MSI Press Blog

  The following excerpt comes from Seeking Balance in an Unbalanced Time by Steven Greenebaum. A FAMILY IN CRISIS               Pandemic. For most of us, and I certainly include myself, the notion of a worldwide pandemic has been ripped out of the realm of the theoretical and dumped with a thud in our laps. What do we do? How do we cope? How on Earth do we cope? How do we even try to lead some version of normal lives when life is no longer normal? How can we find and keep some kind of balance as we walk this pandemic tightrope? These are tough, important questions – and we want answers. Living a life of uncertainty 24/7 can break our heart and our spirit. Everything seems out of balance, especially our lives. So, what do we do?             The honest truth is, of course, there’s no one answer that solves this. There are so many different things for us to deal with as we try to keep our balance. What I’d like to do is offer what may be only a partial answer, but one I think we can hold

  Book excerpt: Self-Nurturing or Entertainment We all like to be entertained. The trouble is, sometimes entertainment isn’t as satisfying as we think it should be. The reason for this is because, instead of nurturing us in some way, the entertainment drains us, even makes us feel bad about ourselves. What kind of entertainment does this, and how can we avoid it? A little bit of forethought will usually do the trick. Take movies for example: perhaps we are assiduous in our efforts to avoid violence in films—we just don’t like it. But many of the movies out today contain violence, whether we like it or not. (This was explained clearly on the PBS special “Makers”: most movies, it seems are geared for men, and men, according to this special, like to see something being blown up or somebody getting shot.) So suppose you’re going to a movie with a man—husband, brother, male friend—and he is gravitating toward a really violent flick, while you’d like to see something like “The 100 Foot J

You are not your past When you are asked to describe yourself, you probably do what most of us do and describe your history of experiences, roles, and accomplishments. Those are the things through which we build a self-concept. As a child, perhaps you were a fast runner, or maybe you were the last kid picked. Whichever was the case, your mind made up a story about the meaning of those things. You identified as a certain gender (or perhaps as none). You were good at math and sciences or maybe hated writing. The list goes on. These experiences eventually built up into an icon of who you see as yourself. It is how you know yourself. But that is not who you are—not in the least. Most of what we think is our past are not the events of our lives but the memories we have about them. A friend of ours (we’ll call her Rachel) was physically and sexually abused by an adult neighbor as a thirteen-year-old girl. It was a horrible and degrading set of experiences that no one should ever have to

  Today's shares blog post comes from Julia Aziz, author of  Lessons of Labor . From Julia: Another round of women's circles (online support group and more) are now forming. She writes: Release & Empower is designed for women who are often attending to other people’s needs. We are all helpers in some way, whether that happens as mental health professionals, healthcare or wellness practitioners, moms, elder caregivers, teachers, or go-to friends. Everyone is used to giving a lot of themselves, and most really crave some space to receive. If this sounds like you, maybe you’re also wanting to: Release negative emotions and shift into a more relaxed, centered way of being regardless of what’s going on around you Feel strong enough to make courageous choices and clear about your next steps Be able to set healthy boundaries and feel heart-centered and balanced in your relationships and responsibilities Appreciate your life and know you are not only good enough, but really worth i

  In honor of International Women's Day, let us introduce you to some of MSI Press authors who are women bloggers. Take a look at their blogs; you may find some inspiring, information, or just plain fun. Julia Aziz, a counselor, writes a women's empowerment blog . Franki Bagdade , a teacher, writes a blog on parenting. Julie Gentile , a yoga instructor, writes a blog on mindfulness and self-care. Nanette Hucknall , a psychologist, writes a blog about relationships, higher order spirituality, and more. Dr. Susan Lewis , a lawyer and psychiatrist, writes a column for Psychology Today , "Law and Disorder." Marti Wells-Smith , a bereaved mother, writes a blog about matters of the heart and Christianity. Dr. Kristin Wilcox , a pharmacologist and psychologist, writes a column for Medium . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter  here  or on our  home page . Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check ou

  When times get tough and everyone has to look out for everyone else -- helping children, older parents, neighbors, and others, the most forgotten person is the self. Yet, taking care of the self can be the single most important thing you do in order to be able to care for all the others who need your help, regardless of your role in their lives or relationship to them. So, start out the week being good to yourself. Here are some books that can help.     Mama, do you find yourself too busy to take good care of yourself? Whatever your situation, you deserve spectacular health and wellness. With Julie M. Gentile as your personal wellness mentor, this book coaches you along your own authentic self-care path. Using 108 writing prompts and self-care practices, including yoga poses, meditations, and breathing exercises, Julie shows you practical ways to live well that only a mama modern would understand. Become the self-care goddess you truly want to be—you’re worth it! A Woman’s Guide to S

On the Writing of This Book: An Unusual Collaboration  During the final months of therapy with Seanne, more than ten years ago, I shared the idea of this book with her. Back then, it was just a curious “what if” sort of notion. I thought, “What if someone who could write and who has thought about this recovery process were to collaborate with her therapist on a book?” My initial thought was about how helpful it would have been for me to have had the chance to read such a book. But there was no way to start anything immediately, and it was clear that the idea sounded a bit strange to Seanne though she always expressed support. After the conclusion of my therapy with her, I moved away and became very involved in my professional career as well as moving on to another therapist. I did revisit the idea of a book from time to time and three or four years later began to write. I approached Seanne again about the possibility of our collaboration. The problem was that other than collabo