When it comes to increasing our happiness, there are so many things that we can do. We all know the theories. But how do we choose among all the areas that we can possibly work on? Where do we begin? In my search for a directed way, I pick up the book The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky and leaf through its pages, guessing which happiness activities would be recommended for me to start with. […]

“Compliance causes a shocking realization that must be registered by all women. That is, to be ourselves causes us to be exiled by many others, and yet to comply with what others want causes us to be exiled from ourselves. It is a tormenting tension and it must be borne, but the choice is clear.”   Clarissa Pinkola Estes. […]

Are you someone who gives a lot to other people? You accommodate, you give without thinking what’s in it for you. Maybe you are an HSP or empath who identifies so much with other people’s feelings that you take on their pain. Giving and compassion are your primary values. But sometimes, you wish that they weren’t. […]

In the shade of a giant tree, in a neighborhood park, Susan tells me about her life. She talks about her divorce – it happened a long time ago – and about a son she doesn’t meet very often. She tells me her mother grudges her things she needs and about the jewelry from her grandmother that should have been hers. In her mind, not getting these things is somehow connected to her former husband. […]