As a writer, I often get asked how I deal with “writer’s block.” And the straight answer is that I have never experienced it. I don’t believe in writer’s block, mainly because I am never at a loss for words and I consider writing to be talking with your pen. I actually prefer writing over…
I was eleven years old when I sat down and calculated how much time I could save if I didn’t brush my hair, wear make-up, or tuck in my shirts. I decided that the people I loved for their adventurous lifestyles never stopped to put comb to hair or brush to cheek. Of course, these…
I recently read Designed by Adventure: 30 Years of Outdoor Research by Topher Donahue. It’s a quick read with some great outdoor industry history, but as is usual with works of non-fiction, the best parts are not what’s in there, but what’s been left out. Let’s start with what’s in there: I was relieved to…
I have nothing against pharmaceutical drugs. Anyone who has taken an anti-anxiety pill will tell you that they work beautifully for what they were intended to do. The problem is that we rely on these drugs as a stand-alone treatment instead of part of a comprehensive plan for the emotionally distressed person. After a lifetime…
We hear an endless barrage these days about “freedom” and “democracy”. They are beautiful ideas, myths to dream about, but do we in fact live by these ideals? The definition of freedom is “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.” The definition of licentiousness is “lacking…
I attended a dinner party recently where one of the guests had just read my book. Partway through my first glass of wine she asked me if I still suffered from depression and anxiety. It was refreshing for me to experience this topic as part of our dinner conversation, but still I paused, wanting to…
If depression is a symptom of being stuck in the pain of the past, and anxiety a fear of the future, the obvious answer is to align oneself in present time. Your physical body is the vehicle by which you enter present time, but in order to do so you must also have mastery over…
If you want to know the common thread that weaves throughout everything that I write, it is this: to give voice to those topics that our culture prefers to hide. I prefer to take these topics out of the closet and shine light onto them. We live in an age of “smiling depressives”, people who…
Ever since the end of World War II our standard of living has more or less been on the rise here in North America and the rest of the first world. We are currently living a style of life that emperors a century ago could only dream of. We are offered a plethora of choices…
Adolf Hitler did not seduce the German people ─ Hitler was the German people. Carl Jung The title of a book by Wilhelm Reich, Die Massenpsychologie des Faschismus was first published in 1933 and remains one of the most important studies on the rise of the Third Reich. Contrary to popular belief, the origin of…