Expressive Writing, What is It?

Posted May 12th, 2021

One of psychotherapy’s main beliefs is that putting thoughts and feelings into words may produce mental health benefits. Of course, this also applies to cancer patients, who face the countless psychological issues that can arise in the face of a serious illness. Participating in therapy, however, isn’t the only way to give voice to one’s internal world […]

Sing Anyway

Posted May 5th, 2021

“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.” – Emory Austin I love this thought from Emory Austin. I am reminded of an experience with my grandmother. I called her Mom Mom. I loved her deeply. She lived far away from me, so it was always a celebration when she came […]

What Do You Put In Your Pocket?

Posted April 28th, 2021

When my kids were little, we began a little ritual of putting something in our pockets each day. You see, we had moved about 950 miles from where our kids had lived all of their young lives. Everything was different. Weather. Accents. Scenery. There was understandable sadness in missing their home and friends. There was […]

Take a Small Step

Posted April 21st, 2021

I remember times in my life when everything seemed totally overwhelming. I just did not know what to do. Life felt like it had kicked the breath totally out of me. Have you experienced those kinds of difficult periods? Sometimes they come around loss … of job, of health, of a precious person. Sometimes they […]

Sharing Energy

Posted April 14th, 2021

Do you have a favorite flower? It is very difficult for me to choose a favorite, for there is such a vast array of floral beauty! I must say, though, that I am perhaps drawn most to the sunflower. What an amazingly stunning flower. They are unusually tall for a flower, some growing to as […]

Loving Yourself

Posted April 7th, 2021

Why is Ho’oponopono powerful? Throughout human history, we have been divided by distance, language, cultural and religious beliefs, class, and economic hierarchy. Whenever someone comes up with a perspective there seems to always be someone else there with an opposing opinion. To me, the power of Ho’oponopono comes, in large part, from the fact that […]

Grace and Love for Full Hands

Posted March 31st, 2021

One of the ways we support and encourage our staff at the cancer center is to periodically offer a “blessing of the hands”. We have also offered a “blessing of the hands” to our caregivers. This is a time where we give thanks for the work and care of the hands that provide and tend to […]

Dealing With Fears

Posted March 24th, 2021

We all get afraid. Fear is just part of the human experience. And fear can feel awful! During these days of COVID-19, fear has gripped so many in our world. So, let’s take a break here today and mindfully slow down this emotion of fear, look at it, and breathe. To begin with, we hate […]

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your World

Posted March 17th, 2021

Change. So much has changed in many of our lives. Moving. Illness. Changed bodies. Children leaving home. Children being born. Schedules upended. New treatments. A significant relationship that is shifting. Change is sometimes threatening to us. It takes away the ‘known’. We like the known of routines. Routine can be our security and ‘change’ may upset our routine, our known and familiar […]

Breathing for Stress Reduction

Posted March 10th, 2021

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way:on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”– Jon Kabat-Zinn Each of us averages 20,000 breaths per day. Yet only a tiny percentage of those breaths are conscious, in the sense that we are not aware of each individual breath. Breathing is involuntary until we place our attention […]