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Showing posts from October 5, 2025

Feedback vs. Judgment: The Psychology of Reflective Response

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"Every feedback is not a judgment, reflect than react". Yes, it is a profound psychological mandate for personal and professional growth. The knee-jerk, defensive response to critical input is a common human reaction, rooted in the brain's threat-detection system, the amygdala. When we perceive feedback as a personal attack or a global assessment of our worth—a judgment —our system goes into fight-or-flight. This immediate, emotional reaction bypasses the prefrontal cortex, the seat of rational thought, effectively shutting down our ability to learn. The key to transcending this primitive reaction lies in cognitive reframing —the deliberate psychological technique of altering one's interpretation of a situation. When we reframe critical input as feedback , we shift its status from a threat to a data point. Feedback is information about an action or outcome , which is changeable; judgment is a statement about a person's character or identity , which feels fixed. B...

Sharad Purnima: A Psychological Lens on the Full Moon's Rituals

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Sharad Purnima, the full moon night of the Hindu month of Ashwin, is steeped in cultural and spiritual significance, yet a deeper psychological understanding reveals its powerful function as a mechanism for collective and individual mental well-being. The core traditions of this night—moon bathing, specific dietary practices, and a nocturnal vigil—are, when viewed psychologically, designed practices for emotional regulation, mindfulness, and the intentional cultivation of a positive mental state. The festival's central focus on the fully luminous moon (believed to shine with all sixteen kalas , or phases of perfection) acts as a potent archetypal symbol of completion and emotional harmony . In many cultures, the moon is intrinsically linked to the human mind ( manas ), emotions, and intuition. Astrologically and in Ayurvedic tradition, the Sharad Purnima moon's amplified energy is said to have a uniquely cooling and calming ( saumya ) effect. Engaging in 'moon bathing...