By Charlene Anestis “I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.” ~John Green Do you ever wonder if that voice in your head is right? Do you re-live events, scouring through every detail to look for places where you went wrong in your actions? Do you ever walk…

By Jamie Hufnagle “There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” ~Don Miguel Ruiz I was a chunky, shy little girl who was attached to my mom’s leg. She was my protector and served as a source of unconditional love. As I left my mom’s side and went off…

By Patsie Smith “Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.” ~Hermann Hesse As a child, I hated when someone told me to sit still and be quiet, and rightly so. I was young and full of energy; every minute of being still and silent…

By Kiara Elliott “Silence isn’t empty. It’s full of answers.” ~Unknown Last week I was visiting the Scandinave, a Scandinavian-style bath spa, with my mom, when it struck me how rare true silence has become. By true silence, I mean silence in the form of not speaking, but also silence in the form of reflection, pause,…

By Dina Strada “To forgive is somehow associated with saying that it is all right, that we accept the evil deed. But this is not forgiveness. Forgiveness means that you fill yourself with love and you radiate that love outward and refuse to hang onto the venom or hatred that was engendered by the behaviors that caused…

By Lori Deschene “Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama If there’s one thing we all have in common, it’s that we want to feel happy; and on the other side of that coin, we want to avoid hurting. Yet…

By M. J. Ross “You only lose what you cling to.” ~Buddha I remember one of my first mindfulness classes that pertained to impermanence. I went home in a bit of a slump. Nothing is permanent; everything ends; “This too, shall pass.” It was quite a shock to the system. After getting over what, on surface…

By James Gummer “Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama Some breakups are so bad that they make you hate the sunshine. It’s up there gleaming, looking down on you, being all sunny despite the fact that you feel like…

By Lori Deschene “One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” ~Unknown Sometimes, for me, it’s not a matter of if I’ll work on the weekend; it’s a matter of how. On the one hand, I’m committed to being mindful and creating balance in my life. On the other hand, I have a…

By Maria Stenvinkel “We do not heal the past by dwelling there; we heal the past by living fully in the present.” ~Marianne Williamson I’ve struggled with it. Letting go, I mean. I’ve struggled with moving on from my past. I’ve struggled with ridding myself of guilt, shame, and grief. I’ve struggled with freeing myself from…

By Nicole Barton “Everything in the universe is within you.” ~Rumi When I was twenty-three, I lost my job through chronic illness. I thought my life had ended, and I spent the next few years an anxious, panicky mess—often hysterical. Eventually, I took off to scour the globe for well-being techniques, and searched far and wide for…

By Monica Viera “One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up instead of what they have to gain.” ~Rick Godwin Dave and I met earlier this January. I was immediately attracted to his aquamarine eyes and his tattoos. I met him on the eve of my twenty-sixth birthday…

By Jen Picicci “If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles.” ~Wayne Dyer Gwen and I first met at a lactation group for new moms. She seemed like someone I’d get along with, and we talked here and there, eventually becoming Facebook friends, but nothing…

By Bryn Bamber “I used to dislike being sensitive. I thought it made me weak. But take away that single trait, and you take away the very essence of who I am. You take away my conscience, my ability to empathize, my intuition, my creativity, my deep appreciation of the little things, my vivid inner life,…

By Nicole Hind “You must learn to love yourself before you can love someone else.” ~Sonja Mylin   It’s tough being out there. I remember myself some years ago embracing the world of online dating. Everyone kept telling me “be yourself” (and I kept telling myself that), but when I was actually on a date, “myself” would…

By Stephanie Deni Let’s face it, we can’t always have what we want.  There will be times in your life when the person you desire simply does not desire you back.  When what you’re seeking is not seeking you and it can be really devastating and at times, quite difficult to get through and get…

By Sandra Cooper “Emotional intelligence begins to develop in the earliest years. All the small exchanges children have with their parents, teachers, and with each other carry emotional messages.” ~Daniel Goleman I consider myself an expert on the emotional needs of children. Mostly because I was one. No one goes into parenthood anticipating the ways they…

By Beth Clayton “Life is the dancer and you are the dance.” ~Eckhardt Tolle The day I decided to leave acting felt like being exorcised from my own body. I was twenty-nine and had been dreaming of being an actor from the time I first saw a regional production of Cats around the age of eight. I spent…

By Anonymous “Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.” ~Ruth E. Renkel My last breakup was on April 16th, 2012. I remember the date because on the evening of April 17th, as I sat with a blotchy red face and tears in my eyes, my dad told me I soon would…

By James Leatherman “No feeling is final.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke I’ve battled depression for most of my life. In my younger years, it gripped me pretty frequently. I was first hit with suicidal thoughts at the age of fifteen, and it scared the bejesus out of me. I was young and dumb and had no idea…