The Official Website of Michael Corthell

  The emotion of love is more than a feeling, it is more a state of awareness  —  the realization that all is one .

  Not only is there a right and wrong, but what goes around does come around, Karma is real, chickens do come home to roost, and there is always a day of reckoning. The wise understand that every choice we make adds to the strength or weakness of our spirits. Every unkind act diminishes us, and every kind act lifts us. Karma is how the Universe balances itself . And we are all, along with all there is, one with the Universe.     

by Michael Corthell 'Karma' is a Sanskrit word meaning 'act', 'action', or 'word'. The law of karma teaches us that all of our thoughts, words and actions begin a chain of cause and effect , and that we will personally experience the effects of everything we cause. We may not experience the effect (the returning karma) right away, but you can count on it happening. Karma is a cosmic, immutable law, which means that it applies to everyone, everywhere, all the time. Ralph Waldo Emerson had much to say about this law, and in fact he describes the law of cause and effect as the law of laws . In a narrower sense, Karma is a theological concept found in the Buddhist and Hindu religions. It is the idea that how you live your life will determine the quality of life you will have after reincarnation. If you are unselfish, kind, and holy during this lifetime, you will be rewarded by being reincarnated (reborn into a new earthly body) into a pleasant l...

“Enthusiasm is a supernatural serenity.” ― Henry David Thoreau Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich” said the following: “Enthusiasm is a state of mind that inspires and arouses one to put action into the task at hand . . . Enthusiasm bears the same relationship to a human being that steam does to the locomotive – it is the vital moving force that impels action.”

“Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution the time will come when medicine will organize itself into an undercover dictatorship. To restrict the art of healing to doctors and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic.” ― Benjamin Rush , a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and a civic leader in Philadelphia. The American people should be asking why they can't have the same level of healthcare, for the same cost, as other countries that have similar resources. The answer is easy to understand, by the way: it is the absence of the basic public health insurance that citizens of most other countries take for granted.

There is one reason for telling the truth -- it's the right thing to do, but for lying the reasons are infinite, with almost all the reasons self-serving -- that's why lying is a corrupt politician's go-to tactic. “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.” ― Theodore Roosevelt  

We're all learners, all the time. It's just we're a different kind each day. We think, 'I'm not student today. I've learned my lesson. I was a learner yesterday but not this morning'. Then tomorrow we find out that, yes, we were a learner today too. I think the only way we can grow and get on in this world is to accept the fact we're not perfect and live accordingly...don't you? “Yesterday is but a dream, Tomorrow is only a vision.  But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,  and every tomorrow a vision of hope.” ― Kālidāsa

  The morning that started out as a complete mess was turned around by....a SMILE. We can’t always control what happens to us, but slapping a smile on our mugs can definitely change our internal and external experiences. "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,  but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." — Thich Nhat Hanh

Let's try this: If you have  never  changed your mind about some fundamental thing in your belief system, if you have never  questioned  it's basics, and if you have  no wish  to do so, then you are very likely ignorant. How about going out and finding someone who,  in your opinion , believes, assumes, or considers certain things very strongly and very differently from what you believe. Then just have a basic honest conversation. That is how we can all build positive tolerance and unify.  

  If you are positive, positive things will find you.  I submit to you again that all futures are created by thoughts. And that the foundation of all happiness is faith. A happy life is also a healthy life. None of us will ever be perfectly healthy, but we can seek our personal  optimal level of health.  If we can accept the premise that our minds can create illness, it would naturally follow that we can also create wellness. And therein lies a most powerful truth about healing.  Have faith, be positive about your future and create it.

We can't escape the idea that, in general, people commonly use false moral standards judge their own behavior. Most people seek success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, but at the same time,  to be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a moral disgrace.

Yearning to do good, to do better starts with an inspired vision.  When people can see it in their mind’s eye and hold a vision before them of what is possible for the future, it inspires them to take action. It gives them a goal to work towards. It gives meaning to their daily actions. It helps them stay the course, especially when they need it most.  Inspiring a shared vision requires our leaders to be thoughtful visionaries who engage others in creating a shared future. 

