Catching Up

Wow, it seems like a while since I posted. For now I’ll just say a bit about what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been meaning to get back to the topic of evolutionary ethics and Mark’s wonderful comments a few weeks back… Note that Will over at integral options has posted this and probably much more of interest to us both… (still on my to-do list)
Pouring myself into studying critiques of Pop Psychology; mainly looking at why pop psych fails (it fails to address our shadow side and/or our childhood traumas which will ALWAYS come up later in life if not dealt with)…
Diving into studies of one particular adult disorder of abused children: Borderline Personality Disorder. I was blown away when I first started reading about this. It’s more common than schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and bi-polar disorder, effecting 1 in 33 women and 1 in 100 men, a full 2 percent of the US population, yet most people (me included!) have never heard of it. Educate yourself on it, please! Educate your friends, family, etc. If you know many people, chances are you know someone dealing with this. Chances are, he/she doesn’t even know about this or the amazing new treatment out there.
Some starts on my thesis research… nothing major, but starts.
Travels to Helena to see my niece and nephew who always visit for the summer. It’s amazing to see these two, ages 12 and 9 now, grow up and into themselves… sheer joy.
Gotta shout out to my friend SJ, who visited a few weeks back, for posting an AWESOME bit on his first days here in Montana, filled with more information, history, and great pics than I think I’ve ever managed to get online. Have a look.
And of course lots of hikes, walks, runs, and evenings out with good friends, enjoying Missoula the way it’s meant to be enjoyed – just simply, as it is, as it has been for as long as we’ve known.

Many smiles to y’all out in blog-land. Tomorrow or soon thereafter more Dharma Tuesday should appear; oh, and GRATITUDE JOURNAL…. I almost forgot that…

This week, I have been grateful for:

bare feet on concrete on a summer morning, the sound only of bees on nearby flowers, the feeling of cool air everywhere else.
superstar cheerleaders for my 8-mile run (Jen, Bo, Magnus, Rory, but especially Thor this week, who was there for the high-fives on most of those last laps)
Fire, for while it may seem only to destroy, it really is nature’s way of bringing new growth
Opportunity, it seems that teaching, at least one course, may be closer in my future than I had imagined;
more Opportunity, I am happily bringing a British friend/colleague to MT for some talks in the fall and, if all goes well, the two of us will be puddle-jumping the Atlantic (meaning me going to England!) a couple times in the next couple years for work, conferences, and presentations.
More Opportunity!! While I have just written myself into a new position at my work for a 35% raise (only part-time), I have also begun work on a yet-larger project to virtually double my salary, doing the exact work I want to be doing here, and still having time/resources to finish my ph.d. It’ll be some work, but it’ll also be exciting…. Wish me luck…

Back to work…