Oprah & Deepak 21 Day Meditation Experience
There is a place within you where you can find solace, comfort, and peace. It’s not using your mind to problem solve past issues, ruminations, or events. It’s a place of stillness where you can tap into the wisdom of your body and improve your health, stress levels, and connectedness to nature and the universe.
Starting February 3, Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey are providing a free 21-Day Meditation Experience where you can learn to meditate and create a more balanced life. This is a global event, and I have to say, it sounds rather fabulous.
I’ve been a practitioner of meditation for about five years but I’m looking forward to this experience as I always believe there are things I can learn and implement into my practice.
Read More»Smudging for health and emotional comfort
My son, the physicist, calls it “witchcraft” but I’ve been smudging for several years and have found the practice to be not only spiritually comforting but effective in eliminating negative energy and airborne pollutants my home. Now recent articles and studies are showing that there is science behind the positive effects of smudging.
Smudging is an ancient practice. Native Americans considered smudging a sacred act. Buddhists use it for purification. Along with some simple items and understanding the procedure, I believe that intention is one of the greatest tools you can use with smudging to clear your environment. As the smoke ascends during the practice, you send your good thoughts and wishes out into the universe. Be mindful, slow down, and enjoy the process.
Read More»Playing Smash Bros taught me not to be afraid to suck
- At April 25, 2019
- By Lisa
- In Experiences, Musings
0
My son studies physics at UMass Boston. He studies a lot but in his free time he enjoys playing video games. Like most his age, he has been playing an assortment of genres since he was six years old. So when he received a Nintendo Switch for Christmas last year, he wanted me to play with him … as a way of bonding, I guess. Or perhaps he thought it might be good for me to work out some aggressions. But I was intimidated.
Read More»Artemisia’s Revenge
- At December 18, 2018
- By Lisa
- In Art, Features
- 6
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653), was a painter so gifted, and of such high caliber, that she was included in my traditional art history education — traditional art history, of course, being the study of white men creating for the visual arts. To understand how important this inclusion was, you need to know that during my study of approximately 500+ years of art, I can only recall perhaps four female artists being a part of the curriculum.
Artemisia was bold in her depictions and strong willed in character. Her paintings and her personal life reveal an extraordinary woman who worked hard to secure a career which eventually found her a place in history. Her work has not just resonated over the last 400 years, but today is more relevant than ever in light of the MeToo movement.
Read More»Becoming entangled with a narcissist
Many people wonder how it is that we get entangled with a narcissistic personality that is not only abusive but is hell bent on destroying us. How could this possibly happen? I too was ignorant of how victims get caught up in abusive relationships. Until I learned.
“There must have been signs,” friends say.
“How could you have not known?” family asks.
“What was it about you that attracted this abusive individual into your life?” says your shrink.
The truth is, one of the hallmarks of narcissistic personality disorder is the narc’s ability to very effectively hide the monster within until it is time for him to begin his campaign of devaluation. This is known as the false face. In fact, the narcissist constructs an entirely false reality.
Read More»Give Yourself Some Grace
During a recent rant with my therapist, I was telling her—in a rather manic way—all the things that were frustrating me about recovery from narcissistic abuse.
I explained that I felt my sense of self motivation was abysmal (in comparison to my past self) and self discipline was lacking. I told her I was still having trouble expressing myself, realizing any sense of accomplishment, confidence, and I explained this whole notion I have of moving from victim to survivor to warrior. It just seemed to me that it was all an incredible amount of work and I wasn’t progressing fast enough, strong enough, smart enough; and why the hell was all this recovery stuff taking so god damn long anyway?
She looked at me with a wide eyed, knowing smile, “Give yourself some grace,” she said.
It stopped me short. What a beautiful turn of words. I wrote it down. And then I began to consider what was meant by “grace”.
Read More»The stories we tell
- At November 20, 2018
- By Lisa
- In Narcissistic Abuse Recovery, Writing
- 2
Finding your new personal narrative.
Human beings have told stories for 40,000 years. Whether by written or spoken word, or pictures painted on cave walls, these are the tales of our experiences, our culture, and history. Story telling has been core to the human experience since forever. But what makes a story true and what deems a story worth being told? And more importantly, what about the stories we tell ourselves … about ourselves?
I’ve written stories for many years now. Whether I’m interviewing an artist, a Yemeni activist and journalist, or ten Swedish superwomen, I’ve always endeavored to capture the authenticity and truth of my subject. The narratives that I’ve told myself—about myself—over the last two years, however, have been usually quite harsh and often untrue. I think this is the case for many of us as we reflect on past mistakes or engage in self-degradating emotions. There is no fact checking for our inner critic. But it is these negative self critiques which we most often use to define who we are.
Read More»
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