Posts tagged with “wisdom”
What a Month of Daily Panic Attacks Taught Me About Anxiety
âYou can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.â ~Jon Kabat-Zinn
It happened in the middle of an intimate moment, about a month before my wedding.
One minute I was enjoying a kiss from my fiancé and the next thing I knew, I was clutching my face and writhing in agony.
At first, there was a loud thud in my chest, as if my heart had skipped a beat.
Then out of nowhere I started getting this strange sensationâlike the kind of feeling youâd get on an elevator thatâs going down too fast. The feeling was so …
How to Step Out of the Drama Triangle and Find Real Peace
âKeep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours.â ~Epictetus
Are you addicted to drama? I was, but I didnât know it. I thought I was just responding to life, to what was happening. I really didnât think I had a choice! The drama triangle is so pervasive, and can be so subtle, that it just seems normal. But itâs not, and thereâs a much saner way to live, I found.
Dr. Stephen Karpman first described the drama triangle in the …
You Can Have a Tender Heart and Still Be Fierce
âLife is a balance between what we can control and what we cannot. I am learning to live between effort and surrender.â ~Danielle Orner
For too long, I felt myself pulled between two shores of my identity. On one side was my yoga teacher, meditator, healer identityâmy tender side. On the other side was my activist, change-maker roleâmy fierce side.
I always felt like I was too tender for some and too fierce for others. It made me feel like I didnât fit in anywhere.
Definitely the soft-hearted âwooâ person in my activist circles. And I was definitely the …
The Life-Changing Benefits of Two-Minute Meditations
âSmile, breathe, and go slowly.â ~Thich Nhat Hanh
I felt everything, from my lower back pain flaring up to tightness in my jaw where I clinch and carry my stress. With my eyes still closed, I rolled my shoulders and repositioned the pillow under my butt. Five minutes had passed, and I had no idea how I would ever make it to forty.
I opened my left eye to see if anyone around me was fidgeting as well and saw rows of people sitting in perfect, cross-legged lotus position with straight necks and relaxed jaws next to me.
Our teacher, …
Living with Depression and Anxiety: How to Lessen the Pain
âI am bent, but not broken. I am scarred, but not disfigured. I am sad, but not hopeless. I am tired, but not powerless. I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.â ~Unknown
Depression and anxiety. Two words we hear often, but unless we have actually lived with them, we cannot come close to understanding the tremendous impact they can have on one’s quality of life.
Depression and anxiety can make people feel as if they are worthless and better off dead. What a horrible plague. But it is 100% possible to tame these two …
6 Ways Meditation Improves Your Life
âLetting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our hearts, we still cling to anythingâanger, anxiety, or possessionsâwe cannot be free.â ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Back in 2001, I was a freshman in college, and my saving grace from anxiety was a yoga class. More specifically, it was the most glorious of poses we call savasana that kept me sane.
For those unfamiliar, savasanaâor corpse poseâis a pose of surrender and noticing thoughts and sensations without judgment, much like meditation. (Itâs the pose that looks like everyone is just lying around napping.)
Back then, …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 
Why Iâm Done Fishing for âLikesâ on Social Media
âThere is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.â ~Ernest Hemingway
Recently I was invited to listen to a recorded presentation about humility, and it literally rocked my world.
As I listened intently, the words âcomplete and wholeâ popped into my head. And then came the light bulb moment: âYes!â I thought. âWhen one feels whole and complete, theyâre more humble.â
As the presenter talked about the âlook at meâ culture of selfies and social media I felt my toes begin to curl and my stomach tighten.
âOh …