We are living through an unprecedented time upheaval and disruption to our routines and lives.

This can be stressful because so much is uncertain.  Because we don’t have much control over how the situation is unfolding, this uncertainty can awaken fear.  We begin to panic and worry for our own and our loved ones' safety, and about the future. 

As we witness every day the worldwide intense suffering and pain wrought by this virus, it is imperative that we keep panic at bay and manage our fear and stress by falling back on our common humanity.

To better cope with the new demands being placed on us, we have to adjust how we think about this constantly evolving situation and all we are being asked to do and endure in the next few months.   Being able to mentally reframe our situation in a healthy way will ensure our own and others’ well-being.

Here are some heartfelt gentle reminders:

• Social Distancing and Shelter in Place – limit our social interactions and require we remain housebound which is going to be challenging.  To decrease resentment at this inconvenience, remind yourself that this measure will keep you and your family safe and everyone else, too.  As we don’t know if we are carriers this measure will help stop the spread of this virus. So from a larger perspective, these measures can be thought of as acts of compassion (sparing the vulnerable from suffering) and generosity (helping the healthy remain healthy).

 

• Separate but Connected – the lightning spread of this virus across the globe into our neighborhoods and homes is clear indication of our interconnectedness.  Even though we may be physically separated, we are in actuality going through it together.  This virus depends on infecting people for its survival, so by us staying apart we are collectively stopping its spread.  It takes all of us working in concert to end this pandemic. 

 

• Interdependence in Action – listening to our better instincts and good heart demonstrates our reliance on each other to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe.  All of us are depending on international and domestic scientists and health care professionals to rapidly come up with solutions.  Every day we see heart-warming stories of countries sharing effective methods for testing and screening, and collaborating by sending their professionals to help in virus-hit countries. Witness the incredible generosity, kindness and sacrifice of essential workers who are tackling this virus on the front lines.  We can help them; theirs and everyone's health depends on our being healthy. 

 

• Impermanence – the new store hours and closures, working from home, discoveries about the virus’ many mutations, hospitals being built in a few weeks, and all the many other changes occurring daily are a stark reminder of life’s impermanence.  Most of the time, even though our lives are changing every moment, we believe they are unchanging and will always continue as we know them.   Our strongest desire is for life to remain unchanged, but that isn’t its nature.  We couldn’t have anticipated the current state we find ourselves in and yet here we are.  Try and accept things as they unfold.  Your patience and tolerance will grow as you remind yourself that even this challenging time will end.  Nothing stays the same. 

 
And most importantly remember to practice compassion and kindness for yourself and others.
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May you and all those around you remain healthy, rested and well.

Regret is something many of us experience at some point in life. Wishing we’d done things differently like remaining calm instead of getting angry, saving money that we spent, being quiet instead of speaking, taking risks, and the list goes on.

If regret is handled correctly, it can become a motivator for change. If it is mishandled, then regretting our past action or inaction can distort our idea of ourselves, so we become trapped in feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, fear, and indecision.

Remorse can be a stepping stone to freeing ourselves from past mistakes, missteps, and mishaps so we live from our healthier, happier self.  Many people simply decide that they won’t live their lives regretting past actions, but choose instead to learn from their mistakes, and move their lives in a new direction.  

So regret, contrition, or sorrow are workable and within our power to effect change in our behavior, thinking, and speech.

Here’s how to empower yourself:
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Own the Regret.   Take time to reflect, but not ruminate on the situation.  With kindness for yourself and acceptance of our human failing, acknowledge your fault and then forgive yourself.  Remind yourself that we are all just doing our best.  No one is perfect and then let it go.  Acceptance helps us grow.  

• Recognize Repeating Patterns.  Be willing to clearly and openly look at situations that keep repeating in your life.  Analyze them to learn how to avoid similar future situations.  Ask yourself what did I learn?  How will I deal with it the next time around? Why did I react the way I did?  What in me was triggered?  Taking a detached and curious look at our lives will ensure that we aren’t forced to repeat our mistakes and suffer the same regret again.

