It doesn’t seem to make sense, but when we desperately want relief from stress and anxiety, the thing to do is dive straight into our emotional pain. It’s so counterintuitive – we’re trying to get rid of pain, why would we jump right into it? Because: Avoiding pain means we get to keep it – [...]

I’ve shared with you before that my lifelong goal has been peace of mind – an escape from worry, relief from constant anxiety. In my years pursuing peace, I’ve discovered this: each of us must carve a path for ourselves. No matter how appealing someone else’s methods or process, we must still make them our [...]

mis·take –noun 1. an error in action, calculation, opinion, or judgment caused by poor reasoning, carelessness, insufficient knowledge, etc. There is no such thing as a mistake. If someone had told me that years ago, I would not have believed it. Then, I thought nearly everything I did and said was just wrong. I made [...]

When a storm of life passes through, whipping up turbulence around us, we feel no control over our destiny. Things are happening to us, and it seems the best response is to be defensive. Reacting to the storm out of fear, we may lash out to push through it or turn inward to protect ourselves. [...]

Our series on PACT series, Practicing Attitudes, Characteristics, and Techniques for peace of mind continues with a focus on techniques. There are as many methods for increasing peace of mind as there are human beings – we each shape our own paths toward happiness and contentment. Choices include practice of religion, methods focused on human [...]

Having made a PACT to Practice Attitudes and Characteristics using serenity-building Techniques, let’s consider Characteristics. Previously on Insanely Serene we explored the personal traits that determine our ability to change ourselves, Do You Have What it Takes to Change? Check the 10 Personal Traits. These are important elements in creating peace of mind on a [...]

Last week we looked at attitudes (What’s in an Attitude? Only Peace of Mind) and how they affect peace of mind. Now let’s get down to brass tacks with practical examples in an area we all struggle with at different points – relationship conflict. Relationship conflict is certainly in the top 10 causes of stress [...]

Our series on Peace at Any Point kicked off with the idea of making a PACT with yourself to: Practice Attitudes, Characteristics, and Techniques. Since practice applies to all three, we’ll weave it into our explorations of attitudes, characteristics and techniques. Today the focus is on attitudes. at·ti·tude noun 1. manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., [...]

Special Notice: This post was originally published  in The Infopreneur. Since it is no longer available there, I republish it here for your reading enjoyment. denial [dinī′əl] Etymology: L, denegare, to negate 1. refusal or restriction of something requested, claimed, or needed, often causing physical or emotional deficiency. 2. an unconscious defense mechanism in which emotional [...]

If you have as much trouble as I sometimes do making decisions, here’s an interesting directive: When in doubt, don’t. — Benjamin Franklin If your stomach is roiling, and you feel like you don’t have any good options, it might be that your best choice is to do…nothing. Nothing? That doesn’t sound helpful when making [...]