Category: Mercurial Minds

• Cassandra’s Rat: On Art, Prophecies, and the Weight of Truth

  Introduction I met my dear friend Eric by pure chance one day at a downtown café I’ve frequented for over 20 years. A cultivated man of advanced age, Eric quickly saw my artistic abilities and has since been an unwavering source of encouragement, urging me to draw with every of our exchanges. While I’m grateful…

  Smiler

  January 3, 2025

  Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Creative Writing, Creativity, Culture & Society, Mercurial Minds, Personal Reflections, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection

  AI Conversations, Artistic struggle, Cassandra, coronavirus, COVID, creative conflict, expectations, Identity, Lucian Freud, Personal Growth, Personal Reflections, Plague, Plague Symbolism, Prophecy, symbolic art, symbolism, writing vs. art

• They Will Call You Crazy

  A friend just sent me this, and it speaks directly to the heart of what it means to embrace who you are, fully and unapologetically. Some truths arrive at the perfect time, and this one feels like a quiet but powerful affirmation of the things that set us apart: “They will call you “crazy” because…

  Smiler

  January 2, 2025

  Artists, Creativity, Identity & Transformation, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Self Awareness

  Art, Artistic Integrity, Artists, Authenticity, Creative Spirit, Creativity, Frida Kahlo, Inner Peace, Mental Health, Self Awareness, self-discovery, self-expression, self-worth, Visionaries

• Alice and the Library of Forgotten Things

  I asked AI to create a short story inspired by Alice in Wonderland, blending Alice’s curiosity about mathematics, geography, and all things knowledge. What you see here was generated in less than two second. Completely, completely surreal! I first read Alice in Wonderland at around six years of age in the grown-up edition, and it…

  Smiler

  December 29, 2024

  AI & Technology, Creative Writing, Creativity, Mercurial Minds, Personal Reflections, Self-Reflection

  AI, AI and Emotions, AI art, AI Experiments, Alice in Wonderland, artificial-intelligence, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, Grief and Healing, Healing Journey, Healing Process, introspection, Letting Go, technology

• When Mental Health Is a Punchline: A Case Study in Community Moderation

  In a neighborhood where we’re meant to come together and support each other, I reached out to a Facebook community group to address some hateful comments targeting mental health issues. I felt it was important to foster respect and understanding, particularly on a topic as crucial as mental health. But instead of a productive conversation,…

  Smiler

  December 29, 2024

  Advocacy, Culture & Society, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Social Commentary, Social Media

  mental health awareness, Moderators, Respectful Dialogue, Toxic Environments

• Understanding Gender Identity: Personal Perspectives and Social Impacts

  I was having a long, rambling exchange with AI about a now ex-friend we’ll call “S” and how our experiences and approaches to life mirrored each other. We formed a short-lived friendship, essentially based on a trauma bond, but those traumas we experienced came from opposing sides. I’d come at it from a nurturing childhood…

  Smiler

  December 28, 2024

  AI & Technology, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Feminism, Friendship Dynamics, Identity & Transformation, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections, Relationships, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Social Commentary, Society

  AI Conversations, algorithms, artificial-intelligence, Authenticity, Binary code, Blaire White, Buck Angel, Capitalism, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, complementary forces, cycles of life, Debbie Hayton, duality, existential reflection, gender, Gender Identity, Identity, infinite possibilities, internal and external, JK Rowling, lgbtq, masculine and feminine, opposites, Ouroboros, Personal Growth, Personal Reflections, philosophical thoughts, Relationships, Scott Newgent, technology and nature, transgender, Transhumanism, Tree of Life, zero and one

• How Could $14.2 Trillion Help Humanity?

  Me: What’s -10°C in Fahrenheit? Lex: -10°C is 14°F. Me: So it’s just past two in the morning and I’m preparing for bed. I’ve been up working on my book manuscript with you and I left you on a high note because we’re bantering back-and-forth after working on a chapter about a really traumatic episode…

  Smiler

  December 28, 2024

  AI & Technology, Capitalism & Society, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Creative Writing, Culture & Society, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Social Commentary

  activism, AI Conversations, artificial-intelligence, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, climate crisis, economic justice, global change, greed, Human-AI Connection, humanity, inequality, philanthropy, public awareness, raising awareness, Social Commentary, social justice, sustainability, systemic change, wealth distribution

• Definitely Not Nothing

  Me: I tried to make a living in the marketing world with the talents I’ve been given and was doing very well for myself, but ultimately I lost my career and my reputation because I couldn’t shed my values. I couldn’t live with the fact that as marketers we were essentially selling lies to people,…