 
Focus on Your Wishes.  Instead of thinking “if only” or “what if I had…”, instead explore your feelings and wishes through journalling about the life and self you envision for yourself. Becoming clear about your life goals, your values, and ethics will help you live more in alignment with these heartfelt goals.
 
Make Amends. If you are able to, then apologize to the person you feel you’ve harmed. If she/he isn’t around anymore, then you can write a letter expressing your sadness and sorrow.  To symbolically release the regret you could burn the letter.  Think about ways you could atone for your regret by helping other people. For example, if you are regretting not helping your parents more then consider volunteering at an old age home.
 
Regret keeps us trapped in the past.  Living happens in the present.  By overcoming regret, we empower ourselves to reclaim our lives to live in the present moment and bring benefit to ourselves and those around us.

May you free yourself of the past and enjoy every moment this day presents you.

Last month my nephew died of a massive heart attack -- on his 31st birthday. 

As shockingly tragic as his passing was, we take heart knowing his life had been well-lived:  he lived and taught in Korea, traveled the world, embraced his creativity, connected with people, and fulfilled his purpose during his very brief lifetime.

How many of us can say that we are living full lives? 

A lifetime may seem long but is lived day by day.  The wise thing to do is seize the opportunity that every moment presents us. 

A full and fulfilled life arises from living each day wholeheartedly.

• Welcome change – change teaches us flexibility, brings growth and strength, and reveals opportunities.  Embrace new ideas and challenge yourself to experience something different e.g. say hello when you would normally be quiet.  Set and try to achieve new goals.
• Forgo perfection – give up on the idea of becoming perfect and instead embrace mistakes, failures, and disappointments as opportunities to expand your experience.
• Live with inspiration – identify people who inspire you and try to follow in their footsteps. Or connect to your own inner guide and try to live from this ideal self.  Let your values guide you to live from your highest self.
• Don’t criticize others or yourself – we gain peace by changing ourselves and our attitudes and not from making others do our bidding.  Respect yourself and others.  Give up your expectation that others  behave the way you want.  
• Express and Practice Gratitude – let others know how you feel about them and share your gratitude for them.  Enjoy and be thankful for everything you have in your life. 
• Live More Consciously – practice calming your mind (meditating, deep breathing) for even a few minutes each day.  To empower yourself, reflect on your life experiences and work on clarifying your blind spots and inner obstacles.
• Practice Kindness -- help others, forgive yourself and those around you, release past grievances and unhappiness.  Remember all beings, like you, want happiness and not suffering.

 
If you are just beginning this journey, then choose one or two of the above suggestions to practice every day. Be gentle with yourself in this process.  

May you live this day and every day with heartfelt joy and gratitude.  

On KQED’s show Forum this week, they discussed the psychology of gift giving. One thing jumped out at me: gift giving is meant to strengthen relationships and is about being kind.

With the holiday season of giving and sharing upon us, we can use the opportunity to practice kindness.    

Kindness is the attitude and behavior of being compassionate and selfless.  Most simply it is being nice or sharing your best self with others. 

Research shows that the gift of kindness is directly linked to the level of our happiness and contentment.  Japanese studies showed that happy people were kinder, and that counting our acts of kindness actually led to more acts of gratitude and kindness.

The benefits of gifting kindness are:

• We feel better and the recipient feels loved and cared for, which causes them to be kind to other people. This causes kindness to spread;
• It releases neurochemicals that give us a sense of well-being (a state of being happy, comfortable, and healthy);
• It reduces pain, stress, anger, anxiety and depression;
• It boosts immunity and calm;
• It increases feelings of self-worth.

So this season in addition to giving toys, gadgets, and goodies, we can share the following heartwarming gifts:

• Try and cheer someone up;
• Have your children help you buy and wrap gifts for foster or orphaned children;
• Smile and say hello to an elderly neighbor/stranger;
• As a family, help an elderly neighbor set up their Christmas decorations;
• Lend a helping hand to a coworker or friend;
• Allow someone to go in front of you in a queue;
• Offer to babysit for parents who rarely get out;
• Give someone the benefit of the doubt;
• Take your child to a homeless shelter to help feed the hungry.

Mother Teresa said “we cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love.”

