The Happiness Project

09/23/2025

Curious about my brand of mindfulness but haven't tried it? Read on:

Hi all! I just love teaching people how to lower stress and feel better in this world. On Thursday, September 18th, I got to present therapeutic mindfulness - as taught in my book Therapeutic Mindfulness: A Healing Skill, Not A Coping Skill. It was too cool that the group in front of me were all peo...

09/17/2025

Hi all! This brief article describes what to expect at my Thursday presentation of Therapeutic Mindfulness. I hope to see you there!

Welcome everyone! Ruth here. I've announced that on Thursday, September 18th at 6:00pm, I will demonstrating Therapeutic Mindfulness. But what makes this different from mindfulness and why should we learn it? I was practicing mindfulness many years before I went back to school to become a therapist....

08/27/2025

A quote from my first session:

"Remember, we're not forcing positivity; we're just observing."

I said this when I was guiding someone to look at the various emotional parts: anger and self-shaming over having deep despair. We can't make big feelings go away not should we dwell. When doing emotional work, I guide people on how to observe without judgment. This leads not only to some healing, but eventually to the ability to practice self-compassion.

There are many ways to implement these ideas. One way I teach can be learned from the book Therapeutic Mindfulness.

I wish you all well in your growth journeys.

08/25/2025

https://ruthfearnow.com/so/99PZXdudL?languageTag=en

Welcome to this beautiful day. It's Ruth again, exploring holding space. Last week, I discussed holding space as giving full, caring attention to another without judgment. What do we need to be able to do this? Below are some things to keep in mind: 1. You can't be weighed down too heavily. Holding....

07/16/2025

This is the late poet of Colorado, Andrea Gibson, sharing a work that focuses on the resilience and beauty in the world.

Get Andrea’s new book, YOU BETTER BE LIGHTNING: http://bit.ly/andreagibsonybblCheck out all of Andrea’s books: https://bit.ly/andreagibsonshopDo you love But...

07/07/2025

Thursday event information is in this newsletter!

Hello everyone. This is Ruth again ready to share about having boundaries and empathy. Why bring this up? Well, it can be tricky to support people without taking on their stress and feeling the responsibility to fix things. There are times when we can fix certain things (such as babysitting a young....

06/23/2025

The news usually focuses on the most horrific events possible. Input Fort Wayne is the opposite. If you'd like to see local, relevant and positive news stories, this should be on your feed:

https://www.facebook.com/InputFortWayne

Input Fort Wayne is a weekly online magazine that covers entrepreneurship, innovation, & what's next for Northeast Indiana.

06/23/2025

I love this newsletter edition so I'm going to share here:

Welcome back! It's Ruth here, ready to shine a spotlight on how anxiety works in your brain. Let's say anxiety is a salesperson. It knocks on the door of your mind and asks you to let it in. It has a pitch. It says: "There are a lot of terrible things out there that could hurt you and your loved one...

05/14/2025

Something I shared earlier today about holding anger:

When you're angry at someone else, it feels like you should hold it because they're bad but holding the anger hurts you. When you allow the anger to be heard and your body lets it go, you're the one that benefits.

The purpose of giving up anger is for your daily happiness, it's for your well-being and your ability to show up lovingly in other relationships and for your heart. Giving up anger is all about you.

If it helps, you can leave their behaviors to be dealt with between them and their maker. Your job is to take care of your heart and to help you have the best life you can possibly have.

04/30/2025

Have you ever wondered whether you can talk to your therapist about religion? If they are on their J.O.B., here's my answer:

Happy Wednesday! Ruth here. I just got back into town so I'm sending this a bit late. I hope it's worth the wait!!! Have you ever wondered about whether your religious or spiritual path is part of your mental health? And does it have a place in therapy? When I was in school, I thought that I would b...

03/24/2025

Here's a throwback to a neat podcast:

Hello to everyone! I recently announced that I would stop writing this newsletter. Since I started writing it during the 2023 holidays, new subscribers have signed up. I realized that most of my subscribers did not get to read the early material. For this reason, I will re-send newsletters and artic...

03/13/2025

Here is a lovely excerpt from a friend's newsletter about our need to rest:

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In order to rest, we need to give up our obsessions. We need to make different choices, choosing that which brings us peace above all else. Our physical health, our frame of mind, our willingness of heart all suffer when we are not rested. Our ability to love and to be of genuine service to others is strengthened and enhanced by rest.

Maybe you are ready, as I am, to make rest a priority. Here are some ideas that we can use to create more space for rest in our lives.

Decide that you deserve free, unobligated time. Say “No” more often.
Practice not accomplishing anything for an hour…then an evening…then a day.
Turn off your electronic devices - including (especially) your cell phone.
Sit and look out your window. Then sit some more.
Whatever you’re doing, just do that - without rushing ahead (even inside) to something else.
Slow down. Whatever you’re doing, do it without thinking you need to do it quickly.
Be with someone you love without guilt about not doing something “productive”.
Have a pleasant conversation, just listening, enjoying time together.
Take a long, slow walk to nowhere and back.
Value spontaneity over controlled, pre-planned rigidity.
Spend some time in nature doing nothing but watching.
Leisurely read something you enjoy without feeling you must hurry through it.
Do something you want to do just because you can.
Take a nap.
Stop checking the time.
Stop taking yourself so seriously.
Laugh more. Make others laugh more, too.
Rest in knowing your life is a gift - a gift given by a Giver Who desires your happiness.