Seven Tools
Vulnerability Hangover
Patti here. Have you ever had that experience where you open up and share of yourself and then afterwards you feel, well, kind of emotionally hungover? Kristen Neff and Chris Germer of The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion call it backdraft (like what happens in a fire when you open a door). Grace calls it a…
Read MoreHow I Knew My Emotional Life Was Interfering with My Parenting
Patti here. I remember a long time ago when my eldest child was two years old. Newly potty trained, she felt confident of her skills. Unfortunately, I didn’t at all. On this beautiful fall day, we prepared to ride bikes across the city to our food co-op. I knew the ride would take us 25…
Read MoreSwimming in the Deep End
Patti here. Have you ever had the experience of suddening falling back into the feelings and sensations of an old trauma? Out of the blue your logical mind has trouble distinguishing the past from the present? Smells, visual cues, strange thoughts transport you back in time. You are actually in present time, but you feel,…
Read MoreThe Power of “And”
I recently had a client come to session talking about the power of the word “and”. I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure if those are her words or something I once said that resonated with her. And I don’t suppose it really matters except in my desire to give credit where credit is…
Read MoreTweezing Out the Truth
You might be surprised when you take a look at yourself from a new perspective Patti here. Sometimes it’s important to ask for help. And sometimes that’s a hard lesson to learn. It can be easier to trundle through life without changing, assuming you know what is true about situations without considering that you might…
Read MoreKnowing When to Stop
Hello! Grace here. What do you do when you feel done but you also know you could push yourself and do more? How do you know where to draw the line and set the boundary? Many of us have beliefs about ourselves that tell us to push ourselves and always do more so how do…
Read MoreAccomplishing Everything by Doing Nothing
I just got some clarity recently on something I’ve been puzzling about for a long time. Years ago, I read in the Tao Te Ching that “the masters accomplish everything by doing nothing.” I believed that Lao Tzu was reporting honestly about what he was witnessing about the behavior of the masters, I just couldn’t…
Read MoreTrading Discomforts
I think most of us have the belief, or maybe the hope, that if we do the right thing everything will feel good. The reality is that while it tends to feel better in the long run, Right Action, at least at first, often means trading one discomfort for another.
Read MoreCompassionate Strokes
My parents signed me up for swim lessons when I was starting first grade hoping I would learn to cooperate during hair washing time. I have to admit washing my hair entailed an almost bloody, ridiculously noisy battle that nobody won. I took my blood curdling screams to the pool and after a couple years…
Read MoreNote to Self: Keep Breathing!
“Do you know you aren’t breathing?” This is one of the most important questions anyone has ever asked me in my whole life.
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