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Silencing Your Inner Critic: Strategies for Self-Acceptance

I have a friend who has always been pretty critical of herself. No matter what she did, she never felt good enough. She always found something to criticize about herself, whether it was her appearance, her abilities, or her accomplishments. She was always striving to be perfect, and as a…

How to Think about “Implicit Bias”

One of the most common concerns I have when seeing people talk about all they “know” around topics that tend to divide us is the lack of understanding around implicit bias. We all have it. We can’t avoid it. And yet we try. Because, as the article below points out,…

545 vs. 300,000,000 People By Charlie Reese

This article was Charley Reese’s (1937-2013) final column for the Orlando Sentinel. He’d been a journalist (with more conservative views) for 49 years. This article is one of the most well-written summaries of at least one piece of the puzzle as to why we struggle in America. I appreciate his…

The Complacency Series

This was first shared on my personal Facebook feed. I believe complacency is one of the biggest threats to the well-being of us as individuals, this country and our world. In addition to improving our critical thinking and our ability to have difficult conversations around topics we may not agree…

I Now Suspect the Vagus Nerve Is the Key to Well-being

I liked this idea that we have something like a secret piano key, under our skin, to press internally to calm us down. Or like a musical string to pluck. ~ Edith Zimmerman Me too, Edith. Me too. It’s hard to think clearly…to sort out the millions of bits of…

We don’t want billionaires’ charity. We want them to pay their taxes.

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the division of wealth and the gross difference occurring within our country, in particular. I watched a video this morning where Elizabeth Warren was sharing her plan for a 2 cent tax on wealth. I don’t really know how I feel about her…

Why Aren’t People in the US Rising Up Like Those Elsewhere in the World?

This article was first published on Common Dreams. Without a mass movement continually pushing and prodding for real change and holding politicians accountable—for their policies as well as their words—our neoliberal rulers assume that they can safely ignore the concerns and interests of ordinary people. The waves of protests breaking…

The Art of Choosing

I saw this post by Hiro Boga on Facebook and it really resonated with me and will likely resonate with many of you since we are so similar. My heart craves many things…to write, to speak, to travel, to sing, to explore, to commune…and yet much of my time is…

Difficult conversations: Seek first to understand, then to be understood

One of the things I find most frustrating is how frequently I hear people tell others to stop talking…stop communicating…when the conversation begins to go south. What a different world this would be if we were able to come together and continue the conversation in a safe space to understand…

The Art of Sensitive Conversations

“During a conversation, it is better to have an understanding without words, than words without understanding.” – Amit Kalantri, Indian author (1988- ) The Art of Sensitive Conversations I’m not a native English speaker, but the idioms found in the language have fascinated me for many years. I mean, can…

What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual? A Rational Answer

I’m always fascinated by how others define spirituality and I love the thoughts of this author. The year 1745 wasn’t the best to be David Hume. This man, who many now consider to be the greatest philosopher to write in the English language, had over the years made enemies in the wrong places. In an epoch…

Master Difficult Conversations: Part 2

This post was originally published on this site and written by Mindy Haas Two weeks ago, we talked about mastering difficult conversations. To summarize, we said the ability to navigate difficult conversations starts with you. You must become aware of your reactions, be accountable for your own actions/words, and stick to your goal for the conversation. These help to ensure a…

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