Notes on Liberation Bruce Sanguin's blog
Anxiety and the Homicide-Suicide Continuum
Is it just me or does it seem to you that there is more and more anxiety creeping into our society, particularly younger generations? The list of possible causes is endless, including at the physiological level, processed food; at the technological—an increase in the amount of screen time, including the constant barrage of beeps and … Read more
I Shall Not Want
The most beloved Psalm in the bible is the 23rd, which opens with “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. I always thought it meant that wanting was wrong. I read it as an injunction. “You shall not want”. If “the Lord” is my shepherd the spiritually realized individual shouldn’t want (or need) … Read more
Psychedelic Sacraments: A Magic Bullet?
With the proliferation of research studies, along with media coverage, indicating the effectiveness of psychedelics like LSD, MDMA, Iboga, ayahuasca and Psilocybin to treat a wide variety of psychological challenges such as depression, end of life anxiety, relationship challenges, etc. there’s a burgeoning public interest in these substances. Then along comes Michael Pollan’s best-selling book, … Read more
Healing Shame
In my last post, I wrote about the deep roots of shame. I was invited by a reader to write a post about how we exit the hell realm of shame. The first step is to realize, and I mean unambiguously realize, that we are not the cause of our shame. Which is to say, … Read more
Busted! The Deep Roots of Shame
I had a terrifying dream a week or so ago, which I ended up taking to my therapist. I’d been selected to play a couple exceedingly difficult classical piano pieces. The problem is that I don’t play the piano. There is an audience of 200 colleagues who are eagerly waiting from my virtuoso display of … Read more
Interview for Spirit Plant Medicine Conference
This is an interview I did with Spirit Plant Medicine Conference organizer and author, Stephen Gray, along with Marc Caron of Conscious Living Radio. We were talking about my new book Dismantled.
Nerves Mean “No”
In the early days of psychology, emotional and psychological “disorders” were associated with our nerves. A “nervy” person today is thought to be somebody who either acts without fear (“nerves of steel”) or acts boldly but perhaps thoughtlessly (“she has some nerve”!). But the old timers understood that when it comes to how we face … Read more
Does the Universe Have Our Back?
A wise teacher once told me that at some point we all need to answer the question for ourselves: is the universe for us, against us, or indifferent? Our answer needs to be more than intellectual. Only a handful of years ago I would have told you that the universe was definitely for me. I … Read more
Time, Timing, Fatigue and the Radicality of Relaxation
The clock on the wall keeps a pushin’me That’s not the way I want my life to be If you take any pushing from that clock on the wall, you won’t be happy at all. —The Guess Who From the day we are born until we die we are pushed by the “clock on the … Read more
Suffering Our Way Back to Reality
To suffer is to submit to reality. Sounds simple. But if we could do it, we’d all be awakened souls. I’m convinced that this is the wisdom that saints, and holy women and men, throughout the ages either stumbled on to or knew by direct download. The Buddha discovered it under a Bodhi tree. Jesus … Read more
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The Goodness Trap:
End People-Pleasing and Live Your Own Heart-Centred Life
This book describes how to end the people-pleasing identity and shift into your true, heart-centred self.
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