
Take good care of you Bud, and if you find a way to peace, please leaves us some crumbs to follow.
As do the Germans, the Russians also understand suffering:
Best wishes,
John
Hello Stucky: I hear you. This is an endemic condition , or is it pandemic, plandemic? I cannot keep track of the demics these days. I have been outreaching to conservatives and nationalists exclusively in my private practice because I want to help my brothers and sisters who are struggling to maintain their resilience in this war. That is essentially all of us as we try to keep our insanity in an insane world. We are being assaulted. It is traumatic. You may call me after your dark-out if you wish. This video might help a bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFhcwkJOVYo&t=9s
You are describing the most important emotional intelligence skill – managing emotional reactivity. It is a civilizational imperative. The pattern is intense stimulus – flooding – explosion. Often men resort to stonewalling when flooding commences so as to avoid the explosions (everyone reading this knows what I mean). The key is to avoid interpersonal contact when you are in an elevated state. Bad things are said when we are flooded. That usually means removing yourself physically from the stimulus, in this case your mother. She is toxic fumes, but unfortunately you have no choice but to live with it. Lots of people are in situations like this, especially today, so it is imperative that we build our resilience. Re-engage with your mother when you are back to baseline, and be as loving as you can. Remind yourself in the moment that the person criticizing you is not your real mother. This is a caricature of your mother who has been taken over by a contagion. You just happen to be the closest entity to her when she spills.
You must get into nature more often. I am convinced that this is essential for our people.
Going dark is a great idea. I have seen nationalist friends do this frequently as a intermittent coping strategy vis a vis the assault from our enemies (like that fat slob so-called teacher you referenced). Your burnout is real and is understandable. Be well.
Stucky my friend I have never in my life seen someone so intent on finding out what we are here for and where we fit in.
From your constant research into Christianity to your many newfound foundations, you constantly look for the meaning of it all.
I am sixty-nine years of age and I can tell you that you will never find it. I can tell you that what you can find is something that will give you some solitude though. You just have to find that which makes you feel comfortable with what we are all going through.
You go from one day looking to kill yourself to the next day taking a fresh look at life.
You of all people need a break!
So take one. Take thirty days. Take sixty or even ninety days if you need it, but you definitely need a break from it.
For myself I settled on being a deist, but I don’t try to inspire anyone else or to tell anyone else that’s what he or she should be. Everyone must find that which gives them comfort.
I am a Deist
I am not a Jew
I am not a Christian
I am not a Muslim
I am not a Hindu
I am not a Buddhist
I am not a Jain
I am not an Atheist
I am not an Agnostic
I am a Deist, albeit sort of a modified one in that I do believe that we have guides. I don’t attribute any spiritual qualities to them as a Christian might as in Guardian Angels. To me they are just guides and it’s up to each of us to decide if their guidance is good or bad.
Our creators design has given us free will and just as the lives we live are the result of the choices we make, we will be judged later by the actions we took and the deeds we have done. We alone are responsible for those.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t celebrate Christian holidays though. I was raised as a Catholic until the beatings from the nuns and the hypocrisy of it all gave me time to wonder – and I did that wondering at a very young age.
I love Christmas carols, Easter festivities, and even some of the other occasions celebrated by Christians around the world. I do not take offense at any of them. I enjoy them with all of the believers.
I already know that these words probably won’t settle well with many of the monkeys here, but so what. It’s not for them. It’s for me. It’s who I am and I am quite comfortable with that.
So go and take your break. You deserve one. Come back to us only when you are ready. You will always be welcome here.
Here’s your guide book , Brother. God speed.
Santa Teresa de Ávila
by William Thomas Walsh
https://archive.org/details/santa-teresa-de-avila-william-thomas-walsh
Take up photography and shoot ma creatively, win awards, and so on.
It used to be that you could set up a simple black & white photo lab in a dark spot inside your house and get the results nearly instantaneously. Mom might respond to that, even if her attention span is short. Might be worth a try.
I think he means shoot her with a camera, Stuck, in case some other ideas came into your head.
Stucky, if you want to enhance your meditation, you might want to do some research on binaural beats. It is the use of low frequency sound to increase brain plasticity and allows for easier retraining of your brains response to a particular stimulus. Enjoy your dark out.
