She picked up one item after another, swiping each barcode across the glass surface.  I thought to myself, this woman . . . this stranger across from me, employee in a drug store, has a mother. 

It is my habit, one of my shortcuts to inner peace, to look at the employees in stores, banks and coffee shops, and ask them in my mind, “Who is your mother?”  In that brief moment of awareness when I recognize our common humanity, that we are each born of a woman’s body, my heart is opened. (more…)

The Gallup poll has come up with a statistical composite for the happiest person in America.  He is a tall Asian American, observant Jew, over 65, married with children, live in Hawaii, run his own business, and have a household income of over $120,000. (more…)

Sylvia, my client of several months, sat across from me, clearly agitated. This forty-something woman, mother of two teenage boys, going through a divorce but still living under the same roof with her soon-to-be-ex, crossed her denim clad legs exclaiming, “I’m SOOOO stressed out!”

“Have you ever tried meditation?” I asked.  After practicing meditation for quite a few years myself, I was convinced that it could help her.  But I was also ready for her response. (more…)

Reminders of life’s fragility are everywhere.  I know that there are automobile accidents every day, yet I somehow manage to forget.  I hop in my car, happy and relaxed as if there are no risks.   Yet, this week I know two people involved in accidents.  In both instances, cars totaled, the drivers walked away physically unharmed.

I know how much this experience can shake your core.  I’ve been in two car crashes in my life:  once on the back roads of Mexico and once in my own back yard on Route 33.  One minute you are driving innocently along and the next minute, car crushed, you are shocked and shaken, talking with officers on the side of the road.  And this is the lucky scenario. (more…)

I recently attended a professional conference about couples and attachment theory.  One casual, off-handed comment by the presenter stuck in my mind.  She said, “It matters how you greet your spouse at the end of the day – is your head down texting or do you really welcome each other?”Every day we have a precious opportunity to reconnect with our honey and yet, we mostly take it for granted.  “Hi dear, where’s the mail?”  “Hi dear, you deal with the kids cuz I’m exhausted.”  “Hey, did you pay the mortgage today?”  I bet that many of us are met more enthusiastically by the family dog than by our own partner. (more…)