I just saw Meryl Streep accept the Golden Globe Award for best Actress in a Comedy Feature Film. She said she is very clear that she is just the vessel for other’s stories and other women’s lives.  But don’t we all know that she has opened herself to be a channel to allow full expression [...]

 
I enjoy watching Chris Wallace’s show Sunday mornings. He usually stirs up debate on political issues by asking leading questions to guests and panelists from both political major parties.
 I usually watch with partial attention while getting dressed for my Sunday meditation group. Once in a while someone on his show speaks with unusual clarity and [...]

 
One of my favorite communication experts is Loren Ekroth, Ph.D who is a specialist in human communication and a national expert on conversation for business and social life.  He sends a newsletter that always has a thoughtful and insightful article.  His article this week is on the gift of presence. You can contact him at [...]

 
Stage fright is fear of feeling in front of others.  It is the fear of revealing that you are human and that you have human emotions that are not always positive. It is fear of being seen for who you truly are.  Becoming the center of attention also triggers feelings of shame – shame simply [...]

 
When you do become the center of attention, there is only one thing to do: try to exit the situation by leaving your body.  If you can’t get out of the situation by avoiding the event, then you try to avoid the sensations felt inside.  The way to avoid the sensations is to leave your [...]

 
The secret to healing stage fright is to focus attention into your fear, into the sensations of tension inside your body.  Once you do that, you will find that the experience is not as bad as you expected.  Inside yourself, you can relax into the tension and discover a new, safe ground within your own [...]

 
Shame and perfectionism are interrelated.  Shame is the painful feeling that comes from a deep-seated belief that “I am not good enough.”  It is generated from an unconscious thought that “I AM wrong.”  That means your very Being is not acceptable.
 Perfectionism is what we do to try to avoid the feelings of shame.  We think [...]

Once in a while, an idea comes along which changes all the other ideas that I am teaching. I met that idea this week at The UP Experience in Houston.  Among the cadre of sixteen awesome speakers, who were all thought leaders in their fields, was Dr. Brené Brown.  Dr. Brené Brown is a writer, researcher, [...]

 
Sean  Buvala  at storyteller.net has written an awesome post on using stories for apologies and healing.  He says that “Storytelling can be used for many different applications. One of the most difficult, but needed, application of storytelling is to express reconciliation, repentance and recompense.”
Sean lists five steps that help create a story of redemption:
1. Always tell [...]

 
 
Recently, I was fascinated by an NBC Dateline documentary spotlighting the singing star, Taylor Swift.  What compelled me to pay attention and watch the whole hour twice was the authenticity from which this dynamo of a performer and businesswoman lives her life and runs her productions.
 
At 19 years of age, she runs the whole show; [...]