Evolved Inspired

Evolved Inspired

Ancient advice for improving Bloggers

Reading How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson and came across this advice from Diogenes which resonated with me as I continue on my journey to become a better writer. You can also check my fuller review of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor Correct grammar and good vocabulary Clarity of expression, making ideas easily understood Conciseness, employing no more words than necessary Appropriateness of style, suited to the subject matter and apparently also to the audience Distinction, or artistic excellence, and the avoidance of vulgarity How to Think like a Roman Emperor, Donald Robertson

Your story

The mind is everything. What we think, we become Buddha Today’s quote touches on both the power and the slipperiness of the mind. Our minds constantly create stories, backstories and predicted outcomes. These stories can work for us, or work against us. Ahead of a presentation does your mind predict a calm engaging smooth presentation or a nervous presentation to a crowd of haters? Both are true, but it is our mind that will create either a calm in-control mindset where you can deal with what arises or an anxious and panicky experience.

Nobler than Mick

Seeing a recent Tweet from Mick Jagger brought a smile to my face as I recall a great first introduction to The Four Noble Truths. Without the right understanding, Buddhism can be interpreted in a very negative and incapacitating way. Its worth remembering the story is Buddha achieved enlightenment and wanted to share the path, so a positive interpretation is good to hold. What are the Four Noble Truths? The Four Noble Truths are regarded as the first teachings from Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) after his enlightenment.

Humor

This particular Alan Watts quote is close to me, it is far too easy to take life too seriously, perhaps we should approach each situation with curiosity and humour. Often we perceive the wise as serious, the wisest people I have encountered have the greatest sense of humour to rival their wisdom. Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun Alan Watts

Listening

A reminder that often listening, observing and contemplating is the correct action. How are we to learn if we always speak. When situations arise, often the ‘season for silence’ allows us to gather the right amount of knowledge and take stock of our emotive responses to respond with wisdom. It is a great thing to know the season for speech and the season for silence – Seneca We have been given two ears and but a single mouth in order that we may hear more and talk less.

Responsibility

New Zealand has undoubtedly been touched by a deeply traumatic event. The events have brought to light the viral and seemingly uncontrollable nature of social media platforms. Amongst this, there is an obvious ‘call to account’ for those running social media platforms. I read a number of headlines targeting social media platforms – with questionable bias from ‘traditional media’. Whilst Facebook, YouTube and others should be accountable for what is shared on their platforms, we should not lose sight of our own responsibility for what we interact with on social media.

Mental Health and Mental Illness

What is the difference between mental illness and mental health? I had the pleasure of attending a recent workshop and one of the first topics brought up was the concept of mental illness versus mental health. Surprisingly often used interchangeably the two terms have a very different meaning. We all have mental health, we don’t all have a mental illness. We have mental health in the same way we have physical health.