[ 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, “The person who has practiced philosophy as a cure for the self becomes great of soul , filled with confidence, invincible—

[ DISCLAIMER ]   I attended my first graduate (“grad”) studies program, for counseling, from 2009 to 2011. I then experienced grad school for a second time, for social work, from 2012 to 2014. It was in the second program that I met student X. We shared some similarities and some differences.   For a shared similarity, we’d both attended the same university than the one regarding our social work studies. Concerning a difference, student X was said to come from an affluent whi

[ DISCLAIMER ]   Of his body of work that I’ve consumed thus far, I most enjoy Trunk Muzik  (2010) by rapper Yelawolf . On the anthology is the track “ Love Is Not Enough ”, produced by WLPWR , and containing a sample of “ Hollywood ” (1978) by the late entertainer Rick James .   Yelawolf’s song tells the all-too-familiar tale of intimate partner relationships and the preferences versus expectations  paradigm (i.e., flexible desires for a specific outcome versus rigid demand

[ DISCLAIMER ]   My primary billet when serving in the United States Marine Corps (USMC; 1996-2007) was military police  (MP). Although the “protect and serve” motto adopted by many law enforcement entities isn’t legally or constitutionally binding, MPs were taught to uphold this standard.   The slogan meshed well with a conservative principle up with which I was raised in regard to “providing and protecting” members of one’s own family, community, and so forth. However, it

[ 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 .   Lately, how much time have you devoted to contemplation of your inevitable death? How much time have you squandered when thinking about the lives of others who are also inescapably heading

[ DISCLAIMER ]   In my youth, adults convinced me that heavy metal music  was satanic (of, relating to, or characteristic of Satan or Satanism—obsession with or affinity for evil : specifically, worship of Satan marked by the travesty of Christian rites). Thus, I was forbidden from listening to metal.   As such, I unfortunately missed out on enjoying metal music from Metallica . All the same, I was vaguely familiar with some of the band’s songs, because they were quite popul

[ DISCLAIMER ]   When stationed aboard Camp Kinser  in Okinawa, Japan while serving in the military (1997-1999), I participated in meritorious promotion boards (formal, competitive processes used to identify, evaluate, and promote exceptionally qualified enlisted Marines ahead of their peers).   The last such event that I attended was aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler . I was a lance corporal (E-3), competing against other Marines of similar (though not equal) s

[ 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 Seneca  who stated, “Nothing is noble if it’s done unwillingly or under compulsion. Every noble deed is voluntary” (page 225). “Noble” means having, characterized by, ari

[ DISCLAIMER ]   One of my favorite subgenres of electronic dance music (EDM) is French house . Within this category is the duo Together , consisting of DJ Falcon  and Daft Punk  member Thomas Bangalter . Regarding Together’s debut single “ Together ” (2000), one source states:   [The song] “Together” begins with a short segment of speech from the film Pleasantville [1998]. The line “A time has come to make a decision: are we in this thing alone, or are we in it together?”

[ 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 .   Marcus Aurelius stated, “The unjust person acts against the gods. For insofar as the nature of the universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutua

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   There’s a quote unproved to have been stated by Mahatma Gandhi , “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ .” For context, “Christ: is used by Christians—followers of Christ—as both a name and a title, unambiguously referring to Jesus .   Jesus is believed to be the son of Jehovah , a Latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה‎ Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the

[ DISCLAIMER ]   For many years, I was what could be described as a basshead (an audio enthusiast who has a preference for high-intensity, deep, and resonant low-frequency sounds referred to as bass—often seeking car audio systems which deliver powerful, physically felt, and high-quality bass).   My fondness for this lifestyle began in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s when I was introduced to a subgenre of hip hop music known as Miami bass . For instance, as I lived in apartment

[ DISCLAIMER ]   If memory serves, I met someone to whom I’ll refer as “Freckles” when living in a children’s home in 1991. Residing in my first cottage at the home, I attended Churches of Christ youth functions whereby Freckles and I became vaguely acquainted.   After I was transferred to a separate cottage of the children’s home, switching church congregations to that wherein Freckles’s granddad was the minister, she and I became better acquainted. I thought of her as inte

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   When attending the Amarillo Community Center in my youth, one of my favorite fieldtrips on which children were taken was to the Amarillo Public Library (i.e., the downtown location). There, adult volunteers read stories to children on specified days of the week.   Those were among some of the brightest moments during otherwise darkened instances of my childhood. In any event, one of my preferred stories was Where the Wild Things Are b

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   How often to you think about morals and ethics ? A “moral” is a person’s standard of behavior or belief concerning what is and isn’t acceptable for the individual and other people. Morals thus relate to what’s considered good, bad, right, wrong, or otherwise acceptable or unacceptable.   An “ethic” is a set of moral principles , especially those relating to or affirming a specified group, field, or form of conduct. Whereas morals  rela

[ 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 Epictetus who stated, “Every great power is dangerous for the beginner. You must  therefore wield them as you are able, but in harmony with nat

[ DISCLAIMER ]   As a resident of a children’s home in 1992, I comprehended exploitation (the action of making use of and benefiting from resources). Specifically, I voiced my grievance to houseparents about social oppression, though I didn’t have the terminology to describe it as well as one source  does:   A common conception of social oppression is seen as when a single group in society unjustly takes advantage of, and exercises power  over, another group using dominance

[ 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 Marcus Aurelius  who stated, “In your actions , don’t procrastinate. In your conversations, don’t confuse . In your thoughts , don’t wander. In

[ 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 Epictetus who stated, “[W]hat does Socrates say? ‘Just as one person delights in improving his farm, and another his horse, so I delight in at

[ DISCLAIMER ]   Having already attained a Master of Arts in Counseling degree (2011), I sat in an office at my Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) internship sight for the final semester when earning a Master of Science in Social Work degree (2014). I then thought about the path I’d chosen.   Speaking about the field of mental, emotional, and behavioral health  (collectively “ mental health ”) with my internship preceptor (an experienced professional who mentors, trains, a