Adventures in Healing

Stress

My Small Daily Vacation

Mary Allen on April 30, 2024

A Personal Perspective: A daily rest time is like having a small vacation by a lake every day.

Personal Perspectives

When Bad Things Happen to Our Friends and Loved Ones

Mary Allen on March 12, 2024

A Personal Perspective: It's painful to see a friend going through something hard and be unable to help.

Grief

The Joy of Taking Pleasure in the Mundane

Mary Allen on January 2, 2024

A Personal Perspective: Let's explore when taking pleasure in ordinary life seems like a miracle.

Therapy

Finding Joy Through Personal Healing

Mary Allen on December 21, 2023

A Personal Perspective: True healing is possible, although it can take a long time.

Child Development

Kindness Saved Me

Mary Allen on November 13, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Contemplating the power of kindness on World Kindness Day, from the perspective of a difficult childhood.

Fear

A Halloween Meditation

Mary Allen on October 31, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Halloween celebrates the fun of scariness, but most fear is not fun.

Personal Perspectives

Mountains, Ocean, Sky, and Other Gifts of Travel

Mary Allen on September 6, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Traveling opens your eyes in more ways than one.

Sleep

Falling in Love with a cPap On

Mary Allen on May 31, 2023

A Personal Perspective: How to be human one night's sleep at a time.

Relationships

Do Cats Go to Heaven?

Mary Allen on April 5, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Is this a ridiculous question?

Education

Managing "Should" Feelings on an (Almost) Day Off

Mary Allen on February 7, 2023

A Personal Perspective: Thinking about how much you'll get done on your day off creates its own kind of pressure.

Fear

Getting Over the Fear of Being Alone for the Holidays

Mary Allen on December 23, 2022

Personal Perspective: This is the first year I haven't been afraid of being alone on the holidays.

Education

Living in Harmony

Mary Allen on September 23, 2022

Every new relationship is like a piece of music you learn to play.

Career

Decision Fatigue and Many Other Fatigues

Mary Allen on July 26, 2022

A Personal Perspective: If decisions take energy, surely so do worrying, second guessing, feeling guilty, and many other forms of mental labor.

Attention

Slowing Back Down: Reentering Regular Life After a Busy Trip

Mary Allen on June 17, 2022

Reentering regular life after a busy trip takes some time.

Mindfulness

On the Pleasure of Not Rushing

Mary Allen on May 23, 2022

Staying calm in an overly busy life.

Imagination

Imagining Mothers on Mother's Day

Mary Allen on May 5, 2022

There are many ways to be a mother and daughter.

Career

Slowing Down the Hard Way

Mary Allen on April 20, 2022

My back forced me to slow down, breathe deeply, and look around.

Sleep

My Life with Insomnia

Mary Allen on March 20, 2022

The solution for insomnia might be letting go of finding solutions.

Optimism

Optimism, My New Old Superpower

Mary Allen on February 23, 2022

Whatever it is, optimism makes it just one hard thing instead of two (the pain caused by the pessimistic thought, plus the pain of the problem).

Relationships

What I Learned From My Cats

Mary Allen on February 5, 2022

A Personal Perspective: On life and death, boundaries, self-care, trust, and—particularly these days—living in the moment.