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 Alana Mbanza “No feeling is final.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke I met him the last semester of college and was instantly attracted to him.  I was definitely attracted to him physically, but it was the way he sat in class with such quiet confidence and mystery that made me long to know him. I practically drooled…

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 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 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…

By Craig James Ruvere “Our lives improve only when we take chances and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”  ~Walter Anderson Society has a series of unwritten and sometimes unspoken laws they expect both males and females to abide by without question—a perceived set of standards and…

By Steve Kaminsky With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin, Without any doubting or quiddit,  He started to sing as tackled the thing  That couldn’t be done and he did it. —Edgar Guest   I’ve always believed in the adage “actions speak louder than words.” I’ve never been one to seek…

By Christine Rodriguez “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt For some of us, like me, the question, “What is my purpose?” creates a ton of anxiety and a feeling that our self-worth is being undermined. It’s hard…

By Michelle D’Avella “Don’t hide from your feelings. Press into them. Learn from them. Grow from them.” ~Unknown There have been times in my life when you could look at my cell phone call log and see back-to-back conversations for hours. I am blessed to have a large support system of loving friends and family, and…

By Zachary Goodson “Our thoughts create our beliefs, meaning if you think about yourself a certain way for a long enough period of time you will ultimately believe it.” ~Anonymous You’re ugly. You’re stupid. You’re a loser. Imagine thinking this way about yourself every day. No exaggeration. That was me. When a girl didn’t want to…

By Sheila Prakash “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~Buddha During the summer, my husband and I decided to take our lovely nieces and nephew out for a day-of-fun in the city. I expected a day filled with fun, laughter, and connection; I was in store for…

By Ann Davis “Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe.” ~Susan Cain Do you get ticked off too? I mean, when people say you’re awkward, naive, and anti-social. Your feelings get bruised, and then you find yourself drowning in a sea of unhappiness. All you want is to be normal. To be…

By Psychic Danielle Being a Reiki healer, I encounter people with all kinds of issues. The most common one is healing from a heart break! I have worked in Reiki healing for over 12 years and 85% of my clients come to me to heal from a pain that they can’t move on from. Reiki…

By Melissa Renzi “Sometimes I think I need a spare heart to feel all the things I feel.” ~Sanober Khan I felt her agony and loneliness as if it were my own. Even as I write that sentence, my eyes well up and heaviness fills my heart. Then, I’m reminded to apply the advice I give…