May your holiday season be filled with many acts of kindness and love for those around you.

The other day, I was at a checkout stand waiting to pay when I sneezed.  The woman who was ahead of me and the cashier automatically said “bless you.”  I suppose my lack of a response caused the woman to nervously say, “I don’t even know if I can say that anymore.”  Her concerned expression made me feel sad for the loss of our common decency and connection simply as human beings to each other.  I replied, “we can all use blessings.”  The cashier and she chorused a relieved “Yes, we can.”

With Thanksgiving gatherings in a few days, how do we converse and remain caring and connected with our family members and those around us?      

Connection happens quite easily when we express care for those around us.  Expressing care is not only through our words but through our tone, facial expression, and body language, and in being interested in and showing empathy for the other person.  

The first thing to determine is if you genuinely want to connect with the person/people with whom you disagree.  Knowing the importance to you will guide your future conversations with him/her or them.

To bridge the gaps in our relationships, we can do the following:

1. Take note or make a list of what you value and/or love about the person you most struggle to connect with.
2. Remind yourself of our shared human condition that nobody wants to suffer and we all just want to be happy.  You could create a little mantra: “just like me _______ wants to be happy and does not want suffer”; and repeat this mantra to yourself. 
3. Decide whether you are interested in understanding where he/she is coming from with regard to the disagreement you have with the person.   If it matters to you, then become curious about their point of view.

Remember that conversations about controversial or concerning situations are as temporary as the situations themselves.  That is to say that nothing lasts forever.  Everything changes.

Prioritizing love, connection, and compassion during these gatherings will ease tension, and help you communicate more deeply with each other.

We have a lot to be thankful for, and reminding ourselves of the importance of the people in our lives is a good beginning point.

Happy Thanksgiving.  

I was reflecting on the difference between egotism and self-confidence.  It is easy to confuse the two, and even more difficult to develop a healthy balance of being confident, but not overly confident or cocky.
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Egotism or arrogance is the habit of thinking oneself as being more important than others; of boasting, being self-absorbed, and conceited.  An arrogant person neglects others' opinions and suggestions thus alienating them, and conversely overestimates his or her own abilities.   

Whereas self-confidence is knowing oneself and trusting in one’s own judgments, beliefs, and capabilities in dealing with daily challenges and demands, and in one’s ability to succeed.  Being confident attracts people and earns their trust. 

The willingness to learn about oneself and one’s life is key to developing healthy self-confidence and trust.  The most effective way of doing this is to reflect on experiences, thoughts, emotions and feelings, and to process and understand our reactions, actions, thoughts, and speech arising from these experiences.

One can also cultivate habits throughout the day to grow belief in oneself. 

Habits to Boost Self-Confidence:

1. A realistic self-image will reveal your skills and capabilities, your thoughts, beliefs, and values.  It will expose areas for growth and additional learning.  This is the best way to overcome a negative self-image or blind self-confidence. 
2. Study what you need to know.  Being well-versed in a subject, and well prepared for an upcoming project, will make you confident and feel empowered to take risks. Self-confidence arises from good preparation and leads to success.     
3. Begin and finish small projects.  Finishing something gives us a sense of achievement.  Set small accomplishable goals for yourself. Over time these small gains add up to big achievements and greater confidence.
4. Pretend confidence.  Even if you aren’t feeling it, do something you’ve been avoiding. Convince yourself that you will be able to complete it to the best of your ability. Boost your determination by looking at past completed projects.  Pretending confidence will eventually lead to genuine belief in yourself. 
5. Help others by sharing your gifts, skills and time.  Volunteering will remind you of your talents and skills. Witnessing your ability to change another person’s life will increase your confidence and gratitude, and will help you feel better about yourself.
6. Engage with others.  Speak slowly and clearly and avoid talking too much.  Try to relax, be present, and really connect in a calm, relaxed way; this will increase your confidence and cause others to gravitate to you.
7. Dress the part.  Being well groomed and dressing with care projects the image of a presentable person who cares for and respects themselves.  It grows others' confidence in you, and your own self trust. 
8. Supportive Company.  Keep the company of people who encourage you to live from your highest self and your values.  Foster these relationships to help you on your journey to establishing this new habit.

