Resilience

Developing a meditation practice can have a powerful impact on our lives, relationships, and well-being. And, it can be challenging and difficult! I know it was for me; I can’t tell you how many times I promised myself that I would be consistent only to lose it a day or two down the road. The process is like planting a garden. We plant seeds or small plants, and make sure they get plenty of water, sun, and nutrients. Then, we begin to wait, and wait, and wait. We do our best to trust that the plants will eventually grow. When […]

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” —Shunryu Suzuki Roshi It’s December 31, and I haven’t made even one New Year’s resolution yet. It’s not that haven’t thought about it; actually, that’s all I’ve been thinking about today. Some of the possible candidates have included: losing 5 pounds, sending out more thank you notes, going to bed earlier, doing yoga and meditation every day, and not procrastinating—but nothing seems quite right. I’m beginning to realize that when I focus my attention on what I want to change, what I want to change begins to define me. It

A couple of years ago, I went on a spiritual journey to my church’s headquarters. I took a class titled “Healing and Wholeness.” Little did I know that this was the beginning of some very significant changes in my life. My Healing and Wholeness class taught me that to heal deeper life wounds, and to achieve greater wholeness, the path includes embracing all that comes my way in life. Acceptance is the key. I’ll never forget the instructor asking us what we would do if a baby in our home were crying: leave it to cry alone, or pick it

Imagine a world where each time you messed up or said something mean, you yelled, “My amygdala made me do it!” Although that may sound funny, it could be just the thing to help you step back from reactivity and take more responsibility for your actions. Why? The amygdala is the portion of the brain responsible for sounding the alarm when we perceive a threat or some nearby danger (see Carol’s blog post: Change Your Brain). The time between the amygdala sounding the alarm and our reaction is so fast we usually do not realize the alarm has sounded until after