The way to deal with conflict in positive ways is to realize that you are not responsible for anyone’s feelings but your own. If you avoid conflict out of a fear of upsetting others, first ask yourself why you think they would be upset. Worrying about the emotional reactions others might have in a given situation is usually a sign […]

In our ongoing effort to improve the quality of the courses we offer, we will be applying to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) to be able to provide LIVE continuing education opportunities in addition to our online offerings. As part of this process we are offering this FREE two-hour course on Ethics in Ecotherapy in June of 2023! […]

“Never underestimate your power to change yourself; never overestimate your power to change others.” -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. The skill of Mindful Acceptance can best be described as the Art of Letting Go. Once you have done everything in your power to solve a problem, you have done all you can, so at that point worry and stress is counterproductive. […]

Mindfulness is a skill like any other. It can sometimes be difficult to learn, because it is so diametrically opposed to the way we’re accustomed to thinking, acting, and doing. Some of the techniques of mindfulness may feel strange at first, simply because they are different. ‘Different’ doesn’t mean ‘better’ or ‘worse,’ it simply means ‘different.’ With practice, however, these […]

A fisherman and his son were at sea, going about the daily tasks of catching enough fish to make their living. It was a beautiful spring day, and they were both enjoying the ocean. They were having a particularly good day. They had caught many fish, and they were ready to turn for home and make their way back to […]

The most basic mindfulness technique involves simply paying attention to the moment. One way to do this is to focus only on your breathing, without thinking about anything. If a thought comes to mind, simply note it and let it go, without judging yourself or the thought. It’s perfectly natural that thoughts will try to surface, because we are taught […]

We all have things that make us anxious. Think about some things that cause you anxiety or stress. Now ask yourself, “How many of them have to do with worrying about events that happened in the past?” It doesn’t matter how recently in the past the event took place. It could have been five years ago, five days ago, five […]

Radical acceptance means that you learn to accept yourself and others without judgment. It is a skill that can be learned in an afternoon, yet take a lifetime to master, especially in Western cultures where we are conditioned to strive for certain ideals of perfection. We are told by the media that if we don’t drive the right car, wear […]