5 Intention-setting Ideas for Honoring The Month of August

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August:  The Month of New Beginnings!

As the 8th month of the year, August carries the divine meaning of renewal, abundance, and fresh starts. Whether you’re picking up an old goal or starting a brand-new chapter, the energy of this month will support courage, heart, leadership and visibility as the Sun is positioned in the fire sign of Leo.

In addition, we have the Lion’s Gate Portal reaching its energetic peak of 8/8, symbolizing infinity, abundance, and the bridge between the physical and spiritual realms!  It centers on the cosmic alignment of Earth, the Sun in Leo, and the star Sirius, which is the brightest star in the sky.

Jupiter is moving through Leo as well this month, magnifying themes of personal growth and confidence.  This year’s portal peaks a few days before an August 12th solar eclipse, creating an intense buildup for individual and collective transformation.

Below are some intention-setting ideas to welcome the month of August:

  1. Choose a guiding word.   You may not be thinking about a specific transformation you are in, yet you may be sensing or feeling that something is about to emerge (like the caterpillar as it moves in the chrysalis).  Perhaps pick one word that captures how you want to move through the month to anchor you during this powerful time of transformation.  Maybe words such as renewal, courage, abundance, clarity, or joy resonate.  Then, when making decisions or facing challenges, return to this guiding word to support your transformation.
  2. Release before you receive.  In order to make space for something new, we often need to release something old.  Consider the process of cleaning out our closets.  This month perhaps write down one habit, belief, or fear you’re ready to leave behind, that’s been holding you back. Then write about what you’re making space for in its place.
  3. Plant three seeds.  Think of August as a season of planting. Consider setting one intention in each area: personal growth, relationships, and health or career.  Focus on small, consistent actions rather than perfect outcomes.
  4. Create a morning ritual.  Rituals act as “sacred thresholds” that help us navigate major life changes. They formally guide us out of one identity and anchor us securely into the next, supporting our transformations.  Perhaps dedicate the first five minutes of each morning this month to setting your energy for the day through a new ritual, such as expressing gratitude for three things in your life currently that anchor you, visualizing your ideal day or taking three, more expansive mindful breaths.
  5. Write an August manifesto. Studies show you are significantly more likely to achieve goals simply by writing them down. This simple habit boosts focus, programs your subconscious to spot opportunities, and turns passing wishes into concrete commitments.  Consider taking a few minutes to imagine it’s the last day of the month and you have lived August exactly as you hoped.  Then write down who you became, how you felt, and what you experienced!

5 Intention-setting Ideas to Find Real Freedom

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America Turns 250!

As we all look for our own ways to celebrate this milestone, it got me thinking about what real freedom feels like.  I don’t think it is an external experience, I feel it is an internal job.

Real freedom is often blocked by psychological barriers, not physical ones.  We are living in uncertain and scary times that are activating our fear responses in our bodies, leaving us feeling helpless and maybe even hopeless.  I also suspect it is creating some level of block to speaking and acting in alignment with our authentic selves and living life to its fullest.

So I am reminded at this time of one of the seven Hermetic Principles that states “As within, so without, as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul.”  This principle suggests that inner balance creates outer harmony, where our emotions, thoughts and beliefs shape our external actions.  The suggestion is that the more inner peace we can cultivate, it will be reflected out into the world through our actions.  A powerful, universal mantra and movement is “Peace starts with me” and it emphasizes that creating a more harmonious world begins with individual self-reflection and inner healing rather than waiting for external circumstances to change.

So if it is fear that is holding us back from being truly free by keeping us trapped in familiar routines and preventing us from taking risks, how might we work with fear?  Fear tries to convince us that staying safe is smarter than being authentic, ultimately restricting our potential and agency.  Yes, safety – and survival – are mission critical, as it is a basic human need to thrive, so it is a good place to start the journey of finding inner peace.

