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Changing not the world

By Dave English

This is what great pilots share with artists, and monks and mystics. The heightened perception, the fascination with flight, eventually turns into an aeronautical superpower. The great pilot sees things and corrects before the average pilot ever knows anything is amiss. The desire of monks and mystics is not unlike that of artists: to perceive the extraordinary within the ordinary by changing not the world but the eyes that look. Within a summoned and hybrid awareness, the inner reaches out to transform the outer, and the outer reaches back to transform the one who sees. Catherine of Sienna wrote in … Continue reading Changing not the world

Go beyond happy

By Dave English

Scientifically studying how humans get to be and stay happy is one of modern psychology’s success stories. Positive psychology, with its insights into pleasure and achievement, has benefited millions. But there should be  more to life than happy. And this new powerful book, The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters, by Emily Esfahani Smith (2017), is a gateway to getting there. Moving beyond a happy life to a meaningful life. It’s a very readable story, which considering the serious ground it covers, citing loads of scientific studies as well as ‘heavy hitters’ like Buddha, Kant, Aristotle and Viktor Frankl, is … Continue reading Go beyond happy

What will you sacrifice?

By Dave English

Newall Hunter is a 53-year-old communications contractor and IT engineer, who has climbed 7 of the world’s highest peaks and trekked to both poles. He gets honest about what it takes in this Red Bulletin magazine article. What will you give up to do what you really want? “If it doesn’t feel right, you should turn around. You can come back and do it again. If you get it wrong, you won’t be coming back.” It’s cool to post inspirational memes. And any of us can be the best pilots of old-rental aircraft or in our employers planes — but … Continue reading What will you sacrifice?