Questions? Comments? Collaborations?
Contact me at megan.bruneau@gmail.com
Also, while I truly wish I had the resources to provide free counselling to all (seriously, if I won the lottery, that’s what I’d do), I cannot do so without losing the roof over my head. If you’re looking for telephone, email, or in-person counselling/consulting/coaching from me, shoot me an email and we can discuss rates and availability. Please note that some issues are not appropriate for telephone/email service.
One Shrink's Perspective 
Love this post. Thanks!
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My pleasure, Martha! Thanks for reading 🙂
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Love to read your all articles, very interesting and meaningful. Thanks.
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Thanks for the comment, P K :)!
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I would like to receive posts
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Hi Lisa! Just click the “Follow” button at the bottom of the page, and you can enter your email to receive future posts :).
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Thank you enormously for your wonderful and truth blog about life, and it’s something I can pass onto my teenage boys who are struggling with the concept ‘if they are NORMAL…’, which I tell them all the time they are….i know that they are breaking through their limited & protected world and moving into the adult world….and this will reinforce my words (I hope) and put them to ease and their worries.
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Aw, thank you for your kind comment, Suzanna!!! 🙂 Teenaged or grown, I think we all struggle from time to time with whether or not we are “normal.” It’s so inspiring that you’re helping your boys learn a different narrative from what they’re fed in our media-dominated society. Thank you for what you’re doing!
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Just found your link…. I like it!
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Cool, Barry! I’m glad you do :). Thanks for reading!!
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I really appreciate the vipassana review.
Thank you!
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You’re welcome, Jovan! Thanks for stopping by!
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Great insights Megan! – Actually first time I am hearing loud and clear that being unhappy at times is normal and part of being human. I am myself fed up when people just say “be positive” “be happy” etc. as if I am wantonly avoiding being happy or positive, certain things are really not in our control and we cannot do anything about that except to accept as they are quite normal.
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Thanks so much for your comment, Sathya! What you’ve just summarized there is exactly what I want to create conversation around, so I’m really thrilled this resonated for you :). I’m hopeful one day these Buddhist ideas will be more prevalent than the “Positive thinking” ones!
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Hi,
Id love a post (or reply) which highlights some of the tools you applied and books you read once you kicked off your journey towards wellbeing and Buddhism. What are the first big learnings? Which books/websites gave you major insights. I believe the likes as me, who spend a lot of time on blogs as yours or Mind Body Green and the likes, scrap the surface a lot…and it can become frustrating. Because you want to dig deeper. Try things out and not just read lists and dig for tips. I want to hear what helped you becoming real about it? Tools, books, discipline, the way you think. Maybe, thats worth sharing: how to stop reading blogs and become real about shit. Thanks so much!
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Hi Jasmin! Thanks so much for your comment. I can definitely recommend some books and websites for you, as I think continued immersion in the teachings is part of the process (our society isn’t generally conducive to adapting these beliefs, so I think we constantly have to be reminding ourselves through literature, etc). I’d say for me, my most formative teachings have come from work by Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield, Mark Epstein, Ron Siegel, and Kristin Neff. Their work is a bit denser, but still completely readable. I also love the website: http://www.buddhanet.net/ –tons of free audio downloads and readings. Fitting a little of these into your everyday may make a big difference for you, although it sounds like you’re already engaging in the ideas daily through blogs and whatnot! Another practice that’s been really helpful for me is adapting a regular yoga practice–not for the physical asana, although that’s a benefit as well–but for the meditative, spiritual aspect. Try to find a studio or teacher who incorporates readings and more traditional practices into their classes. As for “becoming real about it,” I honestly believe trying to deepen one’s mindfulness and compassion (nonjudgment being a big part of this), and trying to practice non-attachment/remember impermanence are key tools to really living in this way. And remembering that you’re human (which is part of being compassionate with oneself), so you’ll naturally find yourself attaching and comparing and craving, etc. Be kind to yourself, have realistic expectations for change, and try to pay attention to how you relate to your thoughts, feelings, and experiences from moment to moment. Meditation, of course, is a great place to start, but you don’t have to have a formal practice to learn and implement these ideas. My apologies for the longwinded answer! I hope some of this helps, and let me know if you have any other questions!!!
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Thanks so much for such a thorough and quick reply! I really like the part on self compassion because, I feel, Ive been scratching the surface for a couple of years and have made some radical changes (such as quitting my job and travelling) but then have stayed stuck from going further and deepening my interest in such topics. I observed a really strange resistance from taking the real leap inside myself (rather than changing the external). This went so far as to doing a yoga ttc in India (as a yoga beginner and only with the intention to learn more, not to teach) but, then, not incorporating my experience and learnings into everyday life. I do feel ready now (?) and am trying to find inspiration how to take the next step. Sometimes the wealth of information can also be overwhelming, as in, where to look first. So, this is the first time I am actually posting a question on a forum/blog and I am so glad to receive such a great response. Thanks very much. Ps. I always love your posts on MBG, they stick out.
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Half my life I learnt to live and the next half I’m unlearning to live.. Is life about learning or unlearning?
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Hey Megan! I found your post on anxiety and perfectionism to be really helpful and positive. I am in the Social Work field and work with homeless/runaway youth in Seattle, WA. I often struggle with anxiety and overthinking in my personal life and just started to read up on perfectionism. Building confidence in yourself is a must when it comes to growing as a person and definitely something I’m trying to get better at. Thanks again for your post. Really good stuff!
Joseph Dessi
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Thanks so much for your comment, Joseph! I’m so glad the post resonated for you–learning about perfectionism and how it was contributing to my own mental health issues/paralyzation/procrastination was so liberating for me. I hope you keep reading and watching :). And, it sounds like you’re doing amazing, valuable work, so thank you for that. ❤
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Megan….I don’t believe that Buddha was truly enlightened. Buddha says life is suffering, but i say life is life. What causes the suffering is the brain by creating thoughts, emotions and feelings which feel very real. Then the mind, ego and body go along for the ride. We must break the cycle of thought and emotion, more thought, more emotion. This is the brain’s way of creating drama…all of life is merely a creation of the brain/mind…Really, there is nothing there without it. Emotions and feelings must be tempered by using the thinking brain and the higher self. A person must realize that all pain and suffering is caused by himself, not life, as Buddha says……
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