Well, I know this is hard to hear, and sort of hilarious, because I have a site dedicated to helping people become both more present and keeping their personal home environment clear, organized and tidy, but, dude, this past month…I discovered I had a MOUSE in my house. Yes, it’s true…(Eeek!) Eeek is right…

I could just cut this piece quite short, and say, straight out of the gate: "Don't do it!" Do NOT talk politics right now with family, friends old or new who do not share in your political beliefs...But clearly, with everything from the #MeToo Movement, #BlackLivesMatter, and our President's daily Twitter rants in the forefront of our social consciousness, it is sometimes not so easy to avoid…

So, what to do?

You may have seen some of your favorite Instagram peeps proclaiming that they are taking a break from social media, for a week or a month or even longer...Facebook announced this year that you can "unfollow" a friend's feed without them even knowing about it, and Instagram now offers the same option…

I have recently begun learning a little bit about the I Ching, the ancient Chinese teachings that help one realize the true essence of both self, and "reality," as we each experience it…

YES! It's that time of year again...The kids are going off to school, maybe even college...You may already feel completely overworked and scattered and stressed, trying to get the shopping, arrangements, papers ready for the title (or big) ones. Maybe you don't have kids, but you're in great need of a little mental break, treat, or just something fun to look forward to...If either (or both!) cases are you, then please take this opprtunity, while taking some time out to start doing your Un-Plan for Fall,  to think about and tune into that "Back-to-Feeling" from when you were young (sigh!):

We spoke recently about creating an Ultimate Agenda, then thought the idea a bit too...Uptight! 

Isn't it always what you feel you must/have to/need to do that gets in the way of what you really WANT to be doing in your life? 

If you are on this site, we know you are a thoughtful person. We know that you won't take this concept to any detrimental end. So, grab a notebook or pad of paper, up of tea or fave beverage, a pen, and get comfortable…!

I think I have always had a huge problem with lifestyle or “wellness” sites because they never seem to address the whole swath of a country’s vast eco-system- the socio-economics that are in play, and at stake, and the people behind them. In fact, maybe someone working full-ten at a factory or cleaning houses, or fixing cars, while raising a family, doesn’t have time to read a blog like this one…But, isn’t that a rather ridiculous and obnoxious assumption? Of course it is!

I remember years ago, (I’m talking in my ‘twenties!) a good friend was telling me about how she and her husband were trying to get pregnant. They had just gotten married a few months before, and this was exciting news. “That’s great!” I said, pretty reflexively.  

And then I said, “You are right on schedule!”

I kept smiling. Because my friend wasn't.

Not at all. There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence…

Welcome to the third and final installment of the Inner Housekeeping Series! By this point in the process, you have spent some good quality time taking up residence in your inner home. You might be amazed at how much more energy you have, and how much more present you feel after this relatively small commitment of time and energy…

In preparation for our Ultimate Agenda Launch of next month, we are asking you to do a little but hugely important task this week: Create an "I Give A Sh*t About" List! (This is not a test!)

I suppose I never understood what it really meant to have my values correspond with my actions until I started becoming politically active. In that arena, I realized, I could meet and work with people from varied walks of life, ethnicities and social strata-all while sharing the very same goal: To get this one guy into political office! But, beneath that goal lay a foundation of reasons why we were all spending so many countless hours and (very often!) thankless weekend and weeknight days doing this sort of volunteer work-because we all gave an incredible sh*t about what we thought would make the country into a much better place. Our reasons were intrinsically different, but broadly the same…

So here we are in phase of 2 of checking out your inner home. Last week, you just started to get the feeling of your inner home, and to sit in it consciously for five minutes each day. This week, you will go one tiny step further into inhabiting your inner space. After a week of turning the volume down on your thoughts, and tuning in to how you feel inside, you may notice that without doing anything else, you already feel more present and embodied. Just feeling how you feel can be something of a revelation…

I think one of the very best ways to have a really good summer when you are a bit short on funds is to really PLAN. Yes! Planning, planning, planning is key! I know. I can almost taste the collective sigh in the room, practically. You are feeling overwhelmed. You have work challenges, money worries, family priorities. I totally get it, believe me...

