#176 – What do you gain when you fight reality?Nothing. Period.For years, I bought into the concept of "create the life you want." I even had it as a tagline under my email signature and on my business cards. What an illusion! Life creates itself and...

#175 – ...But is it your True Self or your Ego talking?We all hear a voice (or several) nagging at us from between our ears: you should study more, you shouldn't eat that, your hair's too gray, when did you get that wrinkle?But we also have an inner...

#174 – How will respecting your True Self change your experience?For years, I was stuck in my father's comment from 1983. At 13, I interpreted his words ("to be a writer, you need to know a lot of things") as proof that I couldn't write – I didn't kn...

#173 – How does the Ghost of Undervaluing derail your life?The words validation and valuation have the same Latin origin: 'valor,' which means courage, value, and worth.Feeling that we need external validation (or valuation, i.e., assignment of...

#172 – Who wants you to "look good?"Early in my career as a voice teacher for singers and actors, I noticed a pattern: some of them were too concerned about how they looked while performing.Instead of connecting with the song or the scene on a deep,...

#171 – What's the 2% truth in what my "opponent" is saying?Picture the scene: you're having one of those spinning-stuck arguments with someone. You both know it's going nowhere and nevertheless, you persist.The only way to move forward (and stay conn...

#170 – How can I find some truth in opposing views?Have you ever had an argument with someone that felt like spinning round in circles without moving an inch? We all have and it's frustrating – and yes, endless, useless, and meaningless.That's becaus...

#169 – What's grief for?The Christmas after my mother's stroke, my father decided "we weren't the kind of family that mopes around and pushes joy away just because their mother is in a coma." We were stoic like that – or, should I say, emotionally im...

#168 – Can we joke our way to inner peace?"There is faith in humor*." Pope FrancisLike your mind's self-appointed Head of Risk Management and Loss Prevention, your Ego surveils your thoughts with the utmost severity. It disavows following Rule Number...

#167 – What's the antidote to the fear/hope spell?In fear/hope mode, we're like in a bubble of smog – we can't see what's in front of us, let alone what's outside. They say (and I've written) that the only way out is through, but in this case, the re...