A toxic family leaves imprints upon children and grandchildren that often last a lifetime. Low self-worth minimizes realization of personal potential. Social awkwardness or isolation diminishes quality of life. Many have a relentless desire to fill a vast gap within the heart, one that drives drug, alcohol, food or sex addiction. It’s a rare family that values love beyond control and chooses to proactively address toxic dynamics. Often family members, through good intention, place Band-Aids atop dysfunction. A wound is […]
A toxic boss can push triggers throughout the day so it’s no surprise we leave work exhausted and frustrated. Once we awaken to recognize life is a transformative journey, it’s ideal to work independently or in collaboration with like-hearted individuals. Here’s why: If you value connection, mentoring and supporting others, a toxic boss pressures you to fall in line, play by his/her rules and align to an egoically-structured model. We’re left with inner dissonance: It’s frustrating to align to denser energies–such […]
Learn about your brain and you’ll understand many of your habits–including why it’s so challenging to step away from a digital device. Every time we try something new, a combination of brain cells connect to create a pathway that supports learning. The more the circuit is connected, the stronger it gets. The less a pathway is used, the weaker it becomes. Neuroplasticity: The Brain’s Ability to Change For those who choose to learn throughout life, neuroplasticity is a particularly exciting […]
I took the off-road journey to self-love: the white knuckling, dust-in-the-mouth, barren path of addiction. My body became a shell and I nearly died. Yet in the most wondrous of ways, my heart was broken wide open. For eight years, whilst an outwardly ambitious grad student and young professional, I had a major eating disorder. It consumed my thoughts, smothered my esteem and ravaged by body. Each day saw the obsessive pursuit of easy-to-purge foods and a subsequent quest for […]
I often talk with people weary from upholding a bright and cheery exterior that clashes with inner emptiness and longing. Many are successful in career, people who have studied and worked hard. Bright and inquisitive, they appear positive, upbeat and engaged. Yet inside they suffer, overwhelmed by this gap of extremes. The burden can seem an internal crucifix, a mental bind that turns people to alcohol, prescriptions, eating disorders and addiction. Am I the only one who feels this way? I […]
Each day we are inundated with media messages as well widely accepted societal and workplace norms that are counter intuitive to our soul’s wisdom, lowest common denominators that go against our deepest inner knowing. Living within this out-of-balance world destabilizes our mental health and emotions. Photoshopped models set impossible and unrealistic standards of beauty and spur painful inner conflict that can lead to eating disorders; highly processed foods filled with preservatives deplete brain function; conspicuous consumerism and being sold product […]