What Self-Care Looks Like: It Is Not A To-Do List

It’s not the latest trend. It’s not a hashtag on social media. And it’s certainly not selfish. Self-care is an incredibly im­portant part of your physical and mental health.

The inner child waits patiently for the adult to notice it, to talk to it. It asks itself: "How can I get her attention? How can I get her to talk to me, to listen to me?" It thinks back of its past experience with parents and teachers and remembers that...

The inner child waits patiently for the adult to notice it, to talk to it. It asks itself: "How can I get her attention? How can I get her to talk to me, to listen to me?" It thinks back of its past experience with parents and teachers and remembers that...

Do you get in a negative mood and have a hard time getting out? Do your lingering feelings seem to descend on you for no particular reason? Do you find yourself often brooding for extended periods of time? Anxious? Frustrated? Depressed? Hurt? Brooding? Serious?

Do you get in a negative mood and have a hard time getting out? Do your lingering feelings seem to descend on you for no particular reason? Do you find yourself often brooding for extended periods of time? Anxious? Frustrated? Depressed? Hurt? Brooding? Serious?

How many times have you been hurt by what someone said about you? How many times have you doubted your self-worth because someone criticized you, either to your face or 'behind your back'? Why do we react with such self-doubt or indignation when someone...

Just what is a feeling, exactly? That was a question a client asked me, with an emphasis on the "exactly." It's a great question because it is so direct, to the point, and so difficult to answer exactly and correctly. But because it is so important, and because...

Many of us have grown up with the concept of the 3 R's. We have been told that the 3R's were the basis or the most important part of education. And we were always told that the three R's were Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. Now wait a minute! Only one of those starts with an R… which got me thinking that maybe the 3 R's were something completely different.

When we obsessively focus on something that is, or isn't, within our control, it can feel like we're carrying a giant boulder on our backs. Instead, we need to treat that one aspect of our lives as small rocks in our pocket so we can...

As the publisher/editor of InnerSelf, I read a lot of material dealing with personal empowerment. And some of the things I read really resonate  with me, and I end up adopting them. It's sort of like creating a tapestry using threads coming from various sources. 

After a year of toxic stress ignited by so much fear and uncertainty, now is a good time to reset, pay attention to your mental health and develop some healthy ways to manage the pressures going forward.

Affirmation is a skillful means for transforming energy, and it begins with the deletion of negative statements about self and others. A negative statement freezes one in time and space without room for harmonization. Affirmations need to be unambiguous, simple and clear statements of one's intentions.

We have repressed a lot of our emotions, whether they are considered 'good' or 'bad' ones. Sometimes we hold back on expressing our love for fear of being misunderstood, or perhaps thinking the timing is not 'right'. Most commonly, we have been taught to hold back on our 'negative' emotions — fear, anger, sorrow, pain, etc.

We need to examine the spells that hypnotize us and break them when they hinder us. Spells are words, deeds and judgements that go unquestioned, undigested and unchallenged. It could be a doctor informing you that you have three months to live, a friend saying your marriage won’t work, your mind telling you that...

If we accept that life is always trying to teach us exactly what we need to learn, we can view everything that happens to us as a gift. Even experiences that are uncomfortable or painful contain within them an important key to our healing, wholeness, and prosperity.

If you have contradictory desire streams -- desires for two opposing things at the same time -- it becomes much more difficult for Nature to fulfill your desires. For example, you might think that you desire an ideal relationship, but if part of your brain is thinking, "Hah, you don't deserve that. It's never worked before.."

Affirmations are really anything that we say or think. We say, "I don't want this in my life" or "I don't want to be sick anymore" or "I hate my job".

How many times have you made a decision to change something in your life and then found yourself slipping off the path you had chosen? Have you found yourself repeating past behavior even though the higher side of your consciousness knew better than to be caught in that same old trap?

Everyday is April Fools' Day...it doesn't only occur on April 1st. Many of us are living daily the greatest April fools' of all... and we are it! We have been living our lives as a lie, pretending to be someone we're not. We are living our lives as if they belonged to someone or something else.

People tend to throw around a lot of words to describe their emotions and feelings. We're confused or we feel frustrated. We're hurt or we're excited. Whatever the label, deciphering feelings from emotions can be a bit perplexing. If we start by learning the difference there are big rewards.

When we become aware of our story lines -- the things we tell ourselves to keep from moving forward -- we can use affirmations to make our mental chatter more fluid.

During self-isolation due to coronavirus, many are turningto the arts. Perhaps they seek a creative outlet or opportunity for expression

When we neglect ourselves in the mad rush to make a living, take care of business and raise our families, we die a little with each passing day. What have you done lately to nurture yourself, enhance your creativity and honor your soul?