Below are some intention-setting ideas for working with fears that make us want to stay small so you can begin to create more psychological internal safety and sense of freedom:

  1. Fear of Judgment.   Rejection, especially when we are very young, activates our survival/fear strategies to adapt – or mask – to belong.  When we worry about other people’s opinions, it is a normal, natural adaptive response to conform and hide our true, authentic selves to avoid such rejection.  Rejection is painful!  Unfortunately, what we learn to do in this adaptive process is reject those authentic parts of ourselves, judging them as ‘bad’ and believing they jeopardize our survival.  If this fear resonates with you, consider sitting with your little one inside and have a conversation.  Let your little one know that you are grateful for what they did to survive.  Then ask them what it is they need to feel safe.  Give your little one voice to express their truth – their needs, passions, gifts – that someone informed them was not acceptable.  Then tell them you accept them!!
  2. Fear of Failure.  This fear feeds our perfectionist part that developed a belief that they needed to be perfect in order to be loved.  Unfortunately, the fear of losing the love of someone we love because we had an accident or made a mistake, paralyzes us and prevents us from trying new things or pursuing our goals in order to avoid the discomfort of embarrassment and disappointment others may feel.  If this fear resonates with you, perhaps challenge the narrative of your perfectionist by asking “What is the worst that could happen (in this specific situation)?”  Remind your perfectionist that failure is a necessary part of human development.  Let them know it physically rewires the brain through neuroplasticity to learn from mistakes.  Embracing setbacks as a natural stepping stone transforms how you navigate life with more peace.
  3. Fear of the Unknown.  Consistency and predictability is calming to the nervous system.  Unpredictability and inconsistency can be scary.  Staying in familiar routines, roles or relationships can feel safer than stepping into something new.  It is because it is what you know, you have learned to navigate it and are still here to prove it!  Fear of the unknown keeps you clinging to what’s familiar—even when it uncomfortable or painful.  The fear of starting over or facing uncertainty makes the known pain feel more tolerable than the unknown possibility.  If this fear resonates with you, consider creating a vision board to help you focus on what you want to create and where you want to go.  Change feels less scary when it’s tied to hope, not fear.  And remember, you don’t have to make any drastic changes to start.  Taking tiny, repeated actions builds confidence  Start with small, low-risk changes to build your confidence and prove to yourself that uncertainty doesn’t always mean danger.
  4. Fear of Vulnerability.  What if I told you that vulnerability – having the courage to be your authentic self – is a superpower.  The dread of emotional exposure or being hurt prevents us from forming deep connections and speaking our truth.  Fear of getting hurt can keep you emotionally guarded, even when you deeply crave connection.  If you have survived a painful experience—whether in love, friendship, or family—it is a normal, natural adaptive response to want to protect yourself.  However, staying guarded all the time can leave you feeling isolated.  You have learned to associate closeness with pain or instability.  Unfortunately, a real connection requires some level of vulnerability.   If this fear resonates with you, perhaps practicing being vulnerable by simply admitting when you are tired or may need support.  Learning to ask for help challenges the belief that it’s safer doing it all by yourself.  People often mask this fear with hyperindependence.  You might begin by sharing a minor disappointment with a close friend or vocalizing a small need rather than carrying everything yourself
  5. Fear of Being Too Much.  Fear of being too much can cause you to shrink yourself to avoid making others uncomfortable.  This fear often shows up in people who have been told they are “too emotional,” “too intense,” “too loud” or “too sensitive.”  It feeds the belief of ‘There must be something wrong with me.”  You start to believe that your personality needs to be toned down to be accepted.  So you learn to play it safe—dialing back your enthusiasm or opinions or stuffing down or ignoring your emotions just to avoid being seen as overwhelming.  This fear feeds the people pleasing part within us.  When you constantly filter yourself in order to make others feel comfortable, you disconnect from your most authentic self.  Since you learned to play it safe, know that you can unlearn these behaviors.  If this fear resonates with you, consider telling yourself (and then frequently reminding yourself) that being expressive, sensitive, or having big feelings is a natural style, not a character flaw.  You can learn to lean into spaces and surround yourself with people who welcome your unique energy.  You’re not too much—you just might not be for everyone. The right people will appreciate your authentic self, not just the version that plays small.  And the more you appreciate and express your authentic self, not only will you experience more inner peace and freedom, you will model it and empower others to do the same!