Recommend the “Calm” app for your phone… and start with Jeff Warren’s 30 Days of Meditation. Guided meditation is a good starting point. I learned this from. Marine firearms instructor and a nurse…. Separately, two days apart. I figured it was God giving me a hint. Calm also has two daily meditations… it has made a difference for me and I am someone that thought it was hokey crap for 50 years until I tried it. God bless and take a deep breathe
Hi Stucky,
Murphy is all three. Nazism is ‘National Socialism’ while Communism is ‘International Socialism’. Socialism and Communism are two sides of the same coin. Therefore Murphy (and Bernie) is a Nazi Socialist Communist.
There; fixed it for you.
And the coin itself is Judiasm .
There, FIFY .
Once you grasp that (((they))) try to control the opposing forces in any conflict, (((they))) also can and do, manipulate the outcome to (((their))) greatest benefit.
Regardless of the damage and destruction such treachery causes to innocent parties.
Every
Single
Time.
Stucky, I think your post was fairly descriptive of the national mood among conscious people. Adding Mom onto it is nearly unbearable. I felt the same way while my mother slowly transitioned to the other side. Frustration, self doubt, feelings of failure although I was as you are, in a no-win situation. An 89 year old mother in lala land who weighed less than 100 pounds at the end and was leader of the heart attack of the week club. A well to do sister who couldn’t be bothered because “I don’t want to remember her this way.”
You are not alone in your trial. You will come out of this. You are standing tall while making a heroic sacrifice. You won’t get it all right. None of us ever do except by dumb luck perhaps. Yet you are noble. You are the faithful son. You honor your mother and are faithful to God’s commandment.
You are one of the good guys. God Bless You and we’ll see you in December!
Dear diary…
We all have family crap. Deal with it and don’t make an article out of it that took 5 minutes out of my life.
Enjoy your time off and hopefully reflect on how you’ve been a world class prick to a lot of people here who disagree with you, and resolve to be a better person.
He did that task day before yesterday; where were you?
Hey Stucky,
You do what you have to do. We’ll be here when you get back. It sounds like you have too much stimulus input. I reduced mine and life has been a lot more bearable. I no longer have any TV – at all. I also don’t listen to the radio or read newspapers. The internet is my only source of input from the outside world other than discussing things with friends. I used to go to CNN to see what crap they were spewing, but it got me frustrated and angry, so I don’t do it any longer. There are select webpages that I follow that provide me with enough understanding of world, national and local events, but it’s tolerable and not overbearing. Feces and needles on the streets of SF don’t have any impact on my life, so I don’t need to hear about it more than my limited sources.
I’m sure that you’ll find that without all of the outside nonsense affecting your emotional well-being, you’ll find that tolerating your Mom will be easier.
Good luck, stay sane (I know – that’s a tough one for both of us), and we’ll see you on the other side.
Start meditation with savasana, it’s easiest and most effective. 30 days is about enough time to take it to the maximum and you will both get over the instant reaction syndrome and the frustration you feel.
Oh no…did I hurt someone’s feelings? 😞
I’m right, you’re wrong. Deal with it.
Thought this place was somewhere people can speak their minds. Apparently not.
Stucky…I know you never want to speak to me again, but I do wish you well on your break. I know you are in a stressful situation and I do hope you find peace. I think you’re wise to take a break from media and focus on your health and well-being. I hope your mom finds peace as well and that you two enjoy your time together.
Take care.
Not so. I’m not going into these next 30 days will ill feelings towards anyone on TBP. As between us … let’s move on and bury all those bad old feelings and arguments. Wiping the slate clean ….
Arch Phoenix … will be sending you an emai tomorrow.
Thank you, Stucky. Enjoy your rest from this insane world.
“In other words, I am sick and fucking tired of MYSELF.”
That makes sense. A very little bit of you goes a long way.
Trying out for the new “Shit Stirrer” title?
If your emotions are flying around like that, then maybe you need to look at brain health instead of mental health.
