For most of my life I have pursued the twin passions of neuroscience and spirituality – the study of the brain and the search for an understanding of life, of humanity’s place in the cosmic order. In my journey I discovered that the ancient wisdom literature from around the world overlaps in a notion we Continue Reading
Mindful Parenting
A wise father once shared with me, years after I had worked with him and his family, that the most powerful lesson he had learned was not to get upset when his child was upset. This is of course very difficult to do. We are hardwired to be distressed by our child’s distress, which is Continue Reading
Healing Anxiety
In my work with my clients, I use a tool that I learned long ago from my teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. It is called “Three Breaths.” It is a way to stop thinking for a moment, stop worrying, stop ruminating, and to have a refreshing moment of peace, of solidity, of feeling that Continue Reading
Broaden Your Understanding – Zoom Out
When we change the way we understand something – a person, a situation, ourselves – we change the way we feel about it. When we are suffering, we can ease our suffering by looking at our situation from a different angle. We often think we know the truth about it, and this truth saddens or Continue Reading
Why We Can’t Pay Attention When We’re Upset
If you look at my brain logo, you will see that it is a labyrinth. A labyrinth, FYI, is different from a maze in that all paths lead to the center; there are no dead ends. There are two arrows, and two paths. One represents information coming from our inner world (it starts in the Continue Reading
Cultivating Wellbeing
One of the things that contributes to our psychological wellness is having a guiding principle. If you know what is most important to you, it will be easier for you to make decisions, prioritize your tasks, and spend your time doing what is most important to you. Think about what is most important – your Continue Reading
Your Inner Soundtrack
Let me ask you a question – where does your mind go, day to day? Are you often worried? Angry? Do you have the same worried or angry thought over and over? If you have a free moment, do you tend to think about what you need to do, what other people are expecting of Continue Reading
How to be Happier
Much of our unhappiness is the result of thinking through the lens of a negative emotion. When we are angry or afraid or irritable, the only thoughts we are able to have are those that are consistent with these feelings. This is how the brain is wired. The only time we can think clearly, seeing Continue Reading
Children Learn by Doing
Maria Montessori had it right. Children – and adults – learn by doing, not by listening. It is the active engagement in the environment that creates new neural pathways in our brain, which is what learning means. New connections are made only when we act. The belief that children learn by listening is not correct. Continue Reading
Mindfulness as Therapy
The practice of mindfulness is as powerful as the best psychotherapy. This is because it has the same purpose but provides more effective tools, tools that have developed over thousands of years of Buddhist philosophy. The purpose of both mindfulness practice and psychotherapy is to ease our suffering by changing our understanding, of ourselves as Continue Reading