The Nature of Pain and Intentional Suffering

“Pain is constant; suffering is optional.”

I first came across that statement in November 2018. Considering how my mind was fucking with me, I reckon this message was timely… at the time.  One thing led to another, and I was able to escape that mental space where I was wondering if living on this Earth plane had any point. I learnt there will always be some form of pain in human existence. From Buddhist texts, I learnt pain ceases with the cessation of desire. Plot twist: what do we call the desire to not desire anything? Aha! There will always be pain.

Your Zodiac Sign Does Not Affect Your Personality

Your zodiac sign is the constellation (on the zodiac) the sun was at the time of your birth.

The Zodiac Band

The zodiac is a band of constellations on the ecliptic.

The ecliptic is the linear path the sun takes across the sky.

Did you know the sun travels through 13 constellations every year? There are 13 zodiac signs: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. However, astrology does not include Ophiuchus.

Time Is Moving Fast… NOT

December 2020 seems like six months ago to me. For another person, December 2020 might feel like two months have elapsed. This makes us say time is moving too fast.

Well… Maybe, maybe not.

COVID-19 became a pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. Thinking of it right now, the lockdown was 21 months ago. Three months short of two years. (Let that marinate in your mind.) It appears to have been “few” months back.

This is where people who believe time is an illusion get to say, “Yas, we been knew time is a construct. It does not exist!” Maybe there is some truth to this. Maybe not. It’s left for you to decide on what works for you.

Men and their Splaining Ways: The Thing with Mansplaining

One of the many funny things I have experienced in my life is men explaining things I actually know, things I’m well-versed in, to me. And it gets interesting when they don’t even know shit about what they are saying. It’s the ridiculous foolishness for me. Gets me every damn time.

Like, I can’t even can.

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A Play: A Priest and Scientist Sit at a Bar

(I promise this play is nothing like the Theatre of the Absurd, a la Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” (1952). I like to think this is less complicated. This play takes place in a cafe: La Monde. It is one scene about how a catholic priest and scientist can’t bring themselves to be on the same page. There are other characters who get a bit interested in their seemingly futile conversation. Please, read with an open mind. Very necessary.)

On Coping with Loss

(This post is an excerpt from my journal entry on June 10, 2019. I thought to share, because why not?)

When it comes to loss and grief, different people cope differently. We must find our own way(s) of coping via trial and error. And the manner of coping should not come from the ego’s desire to defend itself from pain. Ego defense devices are toxic, as they come from an illusion – the ego.

Cherry-Picking Your Reality Is Possible!

(Before you commence reading this, I recommend you take relaxing breaths. Inhale for four seconds; hold for one second; gently exhale with your mouth for five seconds; hold for two seconds. As you exhale, allow your muscles to relax. Repeat this five times, or more if you desire. This would calm your mind. And try to forget the things you “know” as your mind engages with what you are about to read.)

What Fairy Tales Did Not Tell Us

All cultures have fairy tales, far-out stories that cannot happen in real life. These stories seek to throw light on different aspects of the society from which they originate. Where religion uses tall tales/myths to explore a culture’s idea of divinity, fairy tales uncover and explain different parts of the psyche. (Archetypal psychology talks more about this.)

In most fairy tales, the protagonist is the hero of the story, which is not always the case in real life. In real life, there are times you play the villain, or anti-hero, in your own story. (The protagonist is the leading character. Villain is “evil character.”) You don’t always have to be the good person in your story, y’know?

Joan of Arc was the protagonist of her story. But the men who killed her painted her a villain.

At times, good and evil is a matter of context. At times. But fairy tales did not tell us this and many other things highlighted below:

Avoiding the Age of Stagnation

“Your age of stagnation is whenever you stop growing. For most people, its when they get married, settle into a routine. You meet someone who loves you unconditionally and never challenges you, or wants you to change. Then you never change.” – Kelsey Jannings in Bojack Horseman.

Three Easy Steps to Conquering Procrastination

Once upon a time, while journaling, I asked myself, “What is that thing I want to do less of and how do I make it happen?” “Procrastinating,” I wrote. And I came up with three easy ways to reduce its occurrence in my life. Here goes: