For kids, however, I like to refer to the inner critic as “The Critical Critter” to take some of the weight off. Exploring self-critical thoughts can often feel like heavy, exhausting work, so using a playful approach can help children bring a certain amount of lightness to balance out the heavy work of noticing unhelpful habits and challenging them or approaching them differently. The character of the inner critic as “Critter” helps children understand when they are being too hard on themselves and also the crucial lesson that thoughts are not facts....

But after a few months of dating, Tom’s attitude and behavior began to shift. He became distant. Tom texted less often and seemed overly consumed by work. When Tracy confronted Tom he said the relationship was going too fast. Tom communicated that his current priority was work and he felt pressured and overwhelmed by her needs. Then he ended the relationship. Tracy was confused and heart-broken. The end came seemingly out of the blue for her....

Ready to rock your curls? Read on to learn exactly how to use this awesome product. Curling Gel: A Curly Girl’s Best Friend 1. Start off with clean hair. To effectively use a curling gel to get structured, defined ringlets, you’ll need to start off with clean hair. Washing curly hair needs to be done with an extra step of precaution. Make sure you totally saturate your hair with water before heading in with shampoo....

How to Wash a Wig Step 1: Getting Started It’s best to wash your wig under a faucet that leaves plenty of room for the wig to spread out without getting tangled up. A large sink or a bathtub is ideal. Start by holding the wig at the top near the part and getting it wet as you would with your natural hair. It’s important that you use a firm hold near the part to ensure that the wig doesn’t become tangled while you’re cleaning it....

Life can be so daunting—with both its hassles and its larger challenges and injustices—it can be tempting to try to find an escape, and many people imagine meditation to be just such a way out. The word “retreat” (i.e., a meditation intensive) can conjure the notion of running from “the real world” into a haven of private bliss. But nothing could be further from the truth. When you practice mindfulness, as many of you can attest, the real world comes with you....

What’s Included?! Kenya Date Night Cover Page Safari Expedition Pass Invitation Kenya Recipe Cards DIY Mancala Instructions and Score Card Sexy Safari Bedroom Game BONUS Ideas Page We asked the talented Cassia, from Cassia Leigh Designs, to design these date night kits for us and just wait until you see what she’s created for you! Diva Gabby was the genius behind this Kenya-themed date, and Diva Carisa snapped these gorgeous photos for you so you can sneak a peek…...

The kid date night envelope is one of our GREATEST ideas to help get you and your spouse OUT THE DOOR for that much needed date when you have little ones at home. Sometimes kids have anxiety being left with a sitter or just with their parents leaving. With the kid date night envelope, you quickly change that scenario to one where your kids are BEGGING you to get outta there!...

Did you know that September 13th is Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day!? That sounds like a great creative family date idea to us! SOO… we’ve put together everything you need to have your own Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day Family Date! {Gosh, you’re totally welcome!} This little apron was a perfect surprise for my little chefs! Plus – it was SO easy to make. Picked up some Fabric Iron-On Transfer Paper and a few Small White Aprons....

Mindful and compassionate speaking isn’t just an ethical choice—mindful speech is simply more effective. What’s more, these guidelines are useful online, where anonymity and impulsivity can bring out less than the best in humanity. Practicing mindful speech may prove challenging, but the rewards of effective and positive communication that causes less harm to everyone are well worth it. While mindfulness can’t prevent every interpersonal oops, nor mend every political rift, we can follow a few guidelines for more mindful speech both online and off....

As with all emotion, the practice of meditation can stabilize us enough in the midst of fear to help us see more clearly—to distinguish a false threat from a real threat that needs to be acted upon. The type of fear meditation can have the most effect on is the fear (and fears) that we continually generate in our own minds, the product of our rich imagination and our desire to control everything, rather than be tossed around in the risky and stormy world....

Fake it ’til you make it Having one of those days that makes you want to gouge your eyes out? Try faking a laugh. You’ll be surprised how quickly it can turn into the real thing. If you do it with someone else, it will be infectious. Join (or start) a laughter yoga club Yes, laughter yoga is a thing. No, there are no downward dogs or chaturangas here—but there are quality chuckles and good times to be had....

She wrote: “One morning when we were first married I made footprints and put them going out to his car. On each footprint I had a word that then spelled out how much I loved him. It made him so happy that he saved the feet and put them in a special box in our closet. Sometimes it’s the littlest things.” Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. To learn more about ’em, click here....

The reason for this suddenly becomes so obvious that it’s like the stun-gun effect of the Dallas air-conditioning, or the wake-up slap of heat when you walk back outside. A click of insight reminds me that life is a Rube Goldberg machine, a game of Mousetrap. A rolling marble travels through a tilted chute, plops down a stairway, and lands in a pool of water, which splashes up, tipping a match, which strikes and lights a candle....

Let’s keep things simple and on the neat side by starting off with classic quiff hair, one that can take you from the office to a night out on the town. Sounds like a good transitional hairstyle, right? We definitely think so too; and trust us, this is one of the easiest men’s hairstyles to try. Read on to see how you can get your best quiff hair yet beginning in the barber’s chair, all the way to your own quick and easy two-step, day-to-day styling routine....

The mobile experience typically takes place inside the shiny, bullet-shaped “Mindstream,” however, in the face of COVID-19, meditating inside of a closed vehicle was out of the question. Owner Traci Shepherd shifted gears, moving MeditationWorks guided meditations online and offering the mobile meditation session outside with the help of speakers, an FM radio broadcast, and chairs arranged six feet apart. Pup Rings a Bell Often, our beloved pets help us to be mindful—but Nyxie the Labrador might have gone too far....

The mermaid braid hairstyle is basically a half-updo (yeah, still not over it) with a lazy French braid. Since no actual mermaids were present for comment, we’re assuming this super-twee look gets its name from the herringbone or fishtail-like sections of hair from each side of the plait. And for all you intermediate-levelers, we also include a fishtail mermaid braid video tutorial via blogger Paola Alberdi at the second part of this post for a true trend mashup for the books....

Michael Gervais – On Mindfulness and Performance Psychology from Mindful Direct. Most coaches impose standards from the outside. Pete Carroll, head coach of the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, asks his players to go inside—to find the confidence to be the best they can be. He coaches the whole person, and it changes their view of the game, and of life. Michael Gervais, a high performance psychologist working with the Seattle Seahawks, talks to Mindful about the relationship between mindfulness and training for peak performance as well as Carroll’s approach to coaching the whole person....

We love this viral updo for work or a fun weekend hang. It’s also perfect for when you’re in a hurry but want to go for a unique updo for the day. We’ll show you how to create this look in a few steps, and trust us when we say it’s so easy! Check out our milkmaid braid tutorial video for more guidance: The Easiest Milkmaid Braid Tutorial Ever! Check

They explore the direct line between mindfulness and manners and explore how we can wake up to the moment. Stephanie Domet: Barry, what made you want to write about rudeness? Barry Boyce: Well as a matter of fact, I have been to several conferences and mindfulness retreats, and I started to notice that the level of impoliteness was as much in evidence there as it was in society at large, so I started to think, what’s wrong with this picture?...

Ted’s 14-year-old son would demand that he be able to play his Xbox whenever he wished. Even simple requests to brush his teeth could escalate quickly into “fuck yous” and slammed doors (and almost-crushed fingers). “I can’t even count how many times he’s told me he hates me,” Ted said, his head bowed, and tears filling his eyes. Ted spent countless hours replaying mental movies of his exchanges with his son, and his parental self always loomed dark and weak on the screen of his mind....