The Welcoming Way

Sometimes we can get really down on ourselves when we believe we have some characteristic or personality trait that is keeping people from loving us, or keeping us from feeling successful, or useful, or safe. It can be very tempting to either succumb to this abuse OR try to get away from it. In this exploration, we welcome this belief and the accompanying feelings into our conscious awareness so i...

Recently, I sent a long, vulnerable email to close friends and family. Immediately, I felt regret. I was sure they would judge me for what I wrote. I was beating myself up before anyone else could. This episode explores how to work with feelings of shame or embarrassment or self-disgust. If you want a guided meditation to support you with something similar, check out the "Judging yourself" explora...

For most of us, when we don’t know what to do, we get tense.  We want to fill up our not-knowing with figuring out or rushing ahead, or clenching around a particular outcome that appears ideal.  We don’t notice that not-knowing is its own experience, and a precious one.  Not knowing can have a quiet, open quality, if we let it. It’s the birthplace of wonder. This explorations guides you in and thr...

Sometimes we can be afraid we made a mistake. Maybe a big mistake or small, but either way, it can feel pretty awful, especially if we suspect someone was hurt or negatively affected by something we did. This exploration will help you welcome the feelings that come with this bummer-of-a-situation. This Explorations is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Do you ever look around the room, your life, the