Author: Story Teller
KEY POINTS Cowritten by Nathalie Boutros, Ph.D., and Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D. Generally, inner peace is defined as a low-arousal positive emotional state coupled with a sense of balance or stability (Cherif et al., 2022). Low-arousal positive states are those calm and relaxed happy feelings that aren’t extreme or exciting. They include feelings of calmness, serenity, tranquility, and contentment, in contrast to feelings like exuberance, ecstasy, or euphoria. Low-arousal positive feelings come from within and may be more authentic, stable, and durable than high-arousal positive feelings (Dambrun et al., 2012). Inner peace means balance, equanimity, even-mindedness, harmony, and stability (Desbordes…
This morning, I sit here and write this with awe over my level of faith… Perhaps I “should” say certainty instead of faith. We are asked to have the faith of a mustard seed in biblical text, and yes this is all we truly need to see blessings unfold in our lives; however, certainty is a tad bit more, is it not? Certainty is where we meet the resistance and our inner saboteur. The other day I shared, “Perception is translation. What we perceive is more a function of what’s happening inside us than out there.” — and I shared…
in the pastwhen I lost herI would writeSome poem or songOf hope or despairUsually of hopeAnd despair But this time is differentThis time there will be no hopeand no despair This time there will be no poemNo songNo longingNo delusional dreamsOr false pretensesNo pathNo possibilityNothing but the abject truth That there is nothing leftAnd nowhere to goAnd that much of my lifeAnd loveHave goneAnd sheIs not with meAnd never will be Jesus told me that in a visionHe came to me with an outstretched armAnd a look of compassion and loveAnd said She is not youCome out from her Where…
I turned 62 years old. No, 62 is not middle age. There is no way in hell that I want to be 124 years old. I am old. I am not wise by any measure. Still, in my 62 years on Planet Earth, I’ve grown wiser. I do what I love for as long as I can. I have as much fun for as long as I can, too. In William Wordsworth’s My Heart Leaps Up, he wrote: My heart leaps up when I beholdA rainbow in the sky:So was it when my life began;So is it now I am a…
In the First Noble of Buddhism, there will always be suffering in life. The Fourth Noble Truth is the path to end suffering. We all find our own path to end suffering. That’s just life. That’s the human design. On my path to end suffering, I love myself for who I am and forgive myself for who I’m not. In discovering our individual paths, I believe that we try to help others, who are suffering to find their own paths to end their suffering, too. Maybe, that’s the Fifth Noble Truth. Who knows? Pretty 9-year-old Scarlett Oliver has suffered with aggressive terminal brain…
In Sunday Aikido practice, Ishibashi Sensei tapped his bokuto (wooden sword) on my shoulder. Sensei smiled. He said, “Smile.” I said, “Yeah. This is fun!” Sensei was reminding me not to take myself so seriously. Which I often do. I was learning a technique that I had not done before. I was trying to get it right. Sensei saw that on my face. Still, I was in Aikido practice doing what I loved most on Planet Earth. Training. I was where I wanted and needed to be. I had fun. I smiled, too. Maybe the stupidest thing I do on…
Today I want to speak toward you expanding your capacity to receive! Once you’re clear on what you were doing to hold back your miracles and blessings, how you have consciously and unconsciously been stepping out of alignment by not being totally CLEAR on what you want, what your vision is, what you get to DECLARE to the world, that I truly desire in my life that gets to now show up. The next piece on this is to EXPAND your capacity to receive. It’s pretty simple, if you are unable to receive then whatever it is that you desire…
Grief is a complicated emotion. Katty Douraghy is on a mission to demystify grief and create a safe space where people can talk about their loss, grief, and death without feeling judged or rushed. Guest Bio: Katty Douraghy is an author, speaker and podcast host. She is a member of the Forum Committee for the Entrepreneurs’ Organization and a member of EO US Central Bridge chapter. Her book, The Butterfly Years, chronicles her personal journey through grief toward hope. Her second project, The Butterfly Years Journal, is a 12-week daily journal filled with prompts and guided explorations. Guest Contact Info: Website(s): https://kattydouraghy.com and https://www.butterflyyears.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artisancreative/posts/our-president-katty-douraghy-shares-her-views-on-success-with-the-entrepreneurs-/4760647423973681/ Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katty/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Kat_kat_64/?hl=en Twitter: https://twitter.com/katty_artisan?lang=en…
When I tell people I do diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work, I’m usually met with an instant smile or a confused frown. The responses range from “that’s actually a job?” to “the work you do is so important.” Rarely is there a middle ground. The challenge with the term DEI is in its perceived divisiveness; it’s often seen as something that divides us rather than bridges us. The History of Diversity Work Following the civil-rights and women’s-rights movements of the 1970s, corporations began to establish diversity programs to promote equal opportunities for employees from various backgrounds. The early focus of DEI…
On February 10th, families gathered at Colors+ Youth Center in northeast Ohio’s Fairview Park to hear stories read by Veranda L’Ni, Cleveland’s tallest drag queen. Wearing a bright orange wig and a frock adorned with smiling fruit, L’Ni read from books like “I Am Peace,” which encourages kindness, compassion, and self-awareness during times of stress. Outside, things were distinctly more…stressful. The Proud Boys are a far-right, neo-fascist militant organization classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an active hate group. In Ohio, the group operates at least four major chapters. When the group had promised a presence at the event, Colors+ supporters showed up in…