Ronit,

Everyone seems to be afraid of dying but me. Am I broken or are they?

Wondering about death

Dear Wondering,  read more »

Ronit,

Sometimes I feel like everyone knows more than me or is more successful than me or more competent. I haven't done well at anything in life so far. How do you go about finding your strength or at least convincing yourself that you are better than you appear?

I am a fraud

Dear Fraud,  read more »

Hi Ronit,

I have a deep fear of approaching women I am attracted to. My body is hungry and full of desire to deeply connect and share the miracle of oneness and the blessing of total intimacy, but my Spirit all too often inhibits my impulse to act because I do not want to be attracted to such superficial traits as looks. While I cannot deny I want to be with someone who physically turns me on, i also seek a deeper connection. How do you recommend I not be ruled by my fear in the service of my full self expression. Does spirituality have to be denial and sacrifice of desire? I know this is quite a deep topic, but i would really appreciate your insights as I struggle with this daily.  read more »

Dear Ronit,

I recently lost my beloved pet, and I can't seem to stop crying. I was at a restaurant yesterday having a good time when I was suddenly overcome with sadness and began bawling at the table.

Am I over emotional, or is this roller coaster of emotions
normal during the grieving process?

Shreks

Hi Shreks,

I am so sorry you are experiencing so much pain. But it is important for you to know that you are going through a natural grieving process. Losing someone we deeply care for, is one of the most challenging experiencing with which we have to contend. We become physically, emotionally, intellectually and spirituality attached to a loved one. Their loss affects us on all those levels. Our bodies, our senses, miss physically seeing and feeling them; our hearts miss the joy and affection we experienced in their presence; our minds experience the loss of planning our lives around them, our souls are missing the deep connection we feel with them. Our whole system is profoundly affected. Furthermore, often unresolved past losses surface and add to the emotional mix. There is not much one can do, nor “should do” to minimize the pain. Healing will come only as a function of time, as you go through the natural stages of grief. Elizabeth Kubler Ross described five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages do not necessarily come in order. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model)  read more »

How many times have you heard the statement, “You can’t love anyone until you love yourself?”

While this is a true statement, the reality is we are not taught what it means to love ourselves; or more importantly, how it feels to love ourselves. If you stop and think about this for a moment, you probably will be able to come up with some ideas of what love is, but you would be hard-pressed to actually conjure up feelings of love for yourself. We know what it feels like to love another; yet we don’t know what it feels like to love ourselves.  read more »

Dear Ronit

My teenage daughter is drifting away from me. We used to spend a lot of time together just us and she used to confide in me about almost anything. More recently I find her reticent aloof and dismissive.
Everyone I talk to says that she is just being a teenager but I don't feel like that is very helpful. I know they need their space and that they are becoming individuals but does that require shunning her mother? Is this the way it has to be?  read more »

Dear Ronit,

My husband and I have a wonderful relationship and get along great. For the most part, we are very close and are able to communicate well. However, when it comes to talking about deeper issues, he does everything in his power to change the subject. I find it frustrating that he won't open up to me about important things.

I know that he had a rough childhood; his parents were verbally abusive to him and each other. He doesn't talk about this, or anything else in his past, and I feel that it puts a lot of distance between us. I never push him, but I wish that he could talk about his feelings.  read more »

It is so hard being human, can we please be kind toward ourselves and each other.

If you read Dear Brothers and Sisters, then you know that I have had the privilege to learn and grow from my work with thousands of people from all walks of life. The knowledge I gained through my experiences, coupled with my innate sensitivity to the human condition, have given me an extraordinary understanding of how we operate.  read more »