August 27, 2014 . Pause . Breathe . Drop Your Story . Soften I encourage my clients to put these phrases on an index card and carry them with them. And as crazy as this may sound, I suggest that they chant them, over and over (lol silently to themselves) when they’re not stressed, when …
Seedlings
…whispers of very young ideas and morning thoughts…
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Merciful Avatars
August 18, 2014 Recently read an excerpt from an upcoming book by Terrance Keenan that mentioned the phenomenon of the merciful avatar. A merciful avatar is a manifestation of a divine teacher whose role is to teach us not to be such egotistical jerks. Merciful avatars come in the form of anyone or anything that …
Three Questions That Might Change The Course Of Your Life
August 9, 2014 In The Authentic Life author Ezra Bayda poses a question first suggested by Nietzsche. It stopped me in my tracks this morning. “What would I do in this situation if I had to live my life in the exact same way, over and over and over again, for all eternity?” Bayda points out …
Adding Insult To Injury
August 3, 2014 Primary pain is what you get when life hands you something you don’t want, something you’re not prepared for, or something that simply hurts even if you are prepared. Secondary pain is what you get when you piggy back onto the primary pain with judgmental thoughts about yourself, or others, or simply …
Purpose Schmurpose!
July 26, 2014 A client recently came in expressing frustration with being endlessly confronted with the suggestion that he should have a purpose. And he said: “What if I don’t have a bleeping purpose!? What if I don’t ever have one? What if I don’t care?!” I loved that! Because it raised the important question …
Shortest Blog Ever
July 19, 2014 Here is an elegant four word summary for mindfulness that one of my clients came up with for herself. I think it’s the all-time best definition: “Doing what I’m doing”. How often are you actually doing what you’re doing—full body, all senses willingly engaged, present with an attitude of curiosity? When I’m …
Willingly Engage With Discomfort??!!
July 11, 2014 This is a story I don’t tell very often. So I thought long and hard as to why not, before I decided to lay it out here. It’s because I’m concerned that it will be misinterpreted as a suggestion for a cure-all, WHICH IT IS NOT! I’m also concerned that someone may get the idea that …
Thou Shall Not Kill
June 28, 2014 Is there more to ‘thou shall not kill’ than first meets the eye? Beyond the disturbing idea of actually ending the physical life of people, animals or plants (remember the stories about plants screaming as they’re pulled from the ground?), are there other forms of murder? I think killing someone’s spirit, or …
Disappointment
June 17, 2014 We’re face to face having a conversation, or I hang up the phone, or finish reading the email, or the text, and I notice I feel disappointed. Because you didn’t respond the way I expected, or hoped, or wanted you to. We’re not the same. You don’t see what I see, think …
Are You In The Ballpark?
June 6, 2014 Acceptance is one of those words like mindfulness. Sometimes it’s over-used and sometimes it’s misunderstood. Kind of like the word love? Recently I read a post by Russ Harris, the author of The Happiness Trap, in which he suggests there are shades of acceptance. And I like that, the idea that there …