Pursuing the Excellent Life

Ideas, values, and living life well

Nov. 14, 2022

Dealing with Moral Dilemmas

You’re going to face moral dilemmas. They’re inevitable and they’re hard to deal with. In this Live Well and Flourish article, practical philosopher Dr. Andrea Christelle and Dr. Craig Van Slyke share insights on how to deal with m…

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Nov. 11, 2022

Moral Dilemmas

Sometimes life brings us a decision for which there is no clear moral choice. In this article, practical philosopher Dr. Andrea Christelle, co-founder of Sedona Philosophy Experience and Dr. Craig Van Slyke discuss moral dilemmas -- what makes them …

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Nov. 2, 2022

COVID and Me

  Well, I finally got COVID, or should I say COVID finally got me. In this article, I discuss some things I learned from my thankfully brief bout with COVID.   Despite being fully vaccinated and trying to be reasonably careful, COVID fi…

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July 30, 2022

In Times of Trouble - Understanding Control to Deal with Adversity

  In this article I talk about how you can deal with difficult times by understanding Stoicism’s main tenet, that some things are in your control, and other things are not. Also, I relate a very personal story of a challenging time in th…

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July 6, 2022

Taking Control Of Your Life

Humans are hardwired with a desire for control. In fact, one well-established view contends that the desire for control is the basic motivation for all other motives, emotions, cognitions, and social behaviors. We evolved to derive benefits from a s…

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June 22, 2022

Risks and Benefits of Generalizations

Despite my goal of being a good Stoic, two phrases that are commonly-used in online debates “OK boomer” and “snowflake generation,” usually raise my blood pressure. By the way, I know that many online forums are a cesspool of…

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June 8, 2022

The Cage of Your Assumptions

 Many years ago, and I mean MANY years ago, I was in junior high and had a massive crush on a cheerleader. At the end of the basketball season, the coach threw a party for the team. We were allowed to invite dates, which was a very big deal. Ev…

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Aug. 24, 2021

Birds don’t just fly, they hop a lot too

No person ever steps in the same river twice, because it’s not the same river, and it’s not the same person. –Heraclitus   Recently I met Trudie Jackson, the first transgender candidate to run for President of the Navajo Nat…

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July 30, 2021

Living Between the Drought and the Deluge

[Note: This essay was originally written for the Flagstaff Business News. Monsoon comes in the summer in the desert southwest of the United States. It’s a pretty amazing time.] As I write this, we are well into the monsoon season, which for m…

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July 22, 2021

The Joy of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, a time for families and football. Many families have a tradition in which each family member stands up and declares their thankfulness for something. While such traditions are great, thankfulness or gratitude sho…

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