Awareness that Heals

Trump Exposed: A Brutal Day for the President

Trump Exposed - Politico

Donald Trump represents the most self-centered part of all of us in the extreme. He is like a cartoon character who is constantly telling himself a story about his motives, actions and reactions. He represents the darkest, most devious side of humanity. He gives us a chance to see how we each tell ourselves stories …

Read More . . .

Meditation, Mindfulness Hold Promise for Pain Treatment, Curbing Opioid Use

Meditation Image #1

Mindfulness and meditation is going to help anyone that is open to it with a broad array of benefits in dealing with life issues including pain care and opioids. This is a tool that is among what I would call the invaluables.

Meditation Image #1The even greater issue for most people in today’s world of pain care relates to an unintended boomerang effect of the overdosing from the use of opioids. This has made it almost impossible for the doctor’s need for self-protection from litigation leading to prescribing an inadequate dose of pain killers under many painful circumstances.

I have been a party and health care advocate to at least 25 people in the last few years who haven’t been able to easily receive the pain medication they need to deal with surgeries, ongoing severe arthritis, and injuries. The doctors and patients are in a precarious double bind, because the overdosing and abuse has led to the over-conservative dosing of legitimate pain post-surgery or with severe ongoing conditions. This places the burden on good communication with the doctor and patient.

It is worthwhile for all of us to meet with a pain doctor or surgeon ahead of time if possible to give a history to clarify whether you have a history of addiction or not. It is vital that we all become better advocates for ourselves or get the support of someone who is inclined to not be a “victim” of the doctor’s understandable need for self-protection. In addition, there is the need to establish set communication methods up with the doctors post-surgery as it is all too common that the doctors are so busy that hours and days of extra unbearable pain can be a consequence.

Fortunately, and recently, doctors finally have a central number that they can call to make sure that patients are not taking pain killers or other medications. This creates interactions that allows for the doctors to take the time to be safer and to give an appropriate patient the amount of medication to take care of the legitimate pain. This applies all too often at the end of life as well, which is important for us and for our loved ones to be prepared to advocate and communicate at this time of greatest need.

Read the Article . . .

Moving from Self-Rejection toward Self-Compassion, Part 1

Passages from Awareness that Heals

In this series, we take a look at one of the eight key practices for navigating life’s challenges that are explored in my new book, Awareness That Heals. For more, order the book today and receive a 10% new release discount and free shipping. Take a look at any areas of your life where you …

Read More . . .

New, Strong Evidence For Problem-Based Learning

Education

One of the largest places of suffering in my life was particularly from 7th grade through high school because the issues we were dealing with didn’t relate to my current and anticipated future life. Problem based learning is motivating as you can so much more likely see that it will benefit your life. Creative learning has the same features as it encourages you to stretch your inner resources in ways we wouldn’t do on our own.

If we combineProblem Based Learningd this with learning about how we create inner and outer peace in our personal and existential world education would increase the likelihood of bringing up children of greater character and capacity. This is a golden triangle of learning including creativity, real life problems to apply learning toward and inner learning about one’s own psychology, and how to apply this to one’s direct world and the greater world as well.

I truly wish this for all children who are facing our endangered world as we so need to have education be practical, real and useful to ourselves and our planet. I would encourage books like Awareness That Heals where we learn about our own personal challenges as well as the structure to deal with challenges outside ourselves to have it be a truly comprehensive education.

Read the Article . . .

The Global Bridge Foundation fundraiser with Indivisible

In this series, we take a look at one of the eight key practices for navigating life’s challenges that are explored in my new book, Awareness That Heals. For more, order the book today and receive a 10% new release discount and free shipping.

It was an honor to have supported Indivisible this past week through The Global Bridge Foundation. If you have a humanitarian project in the area of homelessness, climate change, or wealth inequality, please be in touch. We want to help support everyone to find each other.

5 Reasons Your Company Should be Investing in Mindfulness Training

Mindfulness Training

Mindfulness isn’t just good for us as individuals. Here’s how it can help your company grow.

Mindfulness TrainingIt completely makes sense to bring mindfulness into the workplace. How could it not help to have more peace, sensitivity and cooperation? There isn’t a part of society or life that wouldn’t benefit from greater mindfulness whether it is business, education, politics, psychology or the endless humanitarian concerns of our world.

The underemphasized part of mindfulness is the importance of being able to acknowledge mindlessness where we each have lost contact with a given moment and our capacity to be present. It is very paradoxical in that the more we can be mindful the more we will also have the capacity to acknowledge and address the emotions and parts of our psyche that are unaware. It is vital that in this relatively new and growing culture of mindfulness that its sister component is the honesty and awareness to talk about how we each catch ourselves being absent and to see the patterns in our lives.

It is beneficial to value this seeing of how we are unaware without getting caught in judging ourselves. The greatest combination is mindfulness and a validation of increasing humility and courage to acknowledge where we have lapses of attention. This balance will support us to just be transparent with a more open heart and humor without endangering ourselves by idealizing having arrived at mindfulness. All of us will always remain being human and mindfulness is a great asset when balanced with valuing our foibles at the same time.

Read the article . . .

Cultivating Friendly Mind – Part 3

Passages from Awareness that Heals

In this series, we take a look at one of the eight key practices for navigating life’s challenges that are explored in my new book, Awareness That Heals. The voice of friendly mind simply and sensibly deals with what is possible rather than continuing to go for the impossible. It is pragmatic, unbiased, and even-tempered. …

Read More . . .

For Hurricane Dorian Survivors, Emotional Distress Lingers

Hurricane Dorian Survivors

International Medical Corps is one of the true heroic agencies of our time. If you can support them with whatever kind of donation, it is money well spent. We are honored to be partners with them for the last 10+ years. Each of us that isn’t locked in a survival struggle ourselves needs to look …

Read More . . .