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“Oh no, microdosing psilocybin won’t do a thing for me!” he exclaimed, in total disbelief during our initial discovery session. He went on to tell me he was wrestling with grief and depression from his partner dying a couple of years ago and trauma from an abusive childhood. “I need something stronger to knock all that out!” he declared.  In our take-a-pill-and-feel-better culture, people just want relief by taking that pill – or a whole bunch of them….

Many of us claim to cherish honesty, but the truth is, we engage in various forms of dishonesty regularly. Research indicates that, on average, we will tell lies (including white lies!) approximately every half-hour during conversations.  These lies are often not deliberate as we’ve developed patterns of concealing or altering our genuine inner feelings – both to others and to ourselves and the lack of honesty can undermine our relationships.

Imagine going on a week-long all-inclusive retreat, settling in, and then finding out that there’s no running water. What would you do? This is what my retreaters were presented with when they showed up at our luxury villa in southern Portugal last week!  In fact, the whole experience got so cozy and familiar that it became a running joke that Kevin, the plumber, was everybody’s new best friend…

A friend of mine was telling me about her doctor who has diagnostic tools that measure the age of the cells in a human body. “I’m 58 chronologically but my body is that of a 62 year old,” she said matter of factly, quoting the results her doctor gave her. I was astounded. “Is this something new?” I asked. “No, he’s been doing it for years,” she explained, “and tracking it.” Some years her “cell age”…

Have you ever noticed how, after any number of years being together, we can say some pretty petty things to our intimate partners? Of course, intimate relationships mean that we’re going to be with that person through all kinds of moods – theirs and ours. So it’s not unusual, for instance, that my partner would say something to me, innocently enough, and if I’m in a weird mood, I might throw back a snarky answer. “I…

“I never get angry,” says a character in one of Woody Allen’s movies. “I grow a tumor instead.” This is a hilarious line but a poignant reminder how profoundly emotions can affect our human physiological functioning. Yet, as a culture, we generally place our physical well-being over our emotional well-being. We see it all the time… we conscientiously undertake routine physical health check-ups, but the idea of undergoing a mental check-up isn’t a thing. Isn’t it…