IndigoBlue Magazine May 2022

The blossoms of May are a great reminder that we can always renew our commitment to ourselves and others to be kind and gentle. The outside world will always be chaotic, but we control what we bring into our homes, our work, and our minds. In this issue, our authors share ways to build confidence, create a peaceful environment, and generate mindfulness by staying present. We also offer information on helping the children in our lives deal with challenges and loss. We remain committed to helping our readers achieve their goals, maintain their health and wellness, and establish lasting, healthy relationships.…

As parents, grandparents, caregivers, educators, etc. …we do everything we can to protect our children from the dangers of the outside world. However, our protection may end up inadequately preparing our children to handle real life challenges. The truth is, from sex to money or self-esteem and body image, even down to racism, social injustice, and death, kids can understand “big topics” when presented in age-appropriate ways. In fact, whether they can articulate it or not, children and young people feel the same big emotions and stressors that adults do. Having these conversations validates their feelings, shows them the safe adults in their life, promotes open and honest communication, provides accurate information, and can aid in establishing healthy boundaries. One such topic to discuss with children is grief. It’s hard to…

Compassion is one of those words that no one is entirely sure about. What is it, and how is it different from empathy, pity, or plain-old kindness? I wasn’t really able to answer those questions either until I took an eight-week meditation course developed at Stanford University called Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT™). Dr. Kelly McGonigal, who helped create the curriculum and trained me to become a CCT teacher, says that compassion “is actually a human strength that…evolved to help you meet stress in a way that is good for you and good for others.” As a certified CCT teacher, one of the exercises I like to begin with is this: think of a time when someone showed you compassion or you behaved compassionately towards someone. How did you know it was compassion…

Everyday we are faced with a multitude of decisions. From the harmless decisions like what to wear, to life-changing decisions like switching career paths, there are choices we make every step of the way. As the complexity of life and living increases, the amount of choices we make only grows. There are a myriad of things competing for our attention and countless decisions to be made — several of them so inconsequential that we barely even notice we’re making choices as we go through life. But every so often, we are overwhelmed with the number of decisions we need to make. You might get tired of all that decision-making entails — from investigating the situation and generating alternatives, to assessing the possibilities — and that tiredness can deteriorate the quality of…

In a gray, windowless conference room, sitting in an all-day meeting, I felt frustrated because the conversation was going in circles and we heard the same voices over and over again. Deep voices droned on for hours while my patience dwindled as topics were rehashed over and over. Finally, during a bathroom break, I asked myself why I felt so annoyed. I realized that most of the people speaking in the meeting were men. “Are there more men than women here today?” I wondered. But the room was mostly equal in gender. However, the women were predominantly silent. I felt resentful. “Why don’t these women speak up?!” My a-ha moment was the voice in my head that said, “You could speak up.” This thought terrified me. It’s estimated that 70% of all individuals…

How would you describe your home? You may recall the place, the décor, the different rooms and colors, the various people, and maybe a particular scent. How about the sounds of your home? Dishes clanking. The humming of the appliances. The chimes on the window sill. Children laughing. Sounds from the street below. The timely chirping of the birds. Our home ‘soundscape’ has a profound impact on our wellbeing. A recently conducted interdisciplinary research study found that amidst the pandemic and working from home, people reported being more comfortable when natural sounds permeated their home. The survey also found links between psychological well-being and different indoor acoustics. Music, but only the music played by us, had a positive impact while traffic had a negative impact. Bringing outdoor sounds into the home can…