Michael Brown author of The Presence Process on family.
“Presence knows no order of difficulty.” 
“A reliable indicator we have entered present moment awareness is if our experience, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable it may feel at any given moment, is infused with gratefulness.” 
“Presence has the miraculous capacity to manifest in our daily experience the exact circumstances required to integrate the dysfunction that currently prevents us from experiencing present moment awareness.” 
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Sunny Jacobs is a woman of great wisdom. Her book "Stolen Time" is powerful and extraordinary read.
"I think I learned more about freedom while I was sentenced to death than I had ever known before because I experienced myself now as a spirit on my journey here rather than as a victim..." 

"Researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to two thousand bars of chocolate" - watch Ron Gutman's presentation below for the low down on SMILING!

A very interesting talk on human constellations. Based on the work of Bert Hellinger.

""When we no longer meet one another as one person to another, but rather, as part of our own group, and look at others as part of their own group, we are blind to the individual. As part of a group we are easily led away from our true selves—that is, we become mindless, dissolving our individuality and losing ourselves in the collective." -Bert Hellinger.

​This video is on Vimeo - 

Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days! 

Author of "Why love Matters; how affection shapes a babies brain" and "The Selfish Society". Dr. Sue Gerhardt is a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. If you are a parent or interested in childhood developmental processes, her work is a MUST read! 

Aimee Mullins Ted Talk.

The opportunity of adversity.

Aimee Mullins is an american athlete, model and actress. When she was just one year of age she underwent a double amputation as she had no fibula bones. The amputation was done below the knee. 

 Laurel Braitman's inspiring Ted Talk explores similarities between human and animal psychopathology. It supports my belief that we are not that different! Laurel touches on many examples in this compelling presentation not only symptoms of emotional distress, but also of instinctive animal empathy at an interspecies level, that indeed confirms that the healing power of love, empathy and friendship are indeed boundless. One story mentioned is that of Brian.

Brian is a bonobo, born at a research facility, who was assisted with therapy and prescribed Paxil to help in his recovery from traumatic abuse. His trauma led to him self harming and he also found it difficult to integrate socially, after time when he began to feel better he saved his prescription and shared his Paxil with other Bonobos. Brian overcame his trauma, is now a dad and a leader of his bonobo group. Inspiring at so many levels.

Michael Brown - author of "The Presence Process; A Journey into Present Moment Awareness". 

"The Presence Process: A Healing Journey into Present Moment Awareness" by Michael Brown is an interactive and transformative book. Here the author introduces his work in his own words.

“The more automated our experience becomes, the less involved we are in the art of living.” ​- Michael Brown. 

​"We often neglect our psychological wounds until they become severe enough to impair our functioning.” 
― Guy Winch

The author of "Emotional First Aid" speaks at TED.

​“Indeed, insight is the true hallmark of empathy. The power of true empathy is its ability to give us a fresh understanding of the other person's emotions and thoughts to illuminate an aspect of their experience that would not have been apparent to us had we not stepped into their shoes.” - Guy Winch.

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“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” 
― Brené Brown

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” 
― Brené Brown

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” 
― Brené Brown

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” 
― Brené Brown

“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” 
― Brené Brown

​Brene Brown's TED talk on the Power of Vulnerability is one of the most popular. Why? Because it speaks to every human being at the core level of our humanity. It touches something truthful and honest at the heart of spirit. As Carl Rogers put it - "What is most personal is most universal".

Brene's books - 
"Rising Strong", "Daring Greatly" and "The Gifts of Imperfection".

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” 
― Brené Brown

“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.

Shame, blame, disrespect, betrayal, and the withholding of affection damage the roots from which love grows. Love can only survive these injuries if they are acknowledged, healed and rare.” 
― Brené Brown

Leslie Carr's TED Talk on Psychotherapy - click here to watch.

"Research has demonstrated that people who keep daily gratitude journals (giving thanks for about five things/day) can experience as much as a 25% increase in day-to-day happiness in as little as a few months. The reason why this works is because the neural networks in our brains operate on the basis of habit, and you can think of this in terms of practicing a behavior. Any action that we take, or thought that we think, gets recorded in our brains by becoming imprinted in our neurons. As we repeat those actions or thoughts, grooves (effectively) get created in our brains that make us more likely to engage in that kind of thought or action again in the future. From this standpoint, by looking at things on the bright side — by having gratitude for the things that might otherwise go unnoticed — we are literally training our brains to celebrate more of what we experience." -Leslie Carr Psy.D.

"What does it mean to feel "in control" of your life? What I mean by control is the ability to make a choice. Personal sovereignty means that you choose from what is available in order to be intentional about your life...When you feel in control of your life, you know yourself to be the author of your own actions and know that you always have choices."- Polly Young-Eisendrath

​Author of "The Present Heart: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Discovery", "The Resilient Spirit: Transforming Suffering into Insight and Renewal", "Gender and Desire: Uncursing Pandora", "Awakening and Insight:Zen Buddhism and Psychotherapy", "You're Not What I Expected: Love after the Romance has Ended" and more...

Professor of Psychology at Stanford - Carol Dweck outlines some mechanisms of motivation.

​"To let yourself soften into loving someone, to caring about something passionately, that's vulnerable. So the question becomes: How do we embrace vulnerability? And here's what I've learned from the research. We practice gratitude. We stop and be thankful for what we have." -Brene Brown

A Google Talk - Rupert Sheldrake Ph.d, speaks about his work in this talk entitled - the extended mind.

​Early interventions really matter.
Dr. Jee Hyun Kim speaks with compassion about her advocacy for therapeutic interventions during childhood. Speaking personally she says "When I am stressed out, when I'm hurt, when I feel betrayed or when I think I have really screwed up something or hurt someone - I relapse back into being that little child who thinks that there is no love in this world... I think I needed someone to talk to when I was five..."

Marion Woodman is a Jungian Analyst, Teacher and Author of - "Dancing in the Flames", "Addiction to Perfection", "Conscious Femininity", "Bone", "The Ravaged Bridgegroom", "Coming Home to Myself", "The Pregnant Virgin", "Leaving My Father's House", "The Owl Was a Baker's Daughter" and co-author of "The Way of Woman".