My father passed away recently, and my mother has passed, too. With both, I had the opportunity to support them in different ways as a caregiver during their time of transition. Whether you’re a professional caregiver or an “accidental” one who is stepping in to support a loved one, it’s really hard work. [...]
Life falls apart, but you don’t have to. There’s a reason I picked this as the title for my book! Being alive means navigating the waters of intermittent chaos. We can’t control most of what goes on around us, but we can control how we respond to it. That’s where Mindful Self-Compassion comes in. Mindful [...]
Love rules! And, let’s be real: our closest relationships can sometimes drive us nuts. The closer someone is to us, the more they get to see all of our parts, and the more we get to see theirs. Mindfulness is a wonderful tool for helping us move through the challenging moments more easily [...]
When a child is hurt, a caring adult can reach out with a soothing touch and a soft voice to comfort them. That soothing touch and gentle voice taps into the mammalian caregiver response, prompting the release of oxytocin and opiates in both adults and children. Many people don’t realize they can give [...]
I was one of the 21,500 people who joined in to listen to Jon Kabat-Zinn this week. He said, “All of life is the meditation.” How I like to unpack what he means is mindfulness in daily life activities. Anytime you are paying attention to what you are doing when you are doing [...]
The following post was written by Wendy Manwarren Generes, Editorial Director at San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles. Wendy reached out to me for the content, and we developed a nice email correspondence as the world started sheltering in place because of Covid -19. The magazine is not going to stay in business, so I’m [...]
I get asked this question a lot, and the short answer is: No. Mindfulness and meditation are different practices, though they are certainly interrelated. Mindfulness is paying attention to what you are doing while you are doing it, rather than worrying or ruminating. You can turn anything you do into a mindfulness activity, [...]
When I started my journey with mindfulness, I desperately needed to find balance in my life for myself, not for anyone else. I’m not a professor or therapist. I’m just a normal woman who took in what was available, figured it out, and practiced like there was no tomorrow. After a few years [...]
Have you ever heard about opening your heart? Or closing your heart when your open heart feels too much emotion? Mindfulness teachers, and Mindful Self Compassion teachers talk in these terms, but it’s a little vague and abstract until you notice an upwelling of some rush of feeling and need to tame it, [...]
Chaos is a natural part of life, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to manage. When we’re overloaded, maxed out, stressed out, and overwhelmed, even the beautiful order and rhythm of life’s natural way of unfolding can feel chaotic. Life, death, and everything in between sometimes feels like “just too much to [...]
