kira.newman

Thank you all! I will check out Finney's books and read about Peikoff's "privacy lies" - I'm not familiar.

I've decided to launch a month-long "experiment" that challenges people to be more honest. If any of you are interested in participating, I'd love to have you! Here's the info: http://honestyexperiment.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/the-honesty-experiment/

And sorry for the late response! I assumed that I would get an email if anyone replied...

Cheers,

Kira

Hi all,

I'm a second-generation Objectivist (hence the name) who has started a career as a journalist, writing about entrepreneurs and their early-stage technology companies for Tech Cocktail.

I wanted to share with you a new blog that I created called Joy of Honesty. You could say honesty is my "favorite" virtue: I feel very strongly that a world where people were truly honest - not hiding their feelings and thoughts, and expecting the same from others - would be a much happier place. Lots of doubting, wondering what people are thinking, and general uncertainty about reality happens when you can't trust the people around you to be truthful.

I'd love to hear your feedback - the blog is intended for a general audience, but I try to provide new information and ideas that would be interesting to Objectivists.

Cheers!

Kira

Thanks for the comments! I added some tags.

I recently created this video for the Atlas Shrugged video contest, about the importance of productive work in life. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to cast a vote!

http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/42465/voteable_entries/10319500?ogn=website&order=recency

Kira

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.

Just to clarify: my family members aren't Christians, or intolerant. They're just experiencing their own emotional problems, which puts me in a generally negative environment.

I'll definitely look into Branden's writings; I'm reading through The Art of Living Consciously right now.

And I was named after Kira from We The Living; my dad's an Objectivist.

It wasn't that long ago that I found myself in a similar situation, except mine involved my in-laws instead of my own family. My large extended family here in Bloomington -- fundamentalist Christians, one and all -- treated me like a leper on every social occasion. The situation got so bad that I finally distanced myself from them as much as possible, while remaining civil on those occasions where it was impossible to stay away from them completely.

I realize that my situation differed from yours, but the essentials may be similar. I don't know the details of your situation, but if your family members are not receptive to resolving the problem, such as by not burdening you with their problems, then I don't see any alternative except for you to stay away from them as much as possible, at least until the situation improves.

Ghs

Thank you for the suggestion. My family members are trying with various degrees of effort to improve the situation, so I don't see distancing as the best alternative. I will be leaving home in about 3 weeks, so I suppose I'm looking for suggestions about how to mentally approach the situation.

Hello everyone,

This is a somewhat personal question but I think it can be relevant to many other situations:

I recently ended a relationship and I find myself in a negative family environment, where my family members are all struggling with their own problems. I'm looking for advice on how to remain positive and remember that life is full of possibilities for achievement and joy, when all I see and feel is so negative.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to exploring this site more in the future.

Kira