by Kim Childs, CPPC The title of this post refers to the deeply disturbing events I’ve witnessed in my country and world in recent years, especially this year. All I’ll add right now about the mayhem is that any optimism I feel relates to this hopeful quote by Martin Luther King Jr., "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." And so…on to the miracles part, because we all need those. [caption id="attachment_3901" align="alignright" width="221"]…
by Kim Childs, CPPC If you’re enjoying lots of peace, calm, stability and certainty these days, congratulations and well done! If not, welcome to the club! So many of us in the U.S. are holding our breath as we await the outcome of our votes next week, while also dealing with our own personal concerns amid solar flares and tech glitches, economic and environmental challenges, and war and violence on the planet. Whatever you are enduring, I offer my compassion.…
by Lisa Rabasca Roepe (for Success, August 15, 2024) Often, we think about how much we would like to learn to play the guitar, take up knitting or write a novel. But many of us only dream about finding time for a new hobby rather than committing to making it a priority. I’ve been saying I want to learn to speak Italian fluently for the last three years, but all I can manage is a few minutes of Duolingo each…
by Kim Childs, CPPC Memorial Day weekend stirs up memories my first wedding, which took place on a beautiful afternoon in this little circle on the pond. Alas, it was not an easy or lasting marriage, and I ended it after six years of trying to make it work. Countless lessons were learned the hard way in that relationship, by two good people who weren’t good for each other as husband and wife. It took me years - and a…
by Kim Childs, CPPC As I write, we're three days away from what many say will be a powerful total solar eclipse, and it's got me thinking... When my clients come to me with problems they want to solve, we recognize that it’s super easy to focus on the problem and let it “eclipse” other parts of our lives, robbing us of joy, presence, and pleasure. This is especially true when my clients feel stuck in miserable job situations. As…
by Kim Childs, CPPC It seems the changes that began with the pandemic keep coming as we move into spring during a year filled with its own changes and challenges. No matter what is happening around us, we can work to cultivate internal states that optimize our chances for achieving greater peace, resilience, happiness and success in life. Positive psychology, the so-called “science of happiness” that was established in the late 90s by Martin Seligman, Sonja Lyubormirski, Barbara Frederickson and…
by Kim Childs, CPPC Three and a half years ago, life as we knew it changed as a global pandemic began to shut things down and create new behaviors and circumstances, some still with us. Weather patterns have also been changing and, whether we accept these alterations or not, there’s no going back to “normal” (whatever that was). From my perspective, this gives each of us radical permission to be new and different, too. Adapting to pandemic-related and climate changes…
by Kim Childs, CPPC As I've said here before, a simple practice called Morning Pages changed my life in 1997. Done at the start of the day before other agendas beckon, they are a fundamental part of The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, a book I’ve taught and used with clients for nearly 20 years. The idea behind them is to meet ourselves on the page and see how we’re doing each morning by writing, uncensored, by…
by Kim Childs, CPPC Many of us are tempted to make resolutions or set intentions as January arrives. It’s hard to resist the promise of a fresh new year, full of possibilities and opportunities to make changes in our lives for greater well-being and fulfillment. By spring, however, many of those plans and good intentions have typically been compromised, abandoned, or forgotten. There’s a different way to design the year ahead, based on how we want to feel in the…
by Kim Childs, CPPC When people ask me what kinds of clients I mostly work with, I don't have a pat answer because I've worked with both men and women, ages 20-something to 70-something. I can, however, identify what often unites them: they have discounted their desires and believed their doubts and fears to the point of inaction. They come to me to get unstuck, get clear, get out of their own way, and get moving and on track toward…