MSI Press Blog

  excerpt from Life, Liberty, & Covid-19 SELF-COMPASSION When we blame others with such vehemence, it is a good indication of a hidden, unacknowledged self-blame. We used to say as kids, “It takes one to know one.” Another way of saying it, “If you spot it, you got it.” That is called projection, as we discussed regarding prejudice. What we hate in others is what we cannot tolerate in ourselves but disown. We get rid of what we despise in ourselves by casting it onto others and then berate them for it. There is only one way to escape the blame game. Beginning with ourselves, we give up the harsh self-judgment. The first step in self-compassion, forgiveness, is to become attuned to our own suffering, which has several aspects: Losses During the pandemic, we suffer so many unavoidable losses. Our lives have been turned upside down. Most tragically, family members may have become infected and died. We could not be by their sides during their sufferings because of the quaranti

  From MSI Press author Fred Craigie --  Permission to Rest: Reflections for International Self-Care Day Frederic Craigie, PhD Frederic.craigie@gmail.com Self-care is vital for a sustainable and meaningful life. Some approaches and perspectives on self-care may feel arduous and unattainable. I have always had plenty of aerobic exercise, but I struggle in my semi-retirement years to get the strength-building exercise that I know I need.  Self-care, though, also has to do with the personal values, priorities, and perspectives that we set for ourselves. My friend and faculty colleague at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, Siri Chand Khalsa, MD, MS, speaks of her journey with Covid. Like many of us, including me, she tested positive for Covid, but as the days and weeks progressed, she realized her symptoms weren’t going away. In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Khalsa was one of the first people to experience what we now call “long Covid.” She suffered from migra

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! Every time I get the urge to exercise, I lie down until it passes. Mark Twain   New Years!   The Times Square ball, confetti, Guy Lombardo (for people of my vintage) and… New Year’s resolutions!   Most of us make some kind of resolution for the New Year. It’s a good opportunity for a fresh start. Change isn’t easy, though, and lapsed New Year’s resolutions are certainly part of the common lore of our culture.   There is no lack of advice out there about how best to manage the resolutions we set for the year to come. Set clear goals (I prefer the word, “intentions,” by the way). Write them down. Check in regularly about how you’re doing. Enlist the caring and support of somebody else.   These are perfectly fine ideas that I’m sure you have heard before. I want to share with you, though, three ideas that get less press, that arise from some combination of empirical literature and my own experience working with people for a long time.   1.       Reme

  DEADLY SINS “Jesus now called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority to overcome all demons and to cure diseases.” --Luke 9: 1   “The unexamined life is not worth living,” proclaimed Socrates two and a half millennia ago. That timeless wisdom is an unfailing guide to happiness and fulfillment. The examination entails an honest assessment of both our strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, many of us tend to have an unbalanced view of our innate tendencies, exaggerating or diminishing one or the other. We also tend to take the moral inventory of others to avoid self-reflection. We have an astute awareness of others’ faults, while being blind to our own. From an early age, I learned to make a nightly examination of conscience. As a child, I used the Ten Commandments, the list of what is forbidden, as my guide. I focused on the “thou shalt nots.” I tried to avoid doing what was wrong, fearful of punishment. When I sinned, I went to confession and performed the prescribed

  Photo from "Feeling Your Life's Energy," The Light Gap https://www.thelightgap.com/feeling-hearts-energy/ HEART ENERGY – WHAT IS IT? Heart energy flows through the heart from a source in the universe. Different religious sects label this source according to their belief systems. It can be called God, Brahma, Shiva, The Divine Mother, etc. Essentially, this energy comes from a Higher source and passes through several stages before reaching an individual. It flows through the heart center in waves, very much like solar energy. These waves of energy change as they pass through the heart. They vary according to the makeup of the individual and also in the way that the individual uses them. With each use of the heart, these waves become stronger and purer. They vibrate in the heart center and affect others. Again, this energy is as strong as the individual’s capacity to contain it and use it. The heart that is activated with this energy uses it for its many functions