This perfectly describes the last several months. The feeling that things just aren’t right, that it has just been a very bumpy ride. For me this has caused a tremendous amount of anxiety and a desire to eat desserts, smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol (all things I don’t do that much.) It’s like I have a constant itch that can’t be scratched.

If you’re interested in the science behind sleep and its importance to you health Sleep On It might just be what the doctor ordered.

My cat can sleep in a box that’s too small. She can sleep through all of Lord of the Rings, even the big battle scenes. She can sleep through multiple Zoom calls. Lately, as I’ve been struggling with insomnia I’ve realized that I resent her. Snoozing away, day or night.

I have had trouble sleeping this past year as a result of the witch’s brew of hormonal changes, public unrest and the global pandemic. The one thing I know will help me fall asleep is to have someone read to me. My husband reads to me from time to time, but he finds having a sleeping, snoring audience to be somewhat unsatisfying. When I mentioned this to a friend she said, “You have to listen to Nothing Much Happens!”

Celebration naturally and unintentionally excludes others. If you have a party, there’s always someone who wasn’t invited, that just how it is.

There are many facets to love and loving relationships no doubt and not one single thought is going to cover all of them, but what I can tell you is that your love for yourself is a foundation. There’s a saying that you can only treat other people about 10% better than you treat yourself. So naturally we are all in this together. Our relationship with ourselves dictates the quality of our relationships with others. So what if you decided to fall in love with YOU?

Some years ago Laura and I got into a conversation that changed both of our lives. We talked about how we can give and receive love in a way that will leave those we love with an authentic feeling of being loved. We also talked about what we could do to help people with this quintessential conundrum.

The number of deaths the pandemic has caused is a staggering number that has affected both direct loved ones and the extensive healthcare workers that served those we have lost and their families.

There is no easy death or grief process, but what I have learned is that there is a way to get to the other side- you have to be willing to move through the grief. The one thing I’m sure of is that avoidance doesn’t work.

Have you ever wondered what would be truly helpful to bring to someone grieving? Everyone is tempted to bring high content sugar baked goods as a comfort food, but there are some alternatives that will do the job better. Sugar might feel good at the moment but leaves us often feeling worse afterward.

The healer told me she thought my problem was grief. She suspected that someone important to me had died and I’d never grieved them. We agreed that I’d think about it and I’d return in a few weeks prepared to release the grief I felt. I worried that if I didn’t know who or what I was grieving specifically it might not work.

I’m sitting in one of my favorite restaurants buttering up a piece of crusty bread, fresh from the oven, and BAM, it hits me like a tidal wave, a sob from somewhere deep in my soul.

Have you wondered why some people have more intimate connections with others? What is their secret?

I’ll tell you a secret about intimacy and connection. A huge ingredient to success in this area of life has to do with the courage to be vulnerable. But easier said than done - right?

There has been increased awareness and attention placed on the treatment of trauma. Soldiers returning from the World War I & II were routinely assigned to long-term medical wards and heavily medicated. But recently the treatment of trauma has become more enlightened.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder refers to a constellation of symptoms that can be experienced at any time following a traumatic event. PTSD is a normal response to abnormal events.

Click here to access resources for your long hours in the waiting room

Meditation Instruction resource from Pema Chodron.

A few surprising lessons from the Great British Baking Show

For most of my life I judged myself by two numbers, my clothing size and my weight. The lower the number the better. As an anorexic, my main objective wasn’t just perfection it was to disappear entirely. No weight would ever be low enough.

I’ve been fortunate to have a few exceptional teachers in my life. I wanted to talk about teachers a little bit because I lost a great teacher this week. He’s left an indelible mark on my life.