A friend once told me, "I finally feel like I have clarity again." That came after making small shifts in nutrition, movement, and daily habits. It reminded me that real change doesn’t require perfection—it just requires starting. 👉 What’s one area where you’d love more clarity right now?

We all carry biases in life. It's helpful to know what they are. But today we'll focus on confirmation bias, one of the most commonn logical fallacies. Definition:"the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories" It happens when we focus on information that supports our existing beliefs while ignoring or discounting evidence that challenges them. We also take neutral input as something favoring 'our' side. **We give special weight to information that allows us to come to the conclusion that we want to reach** This mental shortcut feels comfortable but can lead to distorted thinking, poor decisions, and missed opportunities for growth. ✨ What It Looks Like in Real Life - 📰 News Consumption: Only reading articles or following social media accounts that agree with your views or discounting opposing/differing views. - 💬 Conversations: Seeking out people who validate your opinions while avoiding those who disagree. - 🔍 Decision Making: Interpreting neutral evidence as proof you were “right all along.” Why Confirmation Bias Happens - We dislike cognitive dissonance—holding beliefs that are challenged causes discomfort, so we avoid it. - Beliefs feel more certain because we’ve already invested trust or identity in them. Letting them go feels like loss. (Remember the sunk cost fallacy from earlier? This definitely plays into this!) - We often have selective exposure: we choose what to read, who to listen to, what to trust—allowing bias to reinforce itself.--the bubble effect/echo chamber effect is real here. 🎯 Why It Matters When we only see what confirms our beliefs, we risk reinforcing biases, polarizing relationships, and making errors in judgment. Studies show that confirmation bias can strengthen false beliefs over time, making it harder to change our minds. 🌱 How to Break Free from Confirmation Bias 1️⃣ Actively Seek Opposing Views: Read or listen to perspectives different from your own. ALL change begins with being honest! 1--be aware of the biases you may have and 2--be OPEN to being proven wrong (intellectual humility is a flex! Use it!)

In its simplest definition, meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing your mind using a combination of mental and physical techniques. Meditation is often praised for peace, clarity, stress relief, spiritual growth... BUT, what happens when that's not the experience? Many people don’t expect the unusual, scary, or even supernatural-type experiences that can emerge when they meditate deeply or intensely. We "clear our minds", but what is it that we're leaving room for? What is that space being filled with? **About 33% of people indicate experiencing negative/adverse effects with meditative practice* This is considered a statistically significant number** (JUMP to the bottom for positive/negative experiences surrounding this) Meditation was initially a religious practice but has made ground with individuals that don't consider themselves religious. It can be found across cultures and religions and dates back for thousand of years. 🙏Examples of Meditation in different religions/cultures/contexts: - Buddhist: Several different forms of meditation have their origins in Buddhism (which is considered both a philosophy and a religion, especially depending on the nation of origin). Theravadan meditation is more common in Southeast Asia, especially in India and Thailand. Zen Buddhist meditation originated in China, and different forms of it eventually evolved elsewhere, such as Japanese Zen Buddhist meditation. Tibetan Buddhist tantric meditation comes from the former nation of Tibet, now a region of China. Buddhism emphasizes mindfulness and insight to cultivate compassion and liberate from suffering. - Christian: Contemplation or contemplative prayer is a common practice in Christianity. Praying is often classified as meditation. *A note here: may be worth looking into the different Christian groups and their view/stance on meditation. - Islam: uses shikr (rememberance of God) and muraqabah (meditative reflection) for spiritual closeness - Judaism: offers meditation-like practices such as hitbodedut and Kabbalistic contemplation to deepen connection with the divine. - Guided: A nonreligious form of meditation can happen with several people or one-on-one. It’s a common technique in counseling, therapy and group support settings. - Osho: This form of meditation, also known as “dynamic meditation”, comes from India and has its roots in Hinduism. Breathing exercises are deliberate and forceful. - Sufi: Sufism is a branch of Islam, and meditation is a common practice among people who follow it. - Taoist: Like Buddhism, Taoism is also considered a religion and philosophy. It originated in China and is best known through the writings of its founder, Laozi (also spelled “Lao Tzu” or “Lao-Tze”). - Transcendental : This form of meditation comes from India. It involves using mantras, which are phrases or words people focus on and repeat aloud or in their minds. - Yoga: This is a physical form of meditation and exercise from India. It can take on religious and nonreligious forms.