Having worked in the non-profit field for over two decades, I always found it interesting that certain people would comment that doing good for its now sake was somehow narcissistic : If it made you feel too "good," it was as if you somehow weren't "helping," or you weren't somehow being truly authentic...

by Mick Kubiak, LMFT

For many of us, our homes are our sanctuaries. They provide us with refuge from the world out there—no matter how noisy, how unpredictable, how cruel, or how demanding it gets-at the end of the day, we can step into our safe spaces, and shut the door. We turn the lock with a deep sigh of relief. Here, we find peace and beauty for our weary hearts. We fall onto the couch, as if into the arms of a supportive and nurturing friend. There is a common phrase—all the comforts of home—that captures this daily return to safety and warmth…

This is another core belief that lies at the core of many people struggle with-when trying to get their brand-new, spanking ideas out there, going for a new job or promotion, or making a dream a reality. They feel they will have to metamorphose into someone, or something, else. Something bad. Something diabolically ....not them. That they, dear hearts, will have to learn to swim with the sharks in life, or drown, drown...drown!

Why are you still broke? Is it the job? The great responsibility of your family's needs? The fact that everyone is coming first, maybe-their needs, desires, and wants pushing past you own, to the point that you do not even KNOW what you want, much less be able to focus positively upon it…

What a week this has been. I woke up this morning to finding out that Anthony Bourdain, the renowned chef and host of Parts Unknown for CNN, committed suicide. This past Tuesday, iconic fashion designer Kate Spade did the same…

This is such a hard post to write, because, like many of its kind, they tend to focus on quick remedies as exercise, meditation, and opening up to those feelings, as we just discussed in our last post about suffering and depression. Of course, as we know, yes, they do help, naturally, in the moment...

How did you really feel reading the above headline? 

If you're like me, you felt an instant little shot of anxiety. If you didn't, you are allowed to stop reading...;) But, the truth seems to be, that in my experience, most people, especially and unfortunately, women, do not know how to negotiate properly for themselves, and not just in relation to financial interactions: This happens in business, day-to-day work challenges, family and friendship boundary issues, and, really most importantly-with themselves and their own instincts…

I was having a really stressful day this week. I mean, I felt like my adrenals were really going to go up in smoke, or something. I had had a ton of iced tea (my fave caffeinated drink of choice), and I knew I just should have probably: Gone for a yoga class, taken a trip to the gym, walked around the park in my neighborhood, splurged on a massage...But something in me just wanted to continue doing what I was doing. I was working on a new project, even though it was way past my bedtime, and I was getting pretty wiped out...

This weekend, I want you to try, as much as you can, to take time off from any dull chores and cleaning that you can out off, unless it's a Hell, YES! I want you to take at least one day to do exactly what you feel like doing: -Want to lie in bed and read all day? Hell YEAH? Then do it? -How about finally going on that solo hike you have been wanting to try? Hell yes!

First of all, this is not a sponsored plug for HULU! But I have become rather obsessed with their amazing show The Handmaid's Tale, now in its second season…

I had a big event last weekend with the non-profit I help run last week, and well, the night before, I kind of lost it…!

We spoke a few weeks ago about relaxing into the new feelings of NOT expecting the worst, right? And seeing how that felt? Well, if that has been working for you, why not, try for a litte bit MORE...? 

I love this photograph, above! Primarily because the woman in it seems pretty cool and looks like a true badass while she is doing something usually associated with "loneliness"-playing solitaire...

You can now take a FREE online Happiness Course that was created at Yale University and taught and moderated by the same professor who started it!

This is a big topic in the self-improvement world, and has been for years. "Studies show" that multi-tasking, is, well, bad for you, and for your overall productivity, and peace of mind. And I personally tend to agree...BUT!

Do you spend an inordinate amount of time day-dreaming? I do...I know that, for sure, and have done so since I was a child. In fact, I even had a name for it: "Thinking Minds." (!) I told my little brother, "please leave me alone, I'm doing 'thinking minds.'"

Of course, I have to start this post by saying that I am not a therapist. Of any kind. I have been in therapy, in the past, so this post is not meant act as a substitute for that, in ANY way. It's a post for those of us who have just had too many sh*tty days, maybe consecutively, many on-and-off, but enough that you are feeling like "enough is enough..."