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  When most of us think of hypnosis, our minds tend to conjure particular scenes: a timepiece swinging from side to side; someone quacking like a duck for an audience’s amusement; a hypnotist creepily half-whispering some version of, “You’re getting sleeepyyy.” These classic images of hypnosis embedded in our collective consciousness give the practice a […]

In my role as a meditation teacher, I often feel like people don’t get a chance to know the real me. They see a curated persona who speaks with a calming tone of voice, someone who spent two years living in a Buddhist monastery and has written two books on meditation and spiritual life. I […]

  This week, a quote got stuck in my head like one of those earworms that creeps into your head off the radio and keeps popping up to annoy you and everyone around you each time you catch yourself singing the song.   This quote stuck in my head so much that I (selfishly, please […]

  During MUSE class, we use a headset which tracks our brain activity and sends real time feedback to the app. At the end of the meditation session, we can view the “results” of our meditation session.     On the top is a graph which is broken down into three categories: Active, neutral, and […]

Two years ago I was a stranger to sound bath classes.   I don’t have any background in music. You don’t want me to sing, trust me. And I never played any instrument for more than a hot minute. But at certain times in our lives we are guided towards the next step in our […]

  There is a moment at the beginning of Wayne Dyer’s film “The Shift,” in which he demonstrates how he would wake up each morning at around 3:30 am. Rolling to the side of his bed, placing his feet on the floor, he lifts his gaze slightly, takes in a deep breath, pauses to appreciate […]

   In their book Altered Traits, Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson distinguish between three levels of meditators. The first level consists of those who meditate for a short period of time (few minutes to half an hour) on most days. The second level consists of those who stick to meditation over the years and accumulate […]

  When he was fleeing his home country of Vietnam, the Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh had a direct revelation of the real power of meditation practice.   “When the crowded Vietnamese refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if everyone panicked all would be lost,” he said. “But if even one person on the […]

  Hopelessness is one of the main characteristics of depression. Since coming out about my experiences with depression, I’ve been blessed with many good days and months, and I’ve mostly been on the bright side of the street. I’ve been feeling a lot more hopeful.   Many people have reached out to me, sharing their […]

  Following their practice, the Wild Boars soccer team ventured into the Tham Luang Cave complex. It was June 23rd, 2018, and the 12 boys and their coach sought to explore the cave. After entering the area, however, flooding sealed off the entrance. They were stuck, with no way out.   Ten days later, two […]

            Mental health – a strong level of psychological well-being and absence of mental illness  – is an indispensable factor of living a joyful and purposeful life. When we are mentally healthy, we are able to perform better in our personal and professional lives. We are able to cope with the stresses that come with […]

  Emotions are a fundamental part of the human experience. Love, joy, euphoria, peace: these emotions give purpose to human existence. On the other side of the spectrum, however, fall emotions that we deem unpleasant: anger, anxiety, sadness, fear.   When we experience the “good” emotions, we feel a sense of contentment and satisfaction with […]

  As a psychotherapist, I get happy when my clients come see me in the midst of emotional discomfort. Now, I know what you must be thinking, so please let me explain. No, I’m not a sadist; I don’t take pleasure in other people’s pain. But I do know an opportunity for healing when I […]

  The desire for balance is a common theme for the modern American adult. Whether we realize it or not, we’re always striving to strike some sort of balance in our lives. We aim to find a work-life balance so we can be successful in our careers and still enjoy life. We try to balance […]

  It was a difficult time. My father had just moved away, my dream of becoming a professional athlete fell through, and I started to experience extremely low self-confidence as a result of what I deemed physical imperfections. Over the span of a couple of years, the anxiety, which was mainly triggered in social settings, […]