Before You Argue with Someone…
How Going Offline for 10 Days Healed My Anxiety
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a while, including you.” ~Anne Lamott
I wake up anxious a little past 4am. My heart is beating faster than usual, and I’m aware of an unsettled feeling, like life-crushing doom is imminent. For a moment, I wonder if I just felt the first waves of a massive earthquake. Or perhaps those were gunshots I just heard in the distance.
But no, it’s just another night in my bedroom in the Bay Area, and everything is utterly fine. But somehow, my central nervous system isn’t so sure.
The problem is …
Peacock Feather by Sneha
I am very close to religion and nature. I feel that both of them are really interconnected. Both give me a sense of hope in days of distress. Whenever I feel upset or anxious, I pray or go out for a walk in the park to observe the trees, birds and lake. These things really help me feel lighter, thus my upset/anxious mood gets a lot better.
I recently spotted a Peacock in the park and managed to save one of its feathers. It was the most beautiful feather I had seen, and it immediately lifted my creative spirits. I …
Karmic Eye by Claire Jones
“Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Understanding the workings of cause and effect allows one to make sense of life. If you understand and believe all your actions have consequences, then the common sense thing to do is to pay attention to those actions.
This vibrant piece is my interpretation of how the invisible threads of cause and effect reverberate through the ether.
A practicing Buddhist of twenty-five years, I adhere to the law of cause and effect or karma. I live my life grounded in awareness, clarity …
Siddhartha (Running Water) by Syne
Ever since I can remember, I have loved creating. There’s something about the process of making something out of nothing that drives the universe and satisfies the soul like not many other things can.
This is my passion.
I was fortunate to have been brought up with unconditional love and kindness, surrounded by the most dedicated and loving family one could ask for. They taught me to be curious and kind, and they helped me paint a beautiful picture of the world in my eyes.
This is my inspiration.
But as I grew up, I became exposed to the harsher …
We Have to Own Our Part to Heal Our Broken Heart and Find a Deeper Love
“True love does not only encompass the things that make you feel good, it also holds you to a standard of accountability.” ~Monica Johnson
I remember the confusion I felt as it slowly began to register to me that he had indeed read all of my messages and was indeed ignoring me. Even though my eyes were telling me this, it still didn’t make any sense.
Just the day before, he’d initiated contact, called me beautiful, and wanted to know the details of my day. We’d talked all day that day, as we normally did. But this was a new …
3 Healing Practices to Connect with Yourself and Release Your Pain
“Our practice rather than being about killing the ego is about simply discovering our true nature.” ~Sharon Salzberg
One of the symptoms of living in today’s fast-paced world is the underlying feeling of loneliness, overwhelm, and disconnection. Chronically stressed and under financial and familial pressures, we often feel alone in the world, out of touch with others, overwhelmed by our emotions, and disconnected from our own bodies and ourselves.
Our world is ego-driven. We constantly compare ourselves to others, judge our performance (usually harshly), define our worth by our financial and career achievements, and criticize ourselves for failure.
This ego-based …
Experience the Benefits of Mindfulness: Join eM Life’s Free One Percent Challenge
Whether you’re a regular reader here or you just found your way to Tiny Buddha recently, odds are you’re familiar with the practice of mindfulness, but you may not be aware of the many benefits.
A regular mindfulness practice can not only boost your mood, reduce your stress level, and help you be less reactive, it can also enhance your creativity, improve your sleep, and increase your resilience so you’re better able to handle life’s varied disappointments and challenges.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Studies have shown that a regular mindfulness practice can also give you a …
How to Help Without Hurting Yourself and Avoid Healer Burnout
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals.” ~Pema Chodron
The technical term is Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. This is when one stumbles upon a new, unfamiliar, or unusual piece of information, and soon encounters that same subject again, within a short time, sometimes repeatedly.
So, for example, you decided to take the plunge for that hipster, purple hair streak that you thought was so punk rock, but now you see it on everyone.
You have recently been car shopping, narrowing it down to a couple of choices, and now Honda Fits are …
How to Take Back Control from the Negative Script in Your Head
“You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” ~Dan Millman
I’d love to say I had an “Eat, Pray, Love” moment where sitting sobbing in the bathroom I received divine guidance to leave my husband and go traveling the world eating amazing food. But sadly, it wasn’t quite that profound.
It was more a long series of nights sobbing in the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror, and concluding “You’re broken.”
I wasn’t depressed and hadn’t been for a long time. My anxiety, a lifelong companion, was under control. …
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