It’s so easy to put ourselves down. It is often our go-to reaction. Why? Why are we so freaking hard on ourselves?

It’s not our fault—we happen to be wired that way. Our brains have what is called a “negativity bias,” which means we are innately always on the lookout for things that could harm us. This self-preservation is part of our evolution as a species—to be able to outrun that wild beast when we needed to. Of course, modern-day threats no longer include escaping dangerous animals but that protective part of our brain has become so deeply ingrained in us, that it is now our default mode.

However, our brains are malleable and because of this neuroplasticity we CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

Make it your mission in 2022 to change up that default mode. You can choose to become more positive and more loving to yourself—starting right NOW!

Begin by talking to yourself the same way you would to a good friend or your child. Say nice, kind loving things to yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back for everything you do- no matter how small. If you notice that you’re putting yourself down, say “STOP!” to yourself. Then go ahead and give yourself a hug.

At the end of each day create a self-gratitude list: Name three positive things you did that day. It’s an important practice that may take some getting used to. No worries if you forget from time to time, just start again!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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What is going on in this world? Between Covid variants still attacking us and worries about global warming—what message is the universe trying to tell us?

Other than doing our best not to get sick, keeping ourselves and those around us safe, and being mindful of the planet...what else can we do?

Focus on the one thing that we definitely have in our control: being kind. No matter what is happening in our personal lives, we can make it a mission to always spread kindness and love!

I want to share one of my FAVORITE quotes by Maya Angelou:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Think about how you treat other people. Are you patient? Do you smile and make people feel good? Consider what kindness imparts:
· It releases feel-good hormones
· It creates a sense of belonging and reduces isolation
· It helps keep things in perspective and eases anxiety
· It helps to make the world a happier place…. one act of kindness can often lead to much more!

Make it a mission to end this crazy year with kindness. It will not only benefit the people to whom you are being kind—but you’ll find that the more you do for others, the more you end up doing for yourself.


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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In our last quest to get in touch with our senses, this week is about our sense of smell.

Our sense of smell has many functions, including detecting hazards, and pheromones (hormones that are excreted to attract members of the same species to one another). It also plays a role in our sense of taste, as well as playing an extremely important role in our memory, mood and emotions.

When we think of the word smell, we typically think of it negatively - such as garbage, body odor, or rotting food. These can be true, but there are some very delicious smells around us, as well - the scent of a wood burning fire, an aromatic cup of coffee in the morning, beautiful flowers, and especially now, the delicious scent of pine trees!

This week- just pay extra attention to the smells around you. Just notice. No judgement- (like oh that’s a good smell or that stinks- just notice it as a scent).

This is not so easy to do, but it’s a great practice to help you become more aware and tolerant in general and not allow little things to bother you.



To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Happy Holidays! Let’s continue exploring our senses. This week - week 4 of “waking up our senses” - we bring extra attention to what we are hearing. What a wonderful time of year to practice using our ears more consciously!

Pay attention to everything you hear, right now! What sounds are happening around you? Birds? Christmas songs? Kids playing (or crying)? Just notice, without labeling any of them “good” or “bad”, they are just the sounds around you.

Listening more purposefully encourages you to be more present, which over time will bring you a greater sense of calm and inner peace.

Spend this week with your ears on OVERDRIVE. Notice, respect and embrace the sounds around you!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Welcome to week three of being sensual. I hope you’ve given some attention to your sense of sight and taste—now let’s give a little love to our sense of touch.

As the weather gets colder here in the Northeast, we reach for warmer clothing in a variety of cozy-feeling fabrics from flannel to corduroy to cashmere. Even if you live down south, and your wardrobe is cotton, linen and silk—notice the textures in the items that you touch and wear.

Focus on being more intentional when you pet your dog (or cat). Feel the shampoo suds in your hair, the warm water in your shower or bath. Pay attention to how your car’s steering wheel feels on your hands. Is it hard, soft, rough, smooth, cold or hot? No judgements—just notice.

Touch your way through this week and see how it feels!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Welcome to week 2 of learning to be more mindful. Hopefully last week’s practice opened your eyes (literally) to something that we so often take for granted—our sense of sight.

The most difficult part of these simple practices that I am sharing with you is remembering to do them. I promise that if you turn them into a habit, you will see amazing benefits but if you haven’t started or only managed to squeeze in a couple of days, don’t beat yourself up. Here’s the good news—you can bring your focus where it needs to be whenever you choose.

This week is all about our sense of taste, which seems appropriate for Thanksgiving! You may not like all the flavors on your holiday table, but the point is to really pay attention each time you take a bite—not just on Thursday but every day. Is the food sweet, salty, creamy, soft, crunchy, tart? Try not to multitask—simply eat without judgement about whether it’s good, bad, or just not your favorite.

This practice of just noticing—without judgement—helps strengthen our sense of being present and accepting, which ultimately leads to a true sense of inner peace!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Most of us exist on major “auto pilot” in our lives. It happens without our realizing it because we’re so busy, but it holds us back from experiencing so much! If we pay more attention to our senses, we can become more grounded in the moment, choose what we want to focus on and watch our lives dramatically change for the better!

We have five basic senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. You probably haven’t thought about them in a while (or ever). It is so easy to take them for granted. But if you consciously focus on your senses; you may be surprised at how even mundane everyday tasks you would normally never notice start to become stimulating— and even fun!

Let’s start focusing on one sense each week for the next 5 weeks, beginning with our sense of sight. Right now: Look around you and identify 4 things to stop and focus on that you hadn’t really paid attention to in the past. Notice all the details—color(s), design, shape.

