We can increase feelings of happiness by recognizing and nurturing our strengths, abilities and virtues and cultivating self-efficacy. We can prevent depression by nurturing skills of optimism and hope. In developing optimism, we cultivate a greater sense of resilience that can support us in dealing with uncertainty and difficult times. “The belief that we can […]
Opportunity Knocks
Opportunity knocks sometimes in the quiet moments of our lives—poetic lines that appear during a walk, a vision of a painting that we fear we cannot execute, a glance between strangers, an exquisitely tender kiss that leaves our mouth hungering for more, an invitation to love that opens our heart, a call to live our […]
Live Your Full Potential
Mindfulness can support you to live your full potential. Mindfulness is about being, but it’s also about using our inner wisdom to decide who we want to be in the world and what we need to do in order to be that person. “If you are going to become more successful, you’re going to have […]
Being at Home with Yourself
Coming home to yourself involves encountering lost, unremembered aspects of self and the world evokes a feeling of connection and belonging. There is a return to our body, a stirring in our heart center, a feeling of desire, an experience of falling in love. A remembering. “Much of my work is propelled by the desire […]
How to Break a Habit
If we don’t learn how to break a habit, we remain at risk for staying stuck in unhealthy habits that contribute to our suffering. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” –C.G. Jung When we find the same painful story repeating in our life, it’s […]
Cultivating Joy
Cultivating joy is called for when, in the routine of our lives, we lose our sense of joy and excitement, and life feels flat and blah. “Would you believe me if I told you when I opened my mouth a bird flew out?”–Terry Tempest Williams We may focus on the difficulties or challenges in our […]
Saying Yes to Life
Saying yes to our lives means passing by whatever does not support our highest good and well-being. “The world begins with yes.” –Terry Tempest Williams It means practicing loving-kindness meditation until we actually begin to love ourselves, affirming that we deserve love until we feel deserving, and being willing to walk away from whatever holds […]
Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is something that most people long to have more of. According to Albert Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, we can increase our sense of self-efficacy and self-confidence by performing tasks successfully, witnessing others succeed through sustained effort, receiving support and encouragement from others as we approach a task, and managing stress and encouraging positive mood […]
Listen to Your Body
You must listen to your body in order to heal the disconnection between your body, heart, and mind. “The body doesn’t lie.” –Terry Tempest Williams Our body speaks to us through symptoms—pain, numbness, tightness, weight gain, sleeplessness. If we slow down to investigate and be present with the sensations in the body, we open to […]
Art and Healing
Art and healing are synonymous in my world. I make art because it helps me to make meaning from my life, and it supports my physical and emotional wellbeing. At times we become caught up in doing what we perceive that we should do, and we lose touch with what we want and need. We […]