Last spring I wrote a series exploring the connection between positive thinking and healing. It is true that positive thinking isn’t a reliable cure for illness; however, there are huge emotional benefits that come from training yourself to find the bright side in any situation. If you are ready to step into the…
The Comparison Trap
I recently had the pleasure of talking with the insightful Joan Friedlander, author of Business from Bed: The 6 Step Plan to Get Yourself Working Again After a Health Crisis. She has written a wonderful guide to creating a business or career that is in alignment with your values and…
High Action. Low Attachment.
It is easy to become attached . Too easy. Online, in stores and everywhere in-between it is the outcome that sells. Here are three headlines from Health.com today: Get Toned in Half the Time Think Yourself Healthy! How to Treat (and Avoid!) Summer Skin Problems It’s an article’s, or product’s,…
3 Ways to Make Stress Worse
Stress is the tension between reality and what we imagine reality should be. If you want to make stress really intense I’ve got some suggestions: Complain to all of your friends. Completely obsess over every detail. Replay the crappy stuff over and over again. Get hundreds of opinions about what…
A Lesson from an Owl
Our owl made a grand appearance again last Friday. I call him “ours” because he’s a great “horned” owl, and we are the Horns. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Each time he visits it feels like it’s just for us, and I am granting myself this one delusion. We…
33 Ways to Relieve Stress
Stress causes a physiological reaction similar to what would happen if we were under attack. Our blood pressure increases, our heart rate becomes more rapid and our focus narrows. The body is concentrating on survival. Fight or flight. In practical terms, this stress reaction limits your options. It is hard…
How to Not Freak Yourself Out with Medical Research
At 10PM I opened my internet browser. I guess I was bored. I remembered something my doctor had said and I wanted to investigate. We were discussing kidney disease research and diet. He mentioned that because my kidney issues came from a congenital disorder my case was unique and that…
How to Deal With Stress
Stress is annoying. It’s this crazy automatic human ancestral thing that messes with our minds and bodies. Something happens and suddenly your body reacts as if it is under attack, fight or flight. We don’t have the same dangers as when we were hunting or gathering, but our physiology assumes…
First Glimpse of Spring: A Day in Napa
Spring is such a sweet time of year. It is as if the flowers and trees are reminding us that new beginnings can come out of that which looks completely bare. There is almost nothing better for stress than being outside, fresh air, off leash dogs running with tongues floppy…
The Definition of Stress: We’ve Had It All Wrong
Stress is misunderstood. The definition of stress is completely, absolutely, one hundred percent different than what you probably think it is. Our vernacular leads us to say that something “stresses us out.” Stress is thought of as an external force that puts pressure on us. When I first learned that…