We all like to think we get a clean slate when the year changes at midnight. We make goals and hope to see things differently. But if we knew a bit more about the neural mechanisms behind goal setting and our sense or rewards, we might approach our resolutions with a bit more strategy, ensuring our success rather than setting ourselves up for disappointment..

It's a fine line between dissociation and the reprieve that practices like meditation offer. This is not to say meditation or any spiritual practice is designed to do that. But many of us can claim user error and perhaps admit that we escape life's pain but running to one of these noble practices, yet never use the practice to change anything beyond the cushion. So when exactly is meditation a spiritual bypass?

We all know that we are supposed to "give" to be good people. This is a high expectation. So many of us fall into giving and service so that we gain validation or a reputation. This kind of giving is exhausting. But what happens when we give from a place of fullness? How do we even know the difference?

We easily put credibility into our ability to report what we see. But seeing anything is a subjective experience. It's easier miss pieces of our experience simply because we have not given ourselves permission to see them. What happens when we give ourselves permission?