Ahh, Thanksgiving! The day we set aside to give thanks for the abundance in our lives, for all those beautiful moments, and for all the people we cherish. A time to bring everyone together and count our blessings. So why is it that this is often a time when we feel overextended, under-resourced, and off balance? Like Sisyphus, the king in Greek Mythology who was sentenced by the Gods to push a boulder uphill, over and over again for eternity.  Balancing the many demands in our lives can truly feel more like drudgery than joy. Our natural tendency is to turn … Make Every Day Thanksgiv ..read more

It wasn’t all that long ago that scientists believed that our brains stopped growing and changing in our mid-20s. Then, new technologies were born. EEGs, PET scans, and fMRIs gave us the ability to observe the inner workings of living, functioning human brains, and everything changed! These amazing machines created a window into a brain that is constantly molding and re-molding itself from birth to death. When we learn something new or train in a new skill, our brains get bigger in areas that relate to that new knowledge. When we quit using certain areas of the brain, they shrink. … Change You ..read more

“Life is hard!” It was such a relief when I first heard that phrase. Until then, I had believed that life was hard because of some internal flaw and that I was to blame. When I hit a bump in the road, my internal message was, “I am such a mess.” I had entirely missed the message that life is just messy. From my vantage point, all those other people were perfectly happy, enjoying wonderful vacations, and doing meaningful work because they had it together, not because they had found ways to triumph over the messiness of life. Struggling is … I’m Not a Mess, Life is Messy! Read More » The post I ..read more

“Life is hard!” It was such a relief when I first heard that phrase. Until then, I had believed that life was hard because of some internal flaw and that I was to blame. When I hit a bump in the road, my internal message was, “I am such a mess.” I had entirely missed the message that life is just messy. From my vantage point, all those other people were perfectly happy, enjoying wonderful vacations, and doing meaningful work because they had it together, not because they had found ways to triumph over the messiness of life. Struggling is … I’m Not a Mess! Life is Messy Read More » The post I’m ..read more

“To meditate is to discover new possibilities, to awaken the capacity that each of us has to live more wisely, more lovingly, more compassionately, and more fully.”  – Jack Kornfield, Meditation for Beginners Mindfulness and meditation have gotten a lot of press lately. They are teaching it in healthcare settings and therapists’ offices. Athletes swear by it, soldiers are finding it improves their resilience, and it helps school kids focus and learn. You may have heard that meditation is a great way to create more balance or maybe that you know someone who is convinced that it has helped ..read more

The brain is a habit-making machine! Every time I do something that brings pleasure, the brain lays down some tracks to help me remember that good feeling. For example, a coworker gives me a couple of Dove Chocolates, and I take them back to my desk. I get back to work, and things are humming along nicely until I get a distressing email. I start to feel the anger rising, and then I notice the chocolate and pop one into my mouth. Yum! A burst of pleasure rushes, the anger relaxes a little bit, and I go back to work … Bad Habits Thrive on Autopilot – Mindfulness is the Antidote Read More » The p ..read more

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month Parkinson’s Awareness Month is observed worldwide in the month of April. World Parkinson’s Day is on April 11th and commemorates the birth of James Parkinson in 1755 (267 years ago!). April is also National Stress Awareness Month and has been recognized since 1992.   How might stress impact Parkinson’s Disease? While the cause of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is largely unknown, increasing evidence points to stress as a possible risk factor in the development of the disease. It’s been postulated that prolonged emotional stress can trigger PD with increased ..read more

“before I could release the weight of my sadness and pain, I first had to honor its existence” —Yung Pueblo For thousands of years, our ancestors listened to the call of the body to inform the mind and spirit. At what point did we lose this ability? The body is the most amazing repository of wisdom. Our bodies tell us when we are tired, when we are in love, when we are peaceful, and when we are afraid. And yet, we consistently ignore the signals our body is sending us. Have we become oblivious to our most sacred source of … Befriend Your Body with Self-Compassion Read More » The post Befriend ..read more

It Doesn’t Have to Take Much Time. We all want the season to be a beautiful time of sharing and happy memories, but perhaps it’s not feeling so beautiful right now. Maybe, in fact, it’s feeling downright stressful as your TO-DO list gets longer and the time gets shorter. This is the situation many of us find ourselves in, and yet, there is an alternative: Mindfulness. You think to yourself, “If there’s one time I don’t have time for one more thing, it’s now!” But think again! Mindfulness is portable. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and it just … 5 Ways to Create More Ease and Less Stress for th ..read more

Thanksgiving is the beginning of the holiday season and a time to stop, take stock and say thank you for all the gifts we have been given. It is a time to reflect on the abundance that surrounds us and the people that give our lives meaning. So, Why Is It So Hard Sometimes? But, often this is also a time when we feel overextended and under-resourced and balancing the many demands in our lives can feel more like drudgery than joy. Our natural tendency is to see what isn’t working and where we are not being enough or doing … Thanksgiving: A Time to Appreciate the Richness of Our Lives Read More ..read more