MSI Press Blog

  excerpt from  How to Get Happy and Stay That Way  (Romer) - What Makes You Happy? I guess every generation thinks it’s pretty special, but there’s no doubt that mine, the so-called “Woodstock generation,” was unique. In fact, for a long time it seemed that my happiness had to relate back to the 1960s and 70s, as if then and not now I was the real me . But over the last few years, I’ve realized there are other ways of being happy, ways that build on all the things I learned as a free-spirited flower child (and later, a fun-living feminist)—yet add new ingredients, a certain type of self-awareness combined with gratitude, that really bring contentment. “Follow your bliss,” advised mythologist Joseph Campbell. I didn’t hear him say that on TV till the mid-1980s, well into my second marriage and light years away from my former hippie happiness. Yet the words struck a chord because by that time I knew I loved to write— had to write, in fact, although I’d only published a fe...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -14-   Throughout life, keep asking yourself, “What would I do right now, in this situation, if I were guided by my life purpose? What would I be doing differently at this moment?” The more mindful you are of your life purpose, the greater its impact will be on your life and the lives of those you care about.   Matthew McKay, John Forsyth, Georg Eifert   When I work with groups, I often begin with a mindful walking exercise. I give them Thich Nhat Hanh’s instructions for walking meditation;   Take short steps in complete relaxation; go slowly with a smile on your lips, with your heart open to an experience of peace.    … and invite them to get up from their seats, leave the room, and return to their seats in a spirit of mindful walking. The very first time I began a teaching session with a mindful walking exerci...

  Excerpt from excerpt from  From Deep Within  (Lewis)  The Tattoo Lady   “I am not going inside that bitch’s office!” the woman screamed. “My husband is in prison in Iowa for selling marijuana. I wish he would come home! I need some help bringing him back and she just wants to talk about my medicine.”   “Ma’am, please sit down,” Anita, the secretary at the front window, said. “People in the waiting area are getting scared by your screaming. Please speak calmly about what you want.” Anita was fearless in the face of ranting patients. She had seen it all, from seizures in the waiting room to a patient wielding a knife. We all hid behind her feathers as she protected her flock of frightened clinicians.   I didn’t know who pressed the buzzer, the signal used if someone felt threatened by a client, but I heard it in the hallway. A single buzz alerted other staff for assistance; if two were sounded, the alarm rang straight to the police station and what loo...