Have you ever tried to meditate? Maybe you’ve downloaded some apps, tuned in and benefited from taking this time for yourself. If so, congratulations on taking this important step! I started meditation (many years before apps) by reading about it in the one book I could find, and then trying to implement what I had […]
Mindfulness Changes Relationships
Why do so many people worldwide practice mindfulness meditation? Because of its proven physical and mental health benefits! Mindfulness helps relieve stress, treats heart disease, lowers blood pressures, reduces chronic pain and insomnia, alleviates gastrointestinal difficulties, is used in treatment of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, couples’ conflicts, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Overall, it […]
What is PTSD?
Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that typically occurs after individuals have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a serious accident, natural disaster, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault. In the past, PTSD went by different names. During and right after the years of World War 1, the […]
The Starfish
You’ve probably heard something about mindfulness meditation. You may even have a few friends who are committed to the practice. Perhaps you know that mindfulness practice helps with stress, anxiety, depression and focus. But did you know that meditation can slow normal brain atrophy associated with aging? Or that a mindfulness intervention can support eye […]
Remember the Heart
My son had a piano teacher who lives and breathes music. While to me it was great accomplishment that a 10 year old could play a complicated sonata with only a few mistakes, this teacher cared less about wrong notes and much more about the emotion expressed by the passage. “This phrase is the voice […]
Listening to the Whispers in Your Body by Ed Feldman
Trungpa Rinpoche, Pema Chodren’s Buddhist teacher, observed in his visit to the United States that “Most people don’t feel themselves properly.” This leads to a lot of ‘over-efforting’ in daily life which results in a lot of unnecessary tension and work being done by the body. This ‘compulsive’ efforting is not without cost. Many of our […]
The Falling Leaves
Ah … fall. With its glorious colors, crisp air and even some blue skies (finally!). In my pine forest backyard, some leaves have dropped, but many more are still clinging to their twigs and branches. How does a leaf know, I wonder, just when to let go? With the changing of the season, I’ve been […]
Where is your community?
Growing up, I was part of a neighborhood … a community. Members of my extended family lived within a three-block radius. We ran into friends and neighbors at local restaurants and shops. On our block, kids of all ages played together and somehow always found a way to get along. We could rely on people around […]
I can’t meditate!
I can’t meditate! It makes me feel anxious. I’m too restless. I have too many thoughts! If you think, “I can’t meditate,” it might be interesting to try again while looking carefully at your actual experience. And then determine if it’s really true that you can’t meditate, or whether you were seeking a different experience […]
Mindfulness for Stressful Times
Floods, fires, nuclear weapons, mass shootings … the ominous threat of world war III! The President casually warning, “It’s the calm before the storm.” Even without having lived through a recent disaster, it’s hard not to feel vulnerable and uncertain. These are stressful times. Earlier this week, I was heartened to hear the perspective of […]