Tales from a Practical Mystic

I loved watching Game of Thrones. When the series ended, I felt sad. What affected me wasn’t as much that the show had ended as it was thoughts about a particular character’s fate. I got teary-eyed thinking about it!

Even when I reminded myself that the story and characters were not real, the emotion was still present. That’s what I found so interesting: my inner experience was affected by what I chose to focus on, whether the object of attention was “real”...

“Stop!”

I keep talking, despite my daughter’s plea.

“Would you stop?!” she begs. 

I persist, rationalizing to myself, I’m the parent, she will benefit by listening to me.

“You’re making me feel sad. You’re making me feel like an idiot!”

Ouch. But I’m on a run, “Well, that’s your doing,” implicitly reminding her that no one can “make” us feel anything.

While the admonishment leaves my lips,...