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Self Confidence Body Issues | Who Would We Be If Mirrors Didn’t Exist?

Self Confidence and Body Issues Who would we be if mirrors didn’t exist? We would prefer it weren’t so, but so much of our self-described identity is wrapped up around how we perceive the way we look. I don’t mean how we look in an is-there-a-stain-on-my-shirt sense, but on a deeper, more profound self-worth level. Who would you be if you had never seen your reflection in a mirror? How much has your reflection shaped who you are and how you feel about your value and power in this world?…

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Caring for Kids and Parents – Learning to Protect Your Own Energy

Caring for Kids and Parents… Learning to Protect Your Own Energy in the Midlife Vise It’s called midlife – the middle years – when we are considered to be middle-aged. Not very accurate when we consider life expectancy, but it’s still the term used to bunch those of us over forty and beyond together. I think defining midlife as being the period of time that we are caught in the middle is far more accurate. There we are, smack dab in the middle between the busy-busy first few decades of…

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Waiting for College Acceptances: How to Get Through the Anxiety

One of my friends received news last week that her son was accepted to his top choice college on the same day that another friend found out her child received a no. Having been through this college process twice with one child more to go, it reminded me that waiting for college acceptances to come in is much like standing in a line in gym class waiting to be picked for a team.  Except it feels like the whole world watching. It may be exhilarating or devastating, but it’s almost…

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What Does Being Mindful Mean and Why Should We Care?

What is mindfulness, why should we care and how do we start? Last weekend, I attended a talk specifically on the subject of mindfulness at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, scientist, speaker, author of several books on the topic and a pioneer in the meditative approach to treat pain and depression, was the presenter. His accomplishments are impressive and his speaking style was relaxed and… thoughtful. He spoke about how important it is to be mindful. To take time to notice our thoughts. To pause our racing minds…

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pressure on teens to measure up

The Crushing Pressure on Teens to Measure Up

I’ve been explaining to my fifteen year old that the choices he makes now are important to his future. And I don’t mean the do you want pizza or mac and cheese for dinner tonight choices. It’s only natural for us to want to make everything go right during their high school years. So my verbal encouragement (aka nagging) has been on auto-repeat: How he needs to focus on his grades. How he needs to eat healthier and get more sleep, how he needs to steer clear from all of…

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Learning to Let Go - The Big Shut Out

Learning to Embrace The Big Shut Out

One of the hardest things about our kids growing up and becoming independent is learning to let go and embracing The Big Shut Out. It’s not easy to go from being intimately involved in (and even responsible for) their every need for at least their first decade, to having to get in line for a moment with them when they are teens. As they mature and start to make decisions for themselves, we instinctually back away, a little bit at a time, to give them space to learn and to make…

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