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21st century guru Deepak Chopra tells us that “relaxation is the prerequisite for the inner expansion that allows a person to express the source of inspiration and joy within.” He seems like one chill and content dude to me, so he must be on to something!

With the lazy hazy (i.e. hot & humid in NYC) days that arrive with the unofficial start of summer comes a natural slowing down that includes an increase of time spent outdoors, at the beach, in a park or in the country, which is especially important for us city slickers. Because as a great ad by the Bronx Zoo reminds us: “Connecting with Nature. There’s no app for that.”

If like many of my clients you’re someone who tends to go, go, go and give, give, give and feel like every minute of every day needs to be ‘productive’ you may have a difficult time adjusting to this slower pace and doing things that are seemingly frivolous and serve no ‘purpose’. But it’s essential to have a balance of both kinds of activities because it’s in the relaxing that we are able to receive, whether a thought/idea/solution, time to heal, the love and affection someone is offering us or that we give to ourselves by doing something healthy that we enjoy and feels good.

So this summer make it a goal to power nap at least once a day, breathe and check in with yourself periodically, write in a journal, listen to your favorite tunes, lose yourself in a good book and savor the space between the tweets. Give yourself a TV and Facebook fast; cook delicious meals with produce from a farmer’s market. The idea is to use this season to learn the discipline of relaxing and taking pleasure in simple things, which gives you room to grow. And then you can take your new habits into a more daily routine year round…

But if you’re having a hard time going from 60, 70 or 80mph to 20, 10 or even 0, give me a buzz and I’ll show you how to linger in the leisure and move like the groove heard here having some Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Today’s PGG was originally posted May 31, 2011

Click here for a pretty version of this post with more info  and be sure to sign up to be on my mailing list to have it delivered to your inbox every week!

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When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. ~ Viktor Frankl

I recently read about a pill being developed that would erase unpleasant memories, kind of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-ish. Of course I was appalled. It’s bad enough the American public is seduced by quick fixes to deal with many physical ailments that a simple change in diet and exercise, a reduction in stress, self-love and a little mind/body/spirit elbow grease would take care of. Now they want to get rid of negative memories?!?! We’re already a society who over-eats, over-drinks/drugs, over-sexes, over-technologizes, over-works and over-realityshows to avoid what we’re feeling!

There’s a saying that many athletic coaches and trainers use: No pain, no gain. Yes, that can certainly apply to losing 20 pounds or training for a marathon, but it applies to our inner workouts as well. As humans we like to avoid pain as much as possible, but pain can be a very useful tool if we let it. Emotional, mental, physical or spiritual/soul pain shows us where we’re out of wack and where attention needs to be paid and adjustments made in order to learn and grow in any area of our life.

To the extent that you are ‘asleep’ is the proportion in which the Universe is going to use some big ‘ole version of its alarm clock to ‘wake you up’ and give you a big kick in the butt to do something about it. And a kick in the butt doesn’t feel too good, but we all need one now and then to propel us into action. Most of us don’t want to endure prolonged suffering, so the pain forces us to take action. In other words, as I mentioned in the Well & Good.com article I was featured in, we often need to have a breakdown in order to have a breakthrough.

And remember that without pain we wouldn’t know joy. When we are experiencing something akin to the ‘dark night of the soul,’ think of the caterpillar who thought the world was over just before it became a butterfly, and that ‘it’s always darkest before dawn.’ Sometimes we just need to ‘go there’ – these are the times that are meant to test our mettle and force us to rise up like the phoenix from the ashes in order to evolve into a better version of ourselves – and who wouldn’t want that?

So if you’re feeling like you’re about to crack, have been sleepwalking a little too long, or need someone to push you off that diving board, just Let Go, jump in, what are you waiting for? Give me a buzz and we’ll find the amazing beauty in whatever type of breakdown is occurring in your life.

Today’s PGG was orginally posted April 24, 2012

For related thoughts on this topic, check out my posts: Fear Factor, And S/he Was, The Roof is On Fire

Well, not exactly, but I am happy to announce that three of my PGG posts have been used as articles (and glamified, I might add) in the May/June 2013 issue of the new Inspire Virtual Mag hailing from one of my favourite (notice the spelling…) places on the planet, Cape Town, South Africa.

Click here for their site where you can learn more and download the latest issue for free

You can see my contributor profile on page 16

People Who Need People article on page 24

Your Epidermis is Showing article on page 119

Disconnected (Apples & Oranges) article on page 149

This is when things like the internet come in handy – how else could the publisher have found me from halfway around the world?? Enjoy!

When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication building. ~ Steven Covey

While sitting in Bryant Park recently, two bright young lads approached me and asked some very personal questions about my thoughts on life.  Although they didn’t come right out and say it, turns out they were missionaries for the Unification Church, otherwise known as the Moonies.

The funny thing is that the very day before I had watched an interview with the creators of the highly acclaimed new* musical, Book of Mormon and the topic of missionaries and religion was top of mind, so I was more open than usual to engage with them while soaking up some sun.

Instead of automatically dismissing them, I asked questions about where they were from, what they had experienced since they’d been in NYC and what they hoped to gain while here. I did offer my opinion about how trying to convince people of what to believe was a pretty fruitless endeavor, that each individual is on their own path and needs to come to their own understanding of religion, spirituality etc in their own way, in their own time.

I suggested that they should just do what they love, be the best version of themselves they can be and that in itself would do more than anything else. I hoped that they would savor this experience of traveling and meeting so many different types of people from themselves (one was from Wyoming, the other from Washington State), which would do more to enrich their lives and connection to humanity than actually recruiting others to their belief system.

It was a pleasant and respectful conversation, and I think we each came away feeling it was a positive interaction.  And I did ask about some of the principles and mission of the church, which I did not necessarily disagree with, as I can always find points of connection with just about anyone – because there is a little bit of all of us in each other and a little bit of truth in everything if you listen and look for it, and we have much more in common than we think we do.

With so much anti-Muslim sentiment and political divisiveness these days, on top of a crumbling planet and economy, Brotherly (& Sisterly!) Love, under whatever label you’d like to call it, is the only glue that will hold together a planet currently patched together, to coin a good friend’s term, with ‘bubble gum and rubber bands.’

So if you’re feeling like Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep’s lost sheep or Michael Stipe, give me a buzz and I’ll proselytize you to yourself, converting you into your biggest believer, so you can get out there and make your corner of the world a little brighter for us all!

 (*Today’s PGG was originally posted on March 29, 2011)