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 [...]
Shifts happen: we move, change careers, and start and end relationships. Whether we are navigating our own, changing lives, or helping a friend through a transition, it is helpful to understand the three stages of change: beginnings, endings, and the in-between times. In our culture, we love to celebrate new beginnings: a new baby, a [...]
A close friend of mine, who grew up in New York, told me about the first time she met a tree, at the age of twenty-five: "I had seen trees growing on the sidewalks and in parks, of course. But I'd never been to a real forest. I just ran up to a tree and [...]
This post is dedicated to Shirley. When I was around fifteen years old, I came across Joseph Campbell's teaching, "Follow your bliss." I remember holding the magazine article, printed beside an image of two people paddling kayaks. I tried to show it to my brother, but he was not too interested. For me, however, it [...]
