Tuesdays with Muerte

Exploring Shame at BYU I recently had the opportunity to look at data from a BYU "Shame" study conducted by some Counseling & Psychology professors (CPSE department).  Their comparative analysis provided evidence that BYU students (overall) feel less shame than students on other university campuses.  This got me thinking...people feel and manifest shame in many different ways.  How do BYU folks manifest shame? DeviantArt First of all, why do any of us feel shame? Zoobies (pseudonym for BYU students) are raised to be judgmental from a young age—constantly being asked to discern between good and evil. We are able to make this distinction by paying attention to the light of Christ, which some refer to as a conscience ( Moroni 7:16-19 ).  When we act against our consciences, or choose evil, we experience a "whip" of guilt from that divine light within us to let us know we are off track. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can repent and be forgiven of our t...

Have you ever wondered about how much chemistry is necessary to ensure a good relationship and what the signs of unhealthy chemistry are?  I just read this post by Utah relationship coach,  Alisa Goodwin Snell , which lays it out.  The balance of the post is in her words. (The parts in read are the highlights.) What is healthy versus addictive chemistry? I define chemistry as "the feeling or desire that compels you, when in the presence of a particular person, to want to please them, touch them, and make them happy." That's it!   Too many singles associate chemistry with the desperate feelings, longing, and compulsive thoughts that are actually a common sign of insecure attachments or addictive, abusive, or manipulative relationships. If you think that chemistry is  something you should feel all the time, that the person should be on your mind all the time, that your desire to be with them should be intense and constant, and that your fear of ...

Being a writer, he is quite naturally curious about  Heaven and Hell. So upon meeting Saint Peter at the  pearly gates, he asks if it would be possible to visit Hell  briefly before ascending to Heaven. Saint Peter, obliging  as ever, is happy to grant the writer’s request. In a  flash, they arrive in writer’s Hell where they feast their  eyes upon thousands of writers planted in front of  thousands of typewriters, arranged in rows as far as the  eye could see, a damp, dark, foul place, full of the  overpowering stench of decomposition and putrefaction.  "Just as I expected," says the writer to Saint Peter. "I’m  ready to see Heaven now."  In a flash, they arrive in writer’s Heaven where they feast their  eyes upon thousands of writers planted in front of thousands  of typewriters, arranged in rows as far as the eye could see, a  damp, dark, foul place, full of the overpowering stench of  decomposition a...