The difference that makes the difference. Over the last few days I’ve been thinking about why Live Conscious is different than other forms of psychology, self-help practices and group dynamics. I’ve been in therapy several times over the years— in my mid-thirties I did cognitive therapy—basically I spewed and my therapist asked questions and felt […]
Author Archive | S. Katharine Rivers
Live Well So You Can Die Well
I want to die in the same manner that I am learning to live—with gratitude and a sense of wonder and awe. Wednesday night I got a message that one of my oldest and dearest friends had a stroke. I’ve been a good friend with Jimmy and his wife Katie for over 30 years. I […]
The Things We Carry— emotional baggage
Last year I was a lab virgin. This year I’m a lab veteran, meaning I’ve been to a Live Conscious Lab before. Why do the members of our small but growing community refer to these retreats as labs? Because they are places to experiment—to be totally honest, to ask for what you want, to explore your […]
How to Get From There to Here
Why are you reading this blog on this site? I started reading blogs on this site two years ago because I was trying to get from there to here—”there” being stuck and “here” being happy with myself. Since attending my first Live Conscious Retreat last summer I have transformed myself. I know that sounds dramatic, […]
Emotional Toolbox
Spring is slowly arriving in Toronto. The trees are leafing, tulips and daffodils abound and the lilacs will be here in a week. The magnolia trees are stunning and the lawns are a vivid green from the months of snow and early spring rains. It’s still cool, but I’m only wearing one layer instead of […]
Up Against The Glass
I’ve recently returned from a two-week excursion of channeling my mother. Not what I would call a luxurious holiday, but looking back I see it was a necessary fact finding adventure. And, like many adventures, I found myself in turbulent waters, desolate landscapes and challenging situations. Although my mother’s mind and heart are familiar territory […]
Can I recover from child abuse?
I left a small child—my child—over 30 years ago because I was afraid to be a mother. I made sure he was in good hands and then I ran away. For years we have pretended that what I did was acceptable because of my own pain and my terrifying childhood. Can my son recover from […]
Why do I bully people?
In my last blog I wrote about my fear of intimacy. It was the most honest I’ve ever been and I’ve spent the week’s following publication watching my reactions to revealing myself. My first response was pride and a warm fuzzy feeling of having bared my soul accompanied by the devastating sadness of having wasted […]
Running for my Emotional Life
I am a runner. Not a marathon runner, not a jogger, but an emotional runner. When I find myself in a challenging situation my instinct is to run—others may have the instinct to fight, others will freeze. It’s part of our primitive nature and how we respond to what we perceive as dangerous. In the […]
Wake Up
I am struggling, challenging myself with my belief that I am a victim and cannot rescue myself from this terrible limitation. So, I am going to write about this, because writing is one of my tried and true methods of healing myself. Inevitably, when I write I discover something about myself that helps me integrate […]