Category Archives: Your Turn To Publish

The Antidote – Essay Two: The Antidote

Most of us rarely consider we might be living in a poisonous environment, let alone 'consuming' poison by way of our lifestyle, career choice, mental and emotional attitude and perspective or even by way of the friends and acquaintances we keep. And yet all of the above and more are in many respects more toxic to us than anything we might possibly eat or drink on a regular basis.

I constantly speak of the urgent need to question everything in our lives, particularly ourselves and those 'things' we take for granted and rarely see for what they really are. On The Beach explains why and how we might do this from his perspective in the second installment of his brilliant series "The Antidote".

Click here for Essay Two.

The Antidote

It is only when I stretch my perceptual muscles and disturb my cognitive dissonance that I experience personal growth. Left alone within my mental echo chamber and surrounded by me, myself and I while engulfed in glorious self affirmation and ego saturation, what purpose is served by exercising anything other than the button marked confirmation bias?

But......when deliberately challenged to move well beyond my comfort zone by pushing all sorts of triggers and buttons, essentially to put myself off my mental/emotional feed, all kinds of things, thoughts and understandings can and do 'happen' when I allow them to  penetrate. All it takes is a little courage and the willingness to put aside my faiths and beliefs and take a walk on the wild side.

"On the Beach", a premium member here on TwoIceFloes.com and a long time corespondent of mine, has penned a six-part treatise with the promise of more to come. On the Beach has a lot to say and I for one have found great value in reading his essays.

As I have told several others along the way when contemplating what to them appeared to be disturbing or troubling information, "You do not have to believe what you are reading....but you must seriously consider it." I emphasize 'seriously' because it is only when we open our minds to alternative thoughts and feelings do we activate the growth within.

Please click here to read Essay One: Introduction of "The Antidote".

Cognitive Dissonance

Institutionalized Tyranny and Serfdom

The slow process of erosion on hard surfaces makes it difficult to detect significant change unless viewed through the magic of time lapse photography or various still photographs taken years, even decades, apart. Even then, unless viewed through the eyes of several generations the damage is often perceived as minor.

Similarly the corrosive effects of aging, combined with our own vanity,  ego and denial, is often difficult to directly observe without visual and emotional aids. So it is as well when recognizing change that has occurred (and is presently underway) with regard to our public and private institutions, particularly the government.

Seen from this perspective it is easier to understand how an institution created to serve and protect can morph over time into a monster that consumes.....assuming denial doesn't stand in the way of this developing understanding.

A month ago I posted some excerpts from Joe Withrow's new book "The Individual is Rising". I recently invited Joe back to expand a bit on his thoughts.

Please click here to read his article.