Feeling overwhelmed by the world? You're not alone. Explore the challenges and importance of mindfulness in difficult times, and how present awareness can be a catalyst for personal and societal change.
How to Be Mindful of Emotions
So if emotions are SO useful, why have they gotten such a bad rap?
Well... to begin with they feel pretty freakin’ uncomfortable. As humans, we do whatever we can to avoid pain, which can be useful to our health and safety. It keeps us alive. But avoiding all discomfort can cause other problems.
We need the information that our emotions are communicating to us to have clarity, make useful decisions, and lead fulfilling lives.
Feelings vs Emotions: What's the Difference?
How to Reduce Stress During COVID-19 (And Other Things We Can't Control)
One major thing this Coronavirus pandemic has called our attention to, is how little control we actually have in life. This has been and always will be the case. Viruses and other threats to our well-being have always existed and will always exist. I don’t mean to create even more anxiety by saying this, but we’re all about the facing the truth here. Even when it’s not a truth we like.
On Things That Have Helped Me While (Mostly) Stuck at Home
On Mourning During the Coronavirus
On Having a Breakdown
On Fear During the Coronavirus
Oh man, fear can be a beast! It can get right on in there, take over, and control everything. If we let it.
Fear is our most primal emotion. Absolutely necessary for survival. Yet, we live in a time when there’s actually the least amount of threat to our survival in history. Still we experience the highest levels of fear and stress.
On Goodbyes (How to Mourn Anything and Everything)
This is why mourning is so important, even though it’s not something we talk much about in this larger Western culture. We think of mourning as that thing that happens after a death or the end of a romantic relationship. But mourning is a constant process as we’re always losing things that are important (to varying degrees) to us.
On Dirty Laundry: Mental And Emotional Cleansing
So as I washed this laundry - by hand- I felt a little more free with every clean item. And with that freedom came thoughts and inspiration. I thought about how physical dirty laundry is a metaphor for mental and emotional dirty laundry. The thoughts, beliefs, emotions, regrets, resentment, fears that we carry around in the backs of our minds at all times, not dealing with them, not cleaning them out.
Mindful Monday: Transforming Fear
Yesterday, I went for a bike ride. It was as a part of Ciclavia, an event in Los Angeles that shuts down miles of Los Angeles streets to cars so that people can bicycle, skateboard, roller skate/blade, run, walk, etc. Long as it’s person and not motor powered, you can move about however you want. I’m a big fan of this Ciclavia. It’s an opportunity to safely explore areas of Los Angeles in a different way.
On How to Not Feel Overwhelmed (At Least When Choosing Podcasts)
I’ve always liked having choices. I enjoy a lot of things so I want the option to experience all of those things. But I’ve gotten to a point in life where I’ve become overwhelmed with options and instead of making choices, I’m paralyzed by the thought of having to make a choice. Or maybe life has become overwhelming with options…