Blog

Meditation has become mainstream due to its incredibly powerful effects on our minds, bodies, and spirits. It’s often touted as simple. After all, meditation is all about stilling the mind, sitting in one place, and basically “doing nothing.” How hard could it be? The truth is because our minds are so active, often bouncing from one subject to another all day, it’s very difficult to quiet the chatter in our heads and simply sit. While our brains need to rest and reset, our egos are naturally very resistant to quietly observing our thoughts instead of taking action, thinking about the future, or dwelling on the past. Here are a few tips for the beginner meditator to keep in mind while attempting to still the mind and be here now.

The importance of finding meaning in your life through your values and vision. Throughout life, and especially in recovery, it’s common to ask questions about our life’s meaning and purpose. You might find yourself wondering why you’re here, where you’re headed, and why you’re in recovery. These questions are common and completely normal. In fact, it’s great to ask these kinds of questions, as they help us to more fully understand ourselves on more complex levels. Having a purpose helps us to navigate the world in more meaningful ways. Your purpose is like your north star. It guides you through the hard times and acts like a light that you can strive for and live by. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when trying to figure out your life purpose.

As kids, our creativity and imagination are often nurtured and encouraged. We played, felt carefree, and ran around. As adults, it’s easy to forget that we are all inherently creative beings, as creativity simply refers to imagination, innovation, vision, and originality. While we all have the potential for creativity and innovation, we don’t always feel the creative fire. You don’t need to be a self-described artist to be creative. We all possess the power of self-expression. In this article, we’ll discuss some simple ways to boost creativity and feel more enlivened.

The colors of the rainbow, found in the natural world, offer powerful healing benefits and meaningful insight.  Colors have been used for centuries to induce certain moods, promote healing, ease stress, and create a mood. All of the colors of the rainbow are found in various forms throughout nature. All we have to do is pay attention and be present. Artists, interior designers, healers, and color therapists understand the tremendous impact that colors have on our moods. As humans, we are susceptible to the energy of our environments. For instance, a room painted red will have a very different feeling, look, and effect on your mood than a room painted white or beige. Similarly, when we spend time in nature, we typically feel more alive, refreshed, and connected than when we spent lots of time indoors. In this article, we’ll look at various colors, where they can be found in the natural world, and what kind of healing powers and mood enhancements they can offer. We’ll also talk about some practical ways to incorporate the magic of color into your everyday life.

In a world of constant exposure to social media, we are definitely saturated with screens of all sorts. From iPhones to our laptops to television, screen time is omnipresent in our society. While all of this connection via social media and texting can be great, it can also make us feel the opposite of connected. With our heads down and our minds on our phones, it can feel impossible to be fully present in the moment. In turn, our mental and physical health suffers. In this article, we’ll delve into some of the reasons why decreasing screentime can greatly improve both mental and physical health, as well as practical ways to reduce your own amount of screentime.

Appreciating life and recovery as seasonal, cyclical, and filled with change. Life moves in seasons and cycles, not in straight lines. We often hear the same about the recovery process. It’s not necessarily a straight line from point A to point B. Recovery is filled with cycles, seasons, ups, and downs. The end of September marks the end of the summer season and the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere. Seasonal transitions are an excellent time to reflect upon your progress, be present, and set goals for the season ahead. Fall, in particular, is a wonderful time to release what no longer serves you, just as the trees will be shedding their leaves. Let’s talk about a few ways to ease the transition into autumn and bid farewell to the summer.

You’ve probably experienced a “gut feeling” or a “gut reaction” to something. People have been talking about the “gut-brain connection” for a while now and research keeps pouring in about the connection between a healthy brain and a healthy gut. While this topic is trending, and for good reason, what does the gut-brain connection really mean and how can you use it to your advantage? In this article, we’ll unpack the details and science behind the gut-brain connection and talk about some practical ways you can use food to increase digestive health and overall happiness.

Exploring the world of yoga and its many options. There’s something for everyone. Yoga has become mainstream, and for good reason. It’s a great exercise for the body, offering increased flexibility and strength. It’s also an incredible way to connect the mind and body, as yoga is all about connecting with yourself and your breath. The word yoga actually means to yoke or to unite. In the practice of yoga, we’re uniting our movements with our breath and therefore, fusing our minds and bodies. This is why yoga is considered a great way to unwind. Now that yoga has become so popular, we have access to several different kinds of yoga. Whether you’re looking to unwind, increase your spiritual connection, or get a serious workout, there’s truly a kind of yoga for everyone. Some people are more anxious and need to unwind with more relaxing, slow-paced movements. Other people want to feel like they’re in constant motion, moving along with the music and breaking a sweat. This is a guide to understanding some of the different types of yoga. You might want to try several different kinds before you settle into a routine. Additionally, there are days when you’ll want a more relaxing practice and days when you’ll need an energizing flow.

It’s normal to feel down and out every once in a while. Recovery is an emotionally-charged time and our brains are adjusting to our substance-free life and new environments. After having relied on our substance(s) of choice, it can be difficult to know how to find those happy feelings without drugs and/or alcohol. This is where endorphins come into play. Endorphins are substances found in the body that relieve feelings of pain while increasing positive feelings. There are many simple, natural, and safe ways to increase endorphin activity in the brain. Here, we’ll examine some lifestyle habits to employ if you’re looking to boost positivity and overall happiness.

Control is something that so many of us struggle with on a daily basis, and it makes sense - the tragic and upsetting events of our lives can sometimes feel so out of grasp, that we’ll hold onto anything to try and feel like we have some firm grounding. For many people, alcohol is viewed as a way to control situations - or, rather, to drown out painful feelings associated with not having any control over what’s going on around us. It’s these instances that we must learn that we can’t always control what happens to us - all that we have control over is how we choose to react to it.  A few years ago, writer Raven Ishak shared with Bustle Magazine her own insecurities with wanting control: “I tend to be a victim of my own insecurities, which often holds me back from fully living a happy, carefree life. I worry about the what-ifs instead of focusing on the present. But forcing situations to happen because you believe they should happen exactly the way you want them to is just not healthy.” When we’re feeling the urge to get angry or to feel like a victim because life doesn’t go the way we planned for it to, there are a number of steps we can take to keep that desire of control “under control”:

As human beings, we thrive on connection, love, and community. We need people around us who can make us feel loved and cared for - and when it comes to addiction recovery, we really need people who can uplift us in tackling some of the most challenging moments of our lives. Recovery is about healing, restoration, self-growth, becoming stronger and most of all, developing the tools we need to live happier and healthier. Whether you’ve just begun your recovery path or you’ve been working on recovery for several years now, there’s one major denominator that always stays the same: the importance of social support for every phase of your life.

Grief has been defined as, “Deep sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death.” Grief can be an incredibly deep and emotional experience that everyone goes through when a loved one has passed away, or even when a traumatic event has occurred. We can’t really predict how much an event will affect us until we’re in it - and in all cases, it’s crucial to surround ourselves with people who can love and support us through the pain.  Addiction recovery is already an experience filled with ups and downs, and to receive news that a loved one has passed can sometimes feel “too much” on top of everything else we’re going through. For loved ones of those in addiction recovery, what is said can have a huge impact on a person’s wellbeing. Self.com, a website that publishes information related to fitness, food, health, love and beauty, notes several key phrases that should truly be avoided when trying to support a loved one in recovery who’s gone through grief: