I’ve been talking a LOT about routines lately. Essentially, counselling patients on the how to of implementing some of the healing and self-care strategies I’ve prescribed for them. Because one of the most important things I’ve learned from personal experience is that if you don’t plan for it, it doesn’t happen. Exactly how is it that some people are… Continue reading How To Make Things Happen
Have you ever heard the phrase “you are your own best doctor”? In many respects, it’s very true. I tell this to my patients all the time. When you have any kind of health concern, who is the person most in touch with the presenting symptoms, with how they are showing up and when, with how… Continue reading The Most Effective Way To Heal Yourself
Picture this: You are in the middle of texting your friend or partner. You say something genuine with good intention. They say something…different…from what you might have wanted in response. Not necessarily unkind, probably not intended the way you took it, but…definitely not what you wanted to read and likely eliciting some negative emotions. What happens now? Do you… Continue reading Responding Versus Reacting
So, for a moment, indulge me this query and thought experiment. Trust me that I’m offering something of value in just a few short minutes. What personal or professional challenge are you facing right now, today, this moment? I want you to picture it, however it arises, in brain. What does it look like, how… Continue reading What To Do When in Fight or Flight Mode
So here is a dose of real-time honesty for you… I’m currently awaiting results for a Covid Test. Just being prudent, low likelihood, but the well-beyond-24-hour wait time is definitely stretching my every mindfulness muscle. Some days, in some scenarios, those muscles seem weaker than others. Anyone relate? I want to be able to see… Continue reading How to Wait Patiently, When You’re Desperately Impatient
Last week, I promised you more of the how-to re: really practicing your practice in everyday life. Though the formal discipline piece is absolutely fundamental (how will we ever get the skills unless we show up to baseball practice), it’s vital that we actually implement whatever we are training in the ‘game time’ of our… Continue reading How to make REAL LIFE your practice
Are you real-life practicing the thing you want to achieve? Or have you spent countless hours / weeks / years in preparation only? This is an important distinction that I don’t often talk about. Quick example. Take meditation. You probably know by now that I’m a pretty strong advocate for a sitting meditation practice. Not… Continue reading The ONLY Time Your Practice Really Matters
Have you ever noticed that when glimpsing our happiest, most sublime moments, we are surprisingly adept at covering this up with “protective”, often worse-case-scenario thinking? That those moments scare us so much that we have to put on a suit of armour in case it all goes horribly wrong? Brené Brown has famously said that “…the most terrifying,… Continue reading How to feel happy
I have to share something I’m ashamed about. It’s uncomfortable. The other day, I attended the funeral for the passing of my friend’s mother. When I heard the news, I was really struck by how out of touch I had been in this friend’s life. I knew her mother wasn’t well and that my friend had… Continue reading Inward or Outward? Learn to shift your gaze
When I talk to my patients about meditation or mindfulness, the refrain I repeat as though quoted from some holy book is that consistency is key. It’s important to know that what I DON’T mean by this is that we should set aside an hour each earthly day to see benefits. In fact, I tell my patients… Continue reading Why Consistency Changes Everything
