language – Haikutherapy

body language and cyber language

my new-found friend sheldon from the kitzul connection wrote this the other day: given the world we live in with social media dominating our relationshipscapes, why all the love??! i have had this brewing in the back of my mind for a while now. but it really hit home during a recent trip to the… Continue reading body language and cyber language

spiritual language

a while ago we talked about the lack of scripts for talking about mental illness (at least in “polite society”), and before that we had a conversation about how uncomfortable it can be to engage in peaceful communication. and now evan took up the topic the other day and asked how can we talk about… Continue reading spiritual language

in defense of “trying”

the word “trying” has a bad rap. why? yoda said, “do, or do not. there is no try“. there is the idea that “trying” is associated with excuses, that trying comes just before failing, that trying implies no commitment, etc. fair enough. here are my points: what does try mean? let’s start by looking at… Continue reading in defense of “trying”

mental health and mental illness in different cultures

the last few days, i have been thinking repeatedly about the ideas fellow vancouver blogger karen fung has brought up in her post on march 9. she muses about three topics, all of which fascinating. the one about mental health issues with immigrant populations is particularly intriguing, perhaps because for the past year, i’ve mostly… Continue reading mental health and mental illness in different cultures

cats, sanskrit, and 9 kinds of love – or was it 96?

first thing this morning, i opened the kitchen door and let rum in, our cat. i bent down, stroked her thick gray fur, and told her how beautiful she was. i love rum. this love is tinged with admiration. we call her our zen cat; she is one of the most even-tempered creatures (humans or… Continue reading cats, sanskrit, and 9 kinds of love – or was it 96?

escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

almost two weeks ago now, catatonic kid (let’s call her CK) posted another entry in our cross-blog conversation about depression and language. in fighting darkness, recovering words, CK took her words and crafted a beautiful post. it’s a work of art and it, along with her readers’ comments, also raises a number of very interesting… Continue reading escaping the prison of depression, out into a landscape of … ?

september buddhist carnival part 2

hello friends, i’m back with part 2 of the buddhist carnival. part 1 is here. the last one had a pretty clear theme – delusions and illusions. this one is a bit more all over the place except for the first two pieces, they have something in common. they’re a bit crude. meditation rant new… Continue reading september buddhist carnival part 2

depression and the power of language

depression is a state of subtraction, says catatonic kid, depression is not an approachable thing. it seems, in fact, to be precisely the opposite. it has a power to repel that is apparently so strong that it stops our mouths before we have even thought to speak of all that runs through its dark night.… Continue reading depression and the power of language

blogathon: therapy, and then … ? a short story

this is an entry for my participation in the 2008 blogathon, a 24-hour marathon of blogging. please support the cause and donate – however much, however little – to the canadian mental health association (vancouver/burnaby branch). to donate, email me or use this URL: www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=d2252. you should be able to get there by clicking the… Continue reading blogathon: therapy, and then … ? a short story

Tag: language