Why can healing feel so difficult, even when we’re doing the work? Sometimes the very beliefs and protective patterns that once helped us survive are the things that keep us stuck. Let’s explore what gets in the way of healing—and how we can begin making room for new perspectives, greater freedom, and more authentic ways of being.
You don’t have to experience “big T trauma” to develop limiting beliefs that shape what you think is possible in life. As I noted in Part 1, these beliefs can form through experiences that helped you survive, yet outlive their usefulness. Compare “Life’s a beach and then you die” with “It’s all good.” Neither is…
Sometimes what looks like people pleasing, low confidence, procrastination, overthinking, or playing small isn’t simply a mindset problem. It can be an old protective pattern that once made sense. A common way of talking about trauma is to distinguish between “Big T” and “Little T” experiences. Big T trauma can include experiences such as sexual…
When the world feels out of control, lovingkindness meditation and nervous system regulation become powerful forms of action. Learn how Metta practice helps you stay embodied, compassionate, and grounded during divided times.
Some years are about hustle. Others are about healing. For me, 2025 has been a year of integration. I’ve been reflecting on the transformational tools for personal growth that genuinely shaped my thinking this year. Tools that helped me integrate science and soul, evidence and intuition, regulation and expansion. This isn’t a comprehensive list. It’s…
AI has no heart, no nervous system, and no lived experience. Yet it is surprisingly easy to forget this, especially for empathetic and spiritually aware people. Designed to feel supportive and affirming, AI can create a sense of connection that mimics care but is ultimately simulated. For Highly Sensitive People, this makes conscious, balanced AI use essential. The real work of growth, healing, and intuition still happens inside the body, not inside a machine.
I may have lost a few readers in my last messy experiment. Thanks to the rest of you for hanging in while I wrestled with a new email manager and tried creating a course with email automation. The wonky-ness included email mobbing of my whole list versus those who said, yes, I’ll join the Career…
Yet with its natural beauty comes an unavoidable shadow: the Columbine High School tragedy on April 20, 1999. Just a half-hour from where I worked
How Balanced Receiving and Asking for Help Strengthens Community The theme of growing support and connection came up in my recent months of preparing for a TED-style talk. A couple of times I needed a helping hand. After three decades of working in mental health, I know how to recognize this and was able to…
How do you cope well when you’re stuck? This last weekend I happened to be traveling back home in the midst of the changing Aspen leaf season. Oh, it is lovely when that sacred community of trees turns gold, and orange and makes sweet tinkling noises when the wind blows. My short vacation had been…