Stories

First the inventory, then the point. In the smallish cupboard below our built-in micro-wave and regular ovens there is the most interesting and curious assortment of stuff. There are two white plastic baskets, same size, side by side. The left-side basket is completely unremarkable and thus uninteresting: Plastic bags and small paper bags awaiting re-use. … UNEXAMINED NOOKS AND CRANNIES

For those of you who have been following my last three posts, you know I have been writing about Mindfulness. Our last article was on Mindful “seeing”. This time I would like to suggest you experiment with another sense… your hearing. Again, I would like to suggest a simple Mindfulness exercise. Just go for a … Coming to Your Senses: hearing

I had gotten a new motorcycle about eight years ago and wanted to test it out on a curvy road close to our house. I went down the road to check for law enforcement people. No one there so I took off and all of a sudden, the flashing red light behind came on. I … Keeping Secrets

Q: You may not believe this but I am a 45-year-old virgin…well sort of. I have been married eight years now and have never had an organism during intercourse. We have three children. I was a “good protestant girl” growing up and was told that I would go to hell if I had premarital sex. … Ask Dr. Tim: You may not believe this but I am a 45-year-old virgin…

My last two posts were about this thing called Mindfulness. At this point I would like to suggest a simple Mindfulness exercise. Just go for a slow walk of about 15 minutes. You can be anywhere: your yard, your neighborhood, in the woods, along the shore, or in a city. Step 1 Simply focus on … Coming to Your Senses: sight

  #1       Concentration Practice (sometimes called Samadhi) This is where most people begin their meditation practice. Here we practice focusing our attention on something neutral (i.e., our breath, sound/mantra, candle flame, etc.) We assume the so-called “regal posture” meaning not slouching or lying down. Our goal is NOT to fall asleep but to learn how … Mindfulness: Two Main Branches of Meditation

I was reminded of the importance of daily exercise when I read the article titled “Heart Healthy on the Amazon” (NY Times, April 6, 2017). An article by the Times regular writer on fitness Gretchen Reynolds summarized an anthropological study of the Tsimane people, a group of subsistence hunters and farmers living deep in the … Fitbits On the Amazon

“There he goes again. Every time I ask him to take the trash out he throws a fit!”                                                        or perhaps “Ok doc so my blood sugar is elevated. … What Is This Mindfulness Stuff?

Often, we feel we can’t start writing because we are not inspired. Or we feel that we have become “flat” as writers when we look at what we have written. Here are 10 writing prompts inspired by the opening lines of novels, films and a short story. I believe that working from any of these … Openings That Make You Continue Writing

  Last month I wrote about the fifteen different ways Cognitive-Behavioral expert David Burns suggested that we can communicate badly, beginning with the need to defend our “truth.” Not to worry if you don’t remember more than 2 or 3 of those 15 communication “potholes. “ The details are less important than the idea that … Once More, With Feeling… Good Communication begins with Empathetic Listening