I sometimes introduce myself as YodaNinja. "Yoda on the outside, Ninja on the inside." Outside, I seem calm and composed. When I speak (or write), what I say can be profound, perplexing... or both. But my inner world is another story. Deep inside of me is a Ninja battleground where thoughts, emotions, ideas, and utter randomness all fight for my attention. Every once in a while, they actually cooperate and I have to say, I'm deadly. But then they go at it again... and "Everybody is Kung Fu fighting." I'm a dad, a husband and a guy whose mind has a mind of it's own. My recovery from my addiction to numbing myself (with pretty much anything I can get my hands on) is a lifelong journey. I live with depression, anxiety and adhd... and sometimes they don't get along very well with my family, or with the rest of my life. Professionaly, I make my living as a Counselling Therapist in Edmonton, Canada. I teach on addiction and psychopathology at City University, and I have a small counselling practice where I use superheroes and other geeky stuff to help people make peace with their own personal YodaNinja. This blog is part of my healing and writing keeps me grounded. I hope that something I have written may add a little bit to your journey. Keep it Real
For article, “Yes, I Pray. And yes, I am crazy.” Click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and … More How Honesty Can Be a Healing Force in Your Life
For article, Depression and My Appointment With a Hole, Click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest and best … More I run, I numb. I numb. It returns. Depression.
For article on how “Recovery: Do You Know How to Suck Successfully?”, click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the … More Change How You See Your Failures and You Will Change Your Life
It’s Canada Day today. I hope you are enjoying your day and celebrating the great nation you are in, no matter where you are. I hope that you take time to be with the most important people in your life. To read my article, “Vulnerability is a Risk but it Will Make You Alive,” click … More Vulnerability and Your Recovery
The distance we keep from others says a great deal about our fear of knowing ourselves and being known. ___ “He was a quiet guy. The type of guy you pictured one day taking a gun out and going on a shooting rampage.” A friend of mine, Ryan Hall (Life and Creativity coach, and author) … More Vulnerability is a Risk, but it Will Make You Alive
For article, “Do You Know How to Let Go of Hard Things Other People Say?” click on the photo. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to … More Carrying Emotional Hurt Will Create Barriers to Your Recovery
Nine ways to heal your tendency to take words too literally ___ The only way that you will experience love is to risk NOT being loved. To love is to face the possibility of rejection, of scorn, of hurt, of misunderstanding. To be together you have to be willing to be alone. Relationships can be … More Do You Know How To Let Go of Hard Things That Other People Say?
For article, “Do You Know How to Change Your Relationship with the Past?” click on the photo. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the … More How to Find Closure for Your Past
For article, “How to Create a Better Mindset in Your Recovery” click on the photo above. I write articles about wellness, leadership, parenting and personal growth. My hope is to deliver the best content I can to inspire, to inform and to entertain. Sign up for my blog if you want to receive the latest … More How to Make Room for Fear and Create the Life that You Want
Growing up means that we make room for what we used to push away, deny and avoid. ___ My supervisor popped into my office the other day. After some small talk about my family, he informed me that the recent bandwidth lags at work are in part because of employees who are heavy internet users. … More Do You Know How to Change Your Relationship With the Past?
Getting High on Recovery 