Blog
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Life with an Addict – Letting Go
Setting healthy boundaries can be a challenge in any family, but in the case of addiction, it can be very difficult. You want the best for your children and your spouse, but it helps nobody to attempt to rescue or control their behavior related to substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. When you are in…
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Finding Safety in Everyday Life
For some people, the need for personal safety can get in the way of living life to the fullest. Those who have been physically, emotionally or mentally wounded may find that those scars, those fears, take on more power than they would like. The sexually abused may fear intimacy. An assault victim may fear sudden…
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Building Bridges Across Differences
Throughout history, humans have argued about all kinds of perceived differences – generational, spiritual, political, financial, educational, racial, class. Is there a way to build a bridge between individuals regardless of their differences? Absolutely, one person at a time. The first step is to release judgment and expectation about who or what you believe about…
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What Can You Hear in the Silence?
In our busy and noisy electronic age, it is rare to find true silence. In this context, I am not referring to silence as the absence of sound, but as the absence of input, chatter, the hums and beeps of technology, and repetitious and useless thoughts. We may rebel against silence, where we are confronted…
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A Best Practice for a Peaceful Life
“Mindfulness,” a technique in which you are focused on and deeply aware of your experience in the present moment, has been studied for decades as a path to well-being. This practice is a valuable tool for living a peaceful life. When you learn to be aware of the present moment, your relationship with your thoughts…
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Comparison vs. Self-Acceptance
It is obvious that each of us is a unique being – physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Even identical twins are truly only about 85% identical. So why do we so often compare ourselves with others? “I am…(fatter, shorter, lazier, not as pretty, much more talented, not as skilled…)” Comparison leads to resentment and competitiveness, rather…
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A Holistic View of Depression
As the Founder of Soul Wisdom Therapy, I hold this mission foremost in my work: to help you live a more integrated, whole and authentic life—and feel more joyful, happy and peaceful. This focus means that I work with you as a whole person: mind, body and soul, to help you live a more fulfilling…
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What is Conscious Parenting?
Conscious parenting teaches “the art of living” by tending to more than a child’s basic needs (food, clothing, shelter). Conscious parents also offer unconditional love, acceptance, and attention. As a conscious parent, you allow your child to have different thought processes and feelings from yourself. You understand that your children may have different perspectives of…
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The Benefits of Living Assertively
Are you someone who consistently lives by default? Whatever shows up, shows up, and you react accordingly. Your life is a template; what you have experienced shapes your every day. People who live passively sometimes feel resentful that “nothing ever changes,” or that things happen to them, but they do not understand the part they…
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What Does It Mean to Live Harmoniously?
In music, harmony is defined as “chords and chord progressions having a pleasing effect.” Discord, then, is when combinations of tones produce irritating, dissonant effects. The same is true of life. Harmony in life has a great deal to do with balance – or, little dissonance. Balance between work and play. Balance between action and…
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The Power of Active Rest
Did you know that rest can be active? Understand that although rest and sleep are not the same, they are part of the same spectrum, with rest being more active and sleep being more passive. Consciously, mindfully resting allows the body, mind and spirit to regenerate and process. You can be awake and resting, with…
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How Can Sadness Be Good for You?
Popular culture often stresses that we must remain positive and triumph over such “negative” emotions as sadness. Our universe is made of opposites – without one extreme we do not experience the opposite. We experience sadness as the opposite of happiness. What role does sadness play in our psyches? “Sadness is a normal response to…