5 Intention-setting Ideas for Navigating This Turbulent Time

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Uranus Issues a Global Wake Up Call This Month!

I understand that many of us may not turn to the cosmos for everyday guidance, yet many of the planets in our universe are moving into critical alignments this month, some that have not occurred in about 500 years.  Astrologers, such as Pam Gregory, are describing this time as a global wake-up call or pivot point that is expected to trigger sudden awareness, evolutionary shifts, and events that change perspectives permanently.  I don’t know about you, this suggestion excites me a great deal right now!

With these rare configurations in our cosmos, it presents us an opportunity for a new era in human consciousness.  A new era in human consciousness might mean different things, such as rapid AI development, social fragmentation, ecological pressure, spiritual awakening, collapsing institutions, expanding global awareness or perhaps all of the above at one time!

Such changes raise the practical challenge of how to stay grounded, adaptive and deeply human during this transcending time.

Below are some intention-setting ideas for building capacities that are valuable during such uncertain, perhaps turbulent times:

1.  Strengthen discernment.   Information overload has been known to distort our perception of the world.  Discernment, not judgment, becomes a core survival skill.  Consider the following tools to exercise your critical thinking muscles to strengthen your discernment skill:

  • Distinguish signal from stimulation.
  • Slow down before adopting extreme narratives.
  • Read across perspectives instead of living inside one worldview.
  • Ask:
    • What evidence supports this perspective?
    • What emotions are being activated?
    • Who benefits from me believing this?

The goal is not cynicism. It’s clarity.

2.  Build inner stability.  Times of civilizational transition tend to amplify anxiety, identity confusion, and emotional dysregulation and contagion.  Inner stability comes from consistent self-care practices, not perfect beliefs.  Perhaps focus your energy on some of the following self-care tools during this time:

  • Sleep and physical health
  • Time offline
  • Meditation or other contemplative practices
  • Journaling
  • Long-form reading
  • Nature exposure
  • Meaningful routines

A regulated, grounded nervous system helps you think more clearly and independently.

3.  Develop “both/and” thinking.  Older systems trained us to think in “either/or” binaries, such as science or spirituality, individual or collective, technology or humanity.  Consider developing the ability to accept the world as more complex than these older systems suggest.  For example, emerging consciousness asks up to consider:

  • Technology can expand and diminish humanity simultaneously.
  • Institutions can be flawed and necessary.
  • Rationality and intuition both matter.

Mature awareness tolerates paradox without collapsing into confusion.

4.  Stay connected to real humans.  One of the major risks during transitional eras is dissociation, including disembodiment, as evidenced by living online, identifying through ideology, and replacing community with content consumption.  Perhaps try countering this risk intentionally through the following ways:

  • Eat with people.
  • Have conversations without performance.
  • Join local groups.
  • Learn practical skills with others.
  • Create things together.

Human nervous systems regulate each other through real presence.

5.  Cultivate adaptability instead of rigid identity.  Changing times reward flexible people more than certain people.  Consider trying to hold how you currently identify lightly in areas such as your career, political tribe, spiritual label, and self-image.  We can all evolve without losing our integrity.  A powerful question this month for reflection might be “What if this phase of my life is training me for capacities I don’t yet fully understand?”  We don’t know what we don’t know.  However, when we are open to learning new ways of being, we do better!

5 Intention-setting Ideas for Creating Sustainable Habitats

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May celebrates Garden for Wildlife Month!

Garden for Wildlife Month is a national initiative dedicated to transforming yards, community spaces and even balconies into sustainable habitats for birds, butterfiles and other pollinators.