Here is an explanation of my thinking on the subject. I don’t agree with everything here, but he doesn’t expect anyone to. That isn’t the point. The point is doing things that work. And do no harm.
https://eomi-resource.amenclinics.com/Chapter%201%20of%20End%20of%20Mental%20Illness.pdf
People are stuck in this mode of thinking that they always have complete agency of what goes on upstairs. And that is not ever entirely true and it is always only true up to the point you understand you have to take care of that organic matter in your brain in order to keep your thinking healthy. That includes exercise, diet, healthy relationships and activities and possibly supplements and care that takes a doctor.
When people or animals behave all wonky, you got to get the body healthy before you can do anything with the mind.
“I used to think the brain was the most important organ in the body, until I realized who was telling me that”. -various philosophers
God has a pretty good design going, it is best to understand it as a whole organism that is you and not just a bunch of parts that are discreet. We can understand the machinery by pieces, but it does not exist or work as pieces. We are all of that, not just spaces in our brains. And I believe a soul has a place in that organization too – That essence which is our conduit to God’s will
There is a song which contains my favorite line that is “I guess that’s just in the price that you pay for the chains that you refuse”. There are always “chains” – obligations, duties, responsibilities. We can’t be “free” of those things. True tyranny is when people try to interfere with our ability to perform those things for the people we love.
I am just finding that a lot of fighting internally and externally is just idiotic fear that hasn’t been thought through. There are trillions of dollars being spent to train people to behave like children/animals(same thing). There are maybe a handful of people posting here that don’t fall into those traps very often.
“The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity.”
-Seneca
Remember, our door is always open. The barn door of course, but still…
That was pretty dang enjoyable. If I heard it on the radio, that video would definitely not have been what I would’ve envisioned. Because it would be like listening to Sade’s “Smooth Operator” while watching the bar scene from Star Wars. 🙂
Hey Ol’ Stucky, a great article, from the heart and honest. That’s a big step on the road you hope to walk.
A thought for you. YOU ARE NOT YOUR MIND.
Humans have 3 brains. The instinctive/moving (which manages the unconscious body), the emotional and the intellectual. Spiritual practice is about quietening the overdeveloped mind and allowing each of these “brains” to do its job properly. Each brain works at a different speed. The instinctive 10,000x faster than the intellectual. The emotional a little slower than the instinctive. The intellectual always plods along and is always the last to know but in our culture it is the only one which is developed.
Imagine you were walking down a track to a river. As you round a corner there is a snake in the middle of the path. You turn and retreat (the instinctive/moving centre), your feel fear and doubt (emotional centre) then declare you’ll never walk down that path again (intellectual). That’s the pattern which happens in most things we do but all we care about is the last step. Everything else just happens.
Your body reacts instinctively…. your posture which comes from the instinctive reaction defines your emotional response… from your emotional response comes an intellectual reaction/rationalisation. Force yourself to smile. Can you feel depressed with the muscles of your face forming a smile? Your posture/instinctive reaction causes your emotional response and finally, controlled by the previous events your intellect tries to make sense of it.
The way to begin the proper alignment of the brains is through SELF OBSERVATION. Above the door of the Delphi Oracle were the words “know thyself”.
Self Observation is a form of meditation but one you take with you into daily life. It’s what Jesus called “witnessing”.
It is the honest observation of the way your body and consciousness work. Do not try to change anything, simply observe without judgement. This is what Gnostic Christians call “carrying your cross” as what you see may be confronting. You will find over a period of time that you begin to observe the working of the machine from a neutral, stable place which you never noticed before and to which you can return. This is the Kingdom of God Jesus talked about and when you find it, it changes everything.
I would strongly recommend you read the first few chapters of In Search of the Miraculous by PD Ouspensky. It’s a great read and explains a lot of other things about consciousness (or lack thereof) of man.
https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-AHobOEFHR4B4PBSm/In+Search+of+the+Miraculous_djvu.txt
Good luck on your journey of discovery.
Stuck, Roger all! No splaining necessary by a TBP big dog. The number of responses you have garnered sort of confirms your status. If you want to cut short your self imposed exile fine by me. As I have said before you respond to and engage with many(all?) a TBPer and you post links and articles. That shows a devotion to this site that few have and at least I appreciate. Its a lot of work. You know, Admin knows and a few others. Anyway if your mom still knows who you are that is a blessing. Both my parents had dementia so bad that the last couple of years they did not recognize anyone. It was heartbreaking. You are doing a great job considering the circumstances! As for NJ it is a shathole as far as state government is concerned just like IL where I live. We are #2 in property taxes and our demo governor keeps raising taxes on everything! Of course he is a billionaire so what does he care. We have covered why this keeps on happening….too many stupid people!!! Climate change is the excuse they will use to take away our cars, houses and food choices!
