What’s your neurosis? Now that Halloween is over, you don’t have an excuse to obsess over candy, costumes, and creepiness, but you still have your neurosis. Neurosis, as defined by the dictionary, is a “relatively mild mental illness not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress… ” You might know it as a behavior like: worrying about the amount of …
Awake in this very moment
“Awakeness is found in our pleasure and our pain, our confusion and our wisdom. It’s available in each moment of our weird, unfathomable, ordinary everyday lives,” writes Pema Chodron in Comfortable with Uncertainty. I believe the perfect teacher is this very moment. Are you awake? What do you see? This is an experimental series of brief reflections …
The Korean War legacy
From 1950 to 1953, the United States military fought to protect South Korea’s capitalistic democracy from communist North Korea’s invasion on the Korean peninsula, which was divided after World War II. More than 33,000 American soldiers lost their lives during the Korean War in the name of freedom, according to U.S. Department of Defense statistics. Joining the …
Season of enlightenment
What does enlightenment mean? To some enlightenment may mean to gain greater knowledge or understanding about a subject or situation. To others it may mean to have a spiritual awakening. To me enlightenment means that I’m intimate with a moment – acutely aware of what’s happening here and now. There are no words to accurately describe enlightenment. …
Moms share back-to-school resolutions
Moms, have you made your back-to-school resolutions, yet? The realization that 71 days of summer vacation has ended brings a range of emotions in kids from excitement to anxiety. Back-to-school time also leaves moms trying to figure out how to cope with the challenges of getting their kids ready to return to school. I interviewed several Rochester-area moms …
It’s good to be bored
“Mom, I’m bored,” said James, lying on the couch in the family room. I’d like to tell him to get up and go do something, like take the dog for a walk, kick the soccer ball, or call a friend. But I know that giving him a list of suggested activities won’t work. He needs to …
The uncertainty of weather and teenagers
Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of weather and teenagers. This morning is sunny, dry, and windless. The clouds are playing hooky from the watery blue sky and the birds are singing. My weather app tells me that it is exactly 63 degrees Fahrenheit. With a touch of the screen I also know: the humidity is low, at …
How to let go of your attachments
Can you let go of your attachments? Can you let go of the emotional dependence you place on your identity, things, or people? It’s not easy. Here’s a little exercise I picked up from Awakened Mind: One-Minute Wake Up Calls to a Bold and Mindful Life hat helps when I find myself too wrapped up in …