Book except from Madeleine K. Albright's Fascism: A Warning We cannot, of course, expect every leader to possess the wisdom of Lincoln or Mandela’s largeness of soul. But when we think about what questions might be most useful to ask, perhaps we should begin by discerning what our prospective leaders believe it worthwhile for us to hear. Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed or party as unworthy of dignity and respect? Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances and set our sights on revenge? Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process? Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy, such as an independent press, and a professional judiciary? Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism, the flag, the pledge in a conscious effort to turn us against one another? If defeated at the pol...

All of us need just three things in life to be truly happy:  Someone to love Something to do  Something to hope for.... let's just do this, shall we?

If you want to achieve your dreams and take steps to achieve your life goals, then commitment is the key to help you get there. If you believe you can reach your goals and have the commitment and self-confidence to expand that belief, anything is possible.

So, you don't like the way your life is going, or you love it so far? Our lives seem to be a series of events and accidents. But if you look back you will see a pattern. Find out what that pattern is, and you can change your future hopefully for the better [or maintain it].

  When considering the question of whether or not someone is an autocrat, dictator wannabe, it would be good to remember that Joseph Stalin , Benito Mussolini , and Adolf Hitler all took great care in always saying the opposite of what they did, and do the opposite of what they said. This is the mark of a psychopath who becomes head of a nation (or an organization). History is full of tales and stories to narrate how powerful men exploited their authority and power to inflict misery and suffering on others. While some leaders used ruthless ways to capture cities and gain control over states, others simply derived sadistic satisfaction in torturing and abusing people. As you read the accounts of the following people who abused their authority by abusing humankind, it might dawn on you why we must never accept a lying psychopath as head of state. Here's a list of psychopathic leaders who used the most dreaded and brutal methods in history to torture their people: Full Article  ...

We know that our enemies will mistreat us, acting in unkind ways. We guard against being disrespected and shield ourselves against hateful words that are thrown at us like rocks — that’s what our enemies do, they try to hurt us. We are sometimes caught off guard by the actions of our enemies, but these actions are never unexpected. Our enemies wouldn’t be enemies if they were nice and supportive...right? Friends on the other hand, and by friends I mean all good people, are a different story all together. We expect them to do right, to have our backs. Otherwise good people often enable bullies and even seditionists to thrive by remaining silent in the face of the bad person's actions. It's either fear or apathy but the result is the same — silence is consent. Never forget that or this: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer * *  Dietrich Bonhoeffer   was arrested in Apr...

Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved.  Research suggests that conspiracist ideation—belief in conspiracy theories—can be psychologically harmful or pathological and that it is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia and Machiavellianism .  Psychologists attribute finding a conspiracy where there is none to a mental illness called illusory pattern perception .Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

False equivalence is a logical fallacy (a propaganda technique and a favorite of conmen/women) in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. In common speak, a false equivalence is often called "comparing apples and oranges". Thomas Patterson of the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University wrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the 2016 United States presidential election : ''False equivalencies are developing on a grand scale as a result of relentlessly negative news. If everything and everyone is portrayed negatively, there’s a leveling effect that opens the door to charlatans. The press historically has helped citizens recognize the difference between the earnest politician and the pretender. Today’s news coverage blurs the distinction.''

There is a real danger in democracy. It is the risk of the electorate being wrong about a candidate, and until now it wasn't an obvious risk (to many that is).  This mindset has been too prevalent in our era, ''My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge,'' and that has to change.

  “I've never understood America," said the king. "Neither do we, sir. You might say we have two governments, kind of overlapping. First we have the elected government. It's Democratic or Republican, doesn't make much difference, and then there's corporation government." "They get along together, these governments?" "Sometimes," said Tod. "I don't understand it myself. You see, the elected government pretends to be democratic, and actually it is autocratic. The corporation governments pretend to be autocratic and they're all the time accusing the others of socialism. They hate socialism." "So I have heard," said Pippin. "Well, here's the funny thing, sir. You take a big corporation in America, say like General Motors or Du Pont or U.S. Steel. The thing they're most afraid of is socialism, and at the same time they themselves are socialist states." The king sat bolt upright. "Please?...