By planting native species, eliminating pesticides, and providing water, gardeners can support local biodiversity. It is a call to create, restore, and certify wildlife-friendly habitats.  Turning your garden into something that actually supports wildlife is one of the most effective ways to celebrate Wildlife Month—you’re creating habitat, not just decoration.

Below are some intention-setting ideas for how to do it in a way that genuinely helps:

  1. Native first!   Native flowers support bees, butterflies, and birds far better than exotics.  Consider skipping purely ornamental plants and focus on species native to your area—they’re what local wildlife evolved to depend on!
  2. Provide water.  Wildlife doesn’t just need food.  Perhaps add a birdbath, shallow dish, or small pond to provide a clean water source.
  3. Create shelter.  Pollinators need food and shelter.  Consider leaving some areas a bit “messy” (fallen leaves, stems) for nesting or adding shrubs or logs for hiding spots.
  4. Eliminate Chemicals.  Pesticides do more harm than we realize.  Perhaps avoid using pesticides and herbicides, which can harm the beneficial insects and pollinators you are trying to attract.
  5. Small Spaces.  You do not need a large yard to create sacred space for our wildlife.  Consider using containers, window boxes, and/or balconies to support our wonderful pollinators!

Might the practice of yoga Nidra be the new prescription for mental health?

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I’ll never forgot my first exposure to a relaxation technique. It was long before my discovery of yoga and my journey of becoming a licensed mental health provider. I was at a work conference and it was an optional gathering at the end of a long day of attending educational sessions. I don’t know what led me there, yet I am forever grateful. The technique was progressive muscle relaxation, where you tense a specific muscle group for about 5 seconds and then release it for 30 seconds and move through the entire body from toes to face. It was so powerful for me as it made me aware of how much tension I held in my body and allowed me to experience deep relaxation, perhaps for the first time in my life! Fast forward 40 years, I now am a big proponent and teacher of yoga Nidra, which offers a more gentle route to physical sensation awareness and deep relaxation. Could such a practice be the new prescription for mental health?

If you live a stressful life (and who doesn’t in this day and age), chronic stress impacts our mental health, inviting in symptoms of anxiety and depression. All of us having the opportunity to read this blog survived a global pandemic, which was traumatizing and contributed to the global mental health crisis. Stress, anxiety and depression pose major public health concerns, yet conventional interventions, such a prescription medications and talk therapy, have shown limited success in addressing these multifaceted issues. The limitations have encouraged researchers to think outside of the box and explore complimentary and alternative solutions. The amount of research around contemplative yogic practices has grown significantly over the past several decades. Yoga as a practice typically can include movement, controlled breathing, and some opportunity for stillness or meditation, so research struggles to identify what specific parts of the practice have the most impact on our brains and mental health. Overall, the research does suggest that yoga practices have many mental health benefits.

However, not all yoga practices are accessible to everyone. Yoga Nidra is a meditative practice and has gained momentum over the past decade as a potential holistic approach to mental health care. The practice can be offered online and several sites, including UCLA Mindful, have free guided meditations translated into multiple languages. But does it help to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression? Well, a recent meta-analysis of 73 studies involving 5,201 participants showed significant benefits of yoga Nidra for exactly these symptoms, reinforcing this practice’s therapeutic potential!

Benefits of Yoga Nidra on Mental Health

5 Intention-setting Ideas for Fostering Personal Connection

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April is National Card and Letter Writing Month!

This month-long celebration is dedicated to reviving the art of handwritten correspondence and sharing joy through snail mail.  And, although it was initiated by the USPS, it is meant to encourage sending letters to neighbors, friends, family and other loved ones to foster personal connection (instead of digital communication).

Do you remember how you felt the last time you received a personal, hand-written note from someone expressing appreciation for you?

