Category Archives: All
Human Sexuality Defined
Human Sexuality Defined Ever since I started writing about human sexuality I realized that a lot of people really don’t even know what sexuality and orientation mean and how to use those terms. I think that one of the biggest … Continue reading
Posted in All, LGBT
Tagged *See All Posts, Choice, Conversion Therapy, Equality, Gay, Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, Lesbian, LGBT, Love, No Choice, Parenting Advice, Sex, Transgender
Alone In The Dark
Alone In The Dark: Why Children Commit Suicide and How to Prevent It From the year 2000 to the year 2014, more than 530,000 Americans committed suicide. By the end of 2014 alone, the number of Americans of all genders … Continue reading
The Middle Way and the Turning of the Wheel
The Middle Way and the Turning of the Wheel: A Brief Examination of Buddhism I began reading about Buddhism and its three main branches of traditions and the many lineages and schools of thought within each, when I was only … Continue reading
Posted in All, Atheism, Religion and Spirituality
Tagged *See All Posts, 14th Dalai Lama, Ashtamangala, Auspicious, Buddha, Buddhism, Dharma Wheel, Diamond Sutra, Ego, Eight-Fold Path, Four Noble Truths, Heart Sutra, Inspiration, Koan, Lotus Sutra, Mahayana, Mala, Mantra, Meditation, Nichiren, Pali Canon, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Samsara, School of the Elders, Shambhala, Siddhartha Gautama, Spirituality, Tenzin Gyatso, The Great Vehicle, Theravada, Thich Nhat Hanh, Tibetan, Truth, Vajrayana, Zen
Identity Politics and the Slow Death of the American Moral Landscape
Identity Politics and the Slow Death of the American Moral Landscape I used to watch Fox News, and then I switched to CNN, and then I stopped watching network channels for daily news and commentary because they are all so … Continue reading
Posted in All, Kephen's Commentary, Politics
Tagged *See All Posts, Abortion, America, American Dream, Belief, Compromise, Confirmation Bias, Conservative, Counter-Evidence, Democrat, Divided States, Division, Donald Trump, Ego, Emotions, Evidence, Facts, FMRI, Identity Politics, Immigration, In-Group, Left, Left-Wing, Liberal, Moral Landscape, Neurology, News Media, Opinion, Out-Group, Political Duality, Political Party, Politically Bias, Politics, Republican, Right, Right-Wing, Selfish, Silo Effect, Social Media, Tribalism, Truth
The Thousand Year Journey Jedidiah Jenkins offers up some inspiring wisdom for those of us seeking deeper meaning in life: You can follow Jedidiah on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jedidiahjenkins/
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August 22, 2017
Tagged *See All Posts, Awareness, Courage, Explore, Fun, Happiness, Healing, Health, Inspiration, Introspective, Joy, Learn, Lessons on Living, Meaning, Mindfulness, Nature, Travel, Wander, Wisdom
His Empty Soul
His Empty Soul: How to Heal a Broken Man There are only a few things every man needs in his life to feel as though he’s living the most fulfilled life that he can. The first critical … Continue reading
Posted in All, Depression and Suicide, Fitness, Human Condition, Miscellaneous
Tagged *See All Posts, Broken, Brotherhood, Emptiness, Empty, Fellowship, Fitness, Healing, Health, Inspiration, Male Bonding, Meaning, Mental Health, Pack Mentality, Philosophy, Purpose, Truth
The Choice That Never Was
The Choice That Never Was I wanted to believe that my work of writing about this topic had since passed and that I would never again have to write in defense of it, of us, of the nature of … Continue reading
Posted in All, Depression and Suicide, LGBT, Politics
Tagged *See All Posts, Choice, Conversion Therapy, Depression, Gay, Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, Lesbian, LGBT, Mental Health, No Choice, Politics, Suicide, Truth
No Arrival, No Destination, Just Being
No Arrival, No Destination, Just Being From Thich Nhat Hanh, the venerable Vietnamese monk who strives to live and spread the teachings of Siddartha Gautama, I’ve learned this simple lesson: There should be no coming, no going, just being. More … Continue reading
Posted in All, Atheism, Religion and Spirituality, Human Condition
