Last year, a poll indicated that only one in three Americans is reportedly “very happy.” Maybe this surprises you or maybe it doesn’t, but what it likely tells us is that the majority of the population is looking for a change. Whether it’s their job, their relationship, their city or themselves, most people have something… Read more »
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Watch an excerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. Kirk Schneider. Dr. Kirk Schneider talks about the importance of therapy and how it relates to awe. KS: I wish that every therapist who at least works in a deep way would have some of the therapeutic experiences I had, which, again, I would say, were… Read more »
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Watch an exerpt from PsychAlive’s exclusive interview with Dr. Kirk Schneider. Dr. Kirk Schneider talks about what awe is and how its meaning has shifted through history. LF: How would you define awe? KS: Well, I define it as the humility and wonder or sense of adventure toward living. I mean, awe has been defined… Read more »
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I wouldn’t belong to a club that would have me. My boyfriend must be an idiot because he thinks I’m great. When faced with an opportunity to imagine what my partner is really meaning to convey, I always assume the intention is to put me down. Each response we make to the action of another… Read more »
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In a previous blog, “Living Life as an Authentic Adult,” I briefly described the reasons why so many people operate as children emotionally and refuse to grow up. I discussed how, to varying degrees, individuals are restricted in their ability to function in an adult mode because of “unresolved childhood trauma and the defenses they… Read more »
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It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~ e.e. cummings Most people are unaware that they are conducting their lives more from a child’s frame of reference than in an adult mode. Although men and women mature physically and become more capable in their practical lives, rarely do they achieve… Read more »
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Throw away all the extras and show your boyfriend the real you. If you don’t: if you choose instead to hide behind fake eyelashes and reinforced hair; if you pump and prod in order to look as much as you can like Meg Ryan or Beyoncé, or Rihanna, remember that … if we’re lucky and… 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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