Mindfulness & Eating
“He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.” – Henry David Thoreau When we apply the practice of mindfulness to eating, our whole relationship with food begins to change. Mindfulness involves being fully present, aware, open, curious, accepting, and without judgment. It…
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Mindfulness & Addiction
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor Frankl Addictive behaviors, such as drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, binging on food, or compulsively gambling, all provide a temporary escape from reality. When we choose to…
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11 Attitudes for Successful Meditation
“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.” – Voltaire The idea that we are somehow separate from that which we observe is false. We are connected to all things, and the very process of observation affects the things that we observe.…
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Pros & Cons of Being on “Automatic Pilot”
“We may never quite be where we actually are, never quite in touch with the fullness of our possibilities.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn Many of us experience being fully present in the moment without getting distracted by thought-based interpretations of that moment – it just is. However, it is difficult to live in complete engagement and…
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Jealousy vs. Envy
“Envy assails the noblest: the winds howl around the highest peaks.” – Ovid Jealousy and envy, while painful and distressing, serve important functions in our lives. Emotions that cause suffering to ourselves and others are designed to act as useful indicators to promote our survival. If we were to never experience the emotions of jealousy…
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Identify Your True Values
“Action expresses priorities.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi Values are the principles, morals, standards, and ideals that give your life meaning, importance, and worth. They act as the guiding compass that drives behaviors and determines goals. When we are unclear or unsure of what our values are, then it is not uncommon to feel lost, adrift,…
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11 Myths About Vipassana Meditation
“What’s encouraging about meditation is that even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we’re closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.” – Pema Chodron Vipassana meditation, meaning “to see things as they really are,” is a non-sectarian type of…
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The Truth: Tell It to Me Straight
“Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” – Leo Tolstoy What makes the difference between believing someone versus not believing someone? Most of us have an underlying sense of whether or not to believe what someone is saying, but what…
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Burnout Syndrome: Risk Factors & Subtypes Identified
“One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.” – Bertrand Russell Many of us know what it feels like to be overwhelmed, overburdened, and just plain overworked. Whether your job is working as a top executive at a large corporation, a stay-at-home mom, or as…
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Eustress vs. Distress
“It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi We all experience stress in our everyday lives. The manner in which stress affects us depends upon how we choose to think about stress, use stress, and respond to stress. Stress is not always…
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