Better Understanding Relationships, Empathic Perspectives, Traveling and Nature Photos
San Jose Rose Garden
By Rachel Puryear Looking for a beautiful, romantic walk in a park? Love bright, colorful garden displays? After months of unusually cool weather for early Spring in the Bay Area, the San Jose Rose Garden is finally in full bloom. Stop by here and literally, as well as figuratively, smell the roses! Arches at the…
Near Death Experiences: A Peek Into a Mysterious Phenomenon
By Rachel Puryear For most of us who have lived for a while, we’ve either narrowly escaped death at some point in our lives, or we know someone else who has. Surviving a close call is pretty unnerving, and often naturally comes with a lot of recovery ahead. Many people shift their perspectives on life…
Exploring Five Conflict Styles – Which Ones Are Yours?
By Rachel Puryear In life, conflict is an inevitable part of human relations. However, that doesn’t mean it has to be inherently destructive – or that we cannot pretty often resolve it with some mutual effort, and a willingness to do so constructively. Improving one’s conflict resolution skills is a worthy goal for anyone, and…
On Loving a Highly Empathic Person
By Rachel Puryear If you’re in a relationship with a highly empathic person, consider yourself very lucky. These folks, making up around 20% of the population, come equally in all genders, and from all walks of life (a similar proportion of many other animal species also have a corresponding trait like this). They also love…
Let’s Talk Dirty – Mud Baths in Calistoga
By Rachel Puryear In the Napa Valley region of California – an area world famous for its natural beauty, wineries and food, and arts and culture – there’s an adorable little town called Calistoga. In Calistoga, you can do something that most people don’t do every day – that is, lay in a tub filled…
Is there a Difference Between Spirituality and Superstition?
By Rachel Puryear Sometimes, critics of spirituality denounce spiritual practices as simply being a variation of the same old superstitions that gave rise to more established religions, including fundamentalism and overly powerful religious institutions. However, I would argue that there’s actually a pretty profound difference between the kind of superstition you find in religious fundamentalism…
Seeing Others, and Being Seen Ourselves
By Rachel Puryear One of the deepest universal needs people have is to be seen – and heard – in our relationships with others. This need is so important that it helps make or break the success of, and mutual satisfaction with, just about any kind of human relationship. Basically, seeing others means just getting…
Are Empathic/HSP People “Made” by Certain Childhoods?
By Rachel Puryear One popular debate around highly empathic/HSP people; is whether we are born the way we are, with our traits being in our nature; or whether we are instead made, with our traits being primarily the product of nurture – and that if it’s the latter, then what kind of childhood makes for…
Hiking in Colma’s Cemeteries
By Rachel Puryear There’s a little town tucked into the San Francisco Bay Area’s Peninsula region. The neighbors are…quiet. You could say lots of people are…dying to get in. And despite the…grave surroundings, it’s actually a pretty pleasant place to live…if you are among it’s living, that is. If you count the town’s deceased population,…
Can People Participate in Multiple Spiritual Traditions?
By Rachel Puryear For people who have a spiritual practice or faith, it’s usually assumed that they belong to one – and only one – of the many religions and traditions in the world. But does anyone actually belong to more than one spiritual tradition, religion, or faith? Can you even do that? Actually, you…
What is Emotional Labor, and Why Does it Matter?
By Rachel Puryear We all have a pretty good sense of what it means to perform physical labor. We perform physical labor in workplaces – that might include, depending upon your occupation; building houses, serving food, or shuffling lots of paper; as examples. At home and in everyday life; physical labor could include cleaning house,…
Empathic Folks in the Bedroom 😉
By Rachel Puryear One of the best kept secrets about highly empathic/HSP people is also one of the most intimate aspects of our lives. I think it’s time we celebrate our sexuality. Despite tendencies to be mild-mannered and quiet in most social settings, empathic/HSP people can be quite passionate, free-spirited, as well as uncommonly attuned…
Monterey Road Trip: Awesome Beaches, Abundant Wildlife
By Rachel Puryear If you love beaches, gorgeous coastlines, and diverse sea wildlife; Monterey, California (and many of its surrounding areas) make for a great road trip. Here’s a recap of my own recent road trip down the coast (from the San Francisco Bay Area) to Monterey: Año Nuevo State Park is along the California…
Spiritual Bypassing: The Many Ways We Do It
By Rachel Puryear In developing a spiritual practice for oneself, it’s important to be aware of spiritual bypassing – both what it is, and also how it can be damaging. So first of all, what is spiritual bypassing? Spiritual bypassing is defined as “a tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid…
Things You Don’t Need to Apologize For
By Rachel Puryear In life, a very important social skill is the ability to acknowledge when one is wrong – as well as apologizing, and making proper amends, where appropriate. This life skill is key to maintaining – and sometimes, to saving – important relationships. At the same time, there are also things in life…
Great Places to Meet Empathic Friends and Lovers
By Rachel Puryear No matter how introverted you may be, and love your time to yourself, empathic people still need friends – and romance – just as much as anyone else. That includes having some fellow empathic friends. Don’t get me wrong, we all need variety in our friendships, too – but empathic friends understand…
Edgewood Park and Preserve in San Carlos, CA
By Rachel Puryear Nestled in the south Peninsula region of the San Francisco Bay Area, is one of the region’s best kept secrets: Edgewood Park and Preserve. If you’re in the area and haven’t hiked this one yet, then you’re in for a treat. This region offers temperate weather, and proximity to plenty of amenities.…
Highly Intelligent and Empathic People, and Self-Doubt
By Rachel Puryear Mathematician Bertrand Russell is quoted as saying that “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are so full of doubts.” That quote resonates with me a great deal, and I believe it largely true. So the question it raises…
That Spooky Gut Feeling That Mysteriously Helps
By Rachel Puryear Have you ever had a weird gut feeling around a person or in a situation for unknown reasons, and then it turned out to be spot-on? Most of us have either had such an experience, or know someone else who has. In some cases, people even credit such an occurrence with saving…
Signs Someone Truly Cares for You
By Rachel Puryear We all love to hear that someone cares about us. But what’s even more important than loved ones telling us how much they care, is them showing that they do through their actions – even if they don’t always say how they feel. Furthermore, there are nefarious types of people out there…
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