There’s a giant crime at the heart of the way women feel about themselves and their weight. Want to know what it is? The conventional weight loss industry, a titanic failure. Not a failure at making an obscene profit, mind you, but a failure at delivering what they promise. And to make matters worse, the weight loss industry has convinced millions of American women that they are the failures.

Stress is one of the most written-about areas in psychology. Just by listening and reading, one could easily conclude that stress is the cause for all that ails us. Feeling physically ill? Stress. Not sleeping? Stress. Having relationship problems? Stress. Forgetting things? Stress. Feeling depressed? Stress. Eating, drinking, drugging too much? Stress.

How far have we really come since Dr. King’s passing in 1968? Could those who argue that we now live in a truly post-racial society be wearing the blinders of white privilege? Consider the following. Have we achieved Dr. King’s goal of eradicating racial prejudice?

Maya Angelou was raped as a child. Visiting her aunt and uncle, she was frightened to tell them about the rapist for fear her uncle would hurt this man. She decided to use her voice; she decided to tell.

A child is assaulted by a parent; the other parent looks away, dismisses, minimizes, or simply doesn’t see.[1] What happens psychologically? The assault needs to be addressed in the short term whether it is physical, psychological, or both. However, the way the event is witnessed by the other parent (or community, teacher, relative, etc.) will have a longer-term impact.

George Zimmerman, a white male neighborhood watchman, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a black male youth. Zimmerman was charged, tried, and acquitted in July 2013. In the aftermath, a grassroots movement began titled Black Lives Matter.

Understanding dreams is understanding symbols. When you dream of your mother, your father, your spouse, or your best friend, these figures should not be confused with the actual people. Even if you dream of Jesus, Buddha, or your spiritual teacher, don’t only think of these teachers as “them”; instead, think of them as qualities or ways of being that are aspects of you—aspects that you are unconscious of.

I readily admit that there is a moral imperative to forgive; it is clear that forgiveness can be a powerful force of healing and reconciliation. However, I must speak out when the advice in the literature treats forgiveness as a panacea for hurt, pain, and “moving on” to a happier life with nary a thought given to the many situations, people, and stages of injury where this counsel is not helpful.

Mainstream thinking about these questions has offered little understanding, instead often blindly adopting an attitude of moral contempt toward people with addictions, seeing them as irresponsible, weak, and having a problem that “other people” have, even though most people have various addictive tendencies.