September 1st, 2020
A dear friend of mine is in Hospice, and she sent out the loveliest of emails to her friends/family a couple of weeks ago. She told us her birthday was just around the corner and that she had a special request. She asked us to please not send her cards or gifts, but instead to do something kind for someone else and let her know what we did. Wow - what a brilliant idea.
That email request went to about 30ish people and she told us that she's been blown away by the stories of kindness and payin...
July 28th, 2020
The other day a woman who had been a student of mine many years ago phoned me to ask about my coaching. Why? "Because (she said) you are the calmest person I've ever met, and I need calm! I'm so overwhelmed". And she cried.
This is not an unusual thing. It's not unusual that someone would call me in distress, or that they would be looking for a calm and caring presence to be with them through some very tough times. No one has ever asked me about my credentials. Maybe some see them o...
July 14th, 2020
I found this image online yesterday and immediately knew it needed to be shared with my coaching clients, and here on my website. It's a beautiful bullet list of what peace and healing look like. It says it all - almost. There is only one bullet I might add. That is "More comfort with feelings, less stuffing".
Altogether, each bullet says so much. Each represents a turnaround of a lifetime of conditioning...
March 26th, 2020
Be a Mind Whisperer ...
If your current level of anxiety, worry or freak out is higher than usual (which is pretty much a given for most of us right now), then I recommend being a Mind Whisperer! And if you already are one, you may want to kick your game up a notch, if you haven't already.
What is a Mind Whisperer? Let me explain via a little story. Recently, a coaching client of mine told me she was pretty sure she wanted to explore mindfulness as a way to add more ...
May 13th, 2019
As you may have heard, the miracle of brain plasticity tells us that we can reprogram the brain at any age. The brain can learn to slow down the constant thinking process (& the common process of thoughts jumping from one topic to another randomly) and instead relax, focus, calm the body`s stress response, foster better sleep, and so much more.
And creating this amazing shift is much easier than you might think. Research has demonstrated that by sitting and mindfully breathing for 3 minutes...
March 19th, 2019
A couple of weeks ago I was on a city bus and noticed a very shy looking woman who was older, and for some reason, I felt very drawn to her. Yet I had no idea why. Then she got off the bus at my stop, and my curiosity peaked. So I introduced myself and asked her if we´d met. She surprised me by telling me she had seen me with my mom once - she said “your mom was so kind to me - she was very encouraging to me”. So we talked for a few moments and then I got the feeling she needed to ge...
October 30th, 2018
& Watch your Optimism & Resiliency Grow.
Last week I spent 90 minutes speaking and networking with a fabulous group of about 50 Wellness Reps who work for a large company. They come together once a year to get inspired and learn new evidence based wellness tools that they can share with their colleagues - and they volunteer their time to do it! It´s a super creative and meaningful way to help boost the wellbeing of a large number of employees.
My topic was on “The Science of Happiness & Resiliency...
May 3rd, 2017
What if This Were All Right?
One simple tool I use to let go of life´s stressors and feel immediate relief is to ask myself the profound question “What if this were all right?” What if this thing upsetting me were all right, just as it is?
You can ask yourself this question for any of life´s situations that are causing you struggle or upset. Getting a new dent in the car, forgetting something at the market, standing in a long line waiting, etc, etc. These are the times we really need to ta...
March 24th, 2017
Mark Twain said "Comparison is the death of joy." Absolutely. Each of us has a unique path. It's all ours. The most important thing we can do is to focus our attention on being who WE most want to be on that path. Right now. This moment. It's a big and beautiful job. And it's enough.
February 8th, 2017
If you´re feeling more stressed out than usual these days, I hope you know that you´re not alone. There is no doubt that there is a noticeable increase in worry around lately. World events have many of us more on edge than we normally are.
The good news is that, no matter how stressful things feel, there are powerful tools at our disposal to help us break free. And although there are dozens of tools, some of them are so effective that I call them Power Tools. Here are three of my favori...
July 4th, 2016
After 25 years as a playologist (a teacher and student of play), I still stand in absolute awe at the power of pure play!
What do I mean by pure play? It's the kind of thing we do simply because we like it - no other reason in particular. Someone says “Why do you paint?” and we say “I don´t know, I just love it”. Pure play is anything that makes your heart sing - anything you love to do “just because”. For example, I LOVE to go to the ocean when the tide is low, take off my shoes and so...
May 6th, 2014
Thanks to the growing science of happiness, researchers are gradually discovering more and more about simple tools that really work to boost feelings of genuine happiness. And one of the most powerful tools we can use is a little gem called The Gratitude Visit. I`ve used this exercise twice and I`ll likely use it again because the payoffs have been surprisingly unique and well worth the effort!
Here`s How The Gratitude Visit Exercise Works:
1. Take a breath and tune in. Think of some...
March 26th, 2014
Time and time again people tell me that when faced with a challenging decision or situation, they feel overwhelmed with the amount of information and choices available to them. This is a common scenario in a world that, for many of us, seems to be more information driven all the time. E.O. Wilson puts it this way: “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.”
Case in point: the other day a client (who enthusiastically gave me perm...
February 25th, 2014
Many of you already know that I`m a big believer in the power of the breath to restore and heal. Proper breathing really is a master key to good health. It instantly relaxes the body and mind. In fact, Dr. Andrew Weil (a well known author and leader in the field of integrative medicine) says `If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn to breathe correctly.`
Every morning I use a little tool called the Relaxation Response to reduce stress a...
January 24th, 2014
What we see on the outside is Like the Tip of an Iceberg
Wellness is for all of us. It`s not just for the young, physically healthy, strong or brave. Many young people today appear very healthy on the outside, yet are dealing with a lot of worry and anxiety on the inside.
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