The Neurodivergent Professor

I want to let y’all know what is going on in my life.

There will be a pause in my articles, podcast, and videos until at least August. For the next two weeks or so I will be delivering our boat from t…

Have you ever sat down and thought about your values? 

Values are important, motivating, and provide guidance.

I’ve done a lot of values work in therapy and find it challenging. I value many things, bu…

You don’t have to look far to find something to complain about. 

Climate changeInequalitySuicidal ideationMalnutritionLoneliness 

The world is full of problems.

Now, I’m no doomer. My intent is not to i…

Have you seen (or read) “2001: A Space Odyssey”?

The story opens at the time of early humans. Folks are going about their business when a ginormous monolith appears. Everyone freaks out at first, but …

The unexamined life is not worth living — Socrates

It seems natural, even innate, to want to make the most of one’s life. To have a good life seems to require examination. Examining one’s life, growin…

Do you suffer?

Humans have problems. It’s hard to deny. 

Despite many pleas for ‘looking on the bright side of life’, we live in a world full of suffering. For whatever reason, I think about these prob…

Do you ever think about your comfort zone? I’m sure most people are at least aware of the concept.

To me, our comfort zone is like an invisible egg that surrounds our physical body. Near the center, w…

Does science play a role in your life? 

Do you value hard data and evidence? Do you think humans are good at proving things? Or maybe you defer to religion or culture to decide what is real?

I talk a l…

Do other people ever make you angry?

I’d be worried about you if you said no. Or assume you are the Dalai Lama. 

Many of us struggle to find connections to people we disagree with. Or people who act ou…

Have you ever wondered how any two people can have a conversation and walk away feeling both like they were heard and believing they heard the other person?

It blows my mind how limiting conversation …

“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”

― Charles Bukowski

Do you ever think about this? Can you think of an exampl…

What went right?

Do you ever wonder how we got here? Do you ever think about what has changed over hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution?

The past few decades have seen exponential growth i…

Ok, I know, it sounds weird but hear me out. 

Humans are freaked out by death. I’m not saying I’m any different, just drawing attention to this in hopes of reducing our suffering. Today I’m wondering …

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me

Do you remember this nursery rhyme? 

When I was younger, I believed it. I thought I would rather be yelled at than physically harmed. …

What IS the matter?

Matter is an interesting word. It’s a noun and a verb. The noun means something of substance and can be physical or metaphysical. The verb means for something to be important. Ther…

I couldn’t care less about that.

How many times have you said that?

We use this phrase as a euphemism to mean we completely don’t like, disagree with, or are opposed to whatever is being discussed. 

The…

Are you aware of the stress in your life?  Can you FEEL it when stressors are building up and you think you may pop? Do you ever feel like you’re right on the verge of a meltdown?

I think most of us a…

Do ever joke that we’re living in the Matrix? 

I often refer to the movie when talking about the problems of the world. Sometimes it does seem like we’re living in a computer simulation. Or does it? 

A…

This week I’ll skip right to the punchline. 

The ability to see beyond the mainstream and to understand the continuum of whatever feature it is in the world is a special gift. 

This is enhanced awarene…

Are you familiar with Jon Kabat-Zinn? In short, he’s one of the people who has made meditation mainstream. While I generally don’t like words like ‘mainstream’ and ‘conformity’, anything that makes h…