Posts

Mind Go

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Our minds are amazing instruments. We can learn so much from paying attention to how we think, what we think about, and the games our minds can play on us. Some of us have a lot of repetitive thoughts that circle around us and hold us captive in our own pens. Some of us have minds that never stop and just keep circling around and talking to us. Some of us have more quiet minds and we struggle to find words for our feelings or our images. Some of us have minds that charge us up and can not rest. Do you find yourself in any of these categories? Most of us are a combination of these and of course, there are many variations of how our minds work. Our minds and how they talk to us are connected to our genetic inheritance, the  placement of the planets in the sky at the moment of our birth, the effect of our early wounds on us, and how we have worked with ourselves over the years to understand us and how we work and what makes us tick. I am talking about how our minds talk to

When To Comfort Or To Coddle

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Being a parent is one of the hardest things to do. We never get it right, our buttons are always being pushed, and every one of our weaknesses comes out in blinding color. Every child goes through a period of time blaming their parents, and actually have every right to do so. With all of that, it is still one of the most rewarding things we can do in life; if we so choose to do so, to parent. In parenting, there is an issue that comes up a lot; when to comfort the child as opposed to coddling them. Another way to say this is that as parents, teachers, therapists, mentors etc., when are we comforting the child, and when are we really coddling them? When does comforting change to coddling?  As someone who works with children in some capacity we know that at times what the child needs is to be comforted, and other times they need to be lovingly pushed or stretched. We can easily get confused as to what is best for the child at the time and we can give too much comfort when wha

The Art of Listening

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Listening is tough stuff. Being able to put aside our own thoughts and ideas and perceptions as well as being able to listen through disagreeing with the speaker is truly an art. When someone speaks to you, how often do you stop what you are doing and thinking and feeling and truly be present with the other? So often we are busy cooking or cleaning or getting ready for work or to go out, and also in our own thoughts when someone speaks to us. If you are like me and my husband, we find ourselves speaking to each other even in different rooms. The art of listening is truly an art and it also shows the other person that we care. Another dynamic at play is that we hear the other person through our own filters. An example of this happened with my husband and me just recently. I had explained to my husband the other night how I felt about a television show we watched together. I thought I was very clear. I told him that to me the show was ok, I didn’t love it but I

Into The Stillness Poem

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Into the stillness of the night The silence is as penetrating as the cold night`s air Grey skies encircle above Snaring the birds in its misty claws Spitting small snowflakes in its wake Feeling the vibration of the dormant trees As they rest in drowsy alertness Closing my pores to the arctic chill Trying to emulate the tall dormant warriors Silently making my way to the warmth and light of my house Anticipating the heat of a hot cup of tea lightly cradled between my hands Sinking into the silence of the night Of a winter's evening. Getting into the stillness and energy of the season. There is truly a time for all seasons. As I settle into the winter's season, I learn from the trees and gently move into a quiet stillness.  Happy winter to us all. Check out my new offering: Psychological Astrology Reading . Contact me and ask me about it and I am happy to easily and drowsily and alertly share. Find your way to

Removing Blinders

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Do you ever feel like a horse with its blinders on, to keep it from panicking? I think we all have at some time or another. I love the horse analogy because I think that analogy is one most of us can relate to and also because we can see what the blinders do for the horse. They actively keep the horse's attention straight in front of him/her so that he won't get distracted or panicked by something going on around him. That is what we do to ourselves. We put blinders on so that we won't see something that we are unconsciously afraid of. The blind fear here is that if I see this it will upset me or panic me or embarrass me or disappoint me. It is better not to see. If we were aware we were doing this, then the blinders would be taken off. This is another example of how we protect ourselves from hurt or perceived hurt. I love how these protective mechanisms work for us. And I also love how when we become aware of what we are doing, often we are able, even with the fe

Waiting Poem

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Waiting. Waiting. Staying centered and knowing I am being lied to. Feeling my anticipation in my breath and the quickening. Concentrating on breathing slowly and deeply. Listening to the music around me. Feeling the breath of the air on my skin and in my hair.  Watching the trees move and breath with the touch of mother nature's energy. Enjoying the trees expression of life Quieting my mind consciously Opening me to the unknown and feeling my own movements and breath And taking a cue from nature around me, enjoying my expression of life I hope on this holiday you can find the time and place and space to enjoy your own expression of life. Life is a vital force and one that becomes the gift that keeps on giving. Love to you all and I hope this next year finds you in good health, with a joyful expression of who you are that you can bring to you and to the world.

Happy Talk

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I love the sound of that phrase; happy talk. How do you talk with yourself? That is a funny question. It makes me think of how I talk to myself. I honestly can't say I have a lot of self-happy talks. How about you? I do find I catch myself with negative self-talk in terms of what I should be doing, or how I would like to feel and what I would like to do, and also sometimes even not thinking I am good enough for something or even wondering why someone isn't speaking with me or wondering what I did wrong when maybe it wasn't even about me. I think if we are honest with us we would find we don't do a lot of self-happy talks. Can you imagine how life would be and how we would feel if we did? I was speaking with a patient by Skype the other week and I was listening to the language she was using. I heard phrases like, the other women in my family have people to live for and I don't, and I don't have anything I feel passionate about, and I don't do well