Our subconscious minds look out for us. At least they try to. They take signals from the environment and, in response, predispose our behaviours, our aversions and our preferences. For example, you are bitten by a dog (the signal) and thereafter you avoid dogs (the predisposition). Sure, there is a conscious element to this. I now know that dogs bite so I choose to avoid dogs – common sense. But it goes beyond this because there is an emotional response involved. Because I ha

There is to be no cosmic comeuppance for those who are arrogant and malevolent. There is to be no divine retribution or redress for their victims. There will be no final judgement at which time all will be set right. What can one do in the face of such injustice? ANOTHER HARD TRUTH This, sadly, is the real law of karma, the weak are predisposed to wither and be swept out of existence and the strong are destined to flourish and gain dominion. Remember Matthew 25:29 from our pr

In the last post we continued our discussion of the human dominance hierarchy and in this post we will examine strategies and techniques for improving our position with regard to it, or at least not allowing ourselves to be crushed by it. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION Low or insecure social status is linked to anxiety and depression and these millstones do nothing to help you improve your position – quite the reverse. The self-fulfilling nature of the dominance hierarchy dynamic mea

In the last post we looked at Peterson’s conception of the human dominance hierarchy – a kind of ladder of social status, with winners at the top (the rich, powerful and famous) and the losers at the bottom (the deprived underclasses). We noted the tendency for one’s direction of travel on this ladder to be reinforced, whether you are going up or down i.e. You win - you feel like a winner – so you’re more likely to win again or You lose - your confidence is shaken – so you’re