Articles from the Week of May 5, 2023
Interesting Quotes
"When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too."
PAULO COELHO
Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?
Robin Williams
Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller
"We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil,"
JOHN STEINBECK
“If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.”
GLENN CLARK
Fascinating Facts
What animal is considered to be the closest living relative to Tyrannosaurus rex? (Answer at the end of this compilation of articles.)
How many North Poles are there? (Answer also at the end)
Counseling Articles
15 Must-See Movies about Bipolar Disorder
People with bipolar disorder sometimes feel discouraged and want to give up. These 15 films are played by actors and recommended by Tanya Hvilivitzky, a blogger who has bipolar disorder and who says these films accurately portray the challenges people with bipolar disorder face. It’s improbable that any client would want to watch all 15, so encourage them to choose the top 2 or 3 that appeal to them.
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Restorative Practices, Do They Really Work?
Restorative justice programs have been used in various countries and cultures and have been found to be very helpful in restoring peace among people groups and individuals where there had been on-going feuds for multiple generations (e.g., in the inter-tribal warfare that had been occurring between some African tribes for many years). However, there is a new practice being used in some American schools and called by that same name that seems to be ineffective in a large percentage of cases. I think if you read how the practice is being done you will have some ideas about why it does not seem to be effective.
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How Every City Can Promote Health Equity for People with Autism
Cities vary significantly in how well they provide services for people with autism, and many rural cities do not have any comprehensive plans for how to provide such services. Here is an example of how one city—Laredo, Texas—developed such a plan, a plan that I believe could be duplicated in cities across the U.S. I don’t think this approach need be limited to serving those with autism. Concerned counselors, parents, or friends could initiate such plans for any underserved group in their city.
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Gender Clinic Trained Elementary School Teachers on How to ‘Transition’ Little Kids
A gender clinic in Pennsylvania gave elementary teachers in two districts training in how to give children as young as kindergarten help in transitioning.
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Kiss, Twisted Sister Rock Stars Slam ‘Rash’ Push to Trans Children
I don’t believe I’ve ever heard any of the songs sung by Kiss or Twisted Sister, and I certainly didn’t think I’d ever agree with them on anything, but they both have come out in support of having children wait until they are adults before they make gender-altering procedures to their bodies. If interested, you can see their reasoning here.
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Is a “Surge of Faith” Happening With Younger Americans?
At a time when we long for some good news about the way our country is going, here is some encouraging news from Breakpoint. So if you need a little something to encourage your spirits, take a look at this article.
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Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, Reassuring Best-Selling Author, Dies at 88
Many of you have heard of a book that Rabbi Kushner wrote and may have even considered recommending it to clients who are going through hard times. But before you do, I think it is wise to know a little more about Rabbi Kushner and his theology. The book is born out of a sad story: Rabbi Kushner’s son was born and was diagnosed with progeria at age three, a disease that causes the body to age rapidly, and his son died at the age of fourteen.
Judaism has three main theological groups, Orthodox Judaism, which is the most conservative, Conservative Judaism, which is the branch Rabbi Kushner is affiliated, which is not very conservative, and Reformed Judaism, which is very liberal and composed of some people who are agnostic or even atheists.
The book has probably been helpful to some people who struggle with the question of why misfortune comes to them, even though they try to live good lives. However, although Kushner is a rabbi his book has a view of humans and God that is quite different from the Old Testament’s view of those things. He believes, for example, that humans are basically good. He believes that God wants us to struggle to live moral lives. He writes: “I believe in God, but I do not believe the same things about him that I did years ago when I was growing up or when I was a theological student. I recognize his limitations. He is limited in what he can do by laws of nature and by the evolution of human nature and human moral freedom. I no longer hold God responsible for illnesses, accidents and natural disasters,” he writes, “because I realize that I gain little and I lose so much when I blame God for those things. I can worship,” he says, “a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminate it, more easily than I can worship a God who chooses to make children suffer and die for whatever exalted reason…..God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal, living in a world of inflexible natural laws. The painful things that happen to us are not punishments for our misbehavior, nor are they in any way part of some grand design on God’s part.”
So Kushner did not believe that God was omnipotent, or sovereign, and while God wanted good to prevail, he could not cause those things to happen, nor did he have the power to prevent bad things from happening. In contrast, most evangelical Christians believe that God is sovereign, He is omnipotent, but He allows evil to exist in order to give humans moral freedom for a time, but it is not that He could not stop evil, but that He chooses not to. He will not let anything come into our lives that is too great for us to bear but will always supply the grace so that we will be able to bear it. And He will never leave us or forsake us during times of difficulty.
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Beyond Bipolar Disorder: A Story of Trust and Self-Discovery
This author talks about how recognizing the disorder he had and being willing to become vulnerable to those people close to him was crucial to him finally moving towards health and healing. Probably an important insight for almost all of us.
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ADHD Symptoms in Men Manifest Differently
The author of this article, a 62-year-old man with ADHD, and also an ADHD coach, talks about some of the struggles that men with ADHD are likely to have, and his suggestions for such men.
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Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general
The U.S. Surgeon General just came out with a report that probably does not surprise us, but the intensity of the damage it does to human beings may surprise us. He says that the epidemic of loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. So social media, which on the surface would seem to encourage relationships is actually harming us all more than we realized.
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The Stubborn Facts About Saving Sex: Doing Things God’s Way Works
Although our culture attempts to make several arguments saying that couples should cohabit before deciding to get married, several recent research studies affirm that those who save sex until marriage have less chance of marriages that end in divorce.
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Four Subtypes of Autism Spectrum Disorder Are Distinguished, Helping to Explain Individual Differences in Symptoms
Neuroimaging studies have identified four subtypes of autism spectrum disorder. These distinctions may be helpful in understanding the widely varying symptoms of those with autism spectrum disorders, and also may provide guidance in designing treatments.
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Boston SatanCon: Satanist rips pages from the Bible in act of rebellion, shouts ‘hail Satan’
The three-day conference to worship Satan was a sold-out event, and was, from what we know, the largest conference to worship Satan ever known. Here are some of topics presented at the conference:
