@mikebarden.bsky.social
A work in progress.
April 24, 2025 at 1:27 AM
A work in progress.
Everything you see, hear, or read - an article, a photo, an animal, a plant, a book, someone's appearance, a word, a speech, a piece of music, etc. - you are interpreting. The thing and your interpretation of the thing are two different things.
April 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Everything you see, hear, or read - an article, a photo, an animal, a plant, a book, someone's appearance, a word, a speech, a piece of music, etc. - you are interpreting. The thing and your interpretation of the thing are two different things.
An apologist is a type of salesperson that is selling you on an ideology.
March 31, 2025 at 7:20 PM
An apologist is a type of salesperson that is selling you on an ideology.
Intelligence is a collection of information and calculations kept in the mind. It can be very useful, but it also can become misinformed, overloaded, and corrupted by ego.
March 31, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Intelligence is a collection of information and calculations kept in the mind. It can be very useful, but it also can become misinformed, overloaded, and corrupted by ego.
The surface of the ocean may be calm at times, or violent and dangerous at others. You can't expect it to be anything else. Any experience of calm at the surface is momentary at best.
March 29, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The surface of the ocean may be calm at times, or violent and dangerous at others. You can't expect it to be anything else. Any experience of calm at the surface is momentary at best.
If their viewpoints are challenged, people may use any method available, valid or not, to defend those viewpoints as they are derived from the narratives in their mind. They may even become angry or combative when doing so.
March 27, 2025 at 6:11 PM
If their viewpoints are challenged, people may use any method available, valid or not, to defend those viewpoints as they are derived from the narratives in their mind. They may even become angry or combative when doing so.
The environment someone is raised or grows up in has a powerful effect on the thoughts and feelings that inform what they are attracted to later in life.
March 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
The environment someone is raised or grows up in has a powerful effect on the thoughts and feelings that inform what they are attracted to later in life.
It's by giving attention to something that you shed light on it. The fuller the attention, the brighter the light.
March 24, 2025 at 9:27 PM
It's by giving attention to something that you shed light on it. The fuller the attention, the brighter the light.
Deeper creativity comes from being open to possibilities with a limitless childlike perception, noticing when an idea wants to be brought into the world, then putting in the work to make it happen.
March 20, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Deeper creativity comes from being open to possibilities with a limitless childlike perception, noticing when an idea wants to be brought into the world, then putting in the work to make it happen.
There is a compulsion to escape the present moment, because we find it too boring, too frustrating, too stressful, too painful, or in some other way unacceptable.
March 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
There is a compulsion to escape the present moment, because we find it too boring, too frustrating, too stressful, too painful, or in some other way unacceptable.
If you're able to see that there's some dysfunction or insanity in you, that's fine. It means that you have enough awareness to recognize in yourself something that's common to everyone.
March 17, 2025 at 12:45 PM
If you're able to see that there's some dysfunction or insanity in you, that's fine. It means that you have enough awareness to recognize in yourself something that's common to everyone.
Some adaptations and improvements don't happen, except under the pressure of extreme challenges or limitations.
March 15, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Some adaptations and improvements don't happen, except under the pressure of extreme challenges or limitations.
In any given life situation, I may be able to simply enjoy it. If I cannot enjoy it, I may be able to change it. If I cannot change it, I may be able to accept it. If I cannot accept or change it, my other option is to suffer.
March 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
In any given life situation, I may be able to simply enjoy it. If I cannot enjoy it, I may be able to change it. If I cannot change it, I may be able to accept it. If I cannot accept or change it, my other option is to suffer.
Unless they wake up from their delusion, the person consumed by a malignant ego will continue to use people as fuel for as long as they live.
February 26, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Unless they wake up from their delusion, the person consumed by a malignant ego will continue to use people as fuel for as long as they live.
Being lost the world of thoughts is much like being in a dream state, where we think we are seeing reality but reality only shows up when we wake up.
February 20, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Being lost the world of thoughts is much like being in a dream state, where we think we are seeing reality but reality only shows up when we wake up.
When you identify with your thoughts - meaning that you believe them 100%, and find your sense of identity in them - you are living in a dream, just as much as when you are sleeping and having a dream that you believe, in that moment, is reality.
February 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM
When you identify with your thoughts - meaning that you believe them 100%, and find your sense of identity in them - you are living in a dream, just as much as when you are sleeping and having a dream that you believe, in that moment, is reality.
"Letting Go" of unpleasant thoughts and feelings is a good goal to have, but it may not be just that simple. You may need some processing steps for this to happen:
February 14, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"Letting Go" of unpleasant thoughts and feelings is a good goal to have, but it may not be just that simple. You may need some processing steps for this to happen:
The marginalized and the othered never go away, and ultimately prevail. Despite the constant attempts by the arrogant and superficially powerful to crush or eliminate them, that pressure only results in the increase of their inner resources, which can't be touched.
February 10, 2025 at 7:14 PM
The marginalized and the othered never go away, and ultimately prevail. Despite the constant attempts by the arrogant and superficially powerful to crush or eliminate them, that pressure only results in the increase of their inner resources, which can't be touched.
Irritating people and situations are in your life to challenge you, wake you up and help you understand yourself at a deeper level.
February 8, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Irritating people and situations are in your life to challenge you, wake you up and help you understand yourself at a deeper level.
The simplest and most accurate way to define one's self is "I am", because it acknowledges that you currently embody life and consciousness. However, defining yourself with a statement like "I am a _______" is a problematic and short-sighted alternative.
December 21, 2024 at 6:39 PM
The simplest and most accurate way to define one's self is "I am", because it acknowledges that you currently embody life and consciousness. However, defining yourself with a statement like "I am a _______" is a problematic and short-sighted alternative.
Just because you thought it, read it, or heard it said, doesn't mean it's true. The thoughts that come from these sources have been interpreted through multiple layers of mental, emotional, linguistic, rhetorical, dogmatic, cultural or historical conditioning, and may not be reliable at all.
December 18, 2024 at 3:12 AM
Just because you thought it, read it, or heard it said, doesn't mean it's true. The thoughts that come from these sources have been interpreted through multiple layers of mental, emotional, linguistic, rhetorical, dogmatic, cultural or historical conditioning, and may not be reliable at all.
Having the experience of being victimized is a real thing. Humans who lack awareness or empathy are capable of treating others in the most despicable ways, and you may have found yourself on the receiving end of such treatment. Or you may be part of a group that has been collectively mistreated.
November 23, 2024 at 8:56 PM
Having the experience of being victimized is a real thing. Humans who lack awareness or empathy are capable of treating others in the most despicable ways, and you may have found yourself on the receiving end of such treatment. Or you may be part of a group that has been collectively mistreated.
The room is shaping up nicely.
November 21, 2024 at 12:40 PM
The room is shaping up nicely.