Browsing: Difficult Emotions

Life is hard, and it might get harder. So, where could mindfulness or loving awareness fit in when survival feels tenuous and ultimately temporary?

There are a lot of paradoxes in psychology—the harder you try to fall asleep, the less likely you will; the more you try to avoid thinking negative thoughts, the more likely they will pop into your head; and according to newer research, your greatest meaning in life can come from your greatest pains.

There is one sentence that can stop attempts to repair a tumultuous or estranged parent/child relationship in its tracks. For many, this experience may sound achingly familiar: An adult child is naming a painful experience from their youth, often something a parent said or did that hurt them. They are typically hoping to share the…

My journey to mindfulness started long before I knew what the word meant. I was born to two wonderful parents, Lenny and Linda, and from the very beginning I was a kid full of vigor, energy, spontaneity, and deep curiosity. Eclectic, you could say.

Our days are made up of countless small reactions to the outside world. A short email from a colleague can put us in a bad mood for the afternoon, a criticism from a partner can linger for days, or an ordinary disappointment can suddenly make us question everything.

When I first started meditating, I was anxious and fidgety. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I’m truly astounded that I didn’t quit, since I was 17 at the time and had quit all sorts of things in those days—and they were mostly things that were good for me. Things that weren’t good…

I have been a psychotherapist and mindfulness teacher for decades. But in the back of my mind, I have always wanted to do stand-up comedy. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun. Besides, I had my mindfulness practice in my back pocket to help keep me present. What could go wrong?