What Forgiveness Is
The Empty Pickle Jar: A Lesson on Life
I almost stopped watching this video because of what seems like elevator music, but I’m glad I watched the whole thing, because there’s an inspiring, thought-provoking message in here. Watch it and ask yourself: Have you made enough room for the golf balls? Can you let some of that sand slip through your fingers?
How Forgiveness Enables Us to Stop Hurting Ourselves
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize that prisoner was you.” ~Lewis B. Smedes
I was planning a seminar event with one of my good friends. (Let’s call her “Randi.”) It was a great match; she had event planning and design expertise, and great energy in front of an audience. I understood the structure of such an event, and I authored much of the content.
It was a powerful presentation and we were going to be a great team bringing the material to life. We spent months putting the seminar together: rehearsing, setting the date, booking the …
6 Secrets to Moving On From Serious Struggles
“Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” ~Unknown
People who knew me ten years ago would probably expect me to be dead now. They wouldn’t expect me to have escaped my problems. They wouldn’t expect me to have stopped drinking, drugging, taking overdoses, and cutting my arms.
People who knew me ten years ago saw a scared shell of a girl, terrified of her own shadow and on a mission to self-destruct. They wouldn’t expect me to have turned my life around completely. They certainly wouldn’t expect me to …
Letting Go of Labels and Being Happy in This Moment
“Taking responsibility for your beliefs and judgments gives you the power to change them.” ~Byron Katie
I was watching my go-to show, the one I turn to when I need a pick-me-up or peace, Super Soul Sunday. It’s the episode with Adyashanti, the spiritual teacher and author of Falling into Grace.
During the show, he said something so profound that it made me have what Oprah calls an AH-HA moment, so I ran to get my computer to put it into words!
I think Oprah was paraphrasing for him when she said, “When you tell a child a …
4 Faulty Beliefs That Cause You to Push Yourself and Do Too Much
“Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.” ~John De Paola
Do you ever work past the point where you know it’s time to stop? Where your body, heart, and soul are saying, “Ah, enough already,” only you can’t hear them because your mind is pushing you on?
And have you ever pushed to such an extent you become physically and/or mentally sick?
My hand is raised.
Working hard and pushing the boundaries can be stimulating and rewarding; the problem comes when there’s an imbalance for extended periods.
Meditation and silence are increasingly advocated …
Overcoming Excuses and Believing in What You Can Do
“Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.” ~Mark Victor Hansen
I still remember how I felt crossing the finish line after my first 10K race. I was elated. I felt like I could conquer anything.
I realize that for all you marathon runners, 10K may not seem like a big deal. But for me, it was monumental. Up until the two years prior to running my first race, the only running I did was in gym class (and only after trying anything I could think of to get out of …
Embracing Change When It Challenges Your Identity
“The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings.” ~Ralph Blum
During the worst years of my life, yoga saved me.
My life was a wreck. I was working seventy to eighty hours a week at a job that took everything from me and made me a monster. My relationship was disintegrating. I was hopped up on espresso shots and sugar. I paraded myself as the self-appointed queen of happy hour.
But the hour a week I spent on my mat put it all into perspective.
That single hour turned into several, and somewhere, somehow, …
A Simple Way to Avoid Hurting Other People
“Don’t let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.” ~Dalai Lama
The most straightforward advice I can suggest to make real concrete changes in your life is to practice causing no harm to anyone—yourself or others.
Try it for a day. Or two. How about a week? You will probably find that it’s harder than you think. Before you know it, someone has triggered you, and either directly or indirectly, you’ve caused harm.
I am a successful psychotherapist and conscious woman, and I’m also committed to transparency. No more hiding behind the therapist’s veil for me. The one that …
Make Your Soul Grow: A Letter from Kurt Vonnegut
In 2006, a group of high school students in New York wrote to their favorite authors and asked them to visit their school, as part of an assignment. Only one author responded, offering his wisdom in the form of a letter.
Dogtooth Films made this short film with a group of students in the UK. It offers a powerful message: create, not for what it can get you, but for who you will become through the process. Make your soul grow.
How to Create a Happy Future by Accepting the Present
“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” ~Eckhart Tolle
Imagine if every night you wrote the script for your tomorrow.
You’d tuck it under your pillow and when you woke up, it would begin unfolding just like you envisioned.
The man or woman of your dreams would appear in the Whole Foods aisle you were perusing.
A check for a million dollars would show up in your mailbox, with a note reading “have fun.”
Your friends and family would call you to tell you how great life …
When You Think You Need to Know More to Be Good Enough
“All the wonders you seek are within yourself.” ~Sir Thomas Browne
I’m constantly looking for answers—in books, in yoga classes, in meditation. Everywhere I go I meet people, new and old, and I’m constantly asking questions. I thrive on learning new opinions, spiritualities, lessons, and facts. Relentlessly, I’m always searching for more.
Aren’t we all looking for the answers?
How am I going to leave the position that I’ve held for most of my life and start a new job, in a new company? Raise our first child (or puppy!)? Take care of our aging parents? Start teaching yoga …
Let Go of Regret by Making a Promise to Yourself
“Sometimes the wrong choices bring us to the right places.” ~Unknown
Regret can be such a paralyzing emotion, yet it is also universal. At some point in our lives, in one way or another, we each wrestle with regret.
Regret seems to rear its ugly head most when it comes to relationships. It happens when a relationship ends and we feel as if we could have done something more. This feeling intensifies when the other person decides that a second chance is not worth the fight. Most of all, we face with regret once it sets in that the past …
Learn to Love Yourself by Doing Something Good for Yourself
TRIGGER WARNING: This post deals with an account of sexual abuse and may be triggering to some people.
“I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.” ~BrenéBrown
I was happiest when I didn’t know my weight, and that was ironically when I was at my heaviest, which was in high school.
I was slow to take on the self-loathing and body image issues that plague so many young kids. I rarely felt bad about myself, partly because I had a loving family and a …
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