Posts tagged with “wisdom”
How to Tackle Fear and Anxiety Cognitively, Behaviorally, and Spiritually
“The beautiful thing about fear is that when you run to it, it runs away.” ~Robin Sharma
During my first-grade choir concert, my classmate, Meg, fainted from the top row of the bleachers, and in a subconscious gesture of empathy, I went down right after her, breaking my glasses and flailing on the gymnasium floor.
It’s possible that this triggered some kind of coping mechanism in my brain, because I started fainting again and again.
One time I fainted at the dentist’s office—immediately after the dentist injected me with my first round of Novocain—then months later in a hospital parking …
Lessons from a Life Lost Too Soon: Don’t Let Your Inner Critic Destroy You
“What you tell yourself every day will lift you up or tear you down. Choose wisely.” ~Unknown
It was a story I just couldn’t get out of my head. A young teen had died in a town not far from where I live, a town where I used to live. I knew people who had kids who knew this girl.
I heard she was a swimmer, bright and popular. At first the talk was about how she’d died. I heard someone surmise that she was killed. Someone else said it was a horrible accident, and of course, there were murmurings …
Creating Calm in the Chaos: How I Found My Peace in NYC
“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” ~Deepak Chopra
I found my peace in New York City, where I spent a year as a consultant on a temporary work assignment.
It may seem counter-intuitive that living in a city targeted by terrorists, clogged with traffic, and punctuated by sirens and honking horns could instill a kind of tranquility unattainable in Minnesota, where I currently live. After all, Minnesota is home to over 10,000 lakes, comforting casseroles of tater tots and cheese, and generations of Scandinavians who make Minnesota “nice.”
So, what is it about the …
Life Is Far Less Painful When We Drop the Story in Our Head
“You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.” ~Philip Arnold
Every meditator knows the dilemma of trying to find that perfectly quiet place to meditate, where silence is the golden rule and voices hush to a whisper.
Oh how perfect our meditation would be if only everyone would be quiet.
As wonderful as it sounds, we know it just doesn’t always work out that way.
And that’s what made this particular meditation experience so insightful. It gave me an opportunity to see how my judgmental thoughts can make life far more …
How Body-Obsession Made Me Sick and How I Got Better
“You are not a mistake. You are not a problem to be solved. But you won’t discover this until you are willing to stop banging your head against the wall of shaming and caging and fearing yourself.” ~Geneen Roth
I’ve spent so much time on the dieting hamster wheel that I am almost too ashamed to admit it. Throughout my teen years I went from one crash diet to the next. When this proved more than unfruitful and disappointing, I changed strategies.
The next twelve years I spent searching for the “right lifestyle” for me, which would allow me …
Why I’m Choosing to Be Happy Now, Not When I Feel Like a Success
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” ~Alan Watts
I love how instant modern life has become.
When I’m hungry, without really moving, I can instantly get food delivered to me. Pizza, of course. When I’m hungry for knowledge, at the touch of a button on my mobile, I can discover answers to the questions I’m pondering. No need to head to the library to search for and flick …
Grief Isn’t Something You Live Through, It’s Something You Live With
“Obstacles do not block the path, they are the path.” ~Zen proverb
I thought the concept of a “cold sweat” was unreal and paradoxical until the evening of August 27, 2014. That was my first cold sweat. My first of a lot of things.
My heart jack-hammered in my chest.
I heard my pulse in my ears.
I gasped for air on my dorm room floor in New York, while my mom tried to calm me down on the other end of the phone in Los Angeles.
“It’s just a panic attack, sweetie. Just breathe deep.”
No, no, no, …
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. 