• • • If these signs appear in your friendship, consider if it’s healthy or beneficial to maintain it. As we enter the second holiday season in the midst of a global pandemic, I realize how many folks I thought were actual companions were in fact much...
Read More◊ Have you designed your relationship vision? Are you aware of your love wounds? Avoid five common relationship mistakes. Let me ask you a question. Did you think about your relationship before diving headfirst into it, or were you a bit blinded by rose-colored glasses? Now the...
Read More♥ Love Lessons From Pets When my animals ask for food, I usually stop what I am doing and take care of their needs. All of which causes me to wonder, why? Then I know the answer—gratitude. If you’re like me, there are days when your “to do”...
Read More↓ Intuition can become mute, stifled, or drowned out when we find ourselves out of balance. Here are some ways to help you get grounded so that you can reconnect with that inner voice. Your intuition may make itself heard as a voice in your head—messages in...
Read MoreThat No Longer Feels Aligned Remember—letting go is not the same as giving up. I have a friend who is in a negative situation, and she’s hanging on for dear life because she wants to be brave and tough it out. “Giving up is not an option,”...
Read More♠ Stuck and disappointed? Affirmations for surrender and trust can help get you through. Have you thought about your thoughts lately? Chances are your thoughts have a mind of their own, and it’s often why we feel so frustrated, stressed, or stuck. Retraining your brain to focus on the...
Read MoreFlummoxed by self-esteem issues? Give up on self-esteem and move to Self-awareness. Q: I’ve seen lots of therapists in my life, but I’ve never been able to get rid of my self-esteem problem. I try so hard to feel good about myself and my life,...
Read More♠ Once, when I was much younger and relatively new to the personal growth field, I went to a self-esteem conference where I sat next to a much older gentleman. Prior to the presentation, he asked me what I thought self-esteem was and what I knew...
Read More♠ Purge the negativity and get rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy. This could even be your wedding jewelry. No matter how a marriage ends, the healing process is difficult. Shrouded by the negative, it can be a long and lonely path that, at times,...
Read More“I release the pain that I am holding in my heart … I feel what needs to come up and be present with what is. As I feel, I heal.” Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. We strive to make the right...
Read MoreDivisiveness takes a psychic toll on humanity. Affirmations remind us that we all want to be seen, heard, acknowledged, and respected. No matter where you live, it’s easy to see that we live in a time of great discord, causing deep separation within nations, groups, communities—even...
Read More♠ In my practice, I’m witnessing a revitalized version of the Queen archetype reemerging At the tender age of 51, I walked for the first time down the wedding aisle. That I said, “Yes!” to marriage seemed remarkable, at least to me. That I chose to do...
Read More◊ Dive into the Buddha’s advice for being a better friend. While on an early morning walk, the Buddha encountered a young man named Sigala. The two men engaged in a conversation that became a Buddhist text called the Sigalovada Sutta. During their talk, the Buddha stressed the importance...
Read More◊ Relationship on the rocks? If your relationship is a ship, the ego acts as a lookout. But it’s the spirit that captains it. I like to describe the ego’s job as the protector. Employing a nautical metaphor, this part of us is the lookout who stands...
Read More◊ Kids can experience psychological distress for up to three years after losing a pet. Animal Chaplain Sarah Bowen, author of Sacred Sendoffs, has six tips to help you companion your kids, grandkids, or friends of any age through animal loss. An increasing body of research attests to...
Read More↓ Female friendships reduce stress—and do so much more than that. The power of—and power in—female friendships is making headlines of late due in part to another kind of power: the power of celebrity. There’s Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, Jennifer Lawrence...
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Attachment styles are patterns of how we think, feel, and act in close relationships. Knowing the characteristics of the four distinct styles can help strengthen our ties to others. Perhaps you’re someone who waits for a text back from a friend, and then when it doesn’t...
Read MoreSmall events create huge disturbances in our relationships. “Old wounds, usually from before we ever met our partner, are like whales that are waiting in the deep to be triggered by events on the surface of life.” One of the most amazing pieces of nature footage...
Read MoreA new study suggests that couples who express gratitude are more satisfied with their relationship. BY KIRA M. NEWMAN Imagine that you’ve embarked on a quest to be more grateful. You dutifully journal about the happy events in your day, training your...
Read More♣ Puppies can teach us a lot about how to respond to frustrating and difficult situations in positive and productive ways. We adopted a puppy several years ago. I knew the puppy would have some things to learn about getting along with us inside a house, about...
Read MorePersonal growth may seem like a solo pursuit, but it's our relationships that bring out the best in us. Every week, my wife and I have a meeting where we talk about what is going well in our family, but also what we could be doing...
Read MoreResearch suggests that building optimism about the future increases your happiness and paves the way for stronger and more fulfilling connections. Do you know how to create the kinds of relationships that feel good? Research suggests that building optimism about the future can motivate us to work toward our desired...
Read MoreFostering and maintaining close friendships can help keep your brain healthier as you age. Plenty of exercise. Healthy food. Positive attitude. Plain old good luck. There’s lots of advice out there about how to keep body and brain in optimal shape as the years...
Read MoreIt all comes down to two key efforts: conflict management and avoiding external threats. Why do some relationships go the distances, and others flame out? You could listen to 1,000 songs written on heartbreak and love—one of my current faves is Chris Stapleton’s “Nobody to Blame,”...
Read MoreLearning to express anger in a healthy way will help couples resolve conflicts, instead of letting them simmer. Every Saturday night, Bill and Sarah leave their son with a babysitter and go out to dinner. Sarah hopes that by dressing up for date night, it’ll keep...
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