One of the most powerful psychological triggers for creating a particular behavioral pattern is known as the variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement. Meaning this: a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of attempts.

Gambling, especially slot machines, offer the quintessential variable-ratio reinforcement triggers. You win just enough of the time, and the images display so many “near wins” as to keep players attached.

The addictive trending of variable-ratio reinforcement comes from the fact that the next attempt might be a winner. If slot machines rarely paid out, then people would quickly lose interest and give up playing. But by allowing just enough wins with a guaranteed lose-in-the-long-run payout schedule, slot machines generate nearly 80% of all profit for the casinos.

Most people know that slot machines have the worst odds in a casino. Yet players remain seated at these one-armed bandits often for hours on end. That’s what makes addictions so powerful – intellectual understanding is rarely enough to counter destructive behavior.

And the most addictive, variable-ratio reinforcement engine of all is the ego. Continue reading →

For as long as I could remember, I dreamt of attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for my university studies. I didn’t know whether I would major in engineering or literature – but MIT was destined to be my four-year home.

As soon as the early-admission window opened, I worked on my application including many hours writing just the essay piece. Finally, everything was typed up and sent off in the mail.

And every day for the next few months I anxiously awaited the postman’s delivery.

Finally, the package arrived.

There it was – the envelope with the prestigious MIT emblem emblazoned on the front. My heart raced and my palms were drenched with sweat.

I tore open the seal and read the contents. Continue reading →

As we begin the new year and contemplate our goals for 2015, consider this line from A Course in Miracles:

Make this year different by making it all the same. (T-15.XI.10)

The powerful meaning behind this sentence relates to our habituated conditioning to see differences and believe them to be of significance. You are different from me. That race is different from mine. Those beliefs are different from my values.

And of course, what inescapably follows immediately upon the heels of perceiving differences?

Judgment.

But, when we see with true vision, we don’t see differences – we see sameness. Continue reading →

In the late 1700s, the brilliant poet William Blake wrote these incredibly insightful lines:

If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern.

We believe perception is a function of external stimuli received by our sensory apparatus and processed by the brain. This is what we call reality, which we judge accordingly. Certain inputs we identify as good and others as bad.

But never for a moment do we step back and question the validity of the foundation upon which our seeing rests. As Blake realized, man has closed himself up.

We are so convinced that our consciousness bears witness to the truth of existence and the state of reality. We need not look very far to convince ourselves of this perception. Anytime we are unhappy, we can quickly point to the sources or cause of our pain. Likewise, if asked what would bring us happiness, we have a ready list of conditions to proffer. Continue reading →

The police had me cornered.

One patrol car blocked me in from the rear, and another parked perpendicular to my car’s front bumper preventing any means of escape.

Lights were flashing, people nearby were scurrying away from the commotion, and others looked on from a distance wondering what heinous crime had unfolded.

I had no intention of attempting a getaway, but my heart was racing as events unfolded. I was ordered to stay in my car and not make a move. What was happening to me?

This standoff lasted for thirty minutes until a third police car rushed up alongside my vehicle. A female detective stepped out of the car and commanded me to step out of mine.

She eyed me head-to-toe and then back again, turned to the other police officers and Continue reading →