Live in the moment
How many ways are there to heal? I guess it depends on who you ask. If you asked me, I would say,
“7, no, 5, no, probably 4, actually a million… but really, they are all one way.”
So there are a million different healing modalities, I hear about a new one at least every day. Each claim to be the answer. Some seem cockamamie, some intrigue me. But don’t people realize that they are variations of the same theme? There are (to me) obvious similarities in ones that work. They each include the concepts below. Try any of them you feel called to, but see if you can recognize these within. Continue Reading →
Self forgiveness often feels out of reach. We are entirely too hard on ourselves. Or we take ourselves way too seriously! Still, one of the biggest challenges in my life is Self Blame. I know I am not alone.
We feel like we deserve blame and shame, yet we feel like we don’t deserve it in the same breath. Many of us go through life playing this blame game: “Is it me? Is it them?” In a way, that is how the story of blame stays so strong, by discombobulating us. In a confused vacillating state of defense and admonishment, we are more vulnerable and subservient to the wiles of shame and guilt. Continue Reading →
I have two announcements today. One is obvious! A new blog design featuring “Flirting” By Flora Bowley. I hope you all like it. I feel like it is simpler and more “me.” I learned through this process not to fix what isn’t broken. I almost threw the baby out with the bathwater. Once a name is associated with you, it is hard to change. “Heal Now” has become an extension of me and I decided to keep it.
Never fear, those of you who liked “Heal Here.” It will feature as a tagline in my counseling practice, as I move to blend my counseling practice with my blog identity.
Flora Bowley Temple Lillies
I thank you so much for reading here every week. If you feel like thanking me, I would welcome you to do me a huge favor.
I have been planning to improve my site for a while and looking for some artwork that can speak for me before making changes. I found that in Flora Bowley. On Monday, you fell in love with her, too.
In addition to visual changes, my plan is to improve my title and tag lines. This is a BIG decision and I will benefit from help making it. And so I am asking you all. (My own personal focus group.)
Healing is creative. Creativity is healing.
There are some changes in store on Heal Now. And I am excited about them. The first is that I am getting a beautiful new header for my blog soon from Flora Bowley. Yippee!
I love, love, love her paintings and her life mission. The gifts she shares with the world is pure creative love. I want to dream in her beautiful paintings.
Nest Inside Flora Bowley 2011
You know how people say there are only two emotions: love vs fear?
Well, when you have listened to people talk about their life as long as I have, this concept becomes clear.
Guilt, anxiety, worry, doubt, unworthiness, victim mentality, and shame: All fear.
Joy, peace, compassion, gratitude, kindness, generosity, trust, forgiveness, and connection: All love.
Love vs fear. Continue Reading →
“Thank You”s feed the world.
Being appreciated infuses joy into our body, boosts our spirits, and makes us willing and energized to do more and be more. Appreciation is the food of the soul.
You can call it many different names; acknowledgment, validation, appreciation, worthiness, love, kindness…But they all are the same. Giving and receiving these is how we heal. It sustains all our efforts. It is a reflection of love and helps us love ourself.
Appreciated people are happy, too.
Negative voices plague our minds and all too often we mistake them for “truths.” Sometimes self help coaches tell us that “feeling good is a choice,” which doesn’t make sense in this state of mind. If what we think is an unmistakeable truth, how do we have choices? Truth is definitive, there is only one option.
You are stupid. You are ugly. You will never amount to anything. You’re fat.
If we believed these, there would be no hope to be any different. We can conclude that we are and will always be a failure at life.
You know those folks that people describe as,”He’d give you the shirt off his back!”? I love those people. They are always willing to lend a hand, go the extra mile, put someone else’s comfort before their own.
I had a friend in high school who, when we would get in the car on a frigid Rochester evening, turned all of the heater vents towards me. I don’t now what made him think of doing that but it made me feel so worthy. Continue Reading →