Below are some intention-setting ideas for creative and thoughtful ways to celebrate this month:

  1. Letter-a-day.   For a simple way to rebuild connections, consider challenging yourself to write one note each day.  You can rotate between friends, family, coworkers, or even people you’ve lost touch with.
  2. Get creative.  Handmade cards feel even more personal and meaningful than store-bought ones.  Perhaps get creative with paper, markers, stickers, or even watercolor paints to create some of your own.  The process itself can feel heart warming!
  3. Spread encouragement.  Kind messages can make a real difference in someone’s day.  Consider sending letters to seniors, hospital patients, or deployed service members through organizations like Love For Our Elders or Operation Gratitude.
  4. Letter-writing Night.  You can even turn writing into a fun, connecting experience!  Perhaps invite friends over (or do it virtually) and make it an event—bring stationery, snacks, and maybe a theme like gratitude or appreciation.
  5. Just because.  A spontaneous note of appreciation or encouragement often has the biggest emotional impact.  Consider surprising people with unexpected cards and watch what unfolds!

 

Might AI-powered chatbots replace psychotherapists?

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has such promise, yet also comes with concerns. I recently read about how AI’s data mining capabilities were able to sift through massive amounts of genetic and clinical data to identify specific biomarkers and potential targets for nutritional therapies for people with Austism. This effort identified that children with ASD often have lower choline levels. The same AI technology also confirmed that a moderate dietary choline intake was associated with the lowest risk of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. For me, I find this extremely exciting and hopeful. Yet, with its ability to operate without fatigue, offering constant service, AI brings with it the risk of job displacement. So might AI-powered chatbots, that can be available 24/7, replace the therapeutic relationship with a human psychotherapist?

 With the ever increasing demand for psychotherapy and limited access to mental health providers, AI-powered chatbots are being studied as a possible solution to close the gap between demand and the available, affordable supply of such providers. One recent randomized controlled trial focused on the effectiveness of one chatbox in providing psychological support during crisis situations, compared to traditional psychotherapy, with women diagnosed with anxiety disorders in active war zones. Interestingly, both groups showed a significant reduction in anxiety levels. However, although the chatbot provided accessible, immediate support, traditional therapy proved more effective due to the emotional depth and adaptability provided by human therapists.

 I believe that this research builds upon previous research around the human brain’s mirror neurons, which provides the neurological basis for empathy and emotional contagion. Emotional contagion is a powerful force and a unique capability in sentient beings, one in which AI will struggle to replicate, even over time. As with most things, I think that this question in not an either/or situation and is a and/both situation instead, where adding AI to create a hybrid model of mental health support might optimize the care provided.

If you are interested in reading more, click below:

Artifical Intelligent Chatbox Effectiveness for Mental Health

 

2026 New Year Vision Board Playshop!

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From electric eels to batteries to home-based direct neurofeedback!

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Were you aware that electric fish, like the eel and catfish, were utilized for healing, including physical health ailments such as headaches and epilepsy, as well as for mental health challenges such as melancholia and hysteria? They also provided the inspiration for the invention of the first battery in 1800. Transcranial electrical stimulation has a long history rooted in ancient practices and modern scientific advances for therapeutic purposes. Now, with continued advances in technology and a growing understanding of the neuroplasticity of the brain, are we on the verge of a new in-home healing revolution using electricity?

I have been providing direct neurofeedback in my office to clients challenged by many symptoms, such as hyperreactivity, impulsivity, mental fog, panic attacks, and procrastination, for over 5 years now. This treatment has been offering long-term results to often elusive symptom relief without prescription medication. The results have been so heart-warming when clients experience and report positive changes in their lives in a relatively short period of time. Unfortunately, this treatment is not as readily available as medications and often times, not covered by insurance.

Early use of brain stimulation techniques included neurosurgeons mapping brain areas during surgery, which started in the early 20th century and continues today. Then, in the 1970s, research into electrical stimulation as a treatment tool began in earnest with the development of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In 1985, the first TMS device was developed (by Anthony Barker and colleagues) for use in research and therapeutic environments. Unfortunately, during this same time period, advances were also being made in pharmaceuticals for psychiatric disorders, which took away the attention from electrical therapy research.

