Since I learned that the U.S. had killed Osama Bin Laden, I’ve been feeling relieved and hopeful. But each time I start to feel upbeat, a claw grips my heart, saying “not so fast, how can you feel good about a murder”? So I’ve continued shifting back and forth between relief and hope, and shame and guilt. When I saw all of the people outside in NYC and Washington, I felt strange. I had a yearning to be there, to be connected to and bathed in all the relief and joy. I would then frown at myself and think of it as unseemly to “celebrate” a dramatic murder. Mulling my reaction, and the reactions of family, friends and those throughout the social media, I now see the death of Bin Laden and the associated reactions as another step towards healing the trauma of 9/11.
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cold heat
Trauma, Compassion & the Death of Bin Laden
Since I learned that the U.S. had killed Osama Bin Laden, I’ve been feeling relieved and hopeful. But each time I start to feel upbeat, a claw grips my heart, saying “not so fast, how can you feel good about a murder”? So I’ve continued shifting back and forth between relief and hope, and shame and guilt. When I saw all of the people outside in NYC and Washington, I felt strange. I had a yearning to be there, to be connected to and bathed in all the relief and joy. I would then frown at myself and think of it as unseemly to “celebrate” a dramatic murder. Mulling my reaction, and the reactions of family, friends and those throughout the social media, I now see the death of Bin Laden and the associated reactions as another step towards healing the trauma of 9/11.
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strolling through a dream
Self-Creation Nation! Becoming in the Social Media Age
In recent years through my work with teens and young adults, I’ve observed that a different maturation process is emerging. Traditionally, the route to becoming a responsible adult was thought to be a linear, developmental process where accomplishing one step seemed to lead to the next one and so on. Education usually progressed in a straight line from kindergarten through high school, and then to college and possibly even graduate school. One’s career trajectory seemed to work the same way – we started at the bottom, moved up through a hierarchy, and hoped to come out “on top”.
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peace
Exercise Your Mindfulness Muscle Through Meditation
There are many articles in popular news reports, blogs and magazines, as well as in scientific journals, indicating that practicing mindfulness and meditation is good for you. Meditation has been linked to:
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