Author: OPS
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Living a Juicy Life
Has life lost its juiciness? Research tells us there are some important ways we can reconnect with our deepest intentions and our most important values so that life is juicier – more fulfilling.
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Empowering or Enabling?
How do we know when we’re enabling a loved one – feeding their unhealthy habits rather than empowering them toward greater confidence and autonomy? Mindfulness of the intentions behind our actions and their consequences can help.
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Mindfulness and Addiction
In simplest terms, mindfulness is compassionate, non-judgmental present moment awareness, while addiction is a compulsion to do something again and again despite harmful consequences. When we are addicted, our ability to choose is reduced. This is because the reward pathways in the brain are hijacked by desire and behavior becomes dominated by the mindless pursuit…
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Assumptions: Filling in the Gaps
An assumption is something we accept as true or certain, without much solid evidence. We all make assumptions – the problem is, we are often not even aware that we are making them. A mindfulness practice can make us more aware of them so we can see things clearly and respond appropriately.
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Embracing the Misguided Helper
We all can react in ways, at times, that are intended to protect us from pain, but only cause further suffering. Self-compassion can help us break out of this habit.
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Meaning and Purpose
Meaning and purpose provide a way to explain our existence and our path. By inquiring into the who, what, when, where, why and how of our lives, we write our stories.
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Where Therapy and Mindfulness Clash
There are a few challenges in being a therapist first and mindfulness teacher second. Our conditioning as helping professionals can place us at odds with the original intent behind mindfulness practice. The longer we have been treating people, the harder it can be to transcend our original training so that we can embody these radically…
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You, Who Have Been Disappointed in Love
There is a great sadness many of us carry around the loss of a love. Sometimes this disappointment involves the actual loss of a relationship and other times it is related to an inability to have the kind of love we want. To you who have been disappointed in love, I say “welcome to the…
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The Power in Concepts
One of the useful consequences of mindfulness training is that the deeply ingrained habit of discursive thinking is disrupted and gradually replaced by increasing moments of pure awareness. Discursive thinking is what fills the conditioned and unexamined mind. It is made up of concepts (ideas, beliefs, expectations) and tends to ramble on endlessly, even aimlessly.…
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Does Anger Equal Caring?
Does anger prove how much you care? We often use outrage as a barometer for love or justice, but it can sometimes act as a shield. Discover the psychological roots of “emotional investment,” why we sometimes seek validation through shared anger, and how practicing compassion can offer a more sustainable way to address injustice without…