Loosen the Iron Grip You’ve had on Some of Your Thoughts. January 24, 2021 Believing every thought we think isn’t a problem. Unless we assume our ideas and opinions represent facts. In order to be reasoning, thoughtful, beneficial members of society, we need to see our thoughts for what they are. According to …
Seedlings
…whispers of very young ideas and morning thoughts…
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Will 2021 Be Better for You than 2020?
One predictor will be how you answer that question. January 9, 2021 Climate change will still be haunting us. Covid-19 isn’t going away any time soon. And the last guy in the oval office will be tweeting once again until he’s been arrested for any one of numerous charges. And even then, I bet …
Is it Possible to Waste Time?
December 26, 2020 Not if You’re a meditator. “In all your life, only a few moments matter. Mostly you never get a good look at them except in hindsight, long after they’ve zipped past you.” From Tana French’s New York Times best-seller, Faithful Place. As a child, I was pretty serious. I thought about big …
Oops!
December 13, 2020 I know this is a departure from my usual Seedlings. It’s just that I’ve wanted to send something light and playful. I hope you enjoy it. Oops! My new favorite word. Oops is a softener; it removes things. Like fabric softener removes wrinkles, oops removes shame. Oops puts a …
Who’s to Blame When I’m Miserable?
November 29, 2020 Hint: It’s not the candy’s fault if I overdo it. It’s not Covid-19. It’s not capitalism or socialism. It’s not the control freaks in my life. It’s not conservatives or liberals. It’s not my nomadic childhood. It’s not pro-lifers or pro-choicers. And I’m not to blame either. Let’s throw out the …
Autopilot Won’t Take You Where You Want to Go
November 15, 2020 In my last post, I quoted Holocaust survivor and brilliant psychiatrist Victor Frankl. I think his wisdom bears repeating: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Many years ago, I quit two jobs in …
Three Steps to Avoid a Conflict
November 1, 2020 Mature listening involves three things when you are in disagreement with someone about anything. I’ve been studying listening most of my adult life, and I still don’t have it nailed. I’m writing this post to myself, but I hope you’ll relate. Since I don’t have all that much time left — at least not …
You’re Dying–We All Are
October 18, 2020 If you knew you were dying, what would you choose to do with every day you had left? Whether you have twenty, forty, or sixty years — even though sixty years sounds like a long time — it will glide past like the Shanghai Magiev in China that cruises by at 267.8 …
Turn Complaints Into Accomplishments
October 4, 2020 The boss is incompetent, the guy who voted for the “wrong” candidate is a moron, the child who isn’t taking the career path of your choice is a disappointment. And the state of the world in general, don’t even start! It’s so easy to see what’s wrong with the world and everyone …
Using Mindfulness to Reduce Physical Discomfort
September 19, 2020 This post was originally posted in early 2017. I moved last weekend and rather than skip a publication date, I updated this post that seemed to be a favorite. Hope that you enjoy it. If you want to reduce your suffering, change your relationship to pain. The idea is that by changing …