Lone Wolf

By Ann Litts

Photo by Gregoire Bertaudon on Unsplash

I have several good friends who seem born to coupledom. They are happiest when they are in a pair. I see them glow with a significant other in their life. It makes me happy they are so happy.

However, even when I look at them, I see... Keep Reading

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Is a World That Works For Everyone Possible?

By Jack Preston King

In the early 1990s, social psychologist Shalom Schwartz identified 10 basic values shared by all people everywhere, in every class and culture. These are not morals in the religious/ethical sense, or virtues in the Aristotelian. They’re intrinsic psychological drives that shape how human beings see the world, and which motivate our choices and behavior.... Keep Reading

Cold Turkey - When Writing is an Addiction

By White Feather

George’s morning was just like every single one of his mornings. He awoke each morning at 6 a.m. sharp. After performing ablutions he would take a short walk around the neighborhood. It was the best time of day for a walk.

He would then come back inside and have breakfast. Every single morning his breakfast was exactly the same. He would eat three eggs and nothing else — and he did not even eat all of the eggs. With the fried eggs on his plate he would cut away the white part of the eggs and then scoop the yolk whole into his mouth. There is nothing like the taste and texture of a hot egg yolk exploding in one’s mouth. Over ninety per cent of all the nutrition found in an egg is in the yolk. The white parts of George’s eggs ended up in the trash.

After breakfast, George would fix himself a tall glass of ice water then he would proceed to his desk where he would boot up his laptop. He then spent the rest of the morning writing. Seven days a week, every morning was the same.

Today, George found himself staring at the blank screen for a very long time. It is not that he had nothing to write about. Writer’s block is something he never experienced. It is because he was thinking intensely about his writing and how it was like an addiction.....

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The Fork and the Road

By Umair Haque

One day, a weary traveller came to a fork in the road.

He was desperate to find his way home. “But which way is mine?!”, he cried.

The fork replied, gently, “all these roads will lead you home”.

The man, offended by the fork’s illogic, didn’t notice for a moment that the road was speaking to him.

“How can that be! This road goes left, and that road goes right. I am seeking the end of the road. But only the right road! That is my way home. That is everyone’s way home,” he added.

The fork laughed. “All these roads will lead you home”, it said to the weary traveller, again, this time even more gently..... Keep reading

Why Children Love Dirt

Why Children Love Dirt

By Monique Rodriquez

It is a question that many parents have asked themselves: "Why does my child love playing with dirt?" One plain and simple answer may be: children love the way dirt smells and feels. Another down to earth answer could be: children play with dirt because as an element very close to the composition of their very own bodies, they are instinctively attracted to it......

The Power of Silence in Retreat

By Scott Masciarelli

Four years ago - to the month - I embarked on a transition which would become "my life experience." I retired from a long corporate career and left behind not only work I knew for over 24 years but a family, friends and lifestyle. The decision to take the early retirement was easy as I had been considering it for quite a while. I knew that this was a major turning point in my life so, as such, I recall wanting to do things differently. At the prompting of a good friend who said "come join a silent retreat I'm going to."

I thought, how bizarre, a silent retreat? What were we going to do? Why would I want to do such a thing, pay money and invest one week of my life in something called a silent retreat? I didn't know any of those answers but the one thing I did know was that I wanted to create a definite line between what was and what will be. This seemed so off the wall that it was the perfect way to create that distinction.

Five days after retiring I landed in stunning, sunny Jackson Hole and met the 13 others with whom I would be sharing a multi-million dollar mansion with in silence for the coming week. The rules of the retreat were simple, we could only speak in our sacred group meeting room (all seated in a circle) from 10a to 12n and then from 4p to 6p. The topics during those hours were whatever surfaced at that time. Trust was a keyword during this experience.

All other time together in the home was in strict silence. OK, there was the occasional whisper "please cut the onion or pass the butter" but for the majority of our time mum was the word. We lived together, cooked together and dined together all in silence. It was beautiful. There was no pressure, no stress, no wonder and no questions to ask. What was present was peace and connection at a very deep soul level.

Interestingly it was not until the final night, during our farewell dinner, that we could break the silence in the home. It was that evening we learned what each person did for a profession and where they were from. The result was anti-climactic at best. It didn't really matter to me that there were some influential people in our group. We had become so close at the soul level that all of the other "stuff" was not even remotely important.

What was important that was that for each of us healing began in a way that we did not know. Some of us didn't know why we were there but we soon found out. I became violently ill during my stay and for over 24 hours was with fever. Our facilitator advised me that I was releasing all of the toxins of my corporate life. I firmly believe this and once I passed through that phase the bizarre retreat took on an entirely different meaning for me; one of purification, wholeness welcoming a new beginning.
It was a powerful week in the dramatic Teton Mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming with people who I would never see again. The clarity, peace and completeness received were far more than I ever envisioned when I signed up.

