IN MEMORY OF BOBBY/ROBERT LEVITHAN
A great friend of Gratitude and Trust Robert(Bobby) Levithan passed away on May 13th. Bobby was our first guest blogger here with his piece I Chose Not To Agree which chronicles his battle and victory against AIDS. Bobby was one of the speakers at last years Gratitude and Trust #140 Conference. Bobby was an author of the book The New Sixty. He blogged for The Huffington Post, was a psychologist and advocate for GLBT. Here is a piece I wrote… Read More
BREAK THE NORMS
Gratitude and Trust’s friend and speaker at last year’s #140 Conference Chandresh Bhardwaj has a new book out. Break the Norms is the first book by spiritual leader. Chandresh comes from a long line of spiritual masters, yet in this book he has the courage to question the teachings of certain spiritual practices, but he he spins it around and places the focus on us, on our inner lives. Have you ever felt like you’re living out a script… Read More
Acceptance, Depression, Family, Loss
HE LOVES ME HE LOVES ME NOT
My Dad wasn’t great at paying child support (he resented the $280 a month). I wound up spending most of my life trying to prove to my Dad that I was worth the money. My father had a MSW and made a very comfortable living. He drove new cars and built two brand new houses. My mother and I drove used cars, wore clothes from the thrift store and counted our pennies. In some ways I am still trying to… Read More
Aging, Anxiety, Appreciation, Character, Clarity, Compassion, Courage, Death, Growth, Hanging In There, Inspiration, Life
GAME OVER
I have never reposted a blog before. And if I have it certainly wasn’t two months after the initial publication. But the man who wrote this wonderful blog died suddenly yesterday. Carl Rahn Griffith was a very insightful man. He came upon some difficult times. He learned a lot and he writes about it with clarity and wisdom. I am reposting it today in his honor and his memory. Take some time, read it, learn from Carl. And cherish the day… Read More
THANK YOU AGAIN – OPRAH
A total surprise – our Super Soul Sunday episode ran again yesterday on the Own Network. Not only did it bring many new people on to this site, it catapulted us back up to number one in recovery on Amazon in one day. The power of Oprah is amazing. The support from the Own Community, The Super Soul Sunday Ambassadors and followers have helped keep this book in the public eye long after publication. We want to express our deepest… Read More
Acceptance, Addictions, Anxiety
THE NATURAL STATE OF ANXIETY
The other day during an interview I was asked why so many people were frightened and anxious and how the Six Affirmations removed those fears. It’s a very good question and there is no easy answer to it. The truth is fear, anxiety, nervousness, sadness, remorse are all natural and normal for human beings. The basic tenant of Buddhism is that we must accept suffering and allow it to wash over us, through us and around us. But it is… Read More
SEND HEALING THOUGHTS TO BOBBY
We all know the power of collective positive energy, prayer, love, lighting candles, silent or verbal healing thoughts sent through the universe to those in need. Well, one of our own Gratitude and Trust contributors and followers is in need of some powerful group healing. Bobby Levithan has recently received a bad diagnosis. But Bobby is made of tough stuff. He is one of the only people ever go from full blown AIDS to total remission. He was one of the… Read More
You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin – Unless You Weigh 89lbs
I quit eating food one time for about a year. I called it being vegan. My Uncle called it “hot”, he has no boundaries and likes submissive women. The hospital called it “anorexic”. It was my junior year of high school. I started the year weighing 112lbs and eating anything I wanted. I was always super skinny. I tell people that I used to weigh 400 lbs though. Everybody likes a weight loss success story. Nobody likes a naturally thin… Read More
MAYBE, AND THAT IS FINAL
To be or not to be. Sometimes the choice is ours. Hamlet knew he could “his quietus make with a bare bodkin.” That would be a knife in Elizabethan times. A little extreme. If I were going to “end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to” I sure as hell wouldn’t stab myself. No, I’m not suicidal. I’m not even depressed. Forgive the maudlin beginning but Hamlet’s soliloquy is probably the most brilliant thing ever written about throwing… Read More
Gratitude, Hanging In There, Health
APPRECIATING THE PRESENT
Here’s the thing: you can’t change the past and you can’t predict the future. We know these things on a fundamental level yet we do little things every day to suggest otherwise. I get stuck on the little things, I complain about the little things. It’s nearly constant, and it’s a perpetual New Year’s resolution of mine to knock it off. But once in a while I’ll happen upon a picture from 3 years ago and get some forced… Read More