Whether we think of certain concepts as tools or technology (see Peter Hershock on this distinction; a discussion of it can be found here), concepts allow us to see and do things we couldn’t without them. The concept of mental health is much more than simply the modifier “mental” to the preexisting concept of bodily health. Mental health comes with a number of assumptions and values that inform how we see persons and evaluate their well-being, who is responsible for…
Quite representatively of popular Zen writings and teachings, Sobun Katherine Thanas is recorded, in her The Truth of This Life: Zen Teaching on Loving the World as It Is, as saying: I’ve been thinking with renewed interest how difficult it is to see or hear clearly. Settling the mind allows us to see things as they really are, relatively free of emotional or intellectual biases. Clear seeing may not happen the first time we sit, but maybe it will. Our…
How do you feel? –What did I just ask you? “Feel” is like many/most words, i.e., we usually use it without thinking and its meanings are many and varied. I might ask you how you feel in regard to your physical health—the answer, “I feel good; the pain in my ankle has gone away.” I might ask how you feel in regard to life/mental health—the answer, “I feel kind of down these days; I can’t quite place it.” I might…