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
Theme parks are fun, but you can’t live in a theme park. If you find a way to bring your themes home, that will change your life. “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you to follow your dreams. Following my dreams led to years of frustration and dead-ends. My life improved when I gave up on my dreams.“ From “Why … More The 9 Themes that will Change Your Life
Don’t listen to anyone who tells you to follow your dreams. Following my dreams led to years of frustration and dead-ends. My life improved when I gave up on my dreams. ___ Big Dreams are for Disney Dreams are important, but if you have more than one dream they compete with each other. I call this dream-jousting. My … More Why “Follow your Dreams” is Terrible Advice
My son and I were out for a walk last night and he asked me a question that grabbed me. The question seemed simple, but it tugged at something deep in my soul. “Dad, why do most countries end in An: American, Canadian, European, Indian, African.” I had never thought about that before. ___ The question stopped … More An Earth Shattering Question
Are you a Yoda leader? ––– A Yoda leader is Quiet on the outside and Ninja-like on the inside, calm but always thinking and planning. We may look quiet, but inside we are practicing Matrix Ninja moves: plotting takeovers, analyzing, writing novels, participating in campaigns and making a ruckus. You may look at … More 19 Ways That Quiet Leaders are Like Yoda
My family bought a camping trailer and it made me feel young again. It’s like your big brother is right behind you making awkward noises, staring at you in the mirror and ready to flatten you if you do something stupid. __ People say that they love having a trailer, it makes you feel more alive. … More 13 Things I Learned from Buying a Camping Trailer
Sean Swaby says Independence Day isn’t a date on the calendar. It’s an amazing, adventurous time of life. —— Forget July 4th. Being midlife is the real Independence Day. I am almost 49 and I have experienced all of what we are told that midlife is supposed to be: mid-life crisis, mid-crisis life, half way … More Midlife: Welcome to Your Independence Day!
Citydumb (Sity-dum) is on the rise. Citydumb is a communicable disease that creates dis/ease. It occurs when individuals, groups or an entire society lacks exposure to commonsense, nature and hard work. It intensifies when combined with WiFi. Rick Grimes is baffled by Citydumb. “Whatever it is” he says, “we are all infected. We all carry it.” How to know … More Citydumb: Rick Grimes says “We are all infected, we all carry it.”
Follow your dreams is terrible advice. Don’t do it. Following my dreams led me to years of frustration and dead-ends. My life improved when I gave up on my dreams. Big Dreams are for Disney If I followed my dreams, I would be a career writer, travelling the world and talking about my books. But … More Follow your Dreams is Terrible Advice
Hash Use Epidemic among Elementary Children. Got your attention? Now how about this: #hash use #epidemic among #elementary children Using Hash may improve your communication. Eating Hash When I grew up, my family ate Hash for supper. Hash combines leftovers and a few new ingredients to make something old taste better. Today we call it Fusion and … More Why I am an advocate of Hash use
Canada Day 2015: we celebrate the National Department of Photoshopping. Canada is known for many things: Hockey, cold weather, a Beer Pipeline and also for Photoshopping our natural beauty and our interstellar assets. First off, we wanted to let you know that we are not sorry for Photoshopping ourselves. We admit that it is unusual for Canada … More Canada Day 2015: We’re sorry, but we have photoshopped our country
Getting High on Recovery 