Trauma

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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