My Musings

A couple of months ago my eye caught the first sentences of an article about mindfulness, and now I can't believe I am meditating daily. When I read the article in the paper, I had to laugh when the writer compared our brains to a ball of Play-Doh that we hit so often it turns into a pita. I certainly know what that feels like at the end of a long day! Dr. Richard Davidson mentioned how much attention we pay to keeping our bodies healthy, but what about our brain health? That certainly piqued my interest. My partner Steve...

When a situation scares us, we instinctually think about what to do to. But, before we talk about what to do when you are scared I think it's best to first think about how to be with ourselves when that happens. I personally am afraid of earthquakes (who will attend my funeral???). Even drawing a mouse for this musing made me cringe. Most of us try to make our fears disappear as quickly as possible. We often don't really know how to process what is happening to us. In addition, the sensation of fear and stress is very unpleasant in...

Surviving the allergy season Tricks and tools can be a real lifesaver during allergy season. In my early thirties, around spring time I suddenly was constantly scratching my eyes, rubbing my ears, and blowing my nose. By the time I was sitting in my practice with bloodshot eyes and a total lack of sleep from being so miserable, I finally diagnosed myself with – you guessed right – seasonal allergies! Over the years, it has been empowering to help myself and my patients with tricks and tools that I would love to share with you. And like everything in life,...

Looking for a reason to explain our troubles We often end up spending lots of time and emotional effort looking for the reason we don't feel well. Somehow, we use the past to justify how we feel now. We think that once we know its origin, we can fix what went wrong. However, there is no going back in time to change our present reality. The truth is, you feel what you feel, whether or not you have a good reason for it. What happened, happened, and what is, is – and we cannot really argue with that reality. For...