Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle

Laurie Gardner Breaking old patterns, Love & relationships Leave a Comment

Have you ever been with your family over the holidays, when all of a sudden, you revert to a much younger age? Maybe your parents or siblings say or do something that used to drive you nuts, and you find yourself becoming a resentful teenager. Or perhaps you slip back to your five-year-old self, trying to please everyone and keep …

Being Happy with What Is

Laurie Gardner Attitude adjustment, Being real, Breaking old patterns, Happiness, Health & wellness, Letting Go, Mindfulness, Reclaiming Yourself 18 Comments

Recently, a friend gave me a book whose core message was to appreciate what we have, instead of always focusing on having more and being more. My first reaction: Pissed. The author is wealthy. Easy to be happy with what you have when you’re sitting on piles of dough. The writer goes on to say that even people who are …

Que No Te Enreden En Sus Redes

Laurie Gardner Palabras de Sabiduría Leave a Comment

¿Has estado con tu familia en días festivos, cuando de repente, regresas a una etapa mucho más joven? Tal vez tus papás o hermanos dicen o hacen algo que te volvía loco y te encuentras a tí mismo como un adolescente resentido. O quizás vuelves a ser el mismo niño de cinco años tratando de complacer a todos y mantener …

How’s that Workin’ for Ya’?

Laurie Gardner Breaking old patterns Leave a Comment

One of my favorite quotes is, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”   Many of us get stuck in patterns of thoughts and behaviors that prevent us from getting where we want to be in life. For example, I would very much like to get married someday, yet I’ve frequently …

You Are What You Tweet

Laurie Gardner Mindfulness Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of social media, but I must say, some of what’s out there seems like a bunch of meaningless malarkey.  Do I really want to hear about people’s delayed flights or whether or not they enjoyed their burrito?  Not really.  Not unless I’m the one picking them up at the airport or making their food.  And in that …

Marble and Mantras: Lessons from Mexico

Laurie Gardner Love & relationships, Mindfulness Leave a Comment

Last month, I lived in Mexico.  The last time I visited Central America, I went as a backpacker, staying in barebones hostels and interacting with low-income, indigenous families.  This time, I lived with an upper class, Spanish-descent family, studied at a private language school, and taught at a well-funded university.   Wanting to stay in shape while abroad, I enrolled …

“After You, You Insist”

Laurie Gardner Attitude adjustment, Love & relationships Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, my friend and I drove our cars to a mall so we could shop together before heading our separate ways.  As soon as we arrived to the parking lot, she accelerated past me to grab the closest parking spot.  Literally squealing her wheels to make sure she got the best space, she left me in the dust …

If Adam and Eve Online Dated

Laurie Gardner Love & relationships Leave a Comment

Imagine if there was online dating back in Biblical times:   Adam’s first email to Eve:   Dear tempting1: I really like your profile.  Is it true you have a pet snake?   Eve’s response to Adam: Dear onemanonly: Sure is!  I love that apples are one of your favorite things…mine too!   Adam to Eve: Wanna meet me under …

How to Be Happy When Your Life is Crappy

Laurie Gardner Difficult situations, Happiness Leave a Comment

How to be happy is no easy question, nor is there a short answer.  Great philosophers and spiritual teachers have spent centuries tackling the quest for human happiness.  Letting go of struggle and negativity and freeing yourself to joyously love and be loved is a lifelong journey.  Meanwhile, there are a few basic check-points on the road map to happiness that …