the 4 elemental relationships
The magic of the four elements-water, earth, fire and air- weave the tapestry of our lives, guiding us through the chaos of existence with wisdom, wonder and connection.
procrastination
Every day at 9 am, the alarm goes off on my watch reminding me to clean the kitchen. I pause the alarm, telling myself that I will do it later. Later never comes. In fact, I turn off most of my alarms during the day that remind me to put in a load of laundry or run to the pharmacy. I am a master procrastinator who waits for the last minute to accomplish most daily tasks. This is a major source of stress in my life. I am the mom who washes her children’s laundry at 12 am on Sunday … More
addressing the system of mental un-health
In one of my previous jobs, I had frequented psychiatric wards, high-level group homes, and institutional settings that housed the people on the fringes of our society. Many of these souls had lost their voice to a system that saw them as nothing but numbers and diagnoses in a system largely devoid of grace. The patient’s “pathology” preceded their humanity, which somehow justified their prolonged imprisonment in these places of limbo. In 2012, California issued a moratorium on all non-forensic developmental centers. What that means is that people with developmental disabilities that did not commit a crime would be released … More
the value of difficult emotions (part 2)
The healing of our most painful experiences often needs to happen in small parts. Part 1 of this article talked about understanding, and potentially using, our difficult emotions. This discussion is about the consequences of unresolved emotions and how to transform them to bring us closer to wholeness and optimal health. We previously mentioned how holding onto feelings for too long can have harmful consequences. Much like spoiled milk creates havoc on our stomachs, expired feelings can also damage us. When we hold onto behavior patterns or thoughts that trigger unresolved feelings for too long, we re-circulate stale energy inside … More
the Value of difficult emotions (part 1)
Ah, emotions. The thing that colors our thoughts and gives our life meaning. The fuel that drives our decisions, desires, and impulses. The primal precursor to those pesky feelings. Whether we judge them as “good” or “bad”, each emotion serves a purpose. Whether or not we believe in a higher purpose behind everyday happenings, every emotional experience has the potential to teach us something. This extends even to our most painful or unwanted emotions. Let’s consider some of them below: Confusion Being lost in our mind with no clear answers can feel frustrating, or even bewildering. Confusion often robs us … More
Autism Spectrum Disorder: Neurodiversity in Modern Times
My son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism when he was 17 years old. For years, I had that nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right, but I didn’t know who to go to with my concerns. Michael used to come home from school every day and draw a map of the state of Minnesota by memory. He worked for hours to include lakes, counties, and major highways. After he proudly finished, he would take a new piece of paper and start again. He was obsessed by the Muppets and crayons, and spent hours creating bus lines on the carpeting in … More
The frog, the finger, and free will
If the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day knowing the worst is behind you. Mark Twain When you go after hard problems like free will, sooner or later you’ll have to swallow something nasty. The worst thing you will have to swallow here today is this: Our current thinking is butt-sprung. Soggy. Tawdry and out of shape. We think like gravity-weary terrestrials, and believe the sun rises and sets in the six-inches between our ears. Swallow that frog right now, and the rest will be … More
reflections from the underground, part 2
Addiction; Predator and Prey When an eagle seizes a salmon too heavy to carry yet its talons cannot release it, they both plummet. The predator becomes prey of the sea. My dearest friend lost her 39 year old son in this epidemic of poisonings with the contaminant Fentanyl. He was addicted to heroin; with compulsions, lack of control, negative consequences, tolerance leading to higher dosing and avoidance of brutal withdrawal symptoms. He often made use of rehab, recovering for years at a time; Narcotics Anonymous, clean needles and longer acting narcotics. Tragically he was not using pure medical heroin, or his own supply at … More
Virtual Reality to help with Grief and Anxiety
Grief. Anxiety. Main ingredients in the cuisine of human suffering. How much of our collective energy is focused on eliminating or understanding these primary fears? Scientists, thinkers, artists, healers, and anyone seeking to better understand these shadow parts of our psyche have offered innumerable ideas, songs, medicines, and rituals in an attempt to solve, or at least reduce, these challenging elements. One of the more interesting efforts in recent history is called the Psychomanteum, which is being re-popularized Marilyn Schlitz and Dorote Lucci at Sofia University (formerly Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, where Arthur Hastings laid the pioneering foundation for this … More
Changing the Language of Mental Health
Outcast. Bi-Polar. Crazy. Schizo. Anti-social. Disabled. Broken. Delusional. Words. How powerful. And equally sinister. It’s no wonder that we call the act of constructing words SPELL-ing. Language is truly a spell – an incantation that controls virtually every aspect of life, from media to politics to everyday interactions. The world of mental health is no exception; it seems to be suffering the same illness as the rest of modern society, but perhaps with more damaging outcomes. It’s not common for us to think about how mental health labels are often used as a weapon against a person who’s struggling just … More
