[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 Roman Stoic philosopher Gaius Musonius Rufus, who stated, “The human being is born with an inclination toward virtue” (page 330). Regarding this point of view, authors of The Dai

[DISCLAIMER] During my sophomore year of high school, the Lords of the Underground (L.O.T.U.G.), a hip hop trio composed of lyricists Dupré Kelly (DoItAll), Al’Terik Wardrick (Mr. Funke), and Bruce A. Colston (DJ Lord Jazz), came on to the scene with Here Comes the Lords (1993). The debut studio album contained the song “Psycho”, which was produced by Marley Marl, and represents the golden age of hip hop. Regarding the antiquated term “psycho,” I stated in Psychopathy and

[DISCLAIMER] It was my mother who taught me to steal. From an early age, I observed her taking small items from her employer. As she was a custodian to a church congregation, she had unlimited access to plastic cups and cutlery, paper plates and napkins, and an assortment of food items. “Shhh,” my mom said, “don’t tell anyone, because I’ll lose my job if people find out.” Not only did I learn to steal, I was taught that being deceitful about the act of stealing was accept

[DISCLAIMER] When serving as a Marine Security Guard in Lima, Peru (2000-2001), I posed for the above photo when standing adjacent to the Fountain of the Plaza Mayor. Originally inaugurated in 1578, with retouching since, it features a statue of Pheme, one of the gods of Ancient Greece. During the time I was assigned to a diplomatic post in Lima, I remained a member of the Churches of Christ. As well, I still subscribed to tenets up with which I was raised in regard to the

[DISCLAIMER] With my approach to mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I use unconditional acceptance (UA). When teaching psychoeducational lessons on this helpful tool, I invite people to accept – without unfavorable conditions – that they are imperfect. For example, as a fallible human being, I don’t tell myself something along the lines of, “Unless I can be entirely without fault or defect, then I won’t endure without protest or react

[DISCLAIMER] I’ve just heard about the reported death of singer Oliver Tree. His song “Life Goes On”, from the album Ugly Is Beautiful (2020), has served as content for many electronic dance music (EDM) remixes. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed both the original track and its modifications. According to one source, “Tree stated in an interview that ‘Life Goes On’ is about ‘a problematic relationship where one person treats the other person badly […] shouldn’t waste time on to

[DISCLAIMER] In Separating the Art From the Artist: Shamone, Hee Hee, I discussed my fondness for the entertainment content of singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist Michael Jackson, dubbed the “King of Pop”, irrespective of controversial matters surrounding his personal life, as I said: Thriller [1982] is as close to a flawless album as any I’ve ever heard! I say this as one who maintains that fallible human beings are incapable of achieving perfection. In view o

[DISCLAIMER] Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner When enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (1996-2007), my religious foundation in the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Churches of Christ informed my worldview. Of course, as a fallible human being, my faith-based perspective wasn’t practiced perfectly. For example, I was taught Leviticus 20:13 which states, “‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to b

[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 philosopher Marcus Aurelius who stated, “There’s nothing worse than a wolf befriending sheep. Avoid false friendship at all costs. If you are good, straightforward, and w

[DISCLAIMER] In the above photo, intentionally not edited so that I could authentically present a moment of imperfection (the quality or state of being imperfect—fallible, such as flawed in form, structure, or function), as a teenager, I knocked upon the hotel door of a female adolescent. For clarity, when referring to the physical action of hitting a door to announce one’s presence, the standard phrasing is “knock on a door”. Still, “knock upon a door” is also grammatica

[ DISCLAIMER ] Because I don’t have many social media apps on my smartphone , regarding most sites such as Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and so forth, I often miss up-to-date news about celebrity deaths. This is as I prefer things to be in my life. Still, earlier today, when searching for material online for daily practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) I discovered that one source reports, “Influential musical artist Afrika Bambaataa died in Penn

[ DISCLAIMER ] Regarding this blogpost, a number of terms warrant definition. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), psychopathy is defined as “a synonym for antisocial personality disorder [ASPD]” and “formerly, any psychological disorder or mental disease .” Similarly, the APA defines a psychopath as “a former name for an individual with antisocial personality disorder.” As ASPD is referenced in both of those definitions, it’s worth noting that t

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit , property of Animate Film and Tokyo Theatres Company, fair use When stationed in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), I enjoyed a number of Japanese animated films. My favorite was Ninja Scroll (1993) that takes place in feudal Japan and follows Jūbei Kibagami , a mercenary swordsman who battles the Eight Devils of Kimon . The Devils are a team of ninjas with supernatural powers who are intent on overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate . In one memorable

[ 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 . 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 ] 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 Roman Stoic philosopher Gaius Musonius Rufus who stated, “For I believe a good king is from the outset and by necessity a philosopher, and the philosopher is from the ou

[ DISCLAIMER ] * The Rip (2026) spoilers contained herein. Edited screengrab from The Rip , property of Netflix, fair use If memory serves, I began listening to The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) in 2015, yet took time away from the podcast when Joe Rogan developed an exclusive deal with Spotify, and then refocused my attention to JRE when Rogan distributed content back to YouTube and Rumble. While I don’t agree with everything that anyone says , I do appreciate the ecle