Let’s face it; with the expectation that society holds for near perfection, it is easy to get trapped in thoughts of self-doubt, agonizing fear, and sheer exhaustion from the day-to-day issues and errands we must conquer. How many of us halt our anxious thoughts and replace them with… Read more »
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A few weeks ago at Esalen, a retreat center in Big Sur, CA, I co-taught a two-day workshop called “Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice.” As part of the weekend, I showed the participants a video clip of an interview I did with my father Dr. Robert Firestone. The participants found it inspirational, so I thought… Read more »
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Most of us are familiar with those nagging thoughts that tell us we are not good enough, that cast doubt on our goals and undermine our accomplishments. These thoughts might be there to greet us when we first glimpse at ourselves in the mirror in the morning. “You’re so unattractive. You’re fat. What a slob…. Read more »
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How can we best deal with our day-to-day emotional reactions? What can we do when our partner lets us down, when we have a struggle with our child, or when we feel provoked by a friend? Oddly enough, the first piece of advice is to stay with the pain. It turns out we expend much… Read more »
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A friend doesn’t return your email. You wonder if she is angry with you but don’t know what to do about it. Your sister asks you to take care of her children for a long weekend, and although you dread the thought, you don’t want to let her down. Your boss asks you to take… Read more »
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When it comes to our physical and mental health, friendship may truly be the best medicine. An Australian study showed that strong social networks may lengthen survival in elderly men and women, with good friends being even more likely to increase longevity than close family members. As author Edna Buchanon put it, “Friends are the… Read more »
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Watch PsychAlive’s exclusive video interview with mindfulness expert Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn below. Order the Full DVD Interview: Mindfulness for Life: An Interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn In this DVD, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as a way of “connecting to your life.” He discusses the “hard work” of living in the present moment, the personal and… Read more »
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To the extent that people don’t want what they say they want they are duplicitous in their verbal communications. This applies to a wide area of life pursuits but is particularly relevant to love relationships. What we wish for in fantasy is not necessarily tolerable in reality. Early in life, when we experience rejection and… Read more »
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Life. Running here and there. Pre-occupied with this and that. Swept away by one thought or another. We barely have time enough to notice time passing, never mind the preposterous proposition, dare I say, to notice not just our thoughts, but the space around them: a momentary peripheral reverberation, an infinitesimal synaptic break between cognitions,… Read more »
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We can point fingers in the aftermath of Sandy Hook. It is the guns, the NRA, the politicians, the violent video games, the Asperger’s or school security. Bottom line it is a human problem! As a society we have moved away from thinking, feeling and being in connection. Yes there is sadness, anger, pain, disappointment,… Read more »
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