12/13/15 At the end of each year I look at Partners in Mindful Living through new eyes. It’s that time. This year the first step has been to rewrite my vision statement. After convincing myself to dream big, with sweating palms I shared my first draft with some dear and respected friends. I was afraid that having a big vision …
Emoting isn’t necessarily feeling
November 30, 2015 Feelings may not be what you think they are… I grew up conflicted about expressing feelings. It depended on who I was talking with. Some saw my expression of feelings as healthy and evidence of being in touch with my deepest self. Others made it clear they thought I was too sensitive …
Buck naked
November 14, 2015 “Mom, I’m having a hard time”. My son was 4, buck naked, lying on the floor having a temper tantrum because he didn’t want to take a bath. I had whined and demanded and yelled and looked at him with a cold face and hard eyes. It wasn’t until I asked my …
Good news/bad news
November 2, 2015 Good news: You can change your brain! You’re no longer totally at the mercy of rotten DNA, unprepared parents, characterological defects, or personalities that leave much to be desired. You can take back your life – or at least what’s left of it. And hopefully many of you are even more …
Freedom
October 19, 2015 On the emotional front I’ve always been a bit of a risk taker. Even more so as the years tumble one on top of another. But I notice that pushing send on this post feels risky, makes me feel vulnerable. Recently I had a ‘moment’. A moment of awareness about a relationship that …
Best reframe ever?
September 28, 2015 One of the most over-used and least effective phrases in use today may be ‘let it go’. I don’t even get how that’s possible. When someone is sharing a challenge that seems to be keeping them stuck, and they say to me, ‘I just need to let it go’ my irreverent thought …
Stop trying to get rid of it!
September 14, 2015 Emptiness is part of the human condition. Every single thing about being human screams impermanence. That impermanence gives us a feeling of emptiness at times, in spite of our spiritual leanings and our beliefs about an afterlife. We all have a normal, human desire to feel good right now, and when we …
7 steps to be 10% kinder
September 1, 2015 1. First, listen to understand; then, and only then, shoot to be understood. 2. Replace right/wrong and good/bad with the question, does it work? Ask yourself, ‘Is the next thing that’s going to come out of my mouth or my next action going to get me closer to what I want or further …
Leaning In…
August 22, 2015 Teachers of mindfulness talk about leaning into the sharp points or going one step farther than is comfortable—one step into the discomfort, past the edge you’ve constructed as the safety zone. Something that aging has given me beyond wrinkles and droops is the awareness that I don’t have the means or the …
Soft, Open Heart
August 9, 2015 In my last post I explored the importance of choosing whether you want war or peace. Let’s look at what to do if you choose peace. Sadly, you can’t will peace to happen, no matter how strong your will or how much you want it. But you can help it along. Peace …