Healthcare must shift to a prevention model.  The focus must be on positive diet and lifestyle changes. Healthcare systems must adopt a more preventative health approach based on the developing science behind the health benefits of plant-rich, nutrient-dense diets( 100% whole food plant based diet ) plus other lifestyle changes such as regular exercise and limiting stress.  After the pandemic, consumers will be more aware of the importance of their underlying health, and will increasingly understand that healthier food is needed to help support their natural defenses. With a much deeper understanding of nutrition , the global food industry must change immediately by offering a plant-based range of product options to support optimal human health. The healthcare industry can respond to this by promoting disease prevention. And, by the way, a healthy plant-based diet is good for the planet's health as well.

Seasons Change and So Do We by Michael Corthell Our first reaction to the unexpected change is usually quite negative. Feeling vulnerable and maybe even threatened, we can react badly.  In fact, we go through stages: Surprise (shock, wondering why this is happening to us.), Panic (how the changes will impact us and if we'll be able to handle them), and even Blame (we try to find safety and reassurance by shifting the blame to someone else). Bottom line ? We all need to know how to handle Change . ''Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.'' — Arnold Bennett What is the worst that can happen? Ask this question, then decide just how likely it is to happen. The next question is, ''How likely is it to happen?'' How much and what part of this change can you control? When change happens, figure out how if it's something you can control over, and just how much control you do ha...

  Concerning Incitement The Supreme Court has held that "advocacy of the use of force" is unprotected when it is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and is "likely to incite or produce such action". The Supreme Court has also held that speech is unprotected if it constitutes "fighting words". Fighting words, as defined by the Court, is speech that "tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace" by provoking a fight, so long as it is a "personally abusive word which, when addressed to the ordinary citizen, is, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction". “True threats of violence” that are directed at a person or group of persons that have the intent of placing the target at risk of bodily harm or death are generally unprotected.

Those seeking to take control a country and its citizens always utilize fraud and deception to carryout their sinister agenda. Intolerance is a foundation of fascism and tyranny. Opposition is first silenced, and then either imprisoned, or banished. This formula has happened over and over throughout human history. This process usually starts on a small scale, but then gains more and more momentum as the movement gains traction and the opposition is systematically eliminated. Intolerance is the number one tool used by fascists seeking to subjugate a population through the elimination of freedom. These power mad people take hypocrisy to new levels by openly appearing to preach tolerance while actively attempting to suppress those disagreeing with them. See: The Paradox of Tolerance for more information 

Is there a real difference? by Michael Corthell The paradox of tolerance states that if a society is tolerant without any limits, its ability to be tolerant is eventually co-opted or destroyed by the intolerant. Karl Popper described it as the seemingly paradoxical idea that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance. (see laws against hate speech ) Tolerance as defined by Dictionary.com says ''a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own; freedom from bigotry''.   Acceptance is defined in the same dictionary as ''favorable reception; approval; favor''. So we can see that there is a big difference between the two. Many don't like the word tolerance. There’s something about it that makes us think 'putting up with' or 'dealing with.' Saying, ''I’m tolerant of Islam,'' can be interpr...

''If a life event doesn't challenge you, it didn't change you.'' Adapting to Change The number one obstacle to positive changes is fear. Fear brought about moving out of our comfort zones. It boils down to the risk & reward equation. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. How about unexpected change? We need to prepare ahead of time. And the discipline to do that is the real challenge. It a lot like the necessity of home, auto and life insurance. The insurance of preparation for a changing and challenging life is the assurance that we will come out alright on the other side of any challenge to our comfy status quo. American is at a crossroads right now, undergoing a major existential crisis, however using the risk/reward formula we as a people can reap a fantastic reward by not only surviving it but from learning from it. What will that reward be (besides our continued freedom)? 

  ''...you know you can’t trust this President to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump. He’ll do it now. He’s done it before. He’ll do it for the next several months. He’ll do it in the election if he’s allowed to. This is why if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters and the truth matters . Otherwise, we are lost.'' __________________________________ Adam Schiff delivered an emotional closing statement on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at the Donald Trump Impeachment trial in the Senate. He called Donald Trump “dangerous” and criticized him for listening to Rudy Giuliani over US intelligence agencies. Adam Schiff: ''This brings me the last point I want to make tonight, which is, when we’re done, we believe that we will have made the case overwhelmingly of the President’s guilt. That is, he’s done what he’s charged with. He withheld the money. He w...

