Ty Crisp

A record of my search for greater insight and understanding

August 16, 2019

Coffee & Contemplation: The Importance of Friendship

Note: Publishing work from my past is quickly becoming a series of sorts. There are so many pieces I’ve written that haven’t seen the light of day since Writer’s Workshop back in high school. Sharing them here seems like a cheat way to keep up with regular posts, but it’s also a little cathartic. I get…

Essays, Lost Writings, Random Musings, Spiritual Musings

appreciation, coffee, contemplation, friends, friendship, gratitude, lessons, life
August 9, 2019

The Significance of Names

Note: Here is another interesting piece written back in high school. I stumbled upon it amidst my insightful yet often cringeworthy delve into lost writings. There is a chance it was never finished, so I simply confined it to my forgetful, mental to-do list. Nevertheless, it marked my discovery of “Om,” the sacred mantra of Brahman…

Essays, Lost Writings, Random Musings, Spiritual Musings

aum, Brahman, Hinduism, mantra, meaning, metaphors, names, om, sanskrit, symbols, universe
July 22, 2019

Journaling Update

Back in February I wrote a post detailing my plans to take up the arduous yet cathartic task of journaling. I am here to say that for the most part, this goal has been met with success. Sure, there were some missed days and uncompleted entries. But this was something I kept at in hopes…

Essays, Random Musings

infj, introspection, journaling, motivation, perspective, purpose, self-help, self-improvement, writing
June 18, 2019

The Merchant of Death (Pendragon #1) by D.J. MacHale

I find it only fitting that my return to book reviewing begins with the series that started it all. About ten years ago, in the midst of my early teendom, I stumbled upon this little gem of a novel by D.J. MacHale. The Merchant of Death became the catalyst for my interest in YA fiction and kindled a passion for sharing my thoughts on the many novels I voraciously read. You could…

Book Reviews, Extended Reviews, Fantasy Reviews, Science Fiction Reviews
April 27, 2019

Conversation with a Friend

Sometimes the greatest of insights arise at the most unexpected of times. Good conversation can be the perfect lubricant to get ideas flowing and those mental gears turning. With permission, I’ve shared an existential concern of one of my dear friends below. The universe has decided to use my head as a data dump again,…

Essays, Random Musings, Spiritual Musings

advice, Answers, doubt, existence, faith, fear, friends, friendship, good conversations, hope, inspiration, life, motivation, purpose, Questions, spirituality, suffering, the bigger picture
April 5, 2019

Dark Night of the Soul

What follows is something I should have addressed long ago. A personal foray into the topic of mental illness is something I have refrained from discussing, partly due to my own confusion and uncertainty on the subject. However, I feel as if I have finally reached a point where my thoughts on the matter might…

Essays, Podcast, Spiritual Musings

Buddhism, compassion, dark night of the soul, depression, hope, introspection, mental illness, psychology, rebirth, self-help, self-love, spirituality, suffering
March 8, 2019

A Newfound Compassion

As I look out upon the world, I am overcome by the strife that plagues humanity. I bear witness to the repeated acts of selfishness that are rooted in fundamental failures of communication. I see how our fallen species has lost its understanding of the most important universal truths. I gaze into the hearts of…

Essays, Spiritual Musings

carl jung, compassion, hope, humanity, inspiration, motivation, psychology, reality, society, spirituality, the bigger picture, understanding

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February 28, 2019

A Journal Entry

I’ve decided to embark on a sort of experimental journey. Too often than not, my writing is hindered by an obsession for quality and unattainable perfection. This does nothing but keep me from publishing as much as I should, and it ingrains my practice with an overall sense of dissatisfaction. I need this to change…

Essays, Random Musings

carl jung, infj, introspection, mbti, Myers-Briggs, psychology, self-help, writing
January 7, 2019

The Mystery at Delecour Manor

I have documented below the strange events that transpired at the home of Lady Bertha Delecour, a well-to-do and aristocratic widow residing in an unspecified part of the English countryside during an equally unspecified time in history. This piece was dredged up from the annals of my early high school years, and it is likely…

Essays, Lost Writings, Story Beginnings

comedy, just for fun, sci-fi, screenplay, thriller
September 13, 2018

Story Beginnings: The Concave

I flew high in the night, the wings of my soul perturbing the very aether that kept them aloft. Soaring above an icy expanse, my awareness flirted with oblivion, yet was held fixed by an ethereal river of light that I do not think mortal eyes could behold. Onward this great rush of luminosity propelled…

Essays, Random Musings, Story Beginnings

dreams, fantasy, fiction, hollow earth, ideas, inspiration, random, science fiction, short story
June 21, 2018

Death: A Reality Check

I present a short musing that marks my hopefully triumphant return from the annals of writer’s block and apathy. It’s been too long since I’ve felt proud of a single sentence in anything I’ve written, including this. But how can I better perfect myself without even trying? Anyway, I digress. It’s time to purge this…

Essays, Random Musings, Spiritual Musings

Buddhism, death, depression, humanity, life, nihilism, purpose, reality, spirituality, theosophy
June 14, 2017

Story Beginnings: The Beast

There was something not quite right about the way his eyes bored into mine. Like a feral animal, I felt him watching my every move with primal intensity. I wanted to flee back into the woods, to immerse myself in their security and camouflage. But something held me in place. A rigidity took hold of…

Essays, Random Musings, Story Beginnings

dreams, fiction, horror, ideas, inspiration, random, short story