how do we stand in our own way? by standing around, doing nothing by criticizing ourselves by not being honest with ourselves by putting ourselves down by not following our ideas by refusing to budge from our old ways by pushing ourselves by not treating our bodies well enough by not treating ourselves as someone… Continue reading getting out of the way
Category: emotional health
affirmations, anyone?
(this is another, edited, reprint from my old blog) i have an uneasy relationship with affirmations. on the one hand i know they can work (under certain circumstances) on the other, my logical mind mistrusts them and finds them plain silly. maybe one day i’ll be wanting to step in front of a mirror and… Continue reading affirmations, anyone?
weekend to end breast cancer – walking together for life
well, it’s happening – we’re going to the weekend to end breast cancer walk tomorrow! i’ve never done the walk myself, only visited and gone to the closing ceremonies. the feeling alone of being to those events gives me shivers down the spine just thinking about it. the walk is about a collective of people… Continue reading weekend to end breast cancer – walking together for life
interdependence and codependence
a few days ago, i asked what it is that i can do to help stop the kind of violence that so harshly burst into my friend’s life the other day. here is a comment i received: i think this goes along with trying to change someone or can you actually “make” someone do something.… Continue reading interdependence and codependence
“you made me do it” – part 4: understanding it all
okay, so let’s see what we can make of all the information and opinions we’ve gathered in the last few days about the subject of “making” someone feel something. in the first part, we concluded that it’s not possible to make anyone feel anything, as evidenced by the fact that when a teacher says something… Continue reading “you made me do it” – part 4: understanding it all
“you made me do it” – part 3
i was going to give you my opinion on how to reconcile the two opposing ideas presented in my two previous blog entries – but you’ll have to wait one more day. something just drifted into my mailbox that relates to the topic of “you made me do it”. and it’s funny. ghalil, author of… Continue reading “you made me do it” – part 3
“you made me do it” – part 2
more on making people feel things … (continuation from yesterday’s blog) right now, i am reading the tipping point by malcolm gladwell. it turns out that what he talks about is very a propos to our discussion here. in his book, gladwell discusses three different types of people who can make a huge difference in… Continue reading “you made me do it” – part 2
“you made me do it”
“. . . is it safe to say that we can “make” a person feel a certain way? Are we not in control of our own emotions . . ? If I gave you constructive criticism and you cried as a result, that wasn’t me “making” you cry, that was YOUR reaction. 2 people, 1… Continue reading “you made me do it”
open hearts
jeff’s comments on my last post about gratitude about open hearts reminded me of something very beautiful that alice walker, one of my favourite authors (the temple of my familiar is one of my all-time favourite books), once said in an interview with sharon salzberg for shambala sun, a buddhist magazine: “You know, what are… Continue reading open hearts
gratitude, awareness and patience
gratitude is a funny thing. i used to find it incredibly hard to be grateful for things that people expected me to be grateful for. i would just be resentful. that doesn’t really happen anymore; i suspect it’s mostly because i have weeded from my life most of the people who want to “make” me… Continue reading gratitude, awareness and patience