The good news is, in 1998, researchers seeking more effective and targeted treatments with fewer side effects than pharmaceutical medications ignited a resurgence in electrical brain stimulation. New brain imaging techniques and stimulation methods brought tDCS to the forefront again, allowing research to focus on treating both neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, initially such tools were big and heavy and located primarily in research medical facilities due to the high cost of the equipment, making access to such care challenging.

As both TMS and tDCS gained increased recognition as effective treatments for conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit disorder and chronic pain, progress continued to improve computer processing capabilities, reducing the size and cost of such tools. At this point, private practitioners (such as me) were able to afford to purchase the equipment and offer this non-invasive treatment on a broader basis. Current research continues to expand by exploring tDCS in healthy individuals to enhance cognitive and neurological functioning, thus paving the way for this technology to be even more widely accessible.

So, similar to the history of electric cars, transcranial electrical stimulation (AKA direct neurofeedback) is back and here to stay. Perhaps one of the last remaining questions might be: Can this technology be deployed in our homes remotely? Well, a recent research study seems to support this potential inevitability.

If you are interested in reading more, click below:

Will Neurofeedback Be Available at Home?

Prescribing yoga before medication for sleep disorders?

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As we age, sleep changes and may become more elusive. And sleep is mission critical for our mind/body health and longevity. Personally, as I have gotten older, I’ve kind of become obsessed with sleep, wanting to make sure that I get enough that includes adequate REM and deep sleep. I recently started to wear the Oura Ring to track my sleep and learn what I might be able to change in order to improve my sleep scores. I also read any new research that comes along related to sleep, including the benefits of it, the impact of the lack of it, and what life style changes support better sleep. So, I always get excited to see how such research continues to validate my own personal experience as it relates to the connection between yoga and sleep.

When working with clients and I learn about their struggles with their mental health, I explore their experiences with sleep, including perceptions and barriers to quality sleep. It is important to know that our sleep patterns do change as we age and the days of sleeping “soundly” for 8 hours as a child are behind us. Our circadian rhythms shift, leading to feeling sleepy earlier and going to bed earlier. It can also result in more difficulty staying asleep through the night. Hormonal changes, such as a reduction in melatonin that regulates sleep, can impact our sleep. Data shows that there is a change in our sleep architecture as we age, including spending less time in deep, restorative sleep stages and sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented, with more awakenings throughout the night. Knowing this information is important so we don’t develop thoughts like “I had a lousy night sleep.” just because we woke up several times throughout the night. These thoughts, when repeated, tend to become beliefs that incorrectly inform your mind/body health status. The best indicator of a good night’s sleep is not based upon how many hours of “solid sleep” you get, but instead waking up feeling refreshed and ready to start your day and not relying on caffeine to stay awake during the day.

Dealing with medical conditions, such as pain and urinary problems, can impact our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep as well. If you are taking prescription medications for chronic medical conditions, these medications can impact the quality of your sleep too. Changes in our activity level, diet and social habits as we move into the later stages of life can also impact our sleep. So, when we take a look at the broader view of sleep, we might feel like there is not a lot we can do to improve our sleep. But wait! Knowing that lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, and social interactions, have up to an 80% impact on our health and longevity, we do have the opportunity to make such changes.

The benefits of a yoga practice at any age has been shown to have many positive impacts on our mind/body health. And, as the number of people aged 65 and older increases, there are more yoga teachers and classes focused on this population, making gentle yoga and chair yoga options more available than ever. So no need to twist yourself into a pretzel or flip upside down to integrate the practice into your life and reap the benefits from it.

Research continues to show the many benefits of yoga. Specifically, how it improves sleep quality in the elderly, including improvements in sleep disturbance, sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and overall sleep quality. If you would like to read more on the recent research into the beneficial effects of yoga on sleep quality in the elderly, click the link below:

Benefits of Yoga on Sleep Quality in the Elderly