MSI Press Blog

  Grief after losing a child is not a wound that heals neatly. It’s a lifelong reorientation—a new way of being in the world when the world no longer feels trustworthy. In that landscape, self‑compassion isn’t indulgence; it’s survival. 1. The Body and Mind Need Permission to Breathe Loss shakes every system—emotional, physical, spiritual. You may forget to eat, sleep, or even breathe deeply. Self‑compassion begins with permission: to rest, to cry, to pause. It’s the quiet voice that says, You are allowed to be undone. Without that permission, grief hardens into self‑criticism—“I should be stronger,” “I should be over this.” Compassion softens those edges so healing can begin. 2. Grief Is Not Linear You may feel peace one morning and rage by afternoon. You may laugh at something small and then feel guilty for laughing. Self‑compassion reminds you that grief moves in waves, not steps. It allows you to ride those waves without judgment, trusting that each emotion is part of love’s e...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -39-   Forgiveness is essential in life because we make mistakes all the time. Sometimes we’re put in impossible situations where people get hurt even when we’re doing the right thing; a boss who has to fire an employee who is undermining morale, for instance, or a mother who has to stop giving money to her drug-addicted son. How do we forgive ourselves when we cause others pain, knowingly or unknowingly? The first step is to keep out hearts open to our own remorse rather than deflect it with anger or self-justification. Then we respond compassionately with ourselves, in words or deeds.   Christopher Germer   A nurse in her early 30s described a painful and emotionally wayward background, during which she had flirted with substance abuse and had a series of relationships with needy and clinging people. As she was getting her li...

  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 suffe...