Uncategorized
When it’s Okay to Not Be Okay: Grieving and Loss in Uncertain Times ll By Megan Christine Anderson
This has been a strange summer, to say the least. Isolation, “social distancing,” lack of work, the threat of serious illness, the pressing need for social justice and equality, all swirling together in a cauldron that still contains all the other challenges we face on a daily basis, merely compounded by a new and ever-changing…
Read MoreGetting to know Pronouns and Gender Inclusive Language ll Stephanie Boulton, MA, LPCC
I highly recommend watching the Netflix documentary “Disclosure: Trans lives on screen,” if you haven’t already. It is directed by Laverne Cox, a transgender actress and activist, who acted in Orange is the New Black among other shows. All the people who speak in the documentary are transgender individuals and they examine how transgender people…
Read MoreMindfulness and Anti-Racism By Michelle LaBorde, MA, LPCC
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed. —Thich Nhat Hanh Like many of us lately, I’ve been engaged in conversation with family, friends and colleagues about racial equality and my own path toward understanding and dismantling my white privilege in a more intentional way. One of my favorite teachers…
Read MoreMy Heart Hurts ll By Dorothy Wallis
Yesterday, my body collapsed and I was shrouded in despair and feelings of hopelessness over how we hurt one another. The weight in my heart gripped me in a state of grief and emptiness. Hopelessness and despair is a feeling that so many people live with every day. When you are constantly being denied, denigrated,…
Read MoreYou Are More Than the Story of the Self: How to Become a “Being” ll By Brenda Bomgardner
Do you find yourself trapped within the pages of what could be called “the story of self?’ We all have one. It’s the narrative that either you have created for yourself, or that’s been created for you. These storylines eventually come to define who you are, whether you like it or not. Yet, there is a way to…
Read MoreReform or Disband Police? ll By Rev. Mary Coday Edwards, MA.
If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together. Lilla Watson, Indigenous Australian artist Humanity’s collective liberation is bound up, interconnected, with the planet we live on and all its habitants. But we…
Read MoreThis World is Packed with things that are Bigger than Me ll By Stephanie Boulton, MA, LPCC
One of my favorite things about climbing mountains and backpacking is being humbled in a way where I still feel like I belong. I stand on the mountain and feel my smallness. I see the routes that are possible and the routes that are not. I have to read the weather. There are times to…
Read MoreWhat Will You Carry with You? Reflecting on the Positive Aspects of Sheltering at Home ll By Michelle LaBorde, MA, LPCC
On March 26th Coloradans were ordered to stay home to prevent the spread of the highly contagious and deadly COVID-19 virus. Today, two months later, as the orders are being lifted, slowly, and in stages, we find ourselves emerging into a new reality where the danger is still real. As Father Richard Rohr writes on…
Read MoreHow the Act of Caring Gets You Back to Love ll By Dorothy Wallis
Doesn’t it feel wonderful when you know that someone cares for you? It is a deeply felt knowing that you are not alone in the world. It is an essential need. There is a longing to be connected to someone in your life that supports you and has your back. When you don’t feel “cared…
Read MoreForest Fire: How to Use Nature’s Metaphors for Embracing Change ll Brenda Bomgardner
In a blog post from Creating Your Beyond, my person blog, I talk about Breaking Free From The Comfort Zone: How avoiding the uncomfortable causes even more distress. I discuss “experiential avoidance,” an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) term that details the human tendency to avoid taking actions that bring up any discomfort, even when…
Read More