Hello there! Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. There have been a lot of changes in my professional world, most importantly that I moved my Alameda office to a more central location (on Central Avenue, no less!), just off Park Street and all the wonderful shops and eateries.
There have also been a lot of changes in the world, most notably our new President, Barack Obama.
In the back (and sometimes forefront) of my mind has been the awareness that with every new beginning -- wonderful as it may be, or hopeful as we may feel about the start of something new -- there is a loss. Usually there has to be. One thing typically has to end for another thing to begin. And I think we sometimes do not take the time to acknowledge the loss.
When we don't take the time to honor the passage of one way of being, to grieve when appropriate or celebrate as is sometimes called for, we may find, later on, that it comes back to bite us on the tush. And if we don't let go as part of our grieving, we may sabotage our own new start.
It's just something I have been pondering amidst the recognition of all that is new. For as much as I love my new office, and all my clients do as well, we did lose having our own off-street parking lot, and that really was nice. So I take a deep breath, acknowledge that loss, accept it, and move on, with quarters in hand, prepared for the parking meters!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wow!
This is a 20-minute informational video (very interesting, I swear) about consumption and the economy and the environment. It's amazing.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Books to read about the inner critic
In my practice, there are a handful of books I often recommend to clients when we deal with issues of the inner critic. I'll list them here and tell you why I believe they are so helpful.
1. Soul Without Shame by Byron Brown
2. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
3. Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson
Clicking on any of the titles above will take you to their page on Amazon.com. These 3 books tackle something that is an absolute epidemic in our society: self-criticism. Freud called it the superego because it was like the supervisor to the ego, keeping it in line, but I like to refer to it as the inner critic because that's how we usually experience it on a subjective level. It developed in childhood because of lessons we learned, times we were chastised, and humiliations we experienced. It developed to try to protect us by preventing those things from happening again. It's not something we want to or can get rid of entirely, but we need to alter it when it becomes toxic, attacking us, judging our every thought, feeling and action, draining us of energy, and telling us horrible insults about ourselves.
Some people brush it off, saying, "yeah, I'm hard on myself," but my assertion -- and the assertion of the authors of these books -- is that it's possible to dis-identify from the inner critic so that you can know yourself as something more than that critic, and, therefore, can put the critic in its place, bring it back down to manageable size, and then you can have choice about your next actions to take. That freedom comes from no longer simply reacting based on fear of recrimination or humiliation, but from seeing your choices clearly, recognizing that if you choose to have one more cookie, for example, that does not have to equate that you have no self-control, as your inner critic might insist.
In my opinion, Byron Brown's book deals with this subject in the most thorough way, and stays with you through the complete process of becoming aware of your self-attacks, how to fight back against them, and how to continue with the process even as your inner critic gets subtler and sneakier. Julia Cameron's full program, and especially the morning pages daily activity, is a great way to get through the blocks to expressing yourself as a creative being -- and we are all creative beings. And Rick Carson's is a wonderfully playful, cartoon-illustrated way to approach a subject that can be very challenging.
1. Soul Without Shame by Byron Brown
2. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
3. Taming Your Gremlin by Rick Carson
Clicking on any of the titles above will take you to their page on Amazon.com. These 3 books tackle something that is an absolute epidemic in our society: self-criticism. Freud called it the superego because it was like the supervisor to the ego, keeping it in line, but I like to refer to it as the inner critic because that's how we usually experience it on a subjective level. It developed in childhood because of lessons we learned, times we were chastised, and humiliations we experienced. It developed to try to protect us by preventing those things from happening again. It's not something we want to or can get rid of entirely, but we need to alter it when it becomes toxic, attacking us, judging our every thought, feeling and action, draining us of energy, and telling us horrible insults about ourselves.
Some people brush it off, saying, "yeah, I'm hard on myself," but my assertion -- and the assertion of the authors of these books -- is that it's possible to dis-identify from the inner critic so that you can know yourself as something more than that critic, and, therefore, can put the critic in its place, bring it back down to manageable size, and then you can have choice about your next actions to take. That freedom comes from no longer simply reacting based on fear of recrimination or humiliation, but from seeing your choices clearly, recognizing that if you choose to have one more cookie, for example, that does not have to equate that you have no self-control, as your inner critic might insist.
In my opinion, Byron Brown's book deals with this subject in the most thorough way, and stays with you through the complete process of becoming aware of your self-attacks, how to fight back against them, and how to continue with the process even as your inner critic gets subtler and sneakier. Julia Cameron's full program, and especially the morning pages daily activity, is a great way to get through the blocks to expressing yourself as a creative being -- and we are all creative beings. And Rick Carson's is a wonderfully playful, cartoon-illustrated way to approach a subject that can be very challenging.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Alameda Rocks!
I've started seeing clients in my new office in Alameda, CA -- right on Park (near Otis, across from the new Borders bookstore) -- and it is LOVELY. Really easy to get to, easy parking. Lovely.
Resolved: The internet is an infinite source for distraction
http://www.anagramgenius.com/server.html
http://www.says-it.com/
(I used the "Latin Motto generator" to make the motto in the seal to the left)
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