Search Results for: lisa firestone/feed/2009/11/fear-of-intimacy

Finding the Calm in the Chaos

…at is fueled by love of yourself versus one that is based on rejection and fear of who you have become. What is Mindfulness? Simply, it is the non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. Sounds pretty basic right? But how, in the middle of strong emotion or circumstances that seem unjust, relationship struggles, physical disease, pain, both emotional and within our bodies, can we develop Mindfulness? Let’s break it down. Non-judgmental: we are…

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The Healing Power of Gratitude

…d the almost unbearable beauty of life around us, along with its troubles… We can either be lost in a smaller state of consciousness — what in Buddhist psychology is called the ‘body of fear,’ which brings suffering to us and to others — or we can bring the quality of love and appreciation, which I would call gratitude, to life.”…

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Making Peace with Our Bodies

…lly, doing so does not relinquish you to the slovenly mound of mush you so fear — it frees up the energy you have spent in frustration and self-loathing to be used productively, in such ground-breaking endeavors as taking a deep breath and smiling. Filling your lungs with ocean air or rejoicing that your legs are capable of carrying you down a sun-dappled path. Like any perspective shift, this takes time. But the only way to begin the shift is to…

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Should our goal for our kids be for them to be happy?

…elebrate encourages our children to pursue their next aspiration. Often we fear the distress, despair or tantrums that our children express and we must endure when they are unhappy. Challenges avoided or never faced put the child at risk for being vulnerable, insecure, defensive, fearful, or confused. Mindful parenting that considers the growing edge of our child’s development, like a good coach does when training an athlete, facilitates resilienc…

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Dealing with Grief

…this process we may experience many emotions, such as sadness, confusion, fear, guilt, hopelessness and so much more. These feelings will vary in intensity according to the nature of the relationship, and ways in which we process our feelings. As for the lack of support you are experiencing, the recovery community is designed to be a place of refuge, growth, and connection without judgment. Do you feel like you had specific expectations and someo…

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Raise an Emotionally Healthy Child

…how she is and allowing her to open up about her thoughts, impressions and fears. In general, many of our children’s emotions get overlooked, as we tend to pay more attention to how they are behaving than how they are feeling. By maintaining an awareness of our children’s psychological state and keeping in mind the following parenting principles, we can become more attuned to our children and learn ways to raise an emotionally healthy child. – Don…

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6 Rules to Live By When You Discipline Your Child

…lesson their parent was trying to get across. What they do remember is the fear that overcame them when that parent lost his or her cool. The best thing parents can do before they approach their child is to calm down themselves. Take a few breaths, find a way to relax, then address the situation. 2. Think about the outcome. Discipline isn’t effective when it’s a matter of releasing your own frustration. Yelling at your kid, “Why are you throwing a…

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The Psychology Behind Strained Father Son Relationships

…f. “My father’s method of upbringing had saddled me with a general load of fear, weakness and self-contempt.” As an adult, Kafka was haunted by his father’s hostile and impatient presence in his mind. The American writer and poet, Robert Bly, gave voice to similar sentiments in his poem, “My Father’s Wedding 1924”, “…his skin was bark-like then, made rough to repel the sympathy he longer for, refused, and didn’t need.” These descriptions are repre…

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Looking for Mr. Perfect, Finding Mr. Right

…our guard down. Let him know you like him, avoid playing hard to get because he might not want to play. Being yourself can be tough in new dating situations. There’s always the fear of being hurt or humiliated, but allowing yourself be vulnerable is the best way to take a relationship to the next level….

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I recently discovered death

…it does, at least I will go out with a bang. I will win because I have no fear.” Then, after 22 years of living a new life, of learning how to be attached to people and to myself, a close friend died. I have realized through this that I don’t want to die. I love this opportunity I have to be alive. I am so lucky that my youthful, “free-spirited” and yet incredibly self-destructive adventures did not kill me. I miss my friend deeply, and feel wave…

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