You’re a gem, Stuck.
You know it. We know it.
May your conquests be just and your defenses stout.
OK you need to find your inner self or whatever, however, there are times throughout any ones day that a simple “blow Me” is therapeutic and better than the remove them from the planet solution no matter how tempting that might be.
Enjoy your sabbatical Stucky. When you return I’m sure all will be right with the world except for your personal life. No one gets a timeout from dat shhhhh…….💩
dear stucky, i wish you luck. i have tried the internet fasting thing, and even though i felt much better, i kept getting the “news”from everybody and everything around me. so i relapsed. besides, this is a spiritual war. we can’t hide from it. we are in it like it or not. if you are going to try meditation, i would advise against it as it is very possible to come in to contact with nasty familiar spirits and wind up in a worse state of mind than you started in. i say this as a former teacher of transcendental meditation who escaped by the skin of my teeth from being swallowed up into the”strong delusion” described in romans chapter one. better to immerse yourself in nature. go for walks. ride a bike. if you want a spiritual exercise, play it safe ; get “my life in christ” by st john of chronstadt. it’s on kindle or free on pdf. then look into the jesus prayer. it is real meditation, but safe, safe, safe. stay safe, val
You’re going to feel worse, probably a lot worse. Meditation is not fun, it is not peaceful happy unicorns. All kinds of miserable shit is going to come bubbling up, and I’m not going to say that it gets better either. Meditation just drives you deeper into yourself. How can it be otherwise, think about it.
Yet, you say you’re sick of yourself. So basically this is like a dog eating back it’s own vomit.
Maybe not the solution you’re looking for.
Meditation is really just looking at Self or the Guy Next To You, some guru type, a cheap pseudo-god. You don’t strike me as the type to get into giving that much mental power over to some other schmuck as messed up as you are. It’s the Infinite you’re looking for, it’s grace, it’s God you’re looking for. Not Man, not Self. You know that’s true because of the way you get mad at the human limitations and worldly disappointments all the time. You’re mad because you want something more, something better.
I hope God finds you.
“Whatsoever you do for the least of these, My Brethren, you do it for Me”.
I found myself where you are now about 3 years ago. Honestly, I started praying.
Something changed in me from the inside. I think I had little to do with that change looking back at it now. Stuff that used to shake my world to the core almost roll off my back now. My border line alcoholism is gone completely. All my relationships improved incredibly and, I have a peace about my life now.
Most people write this kind of internal change off but, if it happens to you then, you simply can’t.
When I really started studying the Bible in a real way… the more I studied the more answers came to the big questions in life. The Bible is easy to get the main message and you can study it for 60 years and not uncover all that’s in it.
There are so many kooks out there no doubt and that turns many/most people off from it but, I’ll tell you that there’s something there. If there weren’t, it could not have changed my life the way it did and, there are a lot of people out there like me. I don’t go around and thump my fist or try to convert everyone I meet but, when the time is right to speak up, I try to in a way that will be meaningful to the person I’m speaking to.
It took me a couple of years to trying to come to grips with the old testament before I got there but, most people make the allegory literal and the literal allegory… miss the idioms… and other stuff…. that’s why you have to study a bit to understand what was really being said.
If you can’t open up to that yet then, pray and ask for your questions to be answered… pray for wisdom…. that’s what I did.
Hang in there Stuck – we’re seeing the worst that the commiefucks can throw at us without literal Civil War breaking out. We’ve both been here since the beginning and have known that this was coming.
Logged on (at the library) to read the comments. Great comments … and I took a lot of notes.
I even got in a gratuitous “blow me, asshole”! Ha!
Thank you all. God bless you each and every one.
See ya in 30 …..
xoxoxoxoxo
Because of you I signed up for this, did you read it again?
How are you? We’ve had a busy week here, catching up after our short trip to Italy.
It was hard getting back to work, as I don’t handle jet lag as well as I did twenty years ago!
