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Simple Ways to Improve Our Relationships, Starting Today

By in Blog, love & relationships

“My experience is that the teachers we need most are the people we’re living with right now.” ~Byron Katie

I never had a good relationship with my father when I was younger.

Sometimes he expressed his opinions in a rude way, sounding more like an attack than advice.

Many times he apologized after being rude, but I was too cold to forgive or listen.

The years passed, and I never made an effort to improve our relationship. It felt easier to deal with my mother. She was the one I always went to when I needed something, had a question, …

4 Lessons on Conquering Fear and Living the Life You Want to Live

By in Blog, change & challenges, happiness & fun, meaning & passion

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?” ~Marianne Williamson

After lying on my apartment floor for an hour, I walked over to the mirror, leaned in, and looked into my eyes.  This was the moment I came face to face with the truth: I was afraid to stand up and be who I wanted to be in this …

Rediscover The Beauty Of Life Instead of Just Getting By

By in Blog, happiness & fun, meaning & passion

“If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.” ~Daisaku Ikeda

As kids, we are beings of wonder. Spending hours inspecting blades of grass, hoping to discover lady beetles, rocking fairy wings or a cape at the shops because we feel like it, laughing for the silliest reasons, and finding unadulterated happiness in special treats, our favorite cartoon, or a game of hide and seek.

As teenagers, we often become too cool to find joy in the simplest things but still manage it hanging out with friends, falling in love …

5 Ways to Get Energized and Motivated When You Feel Lazy

By in Blog, healthy habits

“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” ~Benjamin Disraeli

Although laziness is common and a natural part of life, it has the potential to completely consume us.

I personally have times where laziness causes me to feel trapped. No matter what I do, I cannot seem to shake it off. I feel tired, fall asleep constantly during the day, sit around a lot and feel unable to be active, avoid doing anything productive, and put on hold things that I want to accomplish.

I believe there are two kinds of laziness. First, there’s …

Keep Your Eye on the Prize to Find the Courage to Keep Going

By in Blog, meaning & passion

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt 

I will never forget June 20, 1999.

I experienced many firsts on that day: leaving my family behind, traveling by plane, and being surrounded by people talking a different language.

But that day wasn’t exceptional for those reasons alone; it also put me on a path of independence and self-discovery that has treated me well ever since.

My dream was simple in my teens: to live abroad and speak a foreign language.

I wanted this because of the …

Practice, Persevere, and Trust That You’re Making Progress

By in Blog, change & challenges

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.” ~Johann Von Goethe

I am on a journey of trust. It’s been about trusting my body, knowing that it can take care of itself without the control of my mind.

For three and a half years, my body and mind have been enemies and I have been trying so hard, and knowingly, too hard, to get back to where I was at seventeen.

It all began when I had an episode of hyperventilation in January 2010, when I heard that my Granny, who was terminally ill, had just …

Live by Your Values and Everything Else Will Fall into Place

By in Blog, happiness & fun, meaning & passion

“Until you make peace with who you are, you will never be content with what you have.” ~Doris Mortman

As I sit here writing this, I am still in the middle of a huge shift in my life, a shift that has seen me move from living by other people’s values and expectations to identifying and living by my own.

The catalyst for change was a health scare when, on my thirtieth birthday, my doctor told me that I may have cervical cancer. Luckily, I got the all clear, but something had shifted and I realized how dissatisfied with my …

Conscious Choices We Need to Make to Attract Healthy Relationships

By in Blog, love & relationships

“When you have a choice to make and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” ~William James

I have been single for most of my life; sometimes it would seem by choice, and sometimes not. In that time, I have learned and experienced a lot. Some of the things I had thought I wanted changed, and some of the things I thought I didn’t want have become things I do.

Over the years I have tried various forms of meeting people, including the “bar method,” online dating, and approaching random strangers in public places. It’s not that I …

You Don’t Have to Let Your Anxious Thoughts Control You

By in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

“Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change.” ~Barbara Baron

As a child, anxious thoughts stopped me from doing a lot of stuff, so I missed out on sleepovers, parties, and scout camps some of the time.

Anxiety whispered in my ear that it was always better to avoid, and so it became easy to convince myself I didn’t really want to do whatever was on offer. I now recognize those thoughts and don’t let them influence my choices.

I remember as a teenager I went to a carvery …

Go Do: Let Go of the Past and Future and Live in the Present

By in Blog, change & challenges, letting go, mindfulness & peace

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” ~Einstein

“Go do, you’ll learn to just let yourself fall into landslide. Go do, you’ll learn to just let yourself give into low tide. Go do!”~Jonsi

I recently heard from a friend whom I had not heard from in over two years. He sent me an email just to check in and see how I was doing, congratulate me on my recent marriage, which he had heard about, and let me know that he had faced some hardship over the past couple of years.

He had …

Sharing Yourself Without Worrying About Being Accepted

By in Blog, letting go, love & relationships

“Happiness is really a deep harmonious inner satisfaction and approval.” ~Francis Wilshire

Acceptance.

