by Margie Nichols Lately I’ve been excited by this book I’m reading, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking.  And then last week I had an experience that highlights one particular aspect of ‘the power of negative thinking.’ First, let’s spend a brief moment on what’s negative about positive thinking.  I acknowledge that…

by Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Nope, not advice from me.  Advice from Sheldon Kopp, a psychotherapist who lived from 1929 to 1999.  Kopp believed that people find their way in life by living fully and by facing reality squarely, without illusion.  The title of his book – “If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill…

By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. Recently  someone sent me a blog post written by Christina Patterson in 2009.  In it, she takes some shots at the ‘Positive Thinking’ movement and cites research showing the advantages of negative mood on thought.  Critiques of the Positive Psychology movement – psychology’s antidote to focusing on mental illness – are…

     Neil Selden, who has worked as a therapist/counselor for over fifty and been at IPG for over twenty, is an inspiration to his clients and many of the staff.  As a young man he traveled to India and became the disciple of an Indian holy man called “Thakur.”  When Neil returned to the U.S….

I grow a poem, not much dripping yesterday’s kindness, even less tomorrow’s crimes, though all our memories are interchangeable treasures, and many indescribable futures await my yesterday: a sky at dawn in the heart of a plum, the drawn bow of a snowing moon, precious the palm of the hand on which I have carved…

On Dharma Skis Last night’s dreams forgotten, Standing on the mountain of my morning meditation, every day, I launch myself skillfully over the snows of loving   One robin, one tree, One rose bush, one starling, One bee—which me Is me?   “I’m One,” said one Universe, to another, “What are you?” The other Universe…

By Margie Nichols, Ph.D. These days everything in the mental health world is about ‘mindfulness meditation.’ This is a wonderful leap forward, to be applauded, an amazing practice that has tremendous healing power. But in this new world of meditation consciousness, there seems to be a hierarchy of techniques. “Mindfulness meditation”, usually of the sit…

“It could be said that The Eight Verses for Training the Mind contains the entire essence of the Buddha’s teachings in a distinct form.” –H.H. the Dalai Lama Sometimes the Universe offers a sweet and amusing surprise in bestowing upon us unexpected gifts and precious treasures. I was visiting a severely paranoid client in his…

“Let the grass grow through you; cherish the wild inside you.” — Robert McCrea Imbrie “To study the Way is to study the self; to study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.” — Dogen Enlightenment? What is the ‘light’ in enlightenment? Is that ‘light’…

“Follow without hesitation, those who are the possessors of love, you shall surely achieve your good. Follow only those who try by strength, skill and tact for the welfare of all beings, you shall surely achieve your good. Follow them alone who never hurt anyone by word or deed, but never indulge evil, you shall…