It was the fifth time that George Mason University hosted the conference on “Leading to Well-Being” but my first visit, and I’m so glad I attended! The goal of the conference is to explore “the innovative intersections of leadership and well-being” and it far surpassed my expectations. This year’s theme was Thriving Together “to inspire human flourishing throughout the world…
Not a diet, mindful eating is awareness of what you’re eating and why.
I need to do more yoga. After a busy year that included two book deals, extensive travel, and a stint in the ICU, I’ve decided there’s too much energy going out and not enough coming in. I want to hook myself up to a karmic energy spout and refuel. Naturally, yoga leaps to mind. The question: What kind of practice…
Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit like my mom on her 60th birthday when she announced, “No more physical presents! From now on, just give me experiences. I want to see more, hear more, feel more.” So when I discovered an upcoming Tibetan Crystal Bowl concert at a local enlightenment center, it piqued my interest. I decided my mom and…
When Shan Mussulman’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in May 2012, he held the vision of her as being healthy and cancer-free. It wasn’t easy. None of her doctors believed the disease could be cured and neither did she, but four months after Shan started her on a comprehensive health strategy, the cancer was gone. Shan is now dedicated…
I remember a Zen story about a woman who wanted to become a nun but was told she was too beautiful. She persisted, but the abbot of the monastery wouldn’t relent. Her desire to study Zen and to take Buddhist vows were so strong that she took hot coals from the fire and burned her face so badly that she…
For almost as long as I can remember, bedtime was the time of day when I felt the least sleepy. As a small child, I would read by flashlight or listen to my transistor radio until the small hours of the morning. As a college student, I would stay up all night several times a week. Needless to say, this…
Over the years I have known people who participated in weekend workshops with popular, charismatic self-help gurus whose message, when you boiled down the rhetoric, videos, and promotional literature, was pretty simple: Just do it! They encouraged participants to leave the unhappy relationship, declutter their minds and homes, make that positive change in their lives, and become the people they…
I had the opportunity to speak with the remarkable Gayathri Ramprasad, whose memoir Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light Within (Hazelden)—called a “a cross-cultural lens to mental illness”—was recently published. Her harrowing experiences with depression, the social stigma depression sufferers endure, and her courage in helping herself and others bring a new perspective to an…
