IMPERFECTION I am falling in love with my imperfections The way I never get the sink really clean, forget to check my oil, lose my car in parking lots, miss appointments I have written down, am just a little late. I am learning to love the small bumps on my face the big bump of …
A poem about loving our imperfections by Elizabeth Carlson Read More »
‘To be human is much more than being born, getting an education, finding the right partner, and getting a pretty house on a nice street, just so you can sleep, wake, work, go to bed, and do it all over again. It is an invitation to feel everything, to come into direct contact with the …
Numbing fear, avoiding, or denying it have become common ways of handling this emotion. However, when we avoid what scares us, the result is phobia and anxiety. Every year millions are diagnosed with anxiety disorders: OCD, PTSD, GAD, acute stress disorder, substance-induced anxiety disorder, anxiety disorder not otherwise specified etc. Anxiety is a generalized state …
I’m actually not very fond of dividing emotions into positive and negative. There is nothing negative about grief, sadness, fear or anger. These emotions may be painful and dark but they are not negative. The so-called negative emotions have been getting a very bad rep recently as more and more research is showing that they …
I would like to recommend a great book by Miriam Greenspan – ‘Healing Through the Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear and Despair.’ The author, a psychotherapist with over 33 years of experience, is convinced that suffering can deepen our connection to life and compassion towards ourselves and others. She believes that our tendency …
‘We don’t need to get rid of anything We don’t need to add anything Simply experience what is actually here This authenticity will liberate you.’ Buddha Our experience is just as it is. We do not need to try to fix our experience, change it, improve it, or manipulate it. When we let the …
Forgiving ourselves is a process that continues through our life. When we truly forgive ourselves we are not simply saying: ‘I couldn’t help doing what I did..so I might forget about it.’ We take responsibility. However, feeling guilty and bad about ourselves is only likely to lead to more harmful actions. We can’t punish ourselves …
Understanding that the pain in our life is an expression of universal suffering can open us to just being with it. Rather than treating it as a problem or a failure. Whenever you are aware that you are suffering, if you offer yourself care- through attention, words, touch – compassion will naturally awaken. ‘Overcome any …
Most of us would like less stress, anxiety, struggle and agitation in our lives. Ironically though, the pursuit of peace can cause more frustration especially in those moments when we are genuinely feeling vulnerable, distressed or hurt. It can become yet another thing that we feel we are failing at. In her poem Dorothy …
The following is a beautiful story told by psychologist and meditation teacher Tara Brach. It illustrates the ‘numbing’ that happens to protect us from trauma: A number of years ago I was working with a client, who also had some exposure to meditation, and she shared a story that for her expressed her own experience. …
