Resilience & Growth

The coronavirus pandemic is crazy-making. But we can't afford to make crazy decisions. Here's how wellness practices can help. Eyes wide shut. When faced with upsetting or painful circumstances, we put blinders on. It's especially easy, even temporarily comforting, to deny reality. But it's not a viable solution. In fact, with respect to the coronavirus, such denial is downright dangerous. Our world has been turned upside down and, understandably, we are confused by conflicti

A trauma victim, survivor, and life coach reveals personal lessons learned in the midst of tragic life experiences. Tragedy's silver lining. Does it sound preposterous, even disrespectful, to say "in the midst of tragedy, opportunities abound"? Well, it's true. There is nothing alright about losing precious lives. So where's the silver lining? The answer lies in what we can learn from experiencing life's tragic events. And, given the preponderance of tragedies, we better lear

A trauma victim, survivor, and life coach reveals the power of self-love for surviving crisis and self-care for self-preservation. In my struggle to survive, heal, and grow after my wife was stabbed to death by her eldest son, here's what I've discovered. Acceptance. Now is the time to consider the wisdom of acceptance. That's the message of the Serenity Prayer: "Grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to kn

A trauma victim, survivor, and life coach reveals the hidden opportunities that may be discovered in starting over. Tragedy shattered my world. First, the murder of my wife — bludgeoned to death by her tormented older son. That, by itself, would have upended my entire world. But that was just the beginning. Over nearly a decade, I experienced multiple traumatic events — family betrayal, the suicide of my wife's younger son, unconscionable estate battles, and much more. For a

A trauma victim, survivor, and life coach pleads: don't cave in to the pressures of self-interested citizens or corporations; instead, choose life, take action, and save the world! In the blink of an eye, my world shattered when my wife was bludgeoned to death by her tormented adult son; and I thought at that time, I could not survive. That's why I was deeply saddened to read heartbreaking stories about young peoples' decisions whether or not to have children because of clima

A trauma victim, survivor, and life coach discusses how gratitude saved his life and has the power to greatly improve yours. "How much would you pay for a miracle pill that would help you to feel more alive? Be happier and more fulfilled? Feel more optimistic about the future? Experience fewer symptoms of stress? Sleep better? Have a stronger immune system? Achieve more progress toward your personal goals? Live significantly longer?" These are the questions that I posed to an

At the Eastern tip of Long Island's South Fork is Montauk Point. That's where my life partner's granddaughter, Kathryn, recently celebrated her 24th birthday. The weather forecast was rain. So, when I received Kathryn's text explaining that she had decided to follow in my spiritual footsteps by praying for sunshine at Council Rock, I was inspired to share yet another spiritual practice: rock stacking. And, since Kathryn's prayers had been answered with good weather, my sugges

Before the coronavirus pandemic, we busied ourselves with too much work, too many social activities, and too little self-care. Then, due to quarantining guidelines, most of us were suddenly forced to spend less time with others and more time with a person who had, somehow, become a stranger to us: our selves. Connection to Yourself. When you're truly connected to your authentic self, you'll never feel alone. But, without realizing it, many of us had spent a great deal of time

There are four basic dimensions to our lives: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. How do we choose to spend our time? Family, relationships, social, financial, career, civic, volunteer, relaxation, vacation? If we're concerned about our health and well-being, we'll want to find ways to keep our lives in balance. Our behavioral health depends on it! Balanced vs. Extreme Living. Balanced living may not sound as exciting as living life in the extremes. Admittedly, those