Posts tagged with “wisdom”
What a Month of Daily Panic Attacks Taught Me About Anxiety
“You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” ~Jon Kabat-Zinn
It happened in the middle of an intimate moment, about a month before my wedding.
One minute I was enjoying a kiss from my fiancé and the next thing I knew, I was clutching my face and writhing in agony.
At first, there was a loud thud in my chest, as if my heart had skipped a beat.
Then out of nowhere I started getting this strange sensation—like the kind of feeling you’d get on an elevator that’s going down too fast. The feeling was so …
How to Step Out of the Drama Triangle and Find Real Peace
“Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.” ~Epictetus
Are you addicted to drama? I was, but I didn’t know it. I thought I was just responding to life, to what was happening. I really didn’t think I had a choice! The drama triangle is so pervasive, and can be so subtle, that it just seems normal. But it’s not, and there’s a much saner way to live, I found.
Dr. Stephen Karpman first described the drama triangle in the …
You Can Have a Tender Heart and Still Be Fierce
“Life is a balance between what we can control and what we cannot. I am learning to live between effort and surrender.” ~Danielle Orner
For too long, I felt myself pulled between two shores of my identity. On one side was my yoga teacher, meditator, healer identity—my tender side. On the other side was my activist, change-maker role—my fierce side.
I always felt like I was too tender for some and too fierce for others. It made me feel like I didn’t fit in anywhere.
Definitely the soft-hearted “woo” person in my activist circles. And I was definitely the …
The Life-Changing Benefits of Two-Minute Meditations
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
I felt everything, from my lower back pain flaring up to tightness in my jaw where I clinch and carry my stress. With my eyes still closed, I rolled my shoulders and repositioned the pillow under my butt. Five minutes had passed, and I had no idea how I would ever make it to forty.
I opened my left eye to see if anyone around me was fidgeting as well and saw rows of people sitting in perfect, cross-legged lotus position with straight necks and relaxed jaws next to me.
Our teacher, …
Living with Depression and Anxiety: How to Lessen the Pain
“I am bent, but not broken. I am scarred, but not disfigured. I am sad, but not hopeless. I am tired, but not powerless. I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.” ~Unknown
Depression and anxiety. Two words we hear often, but unless we have actually lived with them, we cannot come close to understanding the tremendous impact they can have on one’s quality of life.
Depression and anxiety can make people feel as if they are worthless and better off dead. What a horrible plague. But it is 100% possible to tame these two …
6 Ways Meditation Improves Your Life
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our hearts, we still cling to anything—anger, anxiety, or possessions—we cannot be free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Back in 2001, I was a freshman in college, and my saving grace from anxiety was a yoga class. More specifically, it was the most glorious of poses we call savasana that kept me sane.
For those unfamiliar, savasana—or corpse pose—is a pose of surrender and noticing thoughts and sensations without judgment, much like meditation. (It’s the pose that looks like everyone is just lying around napping.)
Back then, …
When You Feel Tired of Hoping and Trying, Remember…
“What happens when people open their hearts? They get better.” ~Haruki Murakami
What do you do when just can’t do it anymore? When the pain is too much? The discouragement is too much? The hoping and trying are too much?
It’s not that you haven’t tried. You’ve been brave. You’ve been persistent. You’ve been soldiering on through hurt that other people don’t understand.
It’s that you’re feeling broken from the trying.
That’s how I felt when my husband died of stomach cancer. There were two healing realizations that changed not only the path that I was on, but …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
Why I’m Done Fishing for ‘Likes’ on Social Media
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ~Ernest Hemingway
Recently I was invited to listen to a recorded presentation about humility, and it literally rocked my world.
As I listened intently, the words “complete and whole” popped into my head. And then came the light bulb moment: “Yes!” I thought. “When one feels whole and complete, they’re more humble.”
As the presenter talked about the “look at me” culture of selfies and social media I felt my toes begin to curl and my stomach tighten.
“Oh …