Fast forward four years and I am having a similar silent retreat. This time not because I signed up for one, but because I became ill, then during the recovery lost my voice. Not being able to speak has made it incredibly easy to be silent. Further, if there was a time for a perfect storm it is now and its name is Jonas. The blizzard of 2016 which has pounded the east coast of the United States and dumped over 33 inches (87cm) of fluffy white snow on my hometown in Virginia. For the entire weekend that also made it very easy to stay inside, slow down, reflect and be silent.

I am marveling at what a phenomenal three days this has been in my home, relaxing, focused, reflecting and taking care of little projects that I have put off for many months and years. The snow demanded that we all stay inside since the conditions were too severe to venture outside and roads needed to be kept clear for snow removal and emergency vehicles. I welcomed this and embraced my homestay as a chance to simply be.

The power of silence can be found right at home or at a structured retreat. I have found both extremely beneficial and encourage you to practice silence as often as you can. Embrace the peace, release the need to speak and simply be. Name it as a daylong silent retreat or join a retreat. However you choose to embrace silence I am confident you will enjoy the peaceful results.

Scott Masciarelli, PCC,BCC is a Global Leadership coach and trainer and multilingual avid world traveler. He partners with executives and expatriates to support both their personal and professional leadership growth. Scott's clients achieve success on their terms.
http://www.clearinsightscoaching.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Scott_Masciarelli/1437334

When You Compare, You Lose, by Byron Katie

When You Compare, You Lose

Abundance Is Giving

Searching for the answer to abundance?

In the mood for an epiphany today?

Then read this article from White Feather on Medium:

Abundance Is Giving

What To Do When Your Partner Lacks Empathy

By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

Were you born with the ability to feel others' feelings? I was, and one of the issues that I had to face was that not everyone is empathic.

This was very confusing to me as a child. In school, I often saw children bullying and making fun of another child. The more the child cried, the more fun they made of him or her. It broke my heart and I would often try to come to the child's rescue. I was deeply perplexed at how these bullying children could stand feeling the pain of the child or the animal they were hurting. Couldn't they feel the pain?

I was perplexed too with my parents, who obviously couldn't feel my pain. How was that possible? Why could I feel their pain and they couldn't feel mine? I had the same experience in my marriage and it took me many more years to understand that some people either lack the ability to feel empathy, or they shut it down so early in their lives that they have no access to it.

I tend to believe that everyone is capable of empathy, but I don't know this for sure. What I do know is that many people have learned to shut down their feelings to such an extent that they can't feel even their own feelings - and they certainly can't feel others' feelings.

It's disconcerting to discover that your partner lacks empathy. This is the situation that Georgia found herself in:

"I was recently involved with a narcissistic man who was completely unable to empathize/care or even think about my feelings and needs. Sometimes I would have to explain how his behavior was affecting me and he would eventually acknowledge he could see how I might feel, but never changed the behavior. Can someone be taught empathy or if they don't have that ability, they never will?"

Being the optimist that I am, I think it's possible for people to learn empathy, but they would have to go through an in-depth therapeutic process of reconnecting with their own feelings first, and learning to love themselves. In my experience, narcissistic people often do not think they have a problem - It's always the other person who has the problem. Because they believe they are fine and others are "messed up," they are rarely motivated to do the inner work necessary to open to their feelings and to others' feelings. They likely shut down their feelings when they were very young and they might not realize that they lack empathy.

If you are with a partner who is narcissistic and lacks empathy, don't count on this changing. You need to either accept that this person will likely never truly care about your feelings and the effect their behavior has on you, or you need to leave. Trying to change a person who currently lacks the ability to feel empathy is a waste of time and energy.

Sometimes, a highly sensitive person who shut down their feelings early in life may suddenly find themselves feeling empathy, but I've not seen this occur very often, so it's not something to count on.

One of the hardest things to deal with in a relationship is when you can see the beautiful essence of your partner, but your partner can't see his or her own essence - or yours. Many people go into relationships because they fall in love with the essence of a person, only to find out that the person's narcissistic wounded self is in charge most of the time. I've often said that we need to be able to acknowledge and tolerate a person's wounded self - putting it into perspective - in order to create a loving relationship with them. If you are attracted to someone who has narcissistic tendencies, but are unable to put their narcissism and lack of empathy into a healthy perspective,, then that person isn't for you - no matter how much you love their essence. Being in a relationship with a narcissist is never easy, and it's especially difficult for someone with empathic tendencies.

* * * * *

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including "Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?" and "Healing Your Aloneness." She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding® healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com or email her at margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9101621