FOR THE FULL MOON : How To Surrender In Six Easy Steps (if you're into that sort of thing)

Let's Talk About What It Means To "Surrender."

There are times in our lives when we feel that something is just a little off or out of balance. Maybe we know e x a c t l y what the 'issue' is and we confront it head on, making changes where necessary and shifting what needs to be shifted. Other times, however, we know exactly what the issue is, yet...we continue to sit in it. We wade in the discomfort, the control, and sometimes the addiction to safety that is hurting our hearts.

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Failure: The One Thing Everyone Knows But Always Forgets - How To Fix Your Crown, Get Back On Your Unicorn, And Begin Again

Failure, rejection, the sense of seeming ‘not good enough,’ of being used or misunderstood, unworthy, compared to, and judged are all experiences that I (and all humans around the globe) know well. There are times when we are riding the waves of life, with all its challenges and surprises like pro surfers, and there are other times when we feel like we can’t even put our pants on straight, days when we break everything we touch, say all the wrong things, and are on the verge of tears for weeks at a time. 
 

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When The Path To Happiness Doesn’t Allow Gluten: How To Ignore The Hype and Love Your Freaking Self

I recently attended a workshop called, The Happiness Method, where I listened to a well-intentioned spiritual man tell a group of 50 women how to be happy.

 

Before writing this piece, I wanted to do a little research and see what I could scoop up from his teachings, as well as get an idea of what he was putting out to the world wide web. His website made my heart melt and the stone cold frustration I’d been carrying over the past few days simply slipped away. It glowed with beautiful photos that seemed to capture the depth of his potential and authentic love for all, but in his workshop, something big happened inside of me that I couldn't ignore, push down, or repress. I became triggered and I needed to speak my truth.

 

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Honor Your Shadow and Have Happy New Year, You Badass Butterfly

When I look back at this past year, I am slightly awestruck by all that has transgressed. Things that happened at the beginning of the year seem like forever ago. Just this morning, as I was looking back at photos from my March Unplugged in Ecuador retreat, I almost couldn’t believe it was in fact really from this year.  This misperception of our reality is exactly the perplexity of time. It is forever moving and shifting. What happens in the present has already been manifesting from the past and though we are not yet in the future per se...

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7 Magical Steps To Letting That Shit Go: A Raw and In-Depth Look at Binge Eating and Shame

This piece was started over 2 weeks ago. It was abandoned and rewritten multiple times, so forgive any time hop confusion. It simply took me many attempts to regain composure, soften my shame, and free my voice about this specific leg of my ED (eating disorder for those of you who aren't hip to the acronym) journey. This entry may not seem like such a big deal to you, but herein lies my utmost shame. My goal is to unite, practice self-love, spread compassion to everyone (and I mean everyone), help us remember that we are all human, we all experience things and thoughts that we don’t want anyone to know about or talk about. I am here to tell you, you are not alone and it is so going to be okay. 

Okay, take a deep breath. 

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When Your Fortune Cookie Talks to You, You Better Listen – Learning to Love by Loving Yourself First

ere’s the deal. I have always wanted to be skinny. Always. Ever since I was a little girl, playing with Barbie dolls and watching countless hours of TV, I have yearned to be that skinny, beautiful, perfect, size nothing wearing, float away like a feather, everybody loves her, tiny girl. How that became my goal over being a Neurosurgeon or Veterinarian or, hell, how about, Professional Love Crusader, is what I believe to be a product of too many societal norms, "gendering", and my own lack of self-worth due to aggressive bullying and other circumstances outside of my control, but that is a conversation for another time. The fact is, I had never (sometimes have never, because I'm human and will always be remembering the good) thought I was aesthetically attractive enough. That is the honest truth. This is the kind of longing only some of you will understand. It’s a feeling that couples with painful, hurtful, unloving thoughts. "Why can’t I look like her. Why can’t my body be different. Why do I look like this and she looks like that. I hope I never look like that!"

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A Simple Prayer

My heart goes out to you if you are in pain. I shed my fair share of tears yesterday and I am sure there are more to come.

My prayer is that all of the people who are suffering experience some ease in their pain. I am not referring to just the victims of violence, but to all people who are suffering. I am praying for everyone, including the people who are doing acts of violence because in order for our society to move in a positive direction, these people need forgiveness and they need recognition of their own pain. We cannot banish them to Mars, hurt them, or lock them all up, so there needs to be another way. 

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