Safety-Trust
Free Guided Practice – Create a Resource of Safety Before the Flak Hits the Fan
We can create many resources for resilience as we go through our days, imagining and rehearsing them ahead of time before the flak hits the fan. A very effective resource is the Safe Place, created as a visualization in our imagination, because whatever we can imagine is real to the brain. And when we can […]
This Is the World I Want to Live In…the Shared World
I recently taught a two-day training in Istanbul, Turkey on Resilience: Coping with Life’s Disappointments, Difficulties, and Even Disasters. The clinicians were well-trained in contemporary Western psychology and eager to engage in deep and broad-ranging discussions. My sponsors were well organized and more than generous in sharing their country’s history and culture with me. The […]
A Dog’s Love and Companionship Heals
I see a lot of “art house” films – mostly independent, many documentaries, many foreign. “Triumph over adversity on behalf of a noble cause” is my favorite genre. Two days ago I saw To Be of Service, a poignant documentary about U.S. military veterans assigned a service dog after treatment with medications and/or therapy failed […]
From Barely a Wobble to a Real Wallop
I teach and write about resilience as the underlying capacities that allow us to meet any level of disruption to our safety and well-being, from barely a wobble to the serious sorrows and struggles that break our hearts, to the trauma of “too much.” The ongoing wildfires in northern and southern California illustrate the need […]
Trusting the Intention to Trust Your Inner Intuition
A simple hunch. I was driving down a steep, curving street in a residential neighborhood near my home. Something tells me, “slow down, slow down,” so I brake the car just a few seconds before I round the bend and encounter a flock of a dozen wild turkeys 50 feet in front of me, slowly […]
Cultivating the Wiser Self
When we’re facing a difficult decision – leaving a job that’s no long in alignment with our values and passions, seeking new possibilities but risking failure, or staying in a job that provides reliable financial security and a rewarding social network but risking dying on the vine in a stultifying inertia… It’s valuable to be […]
Using Visual Memories to Create an Inner Safe Base of Resilience
Fully 25% of your brain’s real estate is devoted to visual processing in the occipital lobe. Human beings who can see navigate their world primarily by sight, more than touch, hearing or smell. You can use this tremendous power of processing experiences visually to install resources of equilibrium in your neural circuitry, an inner safe […]
Practice Making Choices – Do One Scary Thing a Day
As you move further into the new year, clarifying priorities, setting goals, making choices, you may run into the brain’s natural roadblock of “Wait a minute! I’ve never done this before. I’m not sure….” This hesitancy is one way your higher brain makes sure you’re thinking things through clearly and making a wise choice. Whenever […]