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New Year, Mixed Feelings ll By Elan BenAmi LPC, ACS
I love this time of year. I like to see space brightened, be it with a single burning candle, a string of lights, or with decorations of any kind. I like picturing people sitting by the fire. An image I well know has been marketed to me since I was a child, but hey I…
Read MoreLetters from our Santa Nature ll By Michelle LaBorde, MA, LPC
I’m 58 years old now and I still love children’s Christmas stories. I love the reminder that, after a long hard year such as this one and the previous one, there is good in this world even across the ages. Because this isn’t the only hard time we humans have endured. Certainly, there is little…
Read MoreI Served a God that Didn’t Exist* ll By Rev. Mary Coday Edwards, MA.
The picture came unbidden. In my mind’s eye, I saw the Christ striding down into the crowded, sweltering, dusty alleyways of the bazaar, his sand-colored robes flowing out around his sandaled feet. He went where polluted air hung thick, where sewage flowed in open drains down the edges of the narrow dirt roads, where families…
Read MoreDefusion 101: How Cognitive Defusion Can Help You Reclaim Your Power ll By Gina Henschen, MA, LPCC
Negative thoughts can be tough to shake, especially if you’ve been struggling with them for a long time. These thoughts may have such a hold over us that they affect our feelings, behavior, and even our sense of self. If this is something you experience, know that you’re not alone. You may have tried various…
Read MoreStop Blaming Your Partner ll By Michele Bailey, MA, MFTC
Stop blaming your partner! Ouch, yes – I said it. Stop blaming your partner, and, while you’re at it stop blaming yourself. Blame, either projected on someone else or directed back on ourselves will not bring us closer together. It in fact draws us into a blaming-defensive spiral that is designed to keep us in…
Read MoreOur Essential Nature is Spiritual!
Understanding A Transpersonal Approach in Psychotherapy ll By Michelle LaBorde, MA, LPCC In his book, “A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose” Eckart Tolle teaches that our “inner purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on the planet – because it is the…
Read MoreReflections on Grief ll By Faye Maguire, MA, LAC
My mother died this year. What can prepare us for the loss of this most unique, and often, most fraught relationship? Her loss has caused me to ponder our relationship, and to think about her life, and the paths that shaped each of us. If I was skipping along, smelling the roses, and sometimes veering…
Read MoreGive the Dvarapala a New Job ll By Rev. Mary Coday Edwards, MA.
In Hindu and Buddhist cultures, Dvarapalas guard doors or gates of important buildings, such as temples or palaces. They are made out of stone, can be of any height, are fearsome looking warriors, and often armed with a weapon. I was living and working in Indonesia (1), and saw them on many islands, including Java,…
Read MoreCommitted Action: Acting in Service of Our Values for a Richer Life ll By By Gina Henschen, MA, LPCC
In my last blog post, I wrote about the ACT concept of values, or principles that guide us toward a more authentic and meaningful life. Today I’m going to discuss a topic that goes hand-in-hand with values, which is committed action. Committed action is an important part of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a form…
Read MoreRepair: Another Home for Love ll By Colleen Ladd
Western culture doesn’t always show how conflict can be handled. More than ever, we are seeing a toxic “cancel culture” that goes beyond the fact that humans are meant to make mistakes to grow and into the idea that anything we say can be held against us as we unlearn harmful ideologies that divide us…
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