#addiction

Read more about the article Courage and creativity

Courage and creativity

I have become more fearful and less optimistic; perhaps due to the COVID 19 pandemic; perhaps because of global warming, the rise of autocratic regimes, the rise of inequality, the lack of privacy; perhaps due to the manipulation and hatred created by out-of-control social networks in so many places around the world. Day after day the news is filled with stories designed to scare us, because fear always sells (as does sex). News media exist to make money − a fact not always compatible with accurate news reporting.  The pandemic has made our world smaller, more isolated; we did not evolve to thrive on virtual contact, and so the lack…

Read more about the article Drinking too much?

Drinking too much?

Typically before reaching the age of eighteen a youngster will have been exposed to more than 100,000 examples of alcoholic advertising. This tells us that alcohol is fun, sporting, sexy and even good for your health. This contrasts sharply with independent science which shows conclusively that alcohol is a Category 1 carcinogen (WHO/IARC 1988), highly addictive and the most damaging drug in our society (D. Nutt et al 2008). These are facts. Alcohol creates dependence for anyone who drinks regularly. Many of us will drink unless there is a reason not to; eg. work in the morning, pick up the children, got to drive home. These events act as brakes…

Read more about the article The Euphoria trap

The Euphoria trap

What is happiness? A famous Buddhist  saying  goes like this:  “Happiness  (sukkha)  is  that  which  can  be borne with  ease.  Suffering (dukkha) is that which cannot be borne with ease.”  This is about as simple and direct a definition of happiness as I have found. I have stated on many occasions that one of the greatest causes of unhappiness is the belief that we ought to be happy. Another cause is the effort to create/ we use chasing happiness combined without not knowing what happiness is. The fact is that we cannot create happiness, only the conditions favourable for happiness to arise. Rather like a huerta; with a vegetable garden…