James L. Patterson

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W. Barry Bizot, M.D. – Modern Renaissance Man

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Recently, while reading the local newspaper’s obituaries I came across an entry for a certain W. Barry Bizot, M.D. I didn’t know Mr. Bizot, but his obit touched my soul with who he was, and what he represented. His life resonated with me. Mr. Bizot was a modern day Renaissance Man. His obit writer even noted him as such. I only wish I could have known this individual; to have befriended him and been inspired […]

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Montserrat, Spain

Montserrat, Spain

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On our recent trip to Spain we made sure to visit Montserrat outside of Barcelona.  Most recently featured in Dan Brown’s book Origin our traveling crew felt we had to include it on our itinerary.  We were not disappointed.  In fact, it was one of the highlights of our trip. What made it so special? The history – It’s an operating monastery and abbey since 1025 AD The uniqueness – Home to the Catalonian “Black

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Einstein - Intellectual Int

Intellectual Integrity

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What Is Intellectual Integrity? Do you have an internal desire to uncover truth – real truth? Do you care about the accuracy of your knowledge, beliefs and claims? Does it bother you if you might be professing knowledge that’s wrong? Does reality matter to you? Do you feel the pursuit of truth deserves a thorough, honest approach and analysis? If so, then you definitely resonate with the concept of Intellectual Integrity. Intellectual Integrity has everything

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Energy in the forest

Live an Aesthetic Life

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Aesthetics “Officially” speaking, Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty and artistic taste. But you don’t have to be a philosopher to bask in the benefits of living an aesthetic life. Simply having a sensitivity and appreciation for beauty is a good start.  Slow down; pause; observe.  Note and appreciate those things that give you pleasure and inner satisfaction when you experience them with your senses (sight, sound, smell, touch,

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Wonder: From Emotion to Spirituality by Robert C. Fuller

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A little over a year ago I listened to a podcast on ArtOfManliness.com entitled The Power Of Wonder wherein Brett McKay interviewed the author of a book (Robert Fuller) on the topic of Wonder.  It was particularly interesting since this topic fascinates and inspires me and it’s difficult to find references of any kind on the subject. (Not to mention that it’s the titled-focus of this web site.)  So after listening to the podcast I

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El Escorial Library - Spain

El Escorial Library

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Our trip to Spain this month found us visiting some incredible sites.  One of our notable visits (for me, at least) was the Monastery and Royal Palace of El Escorial in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; specifically the Royal Library. Biblioteca del monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, by Xauxa Håkan Svensson, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. The library consists of several rooms (most of them no longer used), however,

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Linderhof Palace, Bavaria

Romanticism

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What is Romanticism? Ask anyone on the street what “Romanticism” is and you’re likely to get replies that include:  beautiful flowers, surprise gifts, elegant date nights, heartfelt love letters, tender gestures, etc. – – essentially, anything that generates romance between two people in a relationship. While that concept is nice (and important) it isn’t the same definition of “Romanticism” as my focus in this article. Specifically, I speak of Romanticism as a state of mind;

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Stack of rustic books

The Benefits Of Being An Autodidact

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What is autodidacticism and what can it mean for you being an autodidact? “Stack of Old Books” by Austin Kirk is licensed under CC BY 2.0 What’s an autodidact? Autodidactism is the process of self-learning, also called self-education.  An autodidact is a person who chooses (on their own) to identify a subject of interest and then learn everything possible about it; preferably researching and studying it in an objective manner.  It can be pursued as

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The Biltmore Library

Biltmore Library

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One of my favorite places in the world is the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.  It was built by George Washington Vanderbilt II, grandson of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt. Completed and opened to friends and family during Christmas 1895, it’s the largest private residence in the United States, and is still owned by descendants of the family. George Washington Vanderbilt by John Singer Sargent Public Domain, Link The “house” is a gorgeous châteauesque-styled mansion

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What is “Mundane”?

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What do I Mean by “Mundane”? I use the word “mundane” frequently, and realized I should probably level-set on its meaning. So . . .  what exactly is “mundane”? From my perspective and life-philosophy, the mundane in life is bare minimum “living.” It looks something like this: Work, eat, consume, zone out on media, sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. Do the same thing day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year. It’s about just getting through the work day, then escaping

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Image: Man with arms raised to sunset oover a body of water

Growth and Self-Actualization

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If you resonate with any of the messages presented to you in the writings on this site, you’re already of the mindset of someone who knows the importance of Growth and Self-Actualization. But what is it exactly?  Why is it important – at least to some of us who are driven beyond the normal and mundane? Growth Personal Growth is the desire to self-develop yourself; to become more than you are today; to discover the

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Your Purpose and Mission in Life

