Join us on Tuesday evenings at my living room office near Hillcrest Park from 7PM to 8:30PM for Sit4Health™

One of the more effective methods I’ve learned in my sixty-odd years on earth to improve mental, emotional and physical health is contemplative practice. Some call it “meditation,” “mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)” or “centering prayer,” among many other names. I call my version Sit4Health™ to point to the fact that there is no cultural or religious connotations to the practice I teach.

These family of techniques involve sitting in silence, focusing attention and noticing the difference between consciousness and the content of consciousness. Like the difference between water (consciousness) in a glass and the grape Kool Aid that was stirred into it (personality). If you look through the glass with grape Kool Aid, the world looks purple. If you look through the clear water, the colors are more true to reality. Being able to do this helps us make better decisions and regulate our emotions.

And while science isn’t sure why yet, it does know that meditators have healthier neurological structures in their brains and reduced stress/anxiety which creates less damage to the immune system, hence better health.

I’m not claiming to be some big guru. Just a licensed mental health counselor with a personal practice who is happy to share this remarkably effective health-inducing, but simple, technique with others on the path to greater freedom and enjoyment of life.

There are no spiritual or religious messages to the introductory simple instruction for newbies while we settle down to silence or during the question and answer period at the end. There is a guided meditation of 20 minutes, then a half hour meditation in total silence. There is no charge. The only requirements are to arrive on time and be willing to sit in stillness in a group on a sofa or chair for one hour.

Call 202.2722 for more information and directions.

Sit4Health™ now!

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Disengaging from Verbal Attack workshop

If you would like your staff or members of your group, even a group of friends, to be able to interface with others with ease and effectiveness, call for information about an exciting and educational one-day workshop.

Environmental non-profits, customer relations departments, any group of six or more who find themselves repeatedly in the position of fending off verbal attack can benefit from these easy-to-use techniques.

Based on the object-relations work of Dr. Margaret Mahler, and Diamond Approach founder A.H. Almaas, this workshop helps attenders examine how the internal critic, the superego, drives him or  her to endure, or unwittingly invoke, internal and external verbal attacks.

Some of us are so used to accepting attack, we don’t even know it’s happening. But there are simple ways to identify and disengage from these attacks with dignity and humor. Lecture and experiential components allow folks to practice with each other, work with self inquiry, and master disengaging in a safe environment.

Helpful for anyone who finds themselves feeling anxious when interacting with others, or those who wish they didn’t hurl words that hurt co-workers, customers or even family members. Also, helpful for people who belittle themselves and others in their own minds.

Call 360.202.2722 for more information. I’m ready to provide an insightful and useful learning event for your group.