If only the saying, Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me, were true. In reality, being judged harshly, being teased unmercifully, being made fun of for how we look or for who we are—being bullied—may break our spirit and cause deep and lasting scars.
Children who are abused, called names, [...]
I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). One doctor says it’s a chemical or genetic problem. Another doctor says it’s psychological. What do you think? Is there anything other than drugs that I can do to stop?
–The Leaf Duster
Dear Leaf Duster,
I’m not sure how your OCD manifests, how crazy your behaviors drive you, or what drugs [...]
Last week, the day before my birthday, my dear friend Kathleen Dughi breathed her last breath as I, along with her other close friends, stroked her head and talked to her, keeping our promise to guide her to the threshhold of the journey beyond. I’ve been struggling to say something profound about the experience, something [...]
» Read MoreOur limiting beliefs magnify and distort our perceptions, hindering us from seeing possibilities that someone else may. We miss out on opportunities that we never knew existed, all because of a tendency to see in black and white. For example, if your partner criticizes you, you may think, “He doesn’t love me.” However, the truth [...]
» Read MoreI admit it: I’m a people watcher, especially at the card racks before holidays such as Mother’s Day. I have watched people read every card diligently, scrunching their faces or shaking their heads from side to side, only to walk away cardless and, I’m sure, frustrated. Not every mother/adult child relationship can be expressed with [...]
» Read MoreFor those of us who anger quickly, the emotion seems to well up fast and furiously, activated by something just said or done that is hurtful or offensive. However, if we had the ability to play out every scene in slow motion, we might notice something interesting: Just before we feel the anger, we have [...]
» Read MoreI’ve shared in the past a definition of abundance that resonates strongly with me: “Abundance is that which already exists.” I realize from personal experience as well as from listening to my clients that it is sometimes a stretch to believe this. How can abundance already exist if your bank account is low, your credit [...]
» Read MoreMy 79-year-old mother received a letter from the Austrian Government a few weeks ago. You see, my mother, along with her family and many other Jews in Vienna, was forced to flee when the Nazis invaded in 1938. She was just 10 but she remembers clearly the name of the Nazi Commissar, Anton Kaiser, who [...]
» Read MoreWhy Your Truth Matters
If we don’t know our truth—what we feel, think, or believe—we cannot tell others our truth. And if we can’t tell others, we can’t let them in. And if we can’t let them in, we will feel lonely.
If we are afraid of speaking our truth to others, we will don disguises and [...]
How did I get into all this debt? In just these few words, posed all too often by clients, I can hear their shock, shame, frustration, and hopelessness. When we are in this terrible state, we can feel very alone and isolated. Yet left to our own devices, we will get worse, not better.
So here [...]
