Choosing to be happy, virtual reality therapy and Empire Strikes Back…all in this episode of the Reading List.
Can You Choose To Be Happy?
By Rebekah Fraser
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Can we choose to be happy? I believe we can, but finding the answer is much more complicated than just telling yourself to be happy.
Rebekah kicks out some great ideas and reminders for what it takes to put yourself in a state of mind that invites happiness in.
It’s easy to forget that how you feel is a choice you make. This morning, for example, I awoke feeling grumpy, annoyed, and sorry for myself. There was no reason for this that I could think of, so I asked myself, “Why am I upset?” I repeated the question over and over as I went about my morning routine, and then thought up reasons why I might be irritable. After a few minutes, I realized what I had done. Well, would you look at that. I started searching for reasons to be upset, and lo-and-behold I found some! I even dredged up a few old reasons. I think I’ll try looking for reasons to feel good. I really want to feel good today. I want to have fun and feel great.
Virtual Reality as a Therapy Tool
By Amy Westervelt
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A must read. The future is here and it’s not all doom and gloom. Some technology is going to enrich lives in a way we’ve never contemplated before.
The use of immersive virtual reality in mental-health treatment—placing patients in various simulated situations designed to help them deal with their difficulties—has been booming over the past two decades. Therapists, school counselors and even the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have adopted the technology in the treatment of everything from phobias to depression to substance abuse.
Six Things I Learned from The Empire Strikes Back
By Erin Lindsey
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I mean, Empire Strikes Back, how could I not include this article? I have, what you could call, an obsession with taking life lessons away from this movie. If you don’t believe me read here, here and here.
So when I ran across this article about learning from Empire I was pretty pumped. My favorite thing she learned from the movie was the concept of good vs. evil being less defined than we’d like to think:
But in The Empire Strikes Back, this black-and-white conflict quickly starts to acquire shades of grey, and one of the central themes of the trilogy—that good is constantly in danger of being corrupted—takes centre stage. Luke is no longer just a hero seeking to thwart evil; he’s in danger of becoming evil himself. And even if he doesn’t quite embrace the Dark Side and give it a big sloppy kiss, he’s definitely doing some flirting when his temper gets the better of him. Suddenly, it’s not just our heroes’ lives in danger, but their very souls. And failure looms larger than ever, because even winning (defeating Vader) might mean losing (being seduced by the Dark Side).
See you next week. And for all those parents who haven’t watched Star Wars with their kids (you know who you are…and yes I am pointing at you!) get on it! 🙂
Why a Reading List? I do a good amount of reading and I‘m constantly finding articles which are informative, entertaining and applicable to my private practice. Instead of hoarding this information to myself, I’ve decided to begin sharing the articles and pull quotes on a semi-regular basis.