This is a word we often toss around, but what does it truly mean? Perhaps the meaning of it ultimately resides within its beholder. I know I have certainly achieved my own understanding of what acceptance means to me and for me, and so far, this definition is ever evolving.

On November 6, 2013, I returned to the United States after having lived in Australia for two and a half years. I spent the majority of my time there studying and practicing yoga and teaching yoga and …

You Are Good Enough and You Have Nothing to Prove

By in Blog, love & relationships, mindfulness & peace

“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.” ~Maya Angelou

I sat on a big, cold stone on the beach next to Lake Ontario and watched as the waves lapped upon the shore.

To my right, there were swans and ducks floating on the water. The swans were graceful and beautiful as they glided along the shoreline, and the ducks were being their usual kooky selves.

It always made me laugh to watch them dive underwater, kick their webbed feet in the air, and wag their feathered bums back and forth. They were so natural, so unaware …

How to Know What You’re Really Feeling So You Can Feel Better

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“The more you hide your feelings, the more they show. The more you deny your feelings, the more they grow.” ~Unknown

Throughout my life, I thought of myself as someone who felt too much. I was very gregarious and could easily be consumed by moments of joy and celebration. But when I was alone, I could be overtaken by angry, self-destructive voices that would dominate my mind.

By senior year of high school, I was spending many hours of the day crying, and had taken to pinching and punching myself until I was black and blue.

I felt I needed …

Dealing and Healing After Loss: 9 Tips to Help You Get Through the Day

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Our strength grows out of our weaknesses.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you don’t know where to start, start anywhere. I keep telling myself that every time I am stuck.

Well, I’ve been a widow for year and a half, and I am twenty-four years old. Maybe that’s the way to start here.

My husband had cancer. We tried to enjoy the time before his passing as best we could, so he would die with memories, not dreams. And I guess that the fact that he died content is quite an accomplishment in our relationship.

But it doesn’t change …

Finding the Strength to Leave: Run Toward, Not Away

By in Blog, love & relationships

“You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.” ~Guy Finley

It was 11pm on a Monday night and yet again I was chatting online with my friend about the woes of my failing marriage. “I just need a knight in shining armor to take me away from all of this,” I said.

“Not real life,” she said, “but you’re bright and strong, and you’ll be fine.”

I didn’t feel strong. All I could see was a mountain of practical reasons why I had to stay in this relationship: our two-year-old twins, the …

We Need to Give People the Freedom to Choose What’s Right for Them

By in Blog, happiness & fun, love & relationships

“You must love in such a way that the other person feels free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

I’ve read a lot of articles about loving without attachment and respecting other people’s choices, but it wasn’t until one day that I truly got it. And I will tell you what happened to me that day.

My boss and I have a very special relationship. He’s the boss everyone would want to have. He appreciates me for my work and for everything I do. He thinks that I’m a great kid. Every time he has the chance, he praises my results and he …

Two Free, Life Changing Meditation Events

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

If you’re anything like me, you may sometimes have the best intentions of meditating, only to find yourself finding excuses to avoid sitting still.

Maybe it’s because the thought of slowing down makes your heart start to race with terror. Maybe it’s because you’d rather sit naked on the subway floor for an hour than sit with your own thoughts for even a minute.

Or maybe your lack of motivation stems from a list of can’ts—a sense that you can’t devote enough time to make it worthwhile, or you can’t do it consistently because some days are busier than others, …

How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Let Your Life Shine

By in Blog, happiness & fun, letting go, mindfulness & peace

“I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being.” ~Hafiz of Shiraz

I have been on a quest to be happy for as long as I can remember.

I thought I had looked everywhere. I tried relationships, work, adventure travels, and a life filled with friends and activity, but still I felt anxious. I was disenchanted with life. Years of therapy attempting to work out my problems didn’t give me the sense of peace I somehow thought was possible.

I knew there had to be more, and I …

Finding a Path When You Feel Like Two Different People

By in Blog, work fulfillment

“By accepting yourself and being fully what you are, your presence can make others happy.” ~Jane Roberts

When I was a little girl, I played a lot of imaginary games and spent a lot of time on my own. I wasn’t particularly popular. I was a complete goodie-two-shoes.

I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. When people asked me, sometimes I said a vet, sometimes an interior designer, sometimes just to work for my parents who have a fruit importing business. Truth is, I had no idea.

Why do people think a child would …

Accepting Yourself as an Introvert and Loving Your Inner Tortoise

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“We can’t underestimate the value of silence. We need to create ourselves, need to spend time alone. If you don’t, you risk not knowing yourself and not realizing your dreams.” ~Jewel

Tortoises are out of fashion. They are no longer the wise ones, taking one patient step after another, coming out victorious in the end. Today, they are the ones who can’t cross the road fast enough, the ones most likely to get hit by a car.

There is shame involved in being a tortoise.

And so I have spent a considerable chunk of my life trying to turn into …