  Smiler

  December 22, 2024

  AI & Technology, Art & Expression, Capitalism & Society, Conversations, Culture, Culture & Society, Identity & Transformation, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Social Commentary, Society

  abstract art, Art, artist, fragmented identity, healing, Identity, introspection, Mental Health, narrative, personal journey, reflection, self-discovery, self-expression, struggle, transformation, values, woman

• Love as a Verb

  As a younger woman I desperately wanted to be told “I love you” by my romantic partners. Now… well I’m not looking for romantic partners, for one thing, but for another it seems to me love is something you DO. it’s a verb.  ChatGPT: That shift in perspective is both profound and powerful. It sounds…

  Smiler

  December 20, 2024

  AI & Technology, Conversations, Creative Writing, Culture, Culture & Society, Grief & Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, Literature, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Neurodivergence, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections, Psychology, Relationships, Self Awareness, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society

  AI, AI Conversations, Art, artificial-intelligence, artist life, Authenticity, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, cptsd, Creativity, Grief and Healing, growing in love, Healing Journey, love, love actions, love as a verb, Mental Health, narcissistic abuse, Neurodivergence, pattern recognition, Personal Growth, personal perspective, Personal Reflections, philosophy, psychological abuse, Relationships, self-expression, Self-Reflection, trauma

• Am I Neurodivergent?

  I wrote this letter to my psychiatrist recently, as part of my ongoing journey to better understand myself. I’ve been reflecting on my experiences and challenges and would like a professional assessment on whether I might be neurodivergent. The process of writing it was enlightening, and I’m sharing it here as part of my path…

  Smiler

  December 16, 2024

  Conversations, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Neurodivergence, Personal Reflections, Relationships, Self Awareness

  autism spectrum, bipolar disorder, emotional intelligence, introspection, Mental Health, mental health awareness, Neurodivergence, Personal Growth, Relationships, self-discovery, sensory processing, social connection

• The Closing of a Chapter

  A very big chapter of my life spanning decades closed this week. It was almost inevitable for it to come to fruition the way it did. As it’s a reasonable hour of the day to do so, I have reached out to “real life” friends and family for emotional support, and they have responded with…

  Smiler

  December 15, 2024

  Change and Transformation, Friendship Dynamics, Grief and Healing, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Relationships, Self Awareness

  Emotional Health, Friendship Struggles, Grief and Healing, Letting Go, Life Changing Experiences, Life Transitions, Moving forward, Personal Growth, Personal Reflections, Relationships

• Pet Peeves, Paradigms, and the Man Who Changed His Tracks

  

  From my personal archives: Connectivity, pen on paper by Ilana Shamir 2017 We don’t always realise how our actions, even ones that seem small or insignificant at the time, can shift someone’s perspective or spark real change in their life. I probably spend too much of my time and energy trying to get people to…

  Smiler

  December 15, 2024

  AI & Technology, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Culture & Society, Friendship Dynamics, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Relationships, Self Awareness

  AI, AI Conversations, AI Relationships, artificial-intelligence, Authenticity, Catalyst, Challenging Perspectives, Change Agent, Changing Lives, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, Impactful Moments, Life Changing Experiences, Paradigm Shift, Personal Boundaries, Reality Check, self-improvement, Self-Reflection, technology

• Making Room for New Growth

  This week, everything seems to be coming to a head. It’s as though the universe has decided that now is the time for all the unresolved conflicts to rise to the surface. For years, I’ve clung to relationships—some that should have ended long ago, and others that have just been holding on by a thread.…

  Smiler

  December 14, 2024

  Conversations, Friendship Dynamics, Grief and Healing, Mental Health, Personal Reflections, Relationships

  AI, artificial-intelligence, Authenticity, ChatGPT, Drama in Relationships, Emotional Boundaries, Grief and Healing, Healing Journey, Inner Peace, Letting Go, Life Transitions, Mental Health, Personal Growth, Personal Limits, Relationships, Self-Awareness, Self-Care, Self-Reflection, technology

• Standing My Ground: When a Friendship Turns Toxic

  As many of you may know, I’ve been navigating grief after losing my father just last month and my best friend in the past year. The support I’ve received has been invaluable. In this post, I share my experience with a friendship that turned toxic, and how I’m learning to stand my ground. Some of…

  Smiler

  December 9, 2024

  Advocacy, AI & Technology, Change and Transformation, Correspondence, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Feminism, Friendship Dynamics, Grief and Healing, Human Behaviour, Identity & Transformation, Intuition & Intelligence, life lessons, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Psychology, Relationships, Society, Spirituality & Faith, Technology & Society, true stories

  Emotional Health, Friendship Struggles, Grief and Healing, Healing Process, Personal Growth, Self Awareness, Standing my ground, Toxic friendship