My most important insights about applying mindfulness to work are grounded in an experience I had as head of the kitchen during a sesshin at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 1971. Since it was a week-long sesshin – all day sitting, every day – you might imagine there was a serene atmosphere about the place. Well, […]
It seems like everybody is practicing mindfulness these days. Mindfulness is taking off! It’s showing up in corporate boardrooms, college classrooms, hospice care, and locker rooms. This is a wonderful development because, practiced correctly, mindfulness holds tremendous benefits for us as individuals, for our family and co-workers, and for our communities. There is some confusion, […]
When I’m working to help a couple communicate better, it may surprise you to hear that I don’t employ the latest tricks to get men to understand women better, or vice versa. Improving relationship communication is actually much simpler than that — if the hypnotherapist’s approach is transpersonal in nature.
What would it look like to give love without expecting anything in return? Isn’t that only for saints, or monks . . . or worse, won’t it mean submitting and becoming a doormat? Not at all. Giving unconditional love arises from a sense of your own unconditional OK-ness. It may be necessary to do some […]
Getting stuck in anxious energy and busyness, but getting nowhere. Does this sound familiar? I call it “running in place,” and it’s a sure sign that I’ve stopped giving myself love and compassion. When you notice yourself doing this, don’t think, “I have to stop this.” Instead, think, “Oh! I’m running-in-place! I must be denying […]
In the last post, I mentioned making the conscious effort to soften your heart with patience and kindness (and therefore courage). Were you surprised to see “courage” in there? Did it surprise you to think that softening your heart, consciously becoming more patient and kind through consistent effort, takes courage? If it did surprise you, […]
Happy New Year! Amazing to think that a brand new year has already begun. Already our hopes (and fears) are revving up! Is your inbox flooded with messages about keeping your New Year’s Resolutions? I promise this will not be just another ‘how to’ message for you. (If you like, you can skip straight to […]
I want to share some additional perspectives about my previous blog, “What DO Thoughts Think About?” “Thoughts think about other thoughts” is a subtle topic; it’s importance can easily be missed, and working with it can seem boring and pointless in the beginning. In order to experience the power of this insight, the first step […]
Want to make someone pause? Ask them, “What do thoughts think about?” Ask yourself. Try to think about something that is not a thought — if you can, let me know! Why is this important? Well, most significantly it means you cannot think about yourself! You can only think about thoughts about your IDEA of […]
A big part of the transformational process is challenging negative self talk (mean and nasty internal dialogue) again and again to look at and to cut through the roots and causes of self hatred. I have been struck lately by several clients’ acceptance of negative self talk and judgments – what they describe as self-judgment […]
