[DISCLAIMER] The American Psychological Association defines preference as “the act of choosing one alternative over others,” expectation as “a state of tense, emotional anticipation,” and anticipation as “looking forward to a future event or state, sometimes with an affective component (e.g., pleasure, anxiety).” Of these terms, I stated in Hopeful Anticipation vs. Disturbing Expectation: Essentially, anticipation is an excited, hopeful, and open-minded looking forward to

[DISCLAIMER] While stationed in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), I bought I-Testament (1997) by Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician Capleton. By no means was it the first or last album I’d buy associated with the Rastafari artist who’s been criticized for his views on same-sex relationships. I-Testament contained the track “Original Man” that featured vocals by lyricist Q-Tip. As well, the song featured samples of The Mohawks’ “The Champ” (1968), Grandmaster Flash and the F

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who stated, “The best way to avenge yourself is to not be like that” (page 312). For context, “avenge” is defined as e

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. The authors quote ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated, “Hecato says, ‘I can teach you a love potion made without any drugs, herbs, or special spell—if you would be loved, love’” (page 311)

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] “Son,” my dad told me when I was a child, “I don’t know why I brought children into this world when it’s so wicked [morally very bad; evil],” per 1 John 5:19. He went on to explain that anyone with knowledge of the Bible would do well to reconsider the desire to have kids. This was a revelation to me, as my dad had four children! Furthermore, his admission was contrary to what my late stepmom told me when saying it was an “abomination” not to abide by the bib

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[DISCLAIMER] I’m a fan of Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, consisting of lyricists Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, and all four members of the group Souls of Mischief (lyricists Phesto, A-Plus, Opio, and Tajai), as well as DJ Touré and producer/manager Domino. In 2001, Hiero released the album Hiero Oldies Vol 1 that contained the 1990 track “Step to My Girl” by Souls of Mis

[DISCLAIMER] In Existentialism: Meaning Versus Meaninglessness, I discussed a fellow military police (MP) patrolman from the United States Marine Corps, when assigned to Camp Kinser (1997-1999), to whom I referred as “Jugador.” He and I were fairly close when stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Jugador and I wound up again being stationed together when I was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (2001-2003). Unfortunately, he and I lost touch around the time when I experi

[DISCLAIMER] As one could imagine, when providing care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), predominately using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I often work with so-called broken hearts. Describing this term, one source states: A broken heart (also known as heartbreak or heartache) is a metaphor for the intense emotional stress or pain one feels at experiencing great loss or deep longing. It is often greatly associated wit

[DISCLAIMER] On the intro of “Take Me Back”, from the album Tha Truth, Pt. 3 (2017), Houston, Texas rapper Trae tha Truth states, “Say, you remember that shit? Talmbout them days, nigga. We pull up, nigga. Sta-Flo, starched down!” If you’re unfamiliar with Texas hip hop, then you may be lost. The phrase “talmbout” is a conjunction of the words “talking” and “about.” Also, Sta-Flo is a potent liquid starch which people from the South use when pressing (i.e., ironing) creas

[DISCLAIMER] Depending on whom one asks, care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”) can relate to virtually any- and everything imaginable. Personally, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is preferred. Without use of hyperbole, it’s saved my life! Interestingly, rapper King Iso addresses his observation relating to this topic on the song “Window”, from his album Get Well Soon (2022), on which he states, “Talkin’ ‘bout mental heal

[DISCLAIMER] I recently listened to conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson interviewing German banking and development economist Richard Werner. Even if you don’t typically appreciate Carlson or his perspective, I invite you to consider that Werner stated when discussing bankers: Mathematics is logic, and the logic is correct. And here’s the trick, here’s the great deception. We like logic. Men like logic. People like logic. Logic is convincing to us, and so co

[DISCLAIMER] I’m a fan of Wu-Tang Clan, a hip hop collective consisting of lyricist RZA, lyricist GZA, lyricist Method Man, lyricist Raekwon, lyricist Ghostface Killah, lyricist Inspectah Deck, rapper U-God, rapper Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Therefore, when enlisted in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, serving in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), I purchased the group’s second studio album Wu-Tang Forever (1997). It contained the t

[DISCLAIMER] *Ladies First (2026) and Higher Learning (1995) spoilers contained herein. Ladies First I recently watched Ladies First (2026) while intentionally practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). As I patiently sat through the film, I created mental notes for a psychoeducational lesson on unity (a condition of harmony). Yet, I rejected the feminist piece of propaganda, which the American Psychological Association defines as “a method of social control t

[DISCLAIMER] A little over a decade ago, nitape’skw (nee-dub-besk) and I discussed lyricist Oddisee’s album The Good Fight (2015)—one of my all-time favorite hip hop albums. For instance, my beloved friend and I conversed about our opposing views regarding the track “Belong to the World”. Nitape’skw was a proud member of the Penobscot Nation, thus a Native American (also called American Indian), a United States (U.S.) citizen, and a Mainer (a native resident of Maine). As

[DISCLAIMER] The American Psychological Association defines the term suffering as “the experience of pain or acute distress, either physical or psychological, in response to a physical trauma or a significant event, particularly one that is threatening or involves loss (e.g., the death of a loved one).” When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I differentiate between physical and psychological trauma, as well as separating disp

[DISCLAIMER] In common parlance, suggesting that something is “screwed up” means that someone or something is acting or functioning in an erratic, confused, or otherwise undesirable way. A grittier version of this phrase is to say that something is “fucked up,” also “messed up.” In hip hop, the expression “screwed up” may also reflect music of the late and legendary Houston, Texas pioneer DJ Screw, who’s best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. I

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Reportedly one of the four Stoic virtues, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines courage as “the ability to meet a difficult challenge despite the physical, psychological, or moral r

[DISCLAIMER] I invite you to contemplate Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) through use of a psychoeducational lesson spawned by two lyricists that aren’t to be confused with rappers. For context, a rapper merely performs the function of rapping (rhythmic wordplay to a beat). Some rappers are arguably better than others. A lyricist raps while concentrating on the art of storytelling, devotes attention to written lyrics, experiments with wordplay, emphasizes poetic d