Tagged *See All Posts, Alone, Awareness, Buddhism, Explore, Inspiration, Learn, Lonely, Meditation, Mindfulness, Nature, Peace, Philosophy, Spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh, Truth, Wander, Zen
Respect For Living Things
Respect For Living Things Not every good person makes good choices. I spent my childhood obsessively learning about animals, my family can attest to that. When I borrowed books from the library, the overwhelming odds guaranteed that it was animal … Continue reading
Posted in All, Environment
Tagged *See All Posts, Animals, Conservation, Endangered, Environment, Extinct, Inspiration, Nature, Preservation, Protection, Respect, Science
Abortion, Abstinence, Abuse, Birth Control, Teen Sex, and Unwanted Pregnancy
Abortion, Abstinence, Abuse, Birth Control, Teen Sex, and Unwanted Pregnancy One in every five American teens lives in poverty. Abuse, poverty and a lack of opportunity plays an important role in not only teen pregnancy, but also unwanted pregnancies in … Continue reading
Posted in All, Depression and Suicide, Human Condition, Miscellaneous, Politics
Tagged *See All Posts, Abortion, Abstinence, Abuse, America, Data, Opportunity, Poverty, Pregnancy, Sex, Sources, Statistics, Teen, United States
The Algorithm Specs Behind Facebook’s “People You May Know” Suggestions
The Algorithm Specs Behind Facebook’s “People You May Know” Suggestions We’ve all seen it, that horizontal scroll pane in our Facebook news feed titled People You May Know. I’ve always found it odd why it would list people I have … Continue reading
Posted in All, Kephen's Commentary, Miscellaneous, Technology
Tagged *See All Posts, Algorithm, Facebook, GPS Location, IP Address, Mutual Friends, Online Privacy, Online Stalking, People You May Know
The Darkest Corners of the Cyber World: Sexual Predation and Exploitation
The Darkest Corners of the Cyber World: Sexual Predation and Exploitation Sexual predation and exploitation is the topic of this article, more specifically it’s about catfish who use social media and social apps to seduce and trick young men and … Continue reading
Posted in All, Human Condition, Kephen's Commentary, Miscellaneous, Technology
Tagged *See All Posts, Apps, Baiting, Catfish, Facebook, FaceTime, Instagram, Kik, MeetMe, Omegle, Online Safety, Parenting Advice, Sextortion, Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Predation, Sexual Predator, Snapchat, Social Applications, Social Media Sites, Straight Baiting
Freckles: Chapter Seventeen
“Hey what the hell happened, are you okay?!?!” The man shouted at me. “Help! There was an accident, my buddy is in bad shape, he’s not moving and I can’t find a pulse, please help us!” I cried out. He … Continue reading
Posted in All
Tagged *See All Posts, Fun, Inspiration, LGBT, Love
Everywhere You Go, There You Are
Everywhere You Go, There You Are A decade ago my mind was in a very dark place. In this darkness I looked for the light, even the tiniest little bit of hope that my suffering had an ending and perhaps … Continue reading
Words To Live By Check out the video in the link at the end of this post and then read the article posted on OutsideOnline, a website operated by Outside Magazine. I’m sharing this because as a 4 minute video, … Continue reading
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April 16, 2017
Tagged *See All Posts, Hope, Inspiration, Lessons on Living, Philosophy, Travel, Truth, Wisdom
Transgender in America
Transgender in America In 2011 a survey conducted by famed demographer Gary Gates, for the Williams Institute under the U.C.L.A. School of Law, found that more than 700,000 American adults identified as transgender. His follow-up survey published in June, 2016, … Continue reading
Posted in All, LGBT
Tagged *See All Posts, Cisgender, FTM, International Transgender Day Of Visibility, LGBT, MTF, TDOV, Transgender, Transgender In Sports, Transman, Transwoman
On Faith and Fallacy: My Journey Out Of Christianity
On Faith and Fallacy Some 10 years ago, at a time when my mind was still clouded with fantasy, I had the belief that only through faith could moral, ethical, and compassionate behavior be made manifest. That quintessentially, only through … Continue reading
Posted in All, Atheism, Religion and Spirituality, God
