mindfulness – Plum Joyful

Q&A: Dr. Shefali Tsabary on The Awakened Family

PlumJoyful — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 07:00:52 +0000

A few weeks back I had the great honor of meeting one of my parenting heroes Dr. Shefali Tsabary. I went to a beautiful book signing where a group of mothers were invited to hear Dr. Shefali speak and encouraged to ask questions. I was a little beside myself with excitement because I am such a fan of her work. Her book The Conscious Parent was one of the few parenting books I read before having my daughter, and it resonated with me in a way that nothing else has. The afternoon turned out to be nothing short of transformative, and I wanted to find a way to share that with all of you. For those of you who don’t already know, Dr. Shefali Tsabary is a New York Times bestselling author, a world-renowned clinical psychologist with a doctorate from Columbia, and a sought after speaker. She has written three life changing books, THE CONSCIOUS PARENT, OUT OF CONTROL, and her latest book THE AWAKENED FAMILY. She is Queen O’s favorite parenting expert, can be seen on Oprah’s Lifeclass as well as Super Soul Sunday (this sunday Aug. 7th!) and her TEDx talk is a must see. Her ideas are truly […]

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Going from (A)nxiety to (Z)en: Practical tips to ease the anxious mind and body

PlumJoyful — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 19:15:20 +0000

Anxiety has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It has been one of my toughest and most constant struggles. I am just wired that way. My natural default state is one of worry. I am a CHAMPION worrier. If they gave out medals for worrying, I would be the Michael Phelps of anxiety. It’s funny because most who meet me think I am the epitome of a calm and grounded person, but the truth is that I (like many who struggle with anxiety) am like the proverbial duck. Gliding smoothly on top of the water while my feet (or brain) are going a mile a minute. I have had to really work to understand and heal this in my life. An ongoing process by the way. But it’s something I have real understanding about, and I know how tough it can be. There have been tools I have learned along the way that have made a huge difference in the way my highly sensitive brain processes anxious thoughts and experiences. I wanted to share some of these things in the event they may help someone else. But first let’s start with understanding what […]

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How to stay motivated: 10 tips to boost your willpower

PlumJoyful — Fri, 27 May 2016 08:08:08 +0000

We all start out with the best of intentions when it comes to our goals. We are full of excitement and ready to take on the challenges necessary to achieve those goals. But somewhere along the way our enthusiasm begins to wane. Excitement is replaced by frustration or even worse, apathy, and we find ourselves giving up before we get where we want to be. This is what it is to be human. We have free will and can choose what we want to put our energy towards, but it is up to us to keep ourselves moving in the right direction. For some it is easier than others. I imagine there is some gene responsible for willpower that they will discover someday. I can tell you right now, I don’t have it. Staying motivated is not my strong suit. For me willpower is a muscle and I have to work at it. The more work I do the stronger it gets. If I neglect it for too long? It’s a flabby, floppy, mushy mess. I have to use strategies to keep me focused and moving towards my goals. If you read my last post on sugar addiction then you know […]

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Helping our children keep an open heart in a scary world

PlumJoyful — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 08:23:34 +0000

I have a 15 month old daughter and this is not the world I wanted her to inherit. I don’t know how to explain something as awful as what happened in Brussels. Not that I have to right now, she’s only a baby, but one day I will and I dread that day. A few days ago on a trip to buy her some shoes, she walked right up to a little two year old girl whom she never met and wrapped her arms around her in a big hug. Just last night I watched her naked little body march proudly up to the mirror to admire her belly. She pointed out her belly, eyes and nose, then promptly said I love you and gave her reflection a kiss. Her heart is open. Wide open. It’s the most spectacular thing to see in the world. The fact that I recognize how wonderful it is must point to the fact that once upon a time I was like that to. We all were. We come into this world from some unseen place as a force of love, open, willing, alive, and somewhere along the way we begin to build walls around […]

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