Addiction and the Jesuit’s influence to the 12-Steps of Alcoholic Anonymous

Just an update: this week, we are in a one-week module tackling addiction. This Monday morning, we talked about it in general: substances (e.g. drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes), and processes (e.g. gambling). Contextualized to our situation, we will talk about what contemporary young religious (I mean consecrated sisters and brothers) are being hooked into aside from smoking and drinking: the internet and, believe it or not, pornography. Continue reading →

The effect of seating in the back row

While observing a high school class, I noticed students sitting in the back row looking somewhere else, some staring outside, some with heads bowed down, as if they were wishing that they were at home or in the mall. They’re not focusing in the class and they are probably spending more time daydreaming and not participating in their recitation. I’m now saying that daydreaming is not good but if this occurs more often, then it’s not helping their studies.

They remind me of my younger self in high school. With an above average height and with a surname near the end of the alphabet, teachers always arrange my seat either beside the wall or beside the window, always in the back row, sometimes near the trash can.

I heard from one of my college professors before that those students who usually seat in the back row are more likely to suffer from inferiority complex. I hope teachers will be aware of what’s happening in the minds of those seating in the back row and I hope they’ll consider to shuffle the seating arrangements more often.

To the readers, did you share the same fate of seating in the back row? Did you enjoy it?

Forgive before you sleep

There is a study that proves the negative effect of sleeping while in a state of anger. Before I’ve known about the study, I’m already practicing the habit that I call as never-go-to-sleep-angry method. Before I go to bed, I leave unwanted feelings by relaxing first like controlling my breathing or taking a bath, then I tell myself some comforting statements like these:

“They just don’t understand me.”

“To be great is to be misunderstood.”

“To understand all is to forgive all.”

And a lot more. For as long as the words are comforting to me, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t fit in the context why I became angry.

You can only do that if you have forgiven yourself first. Never go to bed with a heavy heart. Cast them away first and leave them behind. Forgive yourself and others as well before going to sleep.