Good Thoughts
Kindness Keeps the World Afloat
Kindness is contagious, as the beautiful video from Life Vest Inside illustrates. How can you start a chain reaction?
Why Letting Yourself Feel Broken is the Key to Feeling Whole
“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.” ~Paul Coelho
I spent my twenty-fifth birthday crying alone at the foot of a mountain. While I had always found solace in spending time by myself, in that moment, I did not recognize my “self.” Without my self, I had nothing.
I was utterly alone.
Three weeks earlier, a man was shot just feet away from my front door. My then-boyfriend and I performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, but the man had been killed on impact. The police left my home at 3 a.m.; …
A Simple Technique to Solve Problems Before They Get Bigger
“As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.” ~James Allen
It was a beautiful day as we drove down the Desert Road two days after Christmas. The Desert Road is a stretch of highway in the North Island of New Zealand.
On one side of the highway, three magnificent volcanoes provide the only break to the bleak, stark landscape. Otherwise, the ground is covered in dry grasses, rocks, and a straight highway to the horizon.
During the drive, my husband and I were discussing the New Year and what would be the next adventure.…
Are You in Love with the Idea of Being in Love?
“When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor Frankl
“But no. We can give it another chance; I know we can. We just have to try harder…” were my desperate words to him as he was breaking up with me for the second time.
As I am reading those words out loud, I feel a little sting in my heart. It’s been a while since I revisited this experience and for some reason, it feels bittersweet.
It’s been about nine months since he told me that he didn’t see a future for us, …
10 Ways to Start Living and Loving Life Now
“I never want to arrive. I love the ride.” ~Coco J. Ginger
This is what life should be, a wonderful journey of living and loving each moment.
I was born in India to a loving, caring family. My mother and my grandparents gave me the world. They kept me hidden from the truths of life and, therefore, life was sweet, as I felt like the most loved child in the world. Now after 38 years of existing (not living) I reflect on where everything went wrong. Why have I felt so lost, broken, and regretful?
I came from a successful …
Why We Struggle to Find Ourselves and How to Do It
“On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a playful, joyous energy behind what you do.” ~Eckhart Tolle
For a long time I’ve had a bit of an obsession with coming home. Not my physical home, but Home with a capital H. Being with myself. Knowing who I was. Leaning back into me and having that “ah” feeling of being totally whole, and totally at peace.
I felt like there was something missing, and that I needed to find that missing piece to complete the puzzle.
I thought that if I found the right …
Embracing Change and Living with Passion: Awaken your Phoenix Spirit
“All the wonders you seek are within yourself.” ~Sir Thomas Browne
As history claims, the phoenix began as a common bird that’s nest caught on fire by the hand of a god-like figure. As the fire started to consume the bird, instead of suffering, she decided to dance in the flames.
Eventually, the fire reduced the bird to ashes. However, this was not the end of that wise bird, for she knew her ending was only the beginning—the beginning of something greater than what she ever thought possible, a resurrection.
The seemingly done-for bird emerged, more powerful and more …
Book Giveaway: Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself
UPDATE: The winners for this giveaway have already been chosen. They are:
- Sunny Kharbanda
- UnicaPoet
It’s been 10 days since the launch of Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself, and I’m excited to share that the book has been a bestseller in Amazon’s self-esteem category since then.
For those of you who already bought a copy, I hope you’re enjoying it!
And I have a special request for you: Since it’s brand new, there’s currently only one review on Amazon. Those reviews go a long way in influencing people who may benefit from the book.
If you’ve found the …
A Simple Process to Deal with a Hypercritical Mind
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I can’t believe I screwed this up again!”
“Why did I do that?”
“This is all my fault!”
The third grader ruminated as he walked away from the soccer field where his team had tied, two to two. It was their sixth tie in seven games.
The lone game that was not a tie was a loss. According to this young man, his team’s record was a direct reflection of his worth; therefore, verbal self-deprecation was the only response one should have after such failure.
His …
Silencing Your Inner Critic: You Don’t Need to Torture Yourself to Grow
“You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~Buddha
I was tortured by self-hatred for most of my life.
There were aspects of myself that I had a hard time loving. I didn’t like that I am competitive, that I was not a blonde with blue eyes, that I am not good at math or managing money.
I did everything I could to hide these things. I was over-caring, over-helping, and over-accommodating others.
I think I did a pretty good job of not being myself. This created additional psychic pain in me. I …
Touching Flash Mob for a Retiring Principal
The students of Hingham Middle School showed their appreciation for their retiring principal, Roger Boddie, in a touching, highly unconventional way. I’m not sure what I enjoyed more–seeing their joy and gratitude, or his reaction. He clearly made an impact, and seeing it made an impact on me.
Stop Assuming the Worst: Your Thoughts Shape Your Reality
“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” ~Buddha
My morning bicycle ride had been uneventful until I spotted a small lump in the middle of the bike path. It wasn’t a twig, a dead mouse, or a smelly “gift” from a dog, which are some of the most common sightings during my rides.
It was a perfect, intact slice of bread.
In a nanosecond, my mind created several versions of how this piece of bread had ended up where it was.
I pictured a young mother pushing a stroller and her two-year-old tossing the …
Forgiving In a Situation That Feels Unjust
“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.” ~Unknown
There I was: numb from a conclusion of a dismissal based on a finding that there was “no reasonable prospect of success.”
Harassed, bullied, victimized, stalked both in-person and online, the Human Rights Tribunal tossed me into another discarded pile of victims to be ignored by the courts because a group of goons were cleaver enough to hide the body of proof.
My assailants comprised of four individuals. One was a divorced teacher …
Patience Is a Virtue but Don’t Wait to Be Happy
“Don’t be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don’t have to live forever; you just have to live.” ~Natalie Babbitt
And don’t wait to say what you need to say. And don’t wait to live the life you want to live.
Yesterday we lost a dear friend to cancer. Ken was sixty-eight. Five months ago he and I hung out on the beach drinking out of coconuts with a straw. We were at a personal growth retreat that my husband and I conduct every winter in Mexico.
He was the happiest I had ever seen him …
7 Benefits of a Surprisingly Simple Meditation Technique
“Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time.” ~Shunryu Suzuki
I blinked my eyes, wiggled my toes, and carefully heaved my right foot out from under me. It had gone completely numb after twenty minutes of meditation. I prodded it tentatively.
“The idea is to be able to meditate wherever you are,” our teacher said, pouring out some green tea as we stretched, “to be really present in whatever it is you are doing—cutting the lawn, doing the dishes, whatever it is. To simply breathe in…and out…and just be.”
“You don’t have …
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