Because I've been studying dreams since I was a boy, every now and then I think it's time for me to write my own book about dreams. But each time that happens I immediately think of psychologist Robert L. Van de Castle’s monumental book, Our Dreaming Mind and I discard the thought. It’s a book … Continue reading Dreams | Robert L. Van de Castle – Our Dreaming Mind |all you wanted to know about dreams and more
Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World
Given how insensitivity is running rampant around the world now, I think its time to take another look at the Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP. When I say running rampant, just look around you. People get promoted in corporations by being insensitive to those who get in their way. Others gain fame by trampling the … Continue reading Highly Sensitive People in an Insensitive World
Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Writing since the 1970s, Philip Zimbardo is one of the few psychologists who has devoted much of his career to shyness. In a Mar 31, 2016 post in Psychology Today, "The New Shyness -How virtual reality has made social Isolation more seductive than ever before", Zimbardo provided a very interesting update. He says shyness is … Continue reading Psychologist Philip Zimbardo’s warning about Incels and/or Shy Loners
Writing Fiction | Good and bad titles
One afternoon some years ago I was driving through the spring countryside with my 90 year-old mother when she announced that she had just finished reading my new novel, The Birdcatcher. That was no mean feat, given that she was already going blind and could only read with a small magnifier and her face almost … Continue reading Writing Fiction | Good and bad titles
Shyness | What does a loner know?
My perspective on shyness is different because it's the perspective of a loner. During my life I've often been called shy, sensitive, or introverted. But several people, at different times, have also told me that I was the most independent person they had ever met. Well, that strong independence is genetic. It's common on both … Continue reading Shyness | What does a loner know?
Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
When I was a boy, I was intensely shy, more avoidant than anyone else I met then in any of the schools I attended. No one in the working-class neighborhood of the North-American steel town where I grew up had heard of 'autism', but my behavior fit autism pretty well. If I got myself assessed … Continue reading Shyness vs Everything else |the problem with diagnoses
Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
The above refers to a Feb 28/2018 “Best of BBC Future” post by Christine Ro. After acknowledging that there has been a lot of research into the negative psychological effects of 'social isolation' (for example, the Royal College of General Practicioners in the UK say that research has found loneliness to have a risk level … Continue reading Rescuing Shyness|Why being a loner may be good for your health
Are you an introvert and an extrovert?
In my book The Shyness Guide, I've written about C.G. Jung's different conception of 'introvert/extrovert' - different, that is, from the view of most people today. In his 1921 book Psychological Types, he proposed that there are four principal functions: Two perceiving functions: Sensation and Intuition Two judging functions: Thinking and Feeling We … Continue reading Are you an introvert and an extrovert?
Homo Selfish|C. J. Meyer and A World Undone
Throughout my life I've been mildly sceptical of this almost universal belief that Homo sapiens is a true social animal. Even primitive humans are always depicted as living in tribes, not in small families or alone. But there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. Sometimes where you don't expect it. For example, recently … Continue reading Homo Selfish|C. J. Meyer and A World Undone
Alan Conrad 