Details

Published: 24 February 2020

Pain management, typically utilized for those suffering from chronic pain issues, is popular for those choosing not to use narcotics for pain relief. According to a recent study mindfulness, a practice I speak of often has now been scientifically proven to help those suffering from chronic pain. As I’ve previously shared, I too suffer from chronic pain and so know how well mindfulness works for me, and how well it works for my clients. 

Pain management, when coupled with mindfulness, does not take away the pain, but the focus is on learning how best, healthily, to cope with the pain. Mindfulness does not ignore the miseries of life, it allows us to embrace the pain, recognize the pain, and then deal with the pain. A goal of mindfulness is to more fully understand all aspects of life, the good, bad, or otherwise. 

The definition of mindfulness that I use is the standard definition touted by the scholar Jon Kabat-Zinn: “a means of paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.” In this definition, there is no mention of focusing only on the positives in life, but to pay attention to the present moment.…

Read more: Pain Management: How To Use Mindfulness To Find Peace

Details

Published: 05 February 2020

Social connectedness is what I feel is the key to a life of recovery from addiction. Social connectedness is that which holds us, as a society, together in support of each other. We function as a group of individuals in our ability to sense and believe in social connectedness. But what happens when I lose that sense of connectedness? What happens when society chooses not to allow some people to regain their connectedness?

Social connectedness is an issue I've seen during the past 20 years I've witnessed the disease of addiction manifest itself in many people, thousands probably.The textbooks and courses I studied were beneficial in theory. Those with whom I counseled taught me everything about what addiction means to them. They taught me why they're addicted, what makes it so challenging to live a life of recovery, and why is it so difficult to stop doing what they're doing.

Willpower Alone

As I begin this reflection on my understanding of addiction, let's start with a pet peeve of mine. Through the years many people have questioned me "why don't they just stop?" Let's think through this question for a moment. Of the thousands of people that I've dealt with…

Read more: Social Connectedness And Addiction: The Unparalleled Key To Success

Details

Published: 14 January 2020

The greatest threat to world peace, as I see it, is the fear caused by anxiety. My message is consistently about finding one's inner peace. Yet, the greatest threat we have to achieve that inner peace is anxiety and fear. One's anxiety quickly turns to fear, and fear can turn us against ourselves and against one another. Here are my 7 practical tips to reduce the greatest threat to world peace. 

The greatest threat to world peace is more profound than what we hear about in the news. The media will tell us that war, terrorism, poverty, climate change; these are the greatest threat to world peace. While I won't argue the point, what's the common denominator affecting societies and cultures? Anxiety and fear. 

According to the American Psychological Association anxiety is defined as an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. And what tends to cause most of our anxiety? The unknown, a sense of feeling out of control. 

When we don't know what the future may bring, or we feel a lack of control in our life, our anxiety rises. As the tension increases, the feeling of loss of…

Read more: The Greatest Threat To World Peace - What Is It?

Details

Published: 25 December 2019

Changing perspective on the holiday season is so crucial for us in finding happiness and peace. The stress and busyness of the holiday season have me reflecting on the topic of keeping perspective on the holidays. If I change how I think about, or view, the holidays, then how I view and cope with the stress of the holidays will change.

(This article is based on a transcript from my podcast episode posted December 21, 2019)

When I talk about the holiday season, I'm not talking in any particular religious meaning. Regardless of your belief or how you celebrate this time of the year, the fact remains this a very hectic time. In changing my perspective on the holiday season, namely, my expectations will change how I view the season, and so reduce my stress. 

Expectations

Many of us have expectations of what this time of the year should be. Families and our traditions place these expectations upon us. So when we're looking at these expectations it puts a high level of achievement, a high level of making sure that what we do equals previous years' celebrations.

Expectations on celebrating and honoring one's traditions is a worthy goal to have…

Read more: Changing Perspective On The Holiday Season