I learned about this month's book, Man's Search For Meaning, years ago after seeing it on many different 'must read' book lists. Not promising to have the answers on what makes life worth living, rather imploring people to find some sort of meaning in your life, this book gives a fresh perspective on the self-help trend.
The truth is, Frankl's experience which led him to have this wonderful perspective on life is quite dark. He is a concentration camp survivor and shares his story as a way to define how this concept of creating a meaningful life came to be. His accounts are as you would expect, but the book does not focus on the suffering as much as it does the strength that Frankl was able to find.
Read moreThanksgiving is this week and it officially kicks off the holiday season. A holiday that is symbolized by expressing gratitude and being thankful, Thanksgiving has become a bit more about the stress of preparing a meal, chaotic travel plans, and planning for the next big things--Black Friday, Christmas, and all the big events in between.
As with any holiday, the stress of the main event can certainly take away from the joy and meaning behind the day itself. To me, Thanksgiving is about connecting to loved ones and being together more than anything else. It is about being present, even in the chaos, with those you are surrounded by and sharing in those little moments that can mean much more than the memory of "I came, I saw, I ate turkey."
Read moreMy goal for this month was to write about transition and how often times, the transitioning of the seasons can become in sync with other transitions in our lives. Transition periods can present challenges that are difficult to manage and overall can be hard to accept. Instead of focusing so much on this version of transitions, I have chosen to include ways to navigate through the stormy seas that we as Americans have been sailing through since last week.
Last week's blog encouraged readers to be the change that you wish to see in the world. I firmly believe this to be true and to have major positive impacts not just on an individual's life but on the lives around them. This week I want to continue that idea but with a little more direction.
Read moreI am writing this on Tuesday, not knowing who the next President of the United States will be. To be honest, at this point I am just ready for the whole thing to be over with and I am willing to bet you are too. The constant darkness, hatred, finger-pointing, and name-calling I see on social media has made me pause to think about what I can do about all of it.
I see my clients struggling, my friends and family, even people I do not know. The internet is claiming this is the end of times, the "season finale" of America. I do not think there has been a comparable time in history where the two major candidates have been so hated by not just the American people, but by the world.
Read moreWherever You Go, There You Are is instructional in nature and even has little "challenges" of sorts at the end of some chapters, encouraging readers to try various methods. I enjoyed the rudimentary, logical approach that Jon Kabat-Zinn provides.
As an avid practitioner of mindfulness and a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Kabat-Zinn gives first-hand examples of how mindfulness is in all of its states: challenging, peaceful, confrontational, spiritual, and sometimes difficult. He has a down to earth and refreshing perspective on how mindfulness is not the answer, but is a means to get to the answer.
Read moreThis month I have interviewed a few fabulous experts in various fields on what mindfulness means to them and how they utilize mindfulness with their clientele. This week I am concluding the 'Mindfulness &' series with my thoughts on the subject.
Mindfulness has become a popular catchphrase in today's society. We might be told to "be mindful" of what others might want or need or to "stay mindful" of ourselves and our needs. Mindfulness can be applied to an array of fields: parenting, health, eating, love, self, choices, behaviors, thinking, and the list can go on and on.
Read moreSo far in the 'Mindfulness &' series, I have interviewed a nutrition coach about how mindfulness and our physical health are connected and a life coach about where mindfulness fits into our work lives. This week I am focusing on ways mindfulness can improve our relationships.
As a therapist, I understand the value in developing an independent mindfulness practice for yourself but I wondered how couples could go about achieving this same level of presence in their relationships. As it turns out, a lot of work still needs to be done as individuals, however there are some key ingredients that I learned about this week that can significantly strengthen relationships.
Read moreLast week I began the 'Mindfulness &' series with a focus on our physical health. I gained a different perspective on how another expert utilizes mindfulness to build a strong mind-body connection to get people out of their heads and into their bodies.
This week, I am focusing on where mindfulness fits into the workplace. I am especially interested in this topic as I grow my own business and shift from full time "normal" work to entrepreneurship.
Read moreMindfulness is something I believe strongly in. Not only is it scientifically researched and proven to be an effective way of coping, thinking, and living, it is something that I have found to be immensely helpful in my personal life.
My practice of mindfulness began about 15 years ago when I began taking yoga classes. This was years before I solidified my professional direction and life calling. Although rudimentary, this early practice of using my breath to connect me to the present moment helped me through stressful college years, in relationships, and in my personal growth.
Read moreSteering by Starlight belongs in the self-help category as its aim is to help people live a more intentional life while using their intuition to steer them in that direction. It does bring up quite a few spiritual points so I would consider it a book on spiritual beliefs as well.
Martha Beck, the author of Steering by Starlight, is a creative and captivating writer with some self-proclaimed strange beliefs and methods. I am a skeptic by nature and while I buy into the hippie, woo-woo type stuff all the time, I also take it with a grain of salt.
This book fully acknowledges that some of the concepts are weird and may be hard to believe, but she encourages you to do them anyways and decide for yourself. I went there, even with my skepticism, and I will tell you that I found this book to be really helpful.
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