As you go through your day consciously choose several (at least 3) times to STOP and really look at what you’re seeing. In your home, on the street, in the market, wherever you are. Take it all in, just observing (on purpose, in the present moment, without judging it good or bad). If your mind wanders to worries, to-do lists, or distractions, bring your attention back to what you’re looking at.

The key is to remember to practice this every day. You’ll eventually realize (maybe even after one day) how much more intensely you experience your sense of sight. Enjoy your life more—WAKE UP AND SEE!
To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Think about how often you hear (or say) the expression, “life is too short.” What does that even mean? The truth is—none of us knows how long we’ll be around; what we do know, however, is how fragile and unpredictable life really is.

Don’t stand on ceremony, and definitely don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Call that person from your past who you’ve been thinking about. Reconnect with an old friend you haven’t spoken to in years. The relationship may not be exactly the same, but so what? Catching up may add some joy into your life even if to just reminisce over great memories.

The key is to keep an open mind, an open heart and try to remain free of expectations. Getting together for coffee or lunch, or just chatting on the phone may not be as much fun as you’d hoped, but then again it may be way better than you ever imagined!

Connections are essential for good health and even for longevity. So, pick up the phone and call that person you’ve been thinking about—you may just enrich your life!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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As part of my meditation teaching requirement for certification, I need to meditate for at least 15 minutes twice a day. While I’m deeply passionate about this, I must say that this has NOT been an easy new habit to make.

As I truly struggled to make the time, I consistently repeated to myself the last of the Five Essentials of Meditation. The 5 are:
1) It’s O.K. to have thoughts
2) Be kind to yourself
3) Don’t try too hard
4) Let go of expectations
5) Stick with it no matter what

Stick with it—that’s what I’ve been doing, and I am truly feeling some of the benefits already (not to mention being really proud of myself). I’m enjoying and experiencing life in a different way— tasting and enjoying my food more, less bothered by traffic and lines in the market … I treated myself to a massage and honestly it felt better than usual! I am also enjoying cooking (and even cleaning up) and…. I’m giving myself extra time to do things, resulting in a lot less rushing!

My life is changing in the simplest, but most meaningful ways. I’ll be sharing more as time goes on, but for now if you want to give meditation a try, start small. Select a specific period of time, find a place to sit (comfortably and upright), set a timer or use an app (like https://insighttimer.com which also has amazing guided meditations) and follow the essential 5.

Do it again the next day, and the next, and keep going! The benefits are beyond imaginable!



To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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We all know that being in nature is good for us—we’ve heard about it forever. But it’s important for a lot more reasons than just getting some fresh air and vitamin D.

Did you ever consider that going outside is an excellent way to get out of a funky mood? You may not have thought about it…but it is!

In truth, being outdoors is important whether you’re feeling great or not, because nature happens to be very healing. Neuroscience research shows that even just looking at photos of nature sparks the hard-working executive functions of the brain to rest and recover to a greater degree than viewing urban landscapes.

So, CONSCIOUSLY, step outside! Look at each tree as an incredible living being. Take in the expanse of the shoreline if that’s available to you. Even your neighborhood park can be viewed as a sacred site. The feeling of awe we get from encountering something vast and wondrous can lower our heart rate and our blood pressure.

Beyond the physiological benefits, nature encourages positive social effects as well, including increased generosity, more cooperation, and less focus on ourselves. This might be why research suggests there is a reduction in violence whenever trees are incorporated into low-income housing developments.

Remember: Every venture outside is an opportunity to be healthier!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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No, that’s not me! It’s my friend Carol, who recently invited me to her daughter’s photography exhibit that I found incredibly inspiring. Gillian, Carol’s daughter, wrote a book entitled Family Matters, encompassing the difficulties her family encountered, as a result of their differing political opinions. The exhibit consisted of photos from her book – photos, Gillian says, she has been taking of her “colorful family” for over 20 years. They are so much fun to see and, are so moving.

Gillian's situation is one that so many people have been dealing with over the past few years, making her book and the exhibit very timely and extremely relatable. But the way she explains her family's situation is so powerful—you really feel part of her anger and frustration that her parents were Trump supporters, a fact she couldn’t understand; she felt that her loving family was falling apart.

However, she eventually came to the conclusion that people can have differing opinions and still love one other. I believe that is a really important mindset to live with.

If you are in or around New York City, I highly encourage you to go see the exhibit, which is at the International Center of Photography on Essex Street in New York.

Most importantly, I urge you to work on being more accepting of people who have different opinions from you and try to understand where they are coming from. It’s okay if someone has an opposing point of view. Love doesn’t just disappear when people see things differently.

This week, just notice if you are on a different page from someone and try to accept it. You can still love them even when you don't see eye to eye!


To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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Let’s be honest—we all complain at times. It’s not all bad, complaining can be an effective way to release feelings of frustration. It can also spark conversation and even promote bonding with others who share similar complaints.

But on the other hand, grumbling too often can create internal negativity by causing you to repeatedly focus on things that aren’t good, rather than on what is good.

What we focus on is what we get. Unless we become more aware of how often we complain and figure out how to turn dissatisfaction into something positive, venting negative emotions may not make them go away. In fact, it may cause them to build and make you feel worse.

So, how to switch things up and become a more glass half full person? Be more conscious of how negative your language is and how often you complain. Awareness is the first step toward any kind of change!

Once you begin paying attention to your negative reactions, try flipping your grievances into gratitude. Ask yourself if there’s something, anything, that you could be grateful for in a situation. For example, instead of complaining about being caught in a traffic jam, be happy that you weren’t in the fender bender that caused the delay!

To learn more about the ingredients for happiness, you can purchase my book: The Recipe for Real Happiness, on Amazon!!! Click here.

Sending you so much love!

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