Tag: mental-health
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Wishing you a Very Happy New Year.
There’s something meaningful about the New Year beginning in winter. At a time when we’re often pushed to improve, hustle, and fix ourselves, nature is doing the opposite. Trees let go of their leaves. Growth slows. The land rests. Nothing is rushing toward spring. Winter doesn’t skip ahead. It pauses, reflects, and restores first. As…
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Dopamine, Desire, and the Middle Way
We learn this pattern early. The holidays make it obvious. We stretch anticipation on purpose, counting days, hiding gifts, building suspense. Excitement lives in the waiting. There is warmth in that. But there is also a lesson absorbed quietly: happiness is something that comes later.
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OCD as Meditation Practice: When a Compulsion Becomes a Mantra
In the case of tracing a pattern in the carpet, the mind settles almost naturally. By meeting the movement with awareness rather than resistance, I can deepen my practice in real time. I am not pulled toward the experience or pushed away from it. The internal commentary quiets. What remains is direct contact with the…
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Your Mind and Unwelcome Guests
“The mind is not attacking us. It is doing exactly what it was built to do, rehearse old pain in the hope of preventing new pain. The freedom comes when we finally realize we do not have to invite every thought inside and give it the run of the house.”
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Metta: The Practice of Loving-Kindness
The Practice of Peace While Living in a Divided World When we talk about love, most of us think of affection, loving a person, a pet, or even a good meal. But metta, the Pali word for loving-kindness, points to something deeper. It isn’t the warmth we feel when life pleases us; it’s the deliberate cultivation of…
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Get On with Actual Living: A Mindful Reframing of Goal Setting
Happy Monday, friends — We’re still a couple of months away from goal-setting season, but this topic has been on my mind for a while. I’m also hearing more people talk about their “future selves” across different platforms, so now feels like the right time. Read it now or save it for January—either way, you…
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Zen and the Art of the Scroll
Slow Your Scroll – Wise Social Media Habits You open Instagram for inspiration. Just a quick look, you tell yourself. Ten minutes later, you’ve compared your writing, your breakfast, and possibly your entire life to three strangers with better headlines and a cat who somehow has better engagement. You’re not angry at yourself, just amused…
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The Science of Staying Awake While Trying to Sleep.
Or, “I Thought I Was Practicing Self-Care. Turns Out, I Was Practicing Insomnia.” For years, I believed I had the perfect bedtime ritual. TV until 10. Phone until 11. Fireplace blazing like a luxury lodge. Weighted blankets, flannel sheets, and a room warm enough to grow orchids. Two dogs, two cats, one husband, and a…
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Are Your Habits a Kind Way of Maintaining Your Addictions?
What if the routines we call healthy habits are simply a kind way of maintaining addiction? Questioning the Question There is no shortage of best-selling titles encouraging us to build better habits. Wake early, journal, meditate, work out, repeat. These routines can be helpful. But ask yourself: Can you easily say no to one of…
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Mindfulness in the Digital Age: Finding Balance, Not Escape
Digital communication is here to stay. Phones, tablets, and laptops keep us connected, informed, and often inspired. Yet they also compete for our most precious resource: attention. If mindfulness is the art of being present, what does that mean in a world built to distract? What the Research Says Studies increasingly show that how we…