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Why should anyone be concerned with identifying their Purpose and Mission in life?  What good is it?  Will it really make any difference with living life in this hodgepodge world of the mundane and chaotic? What’s the difference between Purpose, Mission and Vision?  Do I need big goals to have a Purpose and Mission?  Or is it the other way around?  Is this some kind of useless, fuzzy-bullshit, corporate or new age stuff? Hang on,

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SpaceX – Engineering and Technology Awe & Wonder

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What an incredible achievement by private enterprise that inspires and strikes me with awe and wonder . . . (video starts at 8:00 minute mark) I just love the way SpaceX does their launch coverage: allowing a huge crowd inside mission control, young energetic people to describe what’s going on, people of both sexes working within mission control, and video cameras mounted everywhere showing you live what’s going on, before and throughout the actual launch.

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Astroturfing – a Slick 21st-Century Manipulation of Fake Support

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On the heels of my segment on Propaganda, it makes sense to also share this methodology of modern propaganda called “Astroturfing.” What is Astroturfing?  Essentially it’s the attempt to create an impression of widespread grassroots support for a policy, individual, or product, where little such support actually exists. I stumbled on this excellent video by Sharyl Atkisson, an ex-CBS investigative journalist who apparently still holds the ethics of journalism in high regard (a rarity in

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Propaganda definition imge

Propaganda – An Introduction

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My last article on Social/Cultural Conditioning naturally leads into a discussion about Propaganda. While Social Conditioning is concerned with the life-long process of molding people’s thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors to what society and peer groups want them to be, propaganda can be viewed as the continual fuel to keep those minds and emotions in line.  And specifically, to condition people to follow the desired directives of those in power “selling” the message. Most of us, it

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Conformity

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I could write a long article about Conformity, but really … what could be more convincing than this representative example? (video: Brain Games – Conformity (Waiting Room) ) Peer Pressure We are pressured and convinced through a lifetime of social conditioning to conform, get along, go along, agree with, regardless of the rationality. This isn’t complicated. You will have a natural tendency to conform to the group – the majority.  You simply need to have

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Social Conditioning

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Related very closely to the concept of Groupthink is a process called Social Conditioning .  However, where Groupthink relates to cognitive issues in a small group, Social Conditioning is concerned more with broad social implications – typically nationwide. Definition: Social conditioning is the sociological process of training individuals in a society to respond in a manner generally approved by the society in general and peer groups within society. Manifestations of social conditioning are vast, but

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Groupthink

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In a continuing series of articles regarding barriers to Proper Thinking let’s address Groupthink. “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.”  – Walter Lippmann What is Groupthink? Wikipedia:  “Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation

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Dogma

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What is Dogma? Dogma is any ideology that demands of its followers unquestioned loyalty and faith.  Faith in its doctrines . . . in its leaders . . . in its proclamations.  Behind its ‘scripture’ may stand elements of truths – some of which can (and are) useful at times.  However, it demands no questioning of its current tenets – particularly by laypersons and “outsiders.”  Violators of this edict are either ignored and/or ridiculed and

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Values – Personal Core

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What Exactly Are Values? Value can fall into several arenas: Economic – the material worth of something compared to the monetary price paid. Utility/Importance – something held in high regard due to its usefulness or importance to you. Aesthetic – this could technically be a part of Utility/Importance, above, but has a more specific relation to art, beauty, harmony and nature such that it elicits a pleasurable experience for the viewer. Personal-Core/Ethical – what’s most

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Don’t Believe Everything You Think

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I saw this on a car’s bumper sticker today: “Don’t Believe Everything You Think” It definitely struck me and resonated with what I continually try to focus upon.  Always question your basic beliefs and assumptions.  Objectively (truly objectively) look at all points of an argument or belief.  Use the Clinical Attitude whenever possible. Embrace intellectual integrity and be willing to admit that beliefs you’ve held for many years may be wrong when you’re presented with

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Man Carving His Own Destiny by Albin Polasek (sculpture)

Man Carving His Own Destiny – by Albin Polášek

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Man Carving His Own Destiny Albin Polášek Indiana Limestone, 1961 Brookgreen Gardens – Murrells Inlet, SC I very much like the description on the placard sign about the artist’s vision of “man chiseling himself, struggling to hack out his own character, carving his future by the effort of his will.”   This aligns in my mind with an individual’s effort to create the best person they can be during their short sojourn on this Earth –

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What is Science?

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I originally wanted to start the “Science” category with a short series of posts discussing some very basic introductory concepts to serve as a baseline/reference for future discussion.  However, I happened to be in the middle of some great research involving the helical motion of the solar system, so I chose to grab the fire while it was burning and go ahead with that article first. So, stepping back a bit to address the basics

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