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“People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have themselves discovered than by those which have come into the mind of others.”  — Blaise Pascal How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change. (Old joke, I use it a lot.) Several days ago one of my granddaughters announced, with the calm confidence only a young person can possess, that she intended to drive about fifteen hours by herself ac

“Real isn’t how you are made,” the Skin Horse tells the rabbit. “It’s a thing that happens to you.” — The Velveteen Rabbit , Margery Williams About forty-five years ago, it happened to me for the first time. A tear. An inkling.  I was on the edge of a bed with two little boys, reading The Velveteen Rabbit . I hadn’t taken a shower for days. My clothes were proof of survival, with crumbs and smudges and ketchup wiped off with a wet paper towel. As I read about a toy rabbit lon

“When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope.” — Phil Connors in Groundhog Day Every February 2 nd , Groundhog Day, I think not of the weather prediction, but of the movie, Groundhog Day and it’s enduring message.  Of course, I get a big kick our of Bill Murray who is brilliant in the movie. Groundhog Day as a movie has a cult following which includes a past minister who watches the movie with her husband and friends every year. What m

“The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think.” —David Icke Early every Sunday morning, John and one of our...

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn. B. C. Forbes, Scottish-American...

Aging is an opportunity to step into the fullness of who we are . Oprah Winfrey While attending a cocktail party of sorts, my energy...

The various religions are like different roads converging on the same point. What difference does it make if we follow different routes...

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, courage to change the one I can, and wisdom to know that one is me . ...

Prayer isn't just spiritual—it's essential . Dr. Andrew Huberman I was surprised recently to tune into a podcast where Dr. Andrew...

When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the...

“Imbalanced systems, whether internal or external, will tend to polarize.” ― Richard C. Schwartz, Internal Family Systems Therapy “Parts...

It is easier to produce ten volumes of philosophical writings than to put one principle into practice. Leo Tolstoy This past week I have had the pleasure - including the physical and mental stimulation of being around family.  As my sixteen-year-old granddaughter, I call her Sisi, was paddleboarding and I was kayaking alongside her, we discussed her commitment to being a competitive runner. I asked her how she saw high school and collegiate running fitting into her pillars

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” Do not resist an evildoer.  But if anyone strikes on on the...

"I think there's a natural goodness built into human beings. You know when you've stepped across the line into evil, and it's your life's...

Between stimulus and response there's a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and...

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the...

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.  Anaïs Nin About forty years ago I had a quick conversation with a friend.  He...

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection…when...

There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the...

The idea is that if you practice the Naikan part of Constructive Living, life becomes a series of small miracles, and you may start to...