I sometimes introduce myself as YodaNinja. "Yoda on the outside, Ninja on the inside." Outside, I seem calm and composed. When I speak (or write), what I say can be profound, perplexing... or both. But my inner world is another story. Deep inside of me is a Ninja battleground where thoughts, emotions, ideas, and utter randomness all fight for my attention. Every once in a while, they actually cooperate and I have to say, I'm deadly. But then they go at it again... and "Everybody is Kung Fu fighting." I'm a dad, a husband and a guy whose mind has a mind of it's own. My recovery from my addiction to numbing myself (with pretty much anything I can get my hands on) is a lifelong journey. I live with depression, anxiety and adhd... and sometimes they don't get along very well with my family, or with the rest of my life. Professionaly, I make my living as a Counselling Therapist in Edmonton, Canada. I teach on addiction and psychopathology at City University, and I have a small counselling practice where I use superheroes and other geeky stuff to help people make peace with their own personal YodaNinja. This blog is part of my healing and writing keeps me grounded. I hope that something I have written may add a little bit to your journey. Keep it Real
Exercise: take once per day and follow directions. Avoid doing it while driving. For best results, do not mix with alcohol or drugs. Some soreness is expected, avoid if pain persists. Take it when you feel up, take it when you feel down as expected results depend on consistency. Ignore the recommendations of the stupid … More A prescription that could change you
Weight loss? Just saying the word sounds a little depressing. Who wants to invest so much energy and attention to lose something? Most of us spend our lives avoiding loss: we frantically search for misplaced keys, we are overjoyed when we find lost change in the crumby corners of the couch and we have … More Stop Losing Weight and Start Gaining a Life – Part One
“Do what you love and you won’t work a day in your life” is a popular and pretty stupid motto. I think it was written by someone who was either high or who was trying to sell some books… or by someone who was high while trying to sell books. (I am opting for the … More Things you can do when you are stuck [in your job] 2.0… Or how some jobs should be like a one night stand.
Most days I like my job. Usually my job is challenging and I learn things about myself and other people, and I feel that I am helping people to improve other people’s lives. Some days though, I hit a rut and lose focus. Those days I fantasize about I would like really like to be … More Things you can do when you are stuck [in your job] 1.0.
Sometimes life sucks, bad. There are different kinds of suckiness that I have discovered personally: There are the weekly suck days: Mondays… getting back to traffic, making lunches, getting kids up and tackling email inboxes and a pot of coffee. Seasonal suckiness: January in Canada is not the funnest place to be. Snowstorms, -35 degrees … More Life can suck sometimes
Originally posted on shabnamphoto:
Are we all living in the giant dark energy of the void? For the moment this quote from Ezra Pound says it better than any attempt I make to explain what it means to be living in the null and void. I must admit though, that I have little knowledge of…
Originally posted on Living, Loving, Laughing….:
I know I am not the perfect step-in parent for your children. I make mistakes. I misjudge. I get frustrated, confused, and conflicted. It’s a tight wire balance of being too close and being too far. I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. And yet, I sometimes lose track…
Originally posted on Good Songs I've Heard Today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoTWQyxZyuk&feature=youtu.be Rah Rah – Prairie Girl From the album “The Poet’s Dead” http://www.rahrahband.com http://www.hiddenpony.ca http://www.devilduckrecords.de Directed by Jan Steffens http://www.yeahimakemovies.com
Bono once told an interviewer that the thing that keeps him on his knees is the difference between Grace and Karma. Karma is when my kids eat all of the ice cream when I told them not to, then later at McDonalds there are only enough French Fries for me (well, that is usually how … More Grace or Karma?
Mind Blowing
Getting High on Recovery 