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Tell Your Body "It's OKAY!" Building Your Spirit Up, So That Your Weight Can Come Down

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How many weight loss videos, blogs, books, articles, or shows have you consumed? How many diets have you tried, had success with some, failed with others, and then given up? Maybe you kept the weight off for a while, only to experience a major life event that sent you back to square one. Whatever your story, know that you are not alone. As women, we are navigating insidious dynamics in a world that constantly demands more from us while offering less in return. We are trying to create lives filled with joy, yet we are often inhibited by rigid and harmful standards imposed on us. Yes, weight impacts BMI and overall health, but it is also deeply intertwined with how we see ourselves, how the world perceives us, and our proximity to what society deems as beauty. This is even more pronounced for Black American women and descendants of chattel slavery, where body image, self-worth, and survival have long been entangled. In our quest for health, beauty, and fulfillment, the odds are further s...
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The Power of Preparation: How to Harness the "October Theory" for Mind, Body, and Spirit

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As we move through October, I find myself reflecting on the interplay of seasonality with our wellness journey—a phenomenon recently discussed in Forbes as the "October Theory." This concept explores the transformational potential of October as a period to intentionally shift habits and mindsets. At Columbia’s Teachers College, where I study the connection between spirit, mind, and body, I’m constantly reminded of how the environment affects not just our mood but also our physiological and emotional responses. The seasonal transition is one of nature’s prompts to tune inward, observe, and prepare. The shift in weather affects more than our wardrobe; it has a measurable impact on our physiology. For example, colder days and fewer sunlight hours can slow our nervous systems, triggering more sluggish energy levels, altering our sleep cycles, and impacting our mental and emotional responses. When we become aware of these seasonal rhythms, we gain an opportunity to make adjustmen...
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Beauty, Gratitude, and the Open Heart

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  “…beauty on your earth is a shadow of the beauty of our heaven, and it’s a bitter thing to have a blindness for beauty on earth, for it makes a longer teaching to see the beauties of heaven.” Spoken by an Irish spirit in the book The Boy who Saw True (anonymous author). I have always appreciated beauty. Since I’ve been a small child, I’ve collect beautiful things - shells, rocks, wood, as well as works of art, and there are always lots of plants around. There is nowhere in my environment where there is not something beautiful to look at, both inside and outside in nature. When I walk through my home and the land around it, my heart fills with awe and love as I appreciate the beauty around me. I’ve done this so automatically throughout my life that it never occurred to me that many people do not open to beauty nor create beauty around them. In working with some of my clients struggling to keep their heart open, I’ve mentioned focusing on an object of beauty, and have been surprise...
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How To Raise Your Self Esteem

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Many people in life would like to gain more confidence or to increase their self esteem. In this article, I give free tips on how to do this. I myself have managed to change my whole life by implementing the advice given. I hope it also proves beneficial for you. I am Stephen Hill from England. I had many issues as I grew up from a child, through the teenage years, and finally to adulthood which had a damaging affect on my confidence levels. These included: A bald patch on my head A speech impediment known as a stutter A weight problem, I was basically too fat I am quite short at five foot four Certain people I met would be quite nasty and would try to make fun of me. They would succeed as I would be very hurt from their comments, even though I tried to never show it. These people were making my life a misery and by the age of twenty-two I had had enough. I decided I needed a big change in attitude and started to read books about life and about positive thinking etc. These were the thi...
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Unleash your Creative Thinking

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  People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. That is not true at all. The fact is, creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill will soon come to you in a snap. So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we're not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available, we're saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available -- good and bad, and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color i...
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You Are Magic

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 “Magic (ma-jic): an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source”. The attempt to define magic is difficult at best. It is used more as a word to define, than one that can be defined. The same can be said for who you are. We attempt to define ourselves, yet no adequate words exist to describe the complexity of who we are. We can describe what we look like, the type of work we do, our ethnic heritage or gender. Yet, that comes nowhere near the truth of what animates your being. You are a mystery. You are magic.  Historians, philosophers, scientist and theologians have been searching for the origins and meaning of existence since the beginning of time. Various religions have been born out of an attempt to define the indefinable. We often engage in the endless pursuit to define who, what and why we are. We measure ourselves against others and their accomplishments. We are deluged each day with media images of what is acceptable or unacceptable. There is ...
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What is Love?

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 What is love?  Everybody uses the word “love” in daily conversations. There are millions of movies and songs based on love, but do we really know what it is? Here are some Greek definitions of love:  Eros:  romantic love of passion, physical longing, deep intensity, and intimacy. Often initial love that attracts a couple. Attracted to what it finds desirable, or beautiful--often knowing no limits and searching without satisfaction through many objects of desire.   Philios:  characterized by sharing, companionship and shared values, it exemplifies friendship-based and brotherly love. It is more comprehensive and less self-seeking than eros.   Storge:  family love between parent/child or between two incredibly close people. It is instinctive, and does not need to be requited.  Agape: considered purest, most comprehensive and most mysterious form of love, which loves unconditionally. Agape dissolves our separateness from God, others, ...
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