Feeling Overwhelmed by Emotions & Caring for Yourself – Part One
“Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with…
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Contemplative Emotion Training Reduces Negative Emotions
“A clear understanding of negative emotions dismisses them.” – Vernon Howard Interest and research on the use of meditation, mindfulness, and other contemplative practices to benefit physical, mental, and emotional well being continues to grow. There is increased awareness amongst both researchers and the general public that one does not need to subscribe to any…
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Rise Above Stigma: Increase Awareness of Mental Health Issues
“These pains that you feel are Messengers. Listen to them. Turn them to sweetness.” – Rumi Today – May 16, 2012 – is the American Psychological Association’s (APA) “Mental Health Month Blog Day.” The idea behind this day is to increase awareness of the importance of good mental health and the impact of stigmatization on those who…
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Embrace Impermanence & Discover Yourself Amidst Change
“If we are not empty, we become a block of matter. We cannot breathe, we cannot think. To be empty means to be alive, to breathe in and to breathe out. We cannot be alive if we are not empty. Emptiness is impermanence, it is change. We should not complain about impermanence, because without impermanence, nothing is possible.” – Thich Nhat Hanh…
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Choosing to Forgive: Therapeutic Stages of Forgiveness
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” – Mahatma Gandhi We have all experienced events in our lives when we have held onto painful emotions such anger, sadness, guilt, and shame. Sometimes painful emotions are directly outwardly towards others, accompanied by experiences such as blame, resentment, doubt, or anger. These…
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5 Steps of Effective & Mindful Problem Solving
“One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment… If it doesn’t turn out right, we can modify it as we go along.” – Franklin D.Roosevelt Problems in life can take on a variety of forms, but many of them share common characteristics that…
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Stop Trying to Change Your Partner: Change Your Attitude – Part Two
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” – Kahlil Gibran My last post, “Stop Trying to Change Your Partner: Change Your Attitude –…
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Stop Trying to Change Your Partner: Change Your Attitude – Part One
“Our capacity to make peace with another person and with the world, depends very much on our capacity to make peace with ourselves.” – Thich Nhat Hanh Relationships naturally go through various stages of development and changes over time as couples transition between romance, conflict, and resolution. Quite often, the same qualities that served as powerful early…
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Choose to Have a Better Day: 10 Simple Tips
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha Sometimes life feels…
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Continually Returning to Bad Memories Linked to Depression in Women
“Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. No man is free who cannot control himself.” – Pythagoras Some people have greater tendencies to experience episodes of depression at different points throughout their lifetimes. A wide variety of biological, temperamental, environmental, psychological, and social factors impact various outcomes. A recent study found…
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