Open Sky Counselling

30/06/2019

The Wonderful words I just posted by Meghan Rathwell remind me of the chorus one of my favourite Veda Hille songs:

"Oh precious heart,
You think you're lost,
Look down, look down, and find your feet,
The next step is the path you're on,
Just don't confuse the light and heat,
Oh precious heart."

Words like this put me in the centre if what I strive to embody for myself and others who place their trust in me. Words like this make me grateful. Hearing the music and singing it helps too :-)

16/05/2019

If you haven't yet watched Brene Brown's talk on Netflix I highly recommend it. She gets at the heart of this work in an accessible, down to earth, relatable, and best of all funny way like few other speakers I know.

22/01/2019

a wonderful podcast on self compassion recommended by my friend and fellow thoughtful Mama, Jasmine. I love that Kristin Neff PhD, has been doing research on the effects of self compassion for years as well as living the practice. I also love that she breaks it down into simple components. The concept of self compassion is talked about a fair bit these days but is still not necessarily well understood by most of us. The 'simplest' concepts are often the hardest to embody consistently and the most useful and rewarding.

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20/01/2019

Love this

17/01/2019

One of my favourite counselling mentors when talking to a student about what to do when they feel lost in the middle of a session said; "When all else fails, listen and care." This is still some of the simplest and most valuable advice I've ever heard. Thanks Duane O'kane

16/01/2019

Great overview talk on kids and mindfulness. I love that he starts by stressing the importance of the set point of the care givers nervous system. This is attachment theory at work.

Chris McKenna is Program Director at Mindful Schools (http://www.mindfulschools.org), one of the leading organizations in the U.S. integrating mindfulness in...

16/01/2019

A reminder to myself first and foremost, this is the antidote to loneliness.

Rolling into 2019 with a little perfectionism reality-check (because I need it).

Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving for excellence. Perfection is not about healthy achievement and growth.

Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame. It’s a shield. Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us, when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from being seen and taking flight.

Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core, about trying to earn approval and acceptance.

Most perfectionists were raised being praised for achievement and performance (grades, manners, rule-following, people-pleasing, appearance, sports). Somewhere along the way, we adopt this dangerous and debilitating belief system: I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please. Perform. Perfect. Prove.

Healthy striving is self-focused – How can I improve? Perfectionism is other-focused – What will people think?

Lay down the shield. Pick up your life. Let’s keep 2019 brave, kind, and awkward.