Befriending Stress and Creating Resiliency September 25, 2013 • 2 Comments I recently saw a TED talk by Kelly McGonigal on befriending stress. It is worth watching because she outlines a deceptively simple concept: changing the way we think about something can alter our body’s response to it. My favorite part of her talk is the idea that how you think and act creates the “biology of courage.” In other words,…
Healing Resources: Sit. Stay. Heal. September 20, 2013 • 0 Comments I am a big fan of Pema Chödrön and I adore her book The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. I opened the pages many times during the last three years and found myself guided and comforted by the simple, yet profound wisdom on the pages. One of my favorite passages: “How are we going…
Unearthing Hidden Trauma and Beginning to Heal September 18, 2013 • 3 Comments Life exposes both her beauty and her cruel underbelly to us at the moment of birth, as we take our first breath in and the umbilical cord is severed. As we exchange the life giving connection to our mother for the life force of oxygen, the universe whispers to us that this is an invitation to embark on a journey,…
Healing Trauma: Vulnerability Is the New Black September 16, 2013 • 0 Comments I had a conversation with a woman I adore the other day about healing and spirituality, two of my favorite subjects. This woman is all heart, having been on her own painful journey, so we don’t have to pretend or mince words. These are my favorite kind of folks: the ones who don’t flinch when facing taboo or uncomfortable subjects.…
End of Summer Beet + Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe September 13, 2013 • 0 Comments This summer we decided to plant a vegetable garden. Everything was going along swimmingly until the robust pumpkin plant had an unfortunate encounter with the dreaded powdery mildew, then we discovered some rather large, science-fiction like caterpillars feasting on our tomato plants and I’m still trying to figure out what ails my gorgeous purple heirloom beans. This garden has not…
Healing Music: The Power of Music for Healing September 9, 2013 • 0 Comments My friend has been waxing poetic about Spotify for some time now, and I have steadfastly refused her advances to join the musical bandwagon because I have very limited mental bandwidth for technological things. However, the other night, we were listening to an amazing array of music and she sent me home with the admonition to sign up for the…
A Healing Interview and a Forthcoming Book September 4, 2013 • 0 Comments I have some exciting news to share today. First, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dina Proctor – my very first interview – which you can listen to below: New Self Help Internet Radio with Madly Chasing Peace on BlogTalkRadio Dina is the author a book called Madly Chasing Peace: How I Went From Hell to Happy in…
Healthful Hummus Recipe + Garbanzo Beans Nutrition August 30, 2013 • 0 Comments For my son’s 16th birthday last weekend, he requested a Greek dinner, so I mustered my rusty joy of cooking and rose to the occasion. It turned out to be a delicious meal and fun celebration. I decided to make hummus, because the store-bought variety always leaves me wanting. I’ve never thought of the health benefits of garbanzo beans, but…
The Fifty Shades of Personal Integrity August 28, 2013 • 7 Comments Is your integrity a moving target? I’m just wondering because I am just starting to notice some blurry edges around mine. My friend Suzani and I were talking about integrity after a rather emotional Toastmasters meeting last week. The theme was “The Love of Money,” and for some reason it evoked a portal of vulnerability and lots of tears. Everyone,…
The Voice Of Intuition: Confirmation from Genetic Testing August 19, 2013 • 0 Comments I tend to cringe at the word “genetic” these days because of all the scary GMO business. I don’t want to be genetically modified, nor do I want to eat food that has traveled that path. However, fatigue has been debilitating these past couple of years, so when my doctor suggested genetic testing as a way to expand the possibilities,…