In 1973 social psychologists John Darley and Daniel Batson decided to examine the situational variables and religiosity on the “helping behaviour” of 40 theology students in an emergency situation, based on the parable of the Good Samaritan. I am not
Modern Homo sapiens (that is, people who are roughly like we are now) first walked the Earth about 200,000 BC. Since then, more than 117 billion members of our species have been born, according to estimates by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB).
Twice a year I made the two-hour drive to visit my hometown. Each time, I took a detour to the snake breeder’s house. The streetlight directly in front of the house draped a warm yellow glow over my silver hatchback, which idled its low hum while I sat and stared.
The sentence “Just clear your mind”, as many people have been told when learning to meditate, isn’t remotely helpful. Our minds aren’t designed to be empty; they’re designed to focus.
As unusual as it may sound, there is nothing particularly wrong with Scott Morrison’s belief that he and his wife have been called upon to do “God’s work”. This is the real issue.
Author of The Power of Now and A New Earth, seventy-something-year-old Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual guru who’s good buddies with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, and is arguably the most “spiritually influential” man in the modern world. I’d also like to add that despite being in his seventies he appears to be in his fifties… what is this trickery?
Often given a bad rap, the Ego is necessary, to an extent. How dull would life be if we didn’t get to define our desires, our boundaries, our likes and dislikes? Where would be the fun if we could not share our ‘selfhood’ and experience the unique ‘selfhoods’ of others?
Like most of us, I do try to be a nice person. It’s mostly for selfish reasons, to be honest. I want to be so stable and happy within myself that no-one can bother me, or mess with the remaining shreds of my equanimity, or some shit. I can’t think of a better place to practice than the most annoying place on earth: the humble supermarket.
I’ve read ol’ Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert twice now: the first time I read it, which was 10 years ago, I FRIGGEN HATED IT. The second time, much more recently, I LOVED IT. I have to put my emotions in
A few years ago I headed to Bourke to experience the outback of Australia, on assignment to write 10 articles about the Darling River Run. “The Run” is a 730km drive bookended by the townships of Brewarrina in the north, and Wentworth
My mother hated feet. In her opinion, it was acceptable that they existed, but unless sleeping or showering they should be tucked away, hidden from the world inside a nice pair of shoes.