The events over the course of not only the past few days, but throughout the whole of our civilization's political history, highlight the danger of self serving politicians and their supporters. We all need to understand that some people, particularly public servants, will say all the right words at all the right times in order to get elected(especially to stay in power!). But in the end, we need to always judge their actions not their flowery intentions. It's actions, not words, that matter especially in keeping a Democratic Republic safe, secure and strong.

Michael Corthell The our whole nation and the world witnessed a gang of mostly Caucasian men breaking into the United States Capitol Building this week, primarily because they wrongly thought that the law belong to them only, and because many of us spent the Trump presidency thinking that Trump's true nature was either too ridiculous to fear, or would just pass and we'd get back to normal (we let our guard down).  But in the end, the saner, calmer majority, not the shrill voices of rebellion, remained standing and so did our Democracy.  This short moment of constitutional crisis should not lead us to forget or dismiss the extraordinary strength and eloquence  of our Constitution Republic, but it must heighten our resolve to more strongly safe guard our liberties. 

The devil tried to speak but was silenced. A burning, prideful (narcissism) banned him from heaven, though he once sat at God's right hand. In the end pride is the only true evil, and is the root of all sins. When he was finally allowed to speak his heart he replied, ''Pride is all I have.''

''The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.'' ― Abraham Lincoln ____________________________________ Gettysburg Address ''Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.  Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.  We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ...

 by Michael Corthell First of all what is insurrection against the United States government?  ''Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.'' 18 U.S. Code § 2383 re: Rebellion or insurrection We have now witnessed the President of the United States, more than 100 Republican members of the House of Representatives, and 14 Republican Senators attempt an unsuccessful coup d’etat against American democracy. The president directly incited the seditious act of insurrection. The 114 members of Congress attempted to overthrow a lawful, secure election trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans. Will anyone be held accountable criminally? They must be, in order to reassure the American people ...

 I want to state very clearly that yesterday's attempt to disrupt our nation's constitutional process was an act of insurrection - an assault on our constitutional republic - an act of treason.  And just to be very clear and preserve the ugly history of the Trump presidency I post this, a tweet by Donald Trump that was removed by the management of Twitter just before they locked the president's account: ''These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!''  - Donald J. Trump, January 6, 2021

  One of the standout quotes in American history concerning loyalty v. ethics came from the James Comey when President Trump asked Comey for loyalty: “He then said, ‘I need loyalty.’ I replied, ‘You will always get honesty from me.’ He paused and then said, ‘That’s what I want, honest loyalty.’ I paused, and then said, ‘You will get that from me.’ As I wrote in the memo I created immediately after the dinner, it is possible we understood the phrase ‘honest loyalty’ differently, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to push it further.” The former FBI director made it clear in his statement and during his questioning before the Senate that he did not, nor did he intend, to give Trump the loyalty he wanted.

  by Michael Corthell “Burning of the Reichstag” refers to a momentous event that serves as a pretext for the declaration of a state of emergency and martial law (the suspension of civil rights) – like the Reichstag incident by Hitler in February 1933. Is this what we should be fearful of today, two weeks before the inauguration of Joe Biden? It's a strong 'maybe' and here is why I say maybe. While vigilance over our democratic values is never misplaced, the difficulty with anticipating the transformation of the Trump presidency into a dictatorship is that we have to disregard the true nature of his administration. Trumpism is not tyranny in disguise, led by a clown, it is clownish narcissism in the guise of a tyrant. Trump had no interest in either taking over the world or in subjugating America’s citizens. He wanted to hold onto power so that he could go on flooding us with his bullshit to further enhance his brand. But, he may now feel that he must stay in power, becaus...

by Michael Corthell What is the right thing to do? That is a very difficult thing to know sometimes. But whatever that right way to go is, it should always be our own decision. You need to own it. Good people know that genuine, true, integrity is doing the right thing even if  no one is going to know that you did the right thing.  Looking good is not better than doing good. And bragging cheapens the goods. Be a leader who does the right thing regardless of popularity and which way the wind is blowing. “It’s not hard to do the right thing; in fact it’s easy. What’s hard is knowing what the right thing to do is. Once you know that, and believe it, doing the right thing is easy.” — Ben Kingsley in the ''The Confession.'' Doing the right thing involves decision. Sometimes, there is no good or ideal decision, we have to choose the better of two that are either painful, or seemingly wrong. A good person will not do the wrong thing just t...