[ DISCLAIMER ]   While on voluntary appellate leave from the Marine Corps, after experiencing administrative and legal problems , I relied heavily on a family for support. Though we weren’t biologically related, they were the family with whom I lived after my residence at a children’s home in my youth.   Between their two adult-aged daughters, there were six young boys who I viewed as my unrelated “nephews.” When engaging with them in the moment, I lost sight of my military w

[ 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 A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   In a blogpost entitled Unconditional Acceptance , I shared an aphorism from my late stepmom. She was a religious individual, as I also subscribed to the tenets of Christianity back then. Thus, from time to time, she’d say, “I didn’t write the book [Bible], and it’s a good thing I didn’t.”   What was meant by this adage is that my stepmom recognized her fallibility . Unlike Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, or other names attributed to deities of

[ DISCLAIMER ]   In the ‘90s, I visited Estes Park, Colorado with a small group of people. We attended local shops, spent time doing silly, playful, and unimportant things, and we took photos on 35 mm film . Back in those days, it seemed as though life was timeless. Of course, that perception was incorrect.   All these years later, I look at the above photo of me pretending to play a xylophone-type of instrument while wearing a fresh Ralph Lauren  polo shirt with a Universi

[ DISCLAIMER ]   According to one source , “Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is a pseudoscientific approach to communication, personal development, and psychotherapy ” that “asserts a connection between neurological processes, language, and acquired behavioral patterns.”   While I’m not a practitioner of NLP, I appreciate some of its concepts. Specifically, I value  the tool of a referential index shift. Regarding this matter, one source states:   The Referential Index Sh

[ 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 Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated, “Fortune doesn’t have the long reach we suppose, she can only lay siege to those who hold her tight. So, let’s step back from her as

[ DISCLAIMER ]   “Son,” my dad said as I sat across from he and my late stepmom at a dining room table not long after graduating high school in 1995, “what’re you gonna do with your life?” I experienced a state of depression at the time, to the extent whereby suicide was considered a viable option.   Having watched a number of commercials regarding the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, chiefly the depiction  of a gallant warrior on horseback defeating a number of game piec

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , fair use   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 .   Authors of The Daily Stoic  quote Diogenes Laertius , biographer of the Greek philosophers, who stated, “To the youngster talking nonsense Zeno  said, ‘The reason  

[ 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 A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a

[ DISCLAIMER ]   On lyricist Vinnie Paz ’s album Burn Everything That Bears Your Name  (2021) is the track “ Digital Veil ” that features M.A.V. and a vocal sample of an origin unknown to me. The man on the snippet appears to be speaking to a group of people, as the introduction of the song states:   Everything, as far as I’m concerned, everything is predestined . Everybody’s scared shitless of that word—predestined. It’s all predestined. Everything’s…this is predestined. We

[ DISCLAIMER ]   The word “handle” has a number of meanings. For instance, a handle is a part that is designed, especially to be grasped by the hand, such as the handle of a kettle. As well, a “handle” can refer to a nickname. For example, in the photo above, I had a couple different handles.   When living with a family that took me into their care from a children’s home, the mother of the family used to call me “Tigger,” referencing a hyper tiger character from the children’

[ DISCLAIMER ]   Intentionally, I’m taking a less refined approach to the current blogpost. This is because, even though I was never deployed to war or experienced armed conflict when serving in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, I rigorously trained to take the lives of men, women, and children.   It was an ugly affair, the process of engaging shoot/no-shoot firearms drills for unconventional targets (e.g., acquiring skills related to shooting steel targets of varying h

[ 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 A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a

[ 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 .   It isn’t uncommon for people to reach out to me regarding care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health  (collectively “ mental health ”), as they seek advice . Regarding such behavior

[ 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 A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a