Articles

Why is making a decision sometimes so difficult? I used to be the worst at making decisions. I would labor for days over a major decision, talking it over with everyone I could in hopes of gaining insight and resolution—basically driving my friends and family (and myself!) crazy. If only there was a built-in mechanism for making the right decision every time—wait—there is! It’s the Unconscious Mind. The Unconscious Mind never shouts, she speaks in whispers. The Unconscious Mind’s primary objective is to run and preserve the body. It also takes in and processes up to 20 million bits of information per…

If you have trouble sleeping—even occasionally—you’re not alone. It turns out, 30-40% of people have reported sleep disturbances of one kind or another, and more women have this issue than men. Insomnia is defined as the inability to fall asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, or waking too early in the morning. It can be acute (lasting one to several nights) or chronic (lasting weeks to years). However long it lasts, insomnia can be extremely frustrating, and even interfere with health and well being. Here are 7 simple ways to get a better night’s rest. 1. Limit or eliminate food…

Perhaps the longest running and most comprehensive study of adults is ongoing at Harvard University. It began in 1938, and followed two groups of men to identify the psychosocial predictors of healthy aging. The Grant study group is made up of 268 Harvard graduates and the Glueck study group is comprised of 456 men who grew up in the inner city neighborhoods of Boston, MA. The study has been conducted over decades by generations of researchers. Through blood tests, questionnaires, brain scans and doctor’s visits, researchers used a wide range of tools used to follow these men through their traumas,…

Our Western culture is literally bombarded with the word Mindfulness, but what’s the big deal? Be where you are? Mindfulness is noticing where you’re at, what you’re doing, what you’re feeling, and who you’re with. Mindfulness is being present, right now. Super-simple, right? Not so much. “The most exciting news of all is that the conversation between body, mind and genes can be transformed. This transformation goes far beyond prevention, even beyond wellness, to a state we call radical well-being.” People today are suffering from a host of ailments, including anxiety, depression (teen suicide is off the charts…), not to mention the many, many…

It’s my son’s 12th birthday next week, and we’ve been planning his party. As we were driving to school a couple days ago, we had an interesting conversation about social graces. First, I should mention my son is super empathic—he can sense peoples’ thoughts and feelings easily, and often becomes concerned about what he’s sensing and tries to compensate. One of the boys (let’s call him Tom) he’s inviting to his party has a less-than-easy time fitting in to groups, and he said to me “mom—I don’t think Tom will fit in with the rest of the group, and might not feel…

Having a bad day? A really sh*ty, life-sucks sort of day? We’ve all had them. As a matter of fact, I had one yesterday. It started out fine, my amazing husband took the kids to school so I could go to the gym, I had a pretty good workout, until out of the blue, I got an exertion headache (been struggling with Thunderclap Headaches—no, it’s nothing serious…) and had to end the workout early. I took some Advil and went to my office to get some work done. Pick-up with my kids (still sporting that headache…) ended in chaotic craziness, that resulted in…

I grew up in a somewhat chaotic household. My mother divorced my alcoholic father when I was barely three, and being a single mom, did her best to hold it all together with two small children, and one teenager. I was born in a VERY rural part of Northern California on a small ranch. My parents had one of those toxic but entangled relationships, which my mother did her best to shield us from. Nevertheless, we moved many times before I turned 7 (I’m still not really sure why), and my mom held THREE jobs to support us while my…

For years, we’ve known about the many benefits of living in gratitude—it seems fairly obvious. But why does it work? When I was in college, I had a girlfriend who I worked with that was the most grateful person I had ever met. Even though she came from difficult familial circumstances, had just gone through a divorce at the time I met her, and was struggling to stay afloat, she always had a smile on her face. She kept her modest house clean, she enjoyed nothing more than a good cup of tea, a homemade scone, and to work on a creative project.…

What is grounding anyway? Grounding is simply a way of connecting with the Earth’s energy field. In ancient times, humans were grounded all the time because they didn’t wear shoes, lived in naturally-made huts and spent 100% of their time in nature. Today, we live in a way that’s super-disconnected from nature, surrounded by electronic devices, Wi-Fi, and radio waves and we’re constantly stressed by all the imaginary stressors of western life. Symptoms of being ungrounded are anxiety, tension, worry, racing thoughts absent-mindedness, clumsiness, inability to focus and even illness or disease. Many of us live perpetually in an ungrounded state, with thoughts racing…

Plato said “The part can never be well unless the whole is well.” Much of what I talk about regarding health and wellness has its roots in Hawaii’s spiritual system, Huna, as well as other ancient spiritual traditions. It is thought that many of the world’s religions have their roots in this one ancient philosophy. Joseph Campbell’s work on this is unmatched, as well as that of Max Freedom Long and Carl Jung, who came to many of the same conclusions regarding consciousness and spirituality. Even the Christian concept of the Trinity has its roots in this body of knowledge. What I’m speaking…