In May we honour and celebrate our mothers, the women who gave us life. To be a mother means to give unconditionally, and to do an infinite number of tasks that usually remain unacknowledged. So on Mother’s Day, we take time to appreciate the countless sacrifices our mothers made for us. Your relationship with your [...]
How do we develop a sense of self? There are three main ways that a child’s sense of self is “awakened” by the caregiver: through a loving eye gaze, a gentle voice, and a caring touch, all of which are attuned to the present needs of the child. The child receives the sensory perceptions in [...]
I think of transpersonal psychology as a response to what is missing in Western psychology: an acknowledgement of the sacred, the spiritual, the mystery, the unknown, and the unknowable. Transpersonal psychology does not limit itself to these areas, but rather attempts to study and understand the entire range of human experience, from the pathological, to [...]
For the overwhelming majority of our evolutionary history, we have lived in semi-nomadic tribes. As the human nervous system evolved over tens of thousands of years, we lived in small, highly-bonded groups of approximately forty to one hundred people. For each child in the tribe, there were about sixteen adults available to provide them with [...]
One way to think about health and wellness is to consider the relationship between our minds and our bodies. Our bodies are constantly sensing our environment and sending messages to the brain in the form of sensations. Are we able to receive and act upon these messages? The body-- when we know how to interpret [...]
One of the most common themes I see in my practice is a lack of self-love. Over and over, I hear people judging themselves with harshness. They accuse themselves of being too much of something and not enough of something else. Ultimately, and unfortunately, people commonly see themselves as unworthy of love and happiness. The [...]
Couples often seek counselling thinking their problem is a “communication issue.” However, I believe there is a deeper issue that creates communication difficulties: an inability to self-regulate and co-regulate. What does “regulation” mean? When you are feeling calm, centered, grounded, relaxed, present, and available for social interaction, you are in a regulated state. In a [...]
We are wired for connection. As babies, we are completely dependent on the care of others for our survival. Our relationship to our caregivers is our lifeline, and any perceived threat to that relationship triggers a major reaction: brains and bodies go into “high alert” until we can be sure the bond is, in fact, [...]
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh! he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?” “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” -A.A. Milne We all need reassurance now and then, reassurance that our friend or partner is there for us. It is one of our basic human needs. Call [...]
What does it mean to be "heart-centered"? Two of my favorite spiritual teachers, Yogi Bhajan and Ram Dass, both talk a lot about the heart and the importance of being able to "come from the heart," so I was deeply intrigued by an article I just read about scientific research into this mystical organ. In [...]
