In Visitacion Valley Middle School, a bell rings twice a day. It’s a school in one of the roughest neighborhoods in San Francisco where crime, poverty and traumatic stress are part of every day life; and where seemingly like magic, the rowdy students quiet down and sit in silence for 15 minutes once they hear the…
It comes down to this. If we’re going to spend time and effort struggling (at first!) through a meditation practice, how can we be sure that we’ll see results? We’ve read the articles and studies touting all the benefits of meditation, but as individuals, we can’t exactly pinpoint how (or if at all) it improves our lives. We…
The light turns green. The car in front of me begins its left turn and I edge out to follow. At first, the driver in front of me doesn’t notice the man and his friend crossing the street but stops with plenty of time to spare. It’s enough to incense the pedestrian who proceeds to raise his…
It’s a popular philosophy: read enough on one subject and eventually the stuff will sink in. I am a big believer in attacking from all sides when setting out to acquire a new habit. Where you basically hack your environment and bombard your brain with stories, facts and ideas from the books and articles you read and…
It’s 8:22 pm on Monday, and the post that was scheduled to go live today is garbage. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit writing, editing and organizing, only to delete draft after draft. The only logical solution is to ditch the whole thing and not publish anything. But today is Monday, and on…
“Kevin – would you ever try meditating?” I ask one evening, earlier in the month. My husband crinkles his nose, searching for the best logical answer to the “no” that will shortly be coming out of his mouth. “I just don’t have the time.” he finally says. “Even 5 minutes a day?” “I guess I don’t…
30 day challenges are about trying something new, different, healthy, fun, or even crazy every day for 30 days which, incidentally, is the approximate number of days it takes to form a new habit. 30 day challenges force you to do something every single day, even if that something is small. What matters is that…
One of my favorite things about writing this blog is getting to choose topics that interest me. It’s fun to be a beginner, to go from novice to basic competence in a variety of areas, and I get a kick out of how random it all is. This month I’m taking a little break from writing and all…
Here in the United States, debt is a big problem. The cost of living is outpacing the rise in income levels, and as a result, we’re spending too much and saving too little. The average balance-carrying American owes $15,000 in credit cards, $48,000 in student loans, $27,000 in auto loans and $168,000 in mortgages (source: NerdWallet). Less than half…
I’m going to Italy next month. Wahoo! I’m planning on eating lots of pasta, drinking lots of wine, and speaking nothing but Italian. The only problem is I don’t speak a lick of Italian, which is why I’ve decided to dedicate the next six weeks to learning it. I’ve already started – check it out: I’m fascinated…
