By Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.
Yesterday, the New York Times ran a front page article on how technology can serve as a distraction, and potentially decrease our ability to pay attention at other times.  Check out the article here:  NY Times on Techno-Distraction.
Its a very interesting article, and particularly ironic to be published on the same day [...]

Submitted by Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.
Last week, I went to one of Sharon Salzberg’s talks here in NYC.  I always enjoy learning from her, and I was particularly struck by a phrase that she used when discussing mindfulness:
“It’s not about what happens, but rather our relationship to it.”
So, in other words, it’s not about the fact [...]

By Irene Javors, LMHC
New Yorkers have had a very scary and stressful week. On a prematurely summer-like, Saturday night in May, Faisal Shahzad deposited a car bomb in the middle of Times Square. The cliched “Crossroads of the World” became the unwanted arena of another spectacle of attempted urban terrorism. Fortunately, no one was hurt [...]

By Jennifer Egert, Ph.D.
Recently, I spent the weekend at OMEGA in NYC, hearing Jack Kornfeld, Tara Brach and Mark Epstein discuss Eastern and Western psychology. Several times over the weekend, Jack and Tara brought up the idea that we are all lost in stories about ourselves, our history, and others. These stories serve to separate [...]

By Jenny Taitz, Ph.D.
Can spin class also be a practice in present, non judgmental awareness?
Cardiovascular activity has been found to be nearly as effective as antidepressant medication in treating both depression and anxiety.   In major cities, gyms and yoga studios are often replete with attractive, fit, seemingly perfect people.   While walking on the treadmill, it [...]

By Irene Javors, LMHC
The “winter of our discontent” has finally ended. The sun is out and the world is suddenly filled with light. We have weathered months of heavy snow falls and deluge like rainstorms. At times, we could have used sleds to transport us or even an ark to float us above the rising [...]

Submitted by Irene Javors, LMHC
“The unknown takes us out of our comfort zone.”
From What About The Big Stuff?, Richard Carlson, Ph.D. Hyperion, 2002, p.20.
Whatever change that either happens to us or we willingly undertake always has an element of fear. We love our habits of being. Even taking a shower at a different time of [...]

Submitted by Jennifer Egert, Ph.D.
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Quote by unknown author
How often do our thoughts create our reality? You can see it in so many ways, whether it be pre-conceived notions [...]

By Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.
I’ve been feeling pretty shell-shocked lately. There’s a lot happening in my life and the city. Budget problems and economic woes dominate the headlines: MTA is facing a serious budget shortfall, Mayor Bloomberg wants to withhold annual rebate checks for homeowners, and companies are laying off workers daily. [...]

By Jonathan Kaplan, Ph.D.
Leaving a subway stop earlier today in midtown, I noticed a line of people standing still on the stairs. Initially, I thought that these people waiting to exit the station, and in fact some departing subway passengers went straight to the end of the line. However, the exit seemed clear, [...]