Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season! The holidays bring mixed emotions...and we can all find time to reconnect to JOY Whatever you feel this holiday season, can you bring yourself into a space of knowing there is no right or wrong way to feel? A teaspoon of acceptance can open your heart and mind, giving you space to soften. And that itself may allow you to find some peace and joy this holiday season. Sometimes joy is finding purpose and meaning within your suffering (like...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Do you ever feel guilty, embarrassed, or ashamed? HINT: we all have... Feelings, emotions and everything connected to them come up in my work with my clients every day. Understanding emotions, supporting emotional regulation, and creating a safe and trusting environment are essential foundations for the therapeutic process (Lincoln et al., 2022). I find it common to misunderstand the differences between guilt, embarrassment, and shame. If you don't know or understand the difference, you are...
3 months ago • 7 min read
Change is all around us...managing and living change takes practice, work, commitment and resources... I have dedicated my career to helping people manage and live with change. At a young age, I was encircled with it personally and professionally. I suffered deeply, physically and emotionally. I found the path to managing change difficult, under-resourced, and confusing. It is why I wanted to make it easier for others to navigate. During my adolescent years and twenties, I spent a significant...
4 months ago • 6 min read
We have all felt lonely at some point in our lives...you are not alone. Do you ever feel lonely? If the answer is yes, you aren't alone... I sometimes feel lonely even though my life is full of wonderful people, love, and purpose. I know from speaking to people in my community that this is a common experience and research backs this contradictory feeling. Not only that, but research tells us that loneliness is a universal feeling, meaning that the effects of it are similar across all cultures...
6 months ago • 7 min read
What makes you feel calm and relaxed in the face of uncertainty? Remaining calm in the face of uncertainty... The past few years have brought considerable uncertainty for many; in our personal lives, professionally, and all around the world, life has felt out of balance. Uncertainty brings many difficult emotions along with it. There are no right or wrong ones, only the ones you experience: anger, frustration, boredom, agitation, doubt, or maybe irritability. Are you aware of what happens to...
7 months ago • 7 min read
Acceptance is a journey, and each of us owns creating it for one another. What is acceptance? I spent many decades in the absence of acceptance, mostly because I didn't know what it was or how to accept myself. I did not realize that acceptance was a concept or necessary for my attention. I was younger, less experienced, and unaware. I was also very unaccepting of myself. In my adolescence, twenties and early thirties, I spent much of my time consumed in my thoughts, and it was not a place I...
8 months ago • 5 min read
Creating moments for more loving awareness brings powerful connected presence to your relationships... What is loving kindness? May you be loved,May you find peace,May you discover joy in the little and big things,May you be healthy... I hear my inner voice saying, "I think you could use a teaspoon of loving kindness," and I follow it up with wanting to reach out and give someone a nice big hug... (yes, there is a dose of judgment in that statement, and I acknowledge it - part of me believes...
8 months ago • 5 min read
Finding balance... Do you need more balance in your life? I've found that lately, I'm having conversations about balance with many of my friends and clients. It is a struggle for many of us, including me. Whether it's changes in work demands or routines, or perhaps home care needs like increased elder care, daycare, or pet care, the need to adjust and be flexible seems constant. Or perhaps you are tuning into what you need in a more meaningful way and trying to make time for something for...
10 months ago • 4 min read
JOIN ME and the rest of the CIA team on April 5th for this year's Annual Event - Courageous Futures - DETAILS ARE BELOW Do you live your life authentically? This question comes full of opportunity and curiosity. For me, being authentic means I live each day aligned with my purpose and values; for some of us, that has been clear for a long time (my husband is one of those fortunate people). For many of us, that road to finding purpose and understanding our values has been and continues to be a...
11 months ago • 4 min read