Blog

From one of the world’s leading experts in meditation comes a roadmap for engaging in challenging times with clarity, calm, and heartfulness. Real Change guides us to embody the fundamental principles of mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to create a better world for both ourselves and others. Sharon Salzberg is one of the mindfulness field’s most beloved teachers and prolific authors, with multiple best-selling titles including Real Happiness and Love Your Enemies . In her most...

By Gene Nichol, The Charlotte Observer, December 28, 2020 It doesn’t happen as often as one might wish. But, on occasion, you can still be surprised by what someone says. For example, earlier this month, the Donald Trump-appointed Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, explained to the Senate Banking Committee: “Disparate economic outcomes on the basis of race, have been with us for a very long time, they are a long-standing aspect of our economy, and there is a great risk that the...

Toxic shame is chronic in nature. It resides in our unconscious, meaning, we are not consciously aware that we have, or are experiencing, shame. It exists ‘on the back burner’ of our psyche, causing havoc, and yet we do not even know it is there!

The Social Cure explores the latest research in the medicine and public health. A lot of this information is only understood by small groups of specialists, but I believe we can all use these insights to improve our personal health and happiness and the well being of the larger communities around us. Check out the first three episodes of The Social Cure: Adverse Childhood Experiences, How ACEs Work, and Toxic Stress and ACEs Go to: https://thesocialcurepodcast.com/episodes

From Executive Director Bryan Stevenson: Dear Friends: This has been a challenging and eventful year where we have alll witnessed much loss, fear and uncertainty. The legacy of our nation's history of racial injustice has been painfully evident in a series of disturbing incidents of police violence and racial profiling. People in jails and prisons have experienced devastation, disease and high rates of death as the COVID crisis has been especially challenging for the incarcerated. To read...

Stress? Mental Health 2021 New Year’s Resolutions Mornings, ask “What’s right about my life? Afternoons, ask others “What can I do to show you how much I care?” Evenings, ask “How relaxed can I feel right now?” Dreaming, ask “How can I make the world a better place?” Remember that you can always reach “out” for more resources: Teachers = VEBA Parents = ACEsConnection Remember that you can always reach “in” for more resources, as well: Inner Doctor = ACE Study’s Dr. Vincent Felitti discusses...

If not you, who? If not now, when? COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020 by the World Health Organization. That was almost nine long, grueling, confusing and deadly months ago. In March, every elected leader in the country, including our mayors, city council members, county commissioners, school board members, state senators and representatives and all member of congress should have been focused on answering the following ten questions in order to develop a national, state, county...

By Tom Szaroleta, December 25, 2020, Florida Times-Union. JACKSONVILLE, Fla — While most trees are losing their foliage for the winter, a live oak in Riverside is blooming with messages of hope, grief and love. The Community Tree is in the front yard of the Yellow House art gallery at 577 King St. in Jacksonville. For the next few months, people are invited to stop by, jot a message on one of the 3-inch-by-4-foot ribbons and hang it in the tree. The idea for the project came from cultures...

By Laura Kurtzman, December 14, 2020, UCSF Patient Care. As California’s new program to screen Medi-Cal patients for adverse childhood experiences (which are termed “ACEs”) gets underway, experts at UC San Francisco are trying to ensure that the adults and children who report trauma get the help they need. Experts now believe it’s most effective to treat the whole family when traumas occur. But any successful program would need to overcome fragmented payment systems, which usually dictate...

By Councilwoman Dawn Mackey, December 23, 2020, Op-Ed Westfield. As the Town Council liaison to the newly formed Westfield Public Arts Commission, I was thrilled to participate in the decision to commission 30 butterfly sculptures as our first public art exhibit, a decision made in advance of the global pandemic. It was serendipitous that we chose “butterflies” as our subject, not knowing that we would eventually all be cocooning. Painted by local artists, each three-foot butterfly sculpture...

Most people have heard of post-traumatic stress disorder that afflicts many men and women returning from a war zone. It is characterized by flashbacks, unstable mood, and survivor’s remorse. However, many have never heard of a condition that often develops in childhood and changes the course of the child’s life forever, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). For a good definition of CPTSD, we turned to Beauty After Bruises, an organization that offers outreach focused on adult...

As Pfizer and Moderna Pharmaceuticals roll out the much anticipated COVID-19 vaccine, urban community school nurses are tasked with informing staff, parents, and the community on the progression of the pandemic. This has been a remarkable year for school nurses: a multi-faceted challenge on our practice, and our own personal mental health. Although newly developed vaccines are highly anticipated to be instrumental in combating this pandemic, school nurses must continue to educate the public...