 
Growing self-confidence is a contradiction because it requires you to act as though you are already confident.  So the only thing to do it is to begin acting the part.

May you have much success in your journey to a happier confident you.

,Sometimes no matter how much we try to meet our goals, we struggle to follow through and do what it takes to succeed.  Something keeps us from success despite our goals being clearly defined and realistic.  
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Self-sabotage is the conflict between our logical clear thinking mind (the voice urging healthy eating and careful spending) and our subconscious emotionally driven mind (that indulges midnight snacking and frivolous purchases).    

This self-destructive habit causes us to think and act in ways that derail us from our goals.  It’s a self-protection mechanism that is rooted in fear of failing, succeeding, or being humiliated or rejected.  Self-sabotage prevents us from taking action, fixing problems, changing behaviors, developing new habits, and living our dream life. 

However because these behaviors become ingrained habits, we fail to recognize them as the culprits blocking us from success.  So we overlook the destructiveness of actions like always being tardy, not organizing our schedule, or FOMO – fear of missing out - so we never commit to an action or invitation.  Recognizable behaviors are procrastinating, drowning problems with substances, stress-eating, and self-injuring.

The following list will shine the spotlight on some of these self-limiting behaviours to help you become unstuck:

Repressing Thoughts & Emotions
We stuff our thoughts and feelings because we are ashamed of them, and fear that they make us into awful people. As long as we avoid and repress our feelings and thoughts, we’ll remain in fear of them. 
 
To free yourself, begin to reflect on your life.  Detachedly observe your behavior, thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs, and examine them to understand which ones are helping and which are harming you in the pursuit of your goals.  Acknowledge and process them with an attitude of interested curiosity to make them more workable.
 
Self-Criticism
We constantly judge and insult ourselves and don’t let go of past mistakes.  This is the voice that is always warning us to hold off, rethink decisions, and saying we can’t do something. It traps us in inaction and indecision.
 
Notice when this mindset steps into the picture.  Become intimately familiar with it so you can quickly replace its voice with a positive affirming one. A powerful antidote is to practise patience and kindness towards yourself.
 
Procrastination
We squander the time we do have believing we’ll have time later to do what we need.  So we toss aside hours in which we can finish or chip away at a project by thinking it will be better to just start the next day when we have the whole day.  Or we wait until the last minute to begin a project and then we aren’t able to present our best effort. 
 
To change this habit, we can motivate ourselves by first doing something that energizes and calms our mind and then tackle the task at hand.  Or you can set a mini deadline of 1 hour each day to work towards meeting your objective. 
 
Perfectionism 
We don’t take action towards living our dream life because the time isn’t right, or we feel we don’t possess every skill necessary for success. Striving for perfection is an unattainable goal and will cause us to discard every opportunity that presents itself to us.   
 
Reflect on your previous successes and then create a list of attainable goals.  Begin with small easily achievable goals to boost your confidence.  Think of all your strengths and skills and remind yourself they are responsible for your attainments.  Remember too that you are in control of your actions, thoughts, beliefs and use these reflections to inspire you to take action that will move you in the right direction.   
 
To overcome the habit of self-sabotage, it’s absolutely vital that you reflect on your life.  Awareness of your underlying beliefs and motivations will reveal why and how you trip yourself up in your life.  As you undertake this self-examination be kind to yourself and create a list of positive affirmations, mantras, or visualizations to encourage you.  Then begin to change those behaviors, and situations that don’t support your goals.  Make a plan of how you will proceed every day. 
 
May you succeed in attaining your life goals

It is the human condition that we occasionally suffer some fear and self-doubt.  Our inner critic, to keep us from making complete fools of ourselves, will caution us against breaking out of our comfort zone. 
 
But when fear or the need for perfection becomes overwhelming, it can paralyze us and keep us from living a life of contribution and meaning.
 
These feelings keep us from trying new things, making mistakes or failing,  saying no, standing up for ourselves, and making changes.  We become trapped in a cycle of trying to please others and in the limbo of procrastination.  Stuck in this safe and familiar cocoon, we live less than fulfilled lives where our dreams and goals are slowly stifled. 
 
