Looking at it I find myself reflecting on how often, actually most often, I see that my couples feel overwhelmed, uncomfortable, and at a loss for words when their partner is deeply sharing a pain point in their life together. The instinct is to move on. To avoid revisiting painful memories. To lock them away […]

As I waited for my friends to arrive for my birthday weekend I reflected on the path that I’ve been on over the last two years. The truth is I had some rocky years after my divorce in 2012 and I kept finding myself back in a place of darkness and self-loathing. If you scroll […]

I talk to so many people who feel a sense of desperation and hopelessness on their path to emotional freedom. I feel so much hope for them. The story generally goes something like this; “Cindy I started practicing and applying the tools you gave me and I was feeling so much better….and then X happened […]

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?” -Lao Tzu One of the guarantees in living is that I will be triggered by people, events, experiences. My path toward learning to assimilate these triggers into personal growth […]

ByDr. Darlene Treese “For the very true beginning of wisdom is discipline; and the core of discipline is love.” -Solomon One of the most common beliefs in our society is that it is necessary and desirable fordads to use their authority to control, direct and train their children. Dads are sometimesdesignated as the disciplinarian (“Wait […]

ByDr. Darlene Treese “To become a father is not hard; to be a father is, however.” Wilhelm Busch In our ever-changing society, the traditional “dad” role has basically disappeared. We have single dads, divorced dads, step-dads, stay-at-home dads, widowed dads, distance dads, blended families…. with parenting roles and obligations muddled. So in this mix of […]

“We must be steadfast in our love for ourselves, both when we soar and when we stumble.” -Rolf Gates in Meditations from the Mat Making mistakes is a fact of life. It is how I respond to my mistakes that makes all the difference.  Once I can fully accept the idea that I am doing the […]

A few days ago I had one of those “lightbulb” moments.  I was in the bathtub listening to Sam Harris’s soothing voice (the neuroscientist, not the musician)on the Waking Up meditation app and I heard him tell me to meditate on my thoughts as they appeared. This meditation instruction caused my mind to instantly say […]

Well, we’re nearing the light at the end of this COVID tunnel and slowly making adjustments toward re-engaging in normal life. That’s great, right?  (cue blood curdling scream)  Hang on a minute… While many people may be champing at the bit to “get back out there” and resume normal life: going back to the office, […]

One of the lessons that life has given me seemingly unlimited opportunities to learn is that when I identify too strongly with a difficult feeling I can create a powerful experience of personal suffering. Science has not yet fully sorted out whether depression and anxiety are biological or learned behaviors but that doesn’t really matter […]