QUIT SMOKING: Acknowledging that it’s hard and I am human made it easier
In a few days, I will be celebrating my sixth month of not smoking. I have tried to quit in the past, but this is the first time it has stuck. Today, it feels ...
Mind-spirit
SEASON OF STRUGGLE: When the ‘honeymoon’ stage of a relationship ends
The attraction stage of a relationship can be truly magical and can serve as an important bonding experience between the couple. When two people find themselve...
WHY I AM STILL CATHOLIC: It offers me what I need
When you enter my apartment, you will not see a framed photograph of me, beaming, standing next to the pope. People who've been in my apartment for a few hours...
UNCONSCIOUS BIAS: Undoing internalized racism, bias and conditioning
We're all conditioned by and subject to a host of impressions from our culture, family and society, as well as from the vast tapestry of our personal experienc...
THE ROAD TO BECOMING SOBER: Be kind to yourself
Being newly sober is both exciting and terrifying. We have finally escaped the grips of addiction and now we have a brand-new life to build and begin living. T...
MEDITATION CLUB: A guide to starting an in-school meditation group for students and faculty
Bringing meditation into a school or building is a delicate and lengthy process. It requires the navigation of a number of constituents and interests. And if i...
IMPOSSIBLE STANDARDS: Body positivity at Motel 6
As the summer months approach, the weather is finally becoming nicer and it seems like summer might actually come. I feel it in the air, I feel it when I look ...
SECURITY VS. INSECURITY: How an adult’s early years may affect their level of anxiety
According to trauma therapist and researcher Bessel van der Kolk, secure kids “learn to trust both what they feel and how they understand the world.” On the ot...
HOW I FOUND MY TOMORROW: Revisiting the person haunted by mental illness
Today, while cleaning out my room, I found my old file folder. Inside, I stored all of my important papers over the years. As I looked through, I found a suici...