Lovingkindness meditation series
In times of difficulty one of the most helpful things to do is to simply respond with kindness. But that’s often easier said than done and it takes practice. Lovingkindness (LKM) or Metta…
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Ditch self-care. Try values instead.
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”– Jack Kornfield I have a secret, one that I hide from most of my other therapist friends and colleagues. I hate the concept…
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Podcast Fights Mental Health Stigma Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
The podcast Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton incorporates an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) perspective on the struggles we face, ideas about psychological flexibility and mental health, and what we can all do to lead a well-lived life.
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Pain, values, compassion, and a dying dog
“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.” — Rumi Just…
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Serving Those Who Have Served: Caring for veterans and their companion animals
“Thank you for your service!” How many of us have offered these words of appreciation when we see a service member in uniform? And they are appropriate, albeit vastly insufficient words. But as…
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Research graveyard may come to life
“If enough data is collected, anything may be proven by statistical methods” — Williams and Holland’s Law It’s an amazing day for scientific research! Hold on, don’t leave me yet. I know I…
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What’s love got to do with it? Arguments for the use of “love drugs” miss the point
“Oh what’s love got to do, got to do with it? What’s love but a second hand emotion.” ― Tina Turner, singer That spark gone between you and your partner? No need for…
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What’s good for your garden may also be good for your relationship
“Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex,the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.” ― Bill Mollison, Founder and director of the Permaculture Institute The other day when I was out for my morning walk…
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Gender, sexuality, and other things that don’t belong in boxes
“I’ve always felt that sexuality is a really slippery thing. In this day and age, it tends to get categorized and labeled, and I think labels are for food. Canned food.” ― Michael…
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Gratitude – It does a relationship good!
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust “She never appreciates all the things I do”. “He just seems to…
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“You’re trying to ‘squish out’ my kid”: Is it time to revise our gender boxes?
“Little boxes made of ticky tacky And they all look just the same” Little Boxes, by Malvina Reynolds Humans and categories Oh how we humans love our boxes! Black/white, good/bad, Democrat/Republican, female/male. These…
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ACT and body image difficulties: Maybe not liking your body isn’t the problem
“Why doesn’t anyone tell us that it’s normal to feel bad about our bodies?” What?!? It’s “normal” to feel badly about my body? No, that can’t be right. It’s “wrong” to have a…
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The secret to keeping the romance alive: It’s not all about roses and chocolates
In my last post, I reported on a study by researchers at Stony Brook University that suggested that romance can survive in long-term relationships. That’s great news, but what if you’re in one…
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Pain and values: two sides of the same coin
“Where there is love there is pain” –Spanish Proverb I’ve known and lived with many amazing dogs and cats in my life. Each animal I’ve known has been special and wonderful in their…
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Can Romantic Love Stand the Test of Time?
Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable. – Henry…
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The myth of security– Embracing vulnerability, uncertainty, and ambiguity in our relationships and in our world
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright…
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Less is More: Improving your relationship with the “less stuff, more experiences” strategy
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Hans Hofmann Oversaturated. That’s how it can feel once the holidays have ended. And now that the last…
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Home for the holidays—Tips for surviving the holidays with relationships intact.
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes…
