Consciousness

Hey Parents: Stop Projecting Anxiety on Your Teen

Adults learn how to be parents by engaging in the experience of parenting, but they aren’t experts going in. Parents might try to mimic or avoid attitudes and behaviors that their own parents engaged in, but ultimately, it’s a hands-on job. Mistakes, and ill-informed arguments, are common. Reading books on parenting helps to build knowledge, but knowledge informs the intellect, it doesn’t necessarily inspire wise parenting. The key is for parents to be self-aware regarding their own emotional triggers, and to have the self-discipline to respond, instead of overreacting. That’s incredibly challenging, of course, and that’s why good parenting is a truly a spiritual practice. But teens can help their parents learn how to parent wisely. Here\’s how…

For my Birthday, the Gift of Reality

Ever argue with reality? As in: “This shouldn’t be happening!” or “You can’t do this to me!” I have—too often. Life has handed me experiences—each one a valuable lesson, an education in learning to embrace what is. Sometimes, I resist. Resistance often prolongs my own suffering and stress. But I\’m learning another way to live, and it\’s powerful secret I want to share with you.

Loving the World When News is Tragic

If you’re feeling hopeless, angry, or stressed, please don’t withdraw from intimacy with the planet. Yes, the most common prescription is to fast from the media and the Internet. Popular sayings like: “You can’t give what you don’t have” justify pulling away. But a habit of withdrawing from reality can mean the loss of an opportunity to evolve. Here\’s how to care for yourself while also staying conscious and available to heal the planet.

Confessions of An Advice Columnist

Fifteen years ago I began writing the Ask Joey relationship advice column. I didn’t want to. Melinda Welsh, the paper’s editor, asked three times and I nixed each request. But Melinda had decided that I was the perfect person to write the column because as a student of human relationships I would be more compassionate…

Scroll to Top