Role-play – with yourself Set up a chair next to your couch, like you’re sitting in Freud’s living room. Lie down on the couch and tell the chair everything that’s been bothering you. Pressures at work, difficult relationship with your in-laws, lack of romance between you and your partner, your concerns that your child’s part-time […]

I’m not always the sweet, giving, caring, as-close-to-angels-as-you’re-gonna-get specimen that you’ve come to know me as. Sometimes, I just can’t help but be sarcastic, or wonder why some people are just so…so…what’s a nice way of putting this…short-sighted? Clueless? Hang on… *types therausarus.com in URL* …ah – obtuse! Like that woman who was sitting in […]

Moms always advise their children, regardless of their age, to leave with a smile on their face and a pair of clean underwear. Makes total sense. Here’s what I else I suggest: If you’re going to nurture any traits in your children, let it be these four: Emotional Stability, Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness. And for […]

I have a rule that I like to follow at family gatherings: Stay away from woo woo topics – the paranormal, psychics, alternative healing, etc. To have to explain to people why I prefer to keep an open mind on these issues is just frustrating and exhausting. Frankly, I’d rather endure my brothers’ flatulence (I […]

I can be pretty vocal; especially when I see what I consider an injustice. But what happened to only offering your opinion when someone asks for it? Like my innocent search through pet-oriented message boards for tips on how to help my cat deal with hairballs. I was suddenly inundated by opinions from people who […]

A college friend had a serious shoe fetish. It didn’t matter how much the sandals, shoes, or boots cost her – if she liked them she bought them. “If I buy these shoes, I won’t be able to make my car payment this month.” “So don’t buy them,” I said, trying not to sound like […]

In a previous blog, I talked about how unhappiness is often a consequence of a lot of the little things we do every day that keep us trapped in self-limiting, self-defeating, and self-destructive behaviors. I also believe that there are a lot of little things we can do every day to pivot away from negativity. […]

I want to look like Eckhart Tolle. Like Deepak Chopra. Like Buddha under the Bodhi tree. I want to walk around with the same look of serenity on my face. Have you ever seen Eckhart smile? Have you heard him speak? He has the dignified bearing of a sage with the voice of a teddy […]

Here’s something that we all need to understand: Toxic relationships are a two-way street. I can’t tell you how many times someone has asked me, “Why does this person treat me this way?” To which I reply (in the same compassionate yet firm way a very wise person answered me just a few years ago): […]

There’s an advantage to having a friend who is psychic, aside from the fact that it’s so fascinating to observe her from a research perspective. I can’t say that I’m entirely sold on the idea of fortune telling, but I still get shivers when she plucks thoughts right out of my head and repeats them […]

I wasn’t very popular in high school. I wasn’t picked on either. I was mostly invisible, and being visible allows you to be privy to a lot of conversations. Essentially, I developed a knack for observing people in their natural habitat without making it look like I’m observing them. I developed a distaste for popularity […]

I have this strange quirk. On the rare, “unicorn farting rainbows” occasion when I do reveal something private about myself, you won’t hear from me again for a while. I’ll go MIA. Don’t call me, don’t come over. Don’t send a St. Bernard to look for me in the Swiss Alps. I won’t want to […]