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Discovering Greatness: The Luster of Integrity

“Being great has to mean being true to yourself. Real integrity comes with living this truthfulness in everyday life….” ~ Dr. Melanie Brown, educator and author of Attaining Personal Greatness, One Book for Life1

A friend of mine, Ellen, told me about a formative experience she had in the fourth grade. She was one of a group of friends who played a ball game called four square during school recess. This was the so-called popular kids group, and whenever other children would ask if they could join in, they were invariably told no. Each time this happened Ellen felt bad, but she only meekly tried to get her friends to include them. Finally one day, seeing a shy boy’s crumpled look of disappointment, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Ellen insisted that he be allowed to join the game. “No way!” was the response from all the others.

How to Create an Empowering Work Environment

A leader’s job is to create an empowering environment where the best ideas can surface. – Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, member of President Obama’s cabinet, champion of women-owned and family-owned businesses

To Live a Creative Life

If you Google the words “creative life,” you will come face to face with a quote which— even though it has become a popular meme (infographic that has gone viral)—is still startling in its message: “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”

Although he’s rarely given credit, these words were written by contemporary author Joseph Chilton Pearce, whose fan page you can “like” on Facebook. Pearce is the author of groundbreaking parenting books such as The Crack in the Cosmic Egg and The Magical Child, which I might write about in the future, but here I want to talk about his statement about creativity.

On Beauty

I must admit that it’s a pleasure to hear someone say that I look beautiful—despite my conviction that it’s purely a subjective judgement. But it’s a fragile compliment when it pertains to my features alone,

Nurses Need Nourishing Too

I just learned a new term: “compassion fatigue.” This is what nurses, professional caregivers and first responders experience when they’re too tired, too sad and too stressed to feel normal compassion for their patients. It’s also known as secondary traumatic stress (STS) and is characterized by a gradual lessening of compassion over time.

Having watched many nurses in action during my parents’ multiple short hospital stays for stroke and pneumonia, I’ve been amazed at the quality of care and comfort that most hospital staff give every day, 24/7.

Awakening to Me

In 2011, I woke up and realized everything I thought I knew was wrong.

For as long as I can remember, I have been running. Waking up in the morning and running to the gym. Running to the hospital to support my mother, who battled cancer for 13 years. Running to my job, managing an extremely busy Chicago restaurant/bar. Running from boyfriend to boyfriend. Running from one social event to another. Running to deal with the pressures modern women face to be perfect, to get the job done right, to be a caretaker, to look good—let’s face it: to be Wonder Woman.

How Meditation during Pregnancy Affects Newborns

In newborns or neonates—infants up to four weeks of age—there are three states of wakefulness; they are called active alert, crying, and quiet alert. The quiet alert state is characterized by bright eyes and the

Are You One of the 1%? Do You Really Think You Can Make a Difference in the World?

Successful executives who are part of the 1% (the wealthiest, most influential in society) often think they’re special and destined for great things. This life view is often self-fulfilling.

It’s probably the single most common characteristic among these most successful leaders—they truly believe they can make a difference.

Musicians who Meditate: Music, Infinity, Reality

In the past I’ve had the pleasure of meeting accomplished composing, recording and performing artists, including George Harrison, who told me that the Transcendental Meditation program helped to awaken and sustain creativity. More recently I’ve

Preventing Depression Through Spiritual Growth

For me, adolescence was a time of seeking for spiritual guidance. My family wasn’t religious—my father, who had been raised Roman Catholic, didn’t want to saddle us kids with the restricting yoke of formalized religion. Nevertheless, our parents instilled in us a strong moral compass, and we were taught to respect God, nature and other human beings no matter what their race or religion.

That worked for me as a child, when Mom and Dad made me feel safe and had all the answers. By the time I was a teenager during the turbulent 1960s, I needed something more. I explored Eastern philosophies, wrote to the Knights of Columbus to take a correspondence course in the Catholic faith, and tried to meditate by staring at a candle.