Yesterday was the first day since July 5'th that I could not do the daily writing practice thing. In addition to the daily writing, I've had many other things I've been working on, and I've been keeping up with the daily life of a parent of two small children.

Thursday (yesterday), I had a full calendar, and try as I might, I could not get my mind or body moving at what I would call "normal speed." I tried pushing to get myself moving faster, but there was not enough fuel in the tank for a hard burn.

So, there I was, full calendar, and me with deficient energy.

I got what needed to get done done. But after that, there was neither time nor energy to do more.

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Podcasts:

Be all that as it may, during the rest of the week, I was able to get the first episode of podcast lectures I'll be using for one of the classes I'll be teaching this fall recorded, edited, mixed, and posted online. (And I'm almost done with the second one.)

The first few lectures will focus on the unconscious. Why the first few? Why not do just one podcast lecture on the unconscious? Because I think the unconscious is one of the most misunderstood psychoanalytic concepts out there. Additionally, I don't want the lectures to be longer than 30 min, so sometimes I need to look at a concept from different angles over the course of a few episodes.

These podcast lectures will not be listed in Spotify, or Apple Podcasts, or any of the other places people list podcasts. They will be available only to the students in the class and [S][J][P] members.

Here is the link to subscribe to the podcast lectures.  

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Writing:

I missed yesterday, but I could write Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and (obviously) today.

Doing the daily writing thing is helping me sort through and process lots of different ideas I have. The newsletter and [S][J][P] site have become a kind of lab where I write experimentally.

As of now, I've noticed the experiments have made two things clear (or clearish at least) to me.

1. I want to write a book or more than one book, but I've got to start with one.
2. I have to preoccupations that I spend the most time thinking about. Those are psychoanalysis and social work that does not suck.
3. The thread that runs through both of these ideas is: Trying to resolutely stand in opposition to the worst that humans can do to themselves, others, and the environment that sustains us. Or, to put it slightly differently, both psychoanalysis and social work that does not suck represent how I'm working through my own intense dislike of bullies. I don't like people bullying other people, and I don't like the inner bully that is the superego, which we all have to deal with in our own way.

Daily writing M-F is a good thing. I'm glad I'm doing it.

(From the few emails I've received from those of you who read this thing, it seems you like it as well.)

As of now, I plan to continue with the daily writing M-F till 8/15, which is the week before classes start. At that point, I'm not sure what amount of writing I'll do.

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Fin:

That's it for this week. Till next time, make glorious mistakes!

-N