One day were operating late, and both Star and I were tired towards the end of the day. We were working on a person who had a very complex, difficult problem, and there was a lot of scar tissue from prior surgeries they had undergone.
I had a crick in my neck, I was hungry, and a little grumpy. We were using the 3D microscope, so the entire team in the OR could see what I’m doing. We had a new anesthetist who had never seen 3D spine surgery before, and during one particularly difficult point in the surgery, she said, “Wow. I never knew how beautiful the nervous system is.”
Star nodded and said, “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”
We had worship music playing in the operating room, like always, and my friend Tommy Walker’s song Living in the Wonder was on in the background.
The scripture, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” came to my mind (Psalm 139:14), and I said it out loud. “We really are fearfully and wonderfully made, aren’t we?”
Then I began to think of the prayer Lisa said as we prayed together that morning before work. She had asked God to give me strength and eyes to see the ways in which He was using me to help people that day.
And I suddenly made a tiny shift in my heart. Yes, I was tired. Yes, I missed the food and the new friends we’d made in our whirlwind trip to Italy. Yes, it had been a full-steam-ahead week back at work. And yes, this was a very difficult case.
But I remembered that I was here now, with the opportunity to help relieve this person’s pain and suffering. That there are only 3,500 neurosurgeons in the United States to serve 300+ million people. That very few people on the earth ever get to see the human nervous system in real life. And that I have been blessed with an incredible career, a great team, an amazing hospital, and a wonderful wife and family.
Gratitude filled my heart, and I was filled with a sense of pride and happiness that we were there to help this person.
And I felt so much better.
The next morning on rounds, the person told Star and I that they were so grateful, that there was no more pain in their legs, and that they had walked farther in the hospital that morning than they had been able to in years. They said it felt like a miracle.
I told you that story just to say this, Bruce: gratitude changes everything. Whatever you’re dealing with, from the mundane, every day activities of life to the most stressful, difficult problems you face, there’s always something you can find to shift your mind towards your blessings and away from the problems.
And switching your mind to focus on the things you’re grateful for improves your brain chemistry, lifts your mood, and helps you think more clearly.
Try to focus on something positive, and you’ll find yourself more efficient, happier, and less stressed. Even when you’re jet lagged and hungry for more pasta.
Try being grateful, and start today!
My wife started mediating a couple months ago. She does “guided mediation,” which means a guy named Jeff walks you through the basics over a 30 day period. She got me into it and I’ve done 13 of those meditations so far (they’re available on the Internet). I have been pleasantly surprised at its impact on my overall mood and tone. I’m not quite as quick to yell at people in traffic, and my anxiety, which is usually fueled by a torrent of thoughts bouncing around in my head, has calmed considerably. I intend to keep it up. For now it’s only 10 minutes a day, which is a small amount of time to commit to something that is really good for your mind.
I applaud your application of science to psychology – “when what you’re doing is working, try something else (or something new) “. When you return, be sure to change your handle to reflect your experiences and new outlook on life – maybe, Unstuck-y?
ISN’T working – spell-check is useless when your brain is fogged!
There are two forms of meditation: internalizing and externalizing. You imagine yourself to exist in your mind, which is in your head. But your body is a huge, complex collaboration of trillions of cells, and they are communicating continuously. Try to drop in on that conversation, get in touch with your body (all knowledge is knowledge of the body). The other direction is to expand your awareness of the other. You define yourself as being inside your skin, but your body is aware of many forces, conditions, and energies originating outside your body, but affecting your existence. Try to get your mind to explore outside your body; simply focus your attention out there, and see what you become aware of. There is a huge world of metaphysical energies which bridge the gap between in here and out there; find it – you will have a new appreciation of the condition of being conscious.
Moms. Sigh.
I’m in the same situation as you but I know, absolutely know (not mental assent) but know that meditation, yoga, karma, new ageism, et al, ad nauseam, won’t work.
You really do need that Damascus experience! Doesn’t need to be that dramatic but accepting the finished work of Christ, and what that means to you individually is the ONLY thing that works.
John 14:6
No other person in history said so much with so little verbiage. Nor has anyone been so truthful and so bold.
You can hang your very existence on the truth of those words – and I do.
Amen!
BTW, it is time to get your spiritual house in order; the time is at hand . . . (Luke 21:28)