Tagged *See All Posts, Abrahamic, Atheism, Buddha, Buddhism, Chaplain, Christianity, Convert, Deity, Divine, Evidence, Faith, God, Islam, Judaism, Logic, Mahayana, Minister, Monastery, Monkey, Nature, Nichiren, Occult, Ordination, Paganism, Pantheism, Pantheist, Priesthood, Proselytize, Reason, Reborn, Religion, Sacred, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Science, Seminary, Siddhartha Gautama, Spiritual Advisor, Spirituality, Taoism, Taoist, Tenzin Gyatso, Theravada, Thich Nhat Hanh, Tibetan, Truth, Vajrayana, Worship, Zen
The Wall, Illegal Immigration, and the U.S. – Mexican Border
Photo credit: Mike Blake/Reuters The Wall, Illegal Immigration, and the U.S. – Mexican Border The U.S. and Mexican border is 1,954 miles long. As of last year the U.S. only had enough border patrol agents to securely patrol half the … Continue reading
Posted in All, Human Condition, Kephen's Commentary, Politics
Tagged *See All Posts, Arizona, Asylum, Bluebird Pass, Brooks County, Central America, Colombia, Customs and Border Protection, Darien Gap, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Detention Centers, Donald Trump, El Salvador, FARC, Green Card, Guatemala, Gulf Cartel, Honduras, Human Rights, Illegal Immigrants, Immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Immigration Court, Immigration Reform, Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, Mexico, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Panama, Pima County, Politics, President Trump, Rio Grande, Secure Fence Act, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereca, Sonoran Desert, South America, Texas, The Devil's Highway, The Wall, Truth, Tuscon, U.S. and Mexican Border, U.S. Border Patrol, Visa, Yuma
Abortion
January 30, 2017 Abortion. A touchy subject. I used to be against it. Then I supported it. Then I stopped listening to everyone else’s opinions and listened to science. We still know so little about the human brain… what we … Continue reading
Posted in All, Atheism, Religion and Spirituality, Human Condition, Politics
Tagged *See All Posts, Abortion, Ethics, Human Rights, Morals, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life
My Criticisms of President Trump and his Administration
My Criticisms of President Trump and his Administration If one does not find issue with the current state of our nation, if someone believes that things are going great, if anyone thinks we’re off to a good start, then I … Continue reading
Posted in All, Politics
Tagged Alt Right, Criticisms, Economy, Fascism, Healthcare, International Trade, National Security, Nationalism, Politics, President Trump, Racism, Trump Administration
Donald Trump’s Travel Ban
Donald Trump’s Travel Ban President Trump’s travel ban on foreign born people’s coming into the U.S. does not make America safer. If anything, it will only illicit more hatred by those who were previously on the fence. Whether it’s the … Continue reading
Posted in All, Politics
Tagged Donald Trump, Executive Order, Green Card, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Middle East, President Trump, Refugee Crisis, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Travel Ban, Trump Administration, Visa, Yemen
A Son of the South Speaks
[Co-authored by John Jarcobi and Kephen Merancis, editing by Kephen Merancis] A Son of the South Speaks I’m a twenty-three year old, white, Presbyterian who was born and raised in Largo, Florida, then moved to Missouri when I was a … Continue reading
Never Fall Silent
Never Fall Silent As we are graced with a new leader who believes members of the LGBT should not be treated equally and has promised to do whatever he can to undo the progress we have made, I think back … Continue reading
Posted in All, Depression and Suicide, Human Condition, LGBT, Politics
Tagged Courage, Donald Trump, Equal Rights, Equality, Hope, LGBT, Make Your Voice Heard, Presidential Election, Unity
Lotus in a Lake of Fire
Photo credit: Kelvin Cheuk Lotus in a Lake of Fire: Honoring Thich Nhat Hanh Thich Nhat Hanh, pronounced Tik-N’yat-Hawn, is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. I stumbled across him when studying Buddhism about ten or so years ago. Over time … Continue reading
Nationalism and Police Brutality: The Deafening Sound of Ignorance
“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established… It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The … Continue reading →