I grew up in Australia where I remember the Christmas and New Year holiday season as a delightful time with warmth and laughter; playing along the beach with cousins for the six-week holiday break, everyone arrived back home refreshed. And of course, there were fewer holidays those days- no Halloween and no Thanksgiving. And [...]
Recently a colleague introduced me to a very valuable book, “Suicide; the Forever Decision” by Paul Quinnette PhD. In his forthright way, he addresses the reader very directly about the choices folks make (including the ones reading his book) and the Pros and Cons of taking one’s life. Since I have seen the number of [...]
Mindfulness means living with awareness in the present moment. Sound simple? I can truthfully say that mindfulness is the hardest skill I have ever practiced, but the MOST essential for me. It has reduced my anxiety and fear and changed my approach to life. Mindfulness skills are specific behaviors we practice which help us be Mindful. [...]
Quite often in our meditation group we discuss the nature of love; how it manifests in our lives and relationships, how it is seen spiritually, and how society defines the various qualities of this complex word. Love, defined as “Feelings of strong affection” (Wikipedia) help us play out the evolutionary actions which connect us as [...]
A few years ago I was astonished to find a whole chapter in a spiritual book, outlining skillful communication. The author’s premise was that since we humans are so complicated, we should really remember that Miscommunication was more common (and to be expected) than understanding each other! I guess I had not really equated peace [...]
Now as an elder, I have had the privilege of experiencing the deaths of both my parents under very different circumstances. I know that tending to a parent declining over many years has a different quality than losing someone unexpectedly in an accident. I have learned so much about my own mind, the richness of [...]
For me, a lifelong subscription to National Geographic has kept me enthralled. The pictures are always stunning, and now they are publishing books as well. Dan Buettner’s “The Blue Zones of Happiness” referred to in the November issue, details countries where happiness is the most prevalent. The United States has one of the highest rates [...]
Last night we attended an annual Halloween dance party which has been part of a nearly thirty-year tradition for our circle of friends. It is always fun to try to guess who the familiar person might be, under some outlandish costume. Sometimes it is easy (despite the elaborate disguise), to pick up a known trait [...]
A few years ago I slipped on the last patch of ice from winter and fractured my wrist. I was surprised at how emotionally upsetting that experience was, as well as observing how my whole body reacted to that one limb being injured. It was not a bad break, no surgery needed, but my mood [...]
A few weeks ago I was speaking in a training workshop for emotion regulating skills. One of the participants anxiously asked what I thought about gossiping, and a lively discussion started. All the group members agreed that they never felt good about gossiping, and that gossiping could often backfire; they themselves could easily become [...]
New dates will be released in 2021.
