Relaxation

“Maybe it’s time for the fighter to be fought for, the holder to be held, and the lover to be loved.” ~Unknown I was breastfeeding my infant son when he bit me. That bite set the stage for a deeper unraveling then I could have ever imagined. I unlatched him, handed him to my husband,

“Feeling safe in someone’s energy is a different kind of intimacy. That feeling of peace and protection is really underrated.” ~Vanessa Klas I’m now fourteen months into my recovery from complex post-traumatic stress syndrome (c-PTSD aka complex trauma). I’d been in therapy for a number of years before I was diagnosed. I’d been struggling with

DISCLAIMER: Though vaccines have allowed many of us to return to more normal activities, the pandemic isn’t over, and it’s still crucial that we all follow the evolving CDC guidelines to keep both ourselves and others safe. “Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things

“You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside and hustle for your worthiness.” Brene Brown I was shaking and sweating with fear as I stood in front of my graduate professor for the final test of the semester. I was twenty-two years old at the time and felt like a

When you think of the teachers who’ve had the greatest impact on your life, who comes to mind? For me, it’s the calm, the humble, the patient—the people who not only imparted useful life lessons but also embodied their message with their grace and equanimity. People I was fortunate enough to know personally, like my

“Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.” ~Socrates There’s a lot of beauty and value in positive, light-and-love approaches to mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. But I challenge you to go a little deeper and to face something we’re all going to experience eventually: Death. I know this may sound macabre, bizarre, or

“‘What should I do?’ I asked myself. ‘Spend another two miserable years like this? Or should I truly welcome my panic?’ I decided to really let go of wanting to block, get rid of, or fight it. I would finally learn how to live with it, and to use it as support for my meditation

“No matter what kind of stuff you tell the world, or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values. Your actions show you what you actually want.” ~Derek Sivers I need to be a productivity rockstar if I stand a chance of accomplishing everything important to me. There’s a book I want to write, a

People-pleasing, overhelping, overgiving—we can give it lots of different names, but the consequences to putting yourself last all the time are generally the same. You may have been raised to see giving and helping as virtuous things. And hear me say, they are. I believe wholeheartedly that it’s a beautiful thing to serve, support, and help

“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh As a Lyft driver, I once spent significant time out on the road—a setting rife with provocations and stressors. Driving can feel like a constant challenge to employ mindfulness instead of giving way to destructive emotions like impatience and frustration. Meditation can be difficult to practice when

“Don’t waste your time and energy trying to convince people to value you. If you have to fight for their attention and respect, it’s time to move on.” ~Lori Deschane “Well, maybe if you didn’t make stupid decisions you wouldn’t have anxiety. Maybe you just need to think a bit more and be smarter. It’s

“Sometimes you’ve got to look straight into the tired eyes of the woman staring back at you in the mirror and tell her that she deserves the best kind of love, the best kind of life, and devote yourself to giving it to her all over again.” ~S.C. Lourie Self-care. An important concept that has

“Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.” ~Langston Hughes Nine years ago, I was sitting mindlessly in my office cubicle in Omaha, Nebraska, when the receptionist called to inform me that my dad was in the lobby. I walked out to greet

“Sometimes, you need to be alone. Not to be lonely, but to enjoy your free time being yourself.” ~Unknown First, let’s be clear, being alone is different than feeling lonely. The feeling of loneliness can arise even if you are not alone, or you can be alone and not feel lonely. It all comes down

“Today I want you to think about all that you are instead of all that you are not.” ~Unknown “Love the pinecones!” This was a comment from a friend on one of my Facebook photos from a beautiful seaside hike filled with wildflowers and other natural wonders. When I responded with “It was a puzzle

Click here to register for a free webinar around launching and growing your business. Hi friends! Over the years I’ve received countless emails from people asking for advice to help them start a heart-led business, as I’ve done with Tiny Buddha. Many of you have expressed frustration with your jobs—the constant grind, the low pay;

“The reality is that you will grieve forever.” ~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler March is always hard for me. Has been since March 21, 2017. That’s the day my eldest son, then twenty-seven, found his father hanging in our basement. I apologize for being so brutal.  But it was. What no one tells you about

“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” ~Pablo Picasso Twenty years is a long time when you know you’re meant to be doing something, but you don’t quite know what it is or how to go about doing it. To cut a two-decade story

“You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” ~Marcus Aurelius Every time I get back up from my lowest point, it seems as if negative thoughts will drag me down all over again. Whether it’s the fear of actually being happy only to be sad once again or

“Ask for help. Not because you are weak. But because you want to remain strong.” ~Les Brown I sat in the doctor’s office, waiting—linen gown hanging off me, half exposed—while going through the checklist in my mind of what I needed help with. I felt my breathing go shallow as I mentally sorted through the

“When we deny out stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending.” ~Brené Brown There was a time when I felt really sorry for myself. I had good reason to be. My life had been grim. There had been so much tragedy in my life from

“Burnout is a sign that something needs to change.” ~Sarah Forgrave Fifteen years ago, my doctor informed me I was in the early stages of adrenal exhaustion. In no uncertain terms, she warned that if I failed to address the stress I was under, my adrenals might not recover. This was hard to hear, but

“Omnipotence is not knowing how everything is done; it’s just doing it.” ~Alan Watts We sometimes hear of remarkable people who just knew what they wanted to become from a young age. I, however, was not one of them. When I was about eight years old, I told my cousin that I wanted to become a

“Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart.” ~Brene Brown The honest truth about needing to please is that we do it to make other people happy. We will sacrifice everything and anything to put a smile on another’s face and lighten their load, while ours

Last week I ran a giveaway for Brad Aronson’s HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time—a heartwarming book that highlights ordinary people doing extraordinary things and offers practical tips for everyday kindness. I had ten books to give away—four for the blog, three for Facebook, and three for Instagram—and I invited you

“Life has to end, love doesn’t.” ~Mitch Albom Before we dive into the dark subject of death, let me assure you, this is a happy read. It is not about how losing a loved one is a blessing but how it can be a catalyst to you unlocking big lessons in your life. Or maybe

“If you’re looking for a sign from the universe, and you don’t see one, consider it a sign that what you really need is to look inside yourself.” ~Lori Deschene I used to have no idea what I should do. About anything. I would go from friend to friend running polls: Should I be a

“Don’t believe everything you think.” ~Unknown Society is becoming more accepting of mental illness. That’s great, but there’s a downside that we need to talk about. Not everything is mental illness. We need to stop pathologizing every single thing that we feel. What I mean by pathologizing everything is jumping to diagnosing yourself after every

“There comes a time in your life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who do not. Life is too short to

A while back I shared a quote by an unknown author that reads: “You know who’s going through a lot right now? Literally everyone. Just be kind.” It got me thinking about all the struggles we assume other people don’t have—because we’d never guess from the looks of them. You’d never guess that your confident