To overcome indecision, procrastination, hesitancy, or uncertainty, practice the following techniques:

Self-Compassion – remember that self-doubt is a normal part of being human, and try to accept these feelings as temporary unfolding experiences because nothing lasts forever.  Instead of fighting it, acknowledge the part of yourself that is trying to keep you safe, thank it, and then assure it you are capable of coping with life’s challenges. Gentle acceptance lessens fear and helps us regain control.  

Mindful Attention – make a strong determination to notice and then to stop your doubting thoughts.  Play devil’s advocate and challenge your inner critic who says “you can’t” or “you shouldn’t” or it “isn’t wise”. 

Stop Comparing – avoid social media sites that cause you to compare yourself to others and their accomplishments. Researchers are finding that Facebook users are becoming increasingly more depressed. Our doubts and feelings of inadequacy grow when we look at others who always seem to be having more fun, attending fancier parties, and doing so much better than we are.  The fact is all of us are struggling to be relevant, seen, understood, and admired.  

Listen to your Instinct – weigh the pros and cons of any situation, and then follow your first thoughts to make your decision.  Constantly flipping between “should I” or “shouldn’t I” merely keeps us stuck in limbo.  It is important to reassure yourself that you can always make changes after beginning.  

Ignore Other’s Opinions - Like all thoughts, opinions aren’t fact or truth.  So what others think of you is merely their opinion.  If you choose to listen to other's opinions, know that their wishes and ideas can influence your decision, and cause you to hold back when you should be taking a chance or making a change.  Ultimately the decision is always your own. 

Let Go of External Validation - on the flip side of listening to others’ opinions, stop asking for reinforcement or validation from others.  Seek advice, but avoid doing this too frequently as this habit will eventually weaken your belief in your own decisions. 

Resolve to Take Risks - decide to try something new and assure yourself that you will cope with the challenges.  Each day or week, set yourself a tiny goal that will challenge your fears; do this especially for things you’ve been putting off. 

Broaden your Perspective - if you are struggling to justify doing something, then think of the people who will benefit from whatever activity you would like to undertake, and then --  do it for them.  This expansive
heart-warming reason is an extremely powerful motivator that will keep you persevering. 

​Start where you are right now.  Begin by examining your life and noticing where you are holding back from living the life you envision for yourself.  Then decide to do what it takes to pursue your life’s goals.

May you overcome your self-doubt to live a happy, fulfilled life.

I’ve been thinking about the destructiveness of self-hatred or self-anger.  Then I happened to hear a wonderfully clear presentation on this topic by Venerable Thubten Chodron (abbess of Sravasti Abbey in Washington State).  I’ve pulled her main points to share with you.

Anger at ourselves comes from self-criticism.  This habit of picking on ourselves habituates us to criticize others.  In other words, when we practice negative self-talk, we will find it easy to think badly of the people we come into contact with.

Self-hate can also manifest in the belief that we are responsible for things going wrong for ourselves and others.  Not only is this kind of thinking ignorant but it is also arrogant.  We aren’t so powerful, nor are we in control of the innumerable factors that need to come together to give rise to a situation. 

The Buddha taught that everything is a dependent arising; this means that every single experience and phenomenon comes into being, functions, and ceases as a result of many causes, conditions, parts, and a mind that labels the experience or situation. So thinking that we alone can make things go wrong is completely unrealistic.

According to Thubten Chodron, anger at ourselves arises because we take responsibility for things that aren’t our responsibility, and deny responsibility for things that are our fault.
 
Taking Responsibility
As an example, you advise a friend who is about to go down a path that will cause her pain.  Your intention is to help your friend avoid a problem.  But your friend misunderstands, and angrily accuses you of judging her and not being supportive. Feeling bad about damaging your relationship, you begin judging yourself for having spoken too quickly and not agreeing with her.  You blame yourself for your friend’s unhappiness.

In this case: we need to remind ourselves that our intention was to help our friend and wasn’t meant to cause her pain. Her anger and misunderstanding is more to do with her state of mind, beliefs and expectations, internalized anger, or perhaps a sensitivity that easily triggered her.   This next point isn’t easy for us to always remember, but it is nonetheless important for us to ponder: her anger doesn’t make us a bad person and shouldn’t cause us to loathe ourselves.

We aren’t responsible for her unhappiness nor her happiness.  In fact we can’t make anyone else happy. The challenge with attempting to live our lives trying to make other people happy is almost impossible because people and the things that will make them happy are always changing from moment to moment.  We can only ever make ourselves happy.    
 
Solution
We can remind ourselves of our positive intention and then try to move on.  We can accept ourselves as we are.  If we can, we should resolve to ask friends if they’d be interested in hearing our thoughts before sharing them.  
 
As much as we aren’t responsible for someone’s happiness, we are, however, responsible for our own actions. 
 
Denying Responsibility
Anger at ourselves can worsen when we don’t take responsibility for our actions where our intention may not have been honorable.  For instance, we say to our brother, who is sensitive about being overweight, that he looks healthy and must be eating well.  Even though our words seem innocent enough, our intention was to deliberately antagonize him. When he gets upset at being criticized, we pretend innocence, and say we didn’t mean anything by it, and accuse him of being too sensitive. 
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So even though we may get away with deceiving others of our motives, within ourselves we feel unease because we know our devious intention.  This inner discomfort contributes to our self-loathing. Oftentimes we struggle to admit to ourselves our own meanness or ill will, but denying it can create guilt.
 
Solution
We can confess and acknowledge our guilt to the people we’ve harmed.  Or we can make amends to them and decide that we’ll change our unhelpful behavior.  If we aren’t able to change right away then we can set the intention for the next hour, week, or year etc. to not act in this way again.  We can also set the intention to be mindful in situations that are likely to bring out this tendency of ours.  And we can forgive ourselves for our human failing.
 
May you be fearless in freeing yourself from self hate

We all go through smooth sailing days when we feel good about ourselves.  But we also experience challenging stressful days when it isn’t easy to be gentle and forgiving of ourselves.

In spite of all we do and have accomplished in our lives, we struggle to remain connected to a sense of our basic goodness that remains untouched by the cruel or shameful things we occasionally say, do, and think.  Our human brain, according to Psychologist Rick Hanson defaults to calm caring contentment when it is undisturbed by fear, pain, or loss.

To keep our brains in this state of serenity, and to practice feeling good about ourselves, follow these guidelines.

1. Actively notice and savor (let the experience fill your mind and body) the moments when you are appreciated, thought of, valued, honored, and loved.

2. Trust in your intelligence and inner coping abilities to deal with the challenges life throws at you. 

3. Rely on your strength and adopt the attitude that everything – good or bad -- that happens to you is something you’ll not only survive, but actively learn from to benefit yourself and others. 

4. Monitor your thoughts.  Recognize and let go of negative thoughts and instead shift your focus to new ideas that will lead you to peace.

5. Focus on being patient, persevering and expanding your perspective; use difficulties to grow your self-knowledge and esteem.

6. Check your expectations about yourself and others.  Remember that life is filled with disappointments, deal with your feelings, and then use the situation to empower yourself.

7. Pay attention to your good intentions, actions, thoughts, and speech which arise from your basic goodness.  These can be moments when your heart is touched, you bite your tongue, and you are generous, helpful, loving, and patient. When people aren’t “being cooperative”, rather than thinking they are out to get you, choose not to be insulted, to not get angry and lash out or react. Instead ask yourself what your good-natured self would want to do in that situation. 

8. Acknowledge your fears, and remind yourself that by facing and overcoming fear we become stronger.  
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9. Recognizing other people’s goodness reminds us of our own good nature.  It can be as simple as this story I recently heard.  A woman was driving a teacher to a class and they were running late.  They came to a STOP sign and as she impatiently waited for their turn to move, she heard the teacher gently remark on the kindness of all the drivers for stopping.  
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This story illustrates the importance of every small act of kindness adding up to create a world of greater safety, peace and joy for all beings and the planet.  It all begins with not harming others or ourselves, and recognizing our basic goodness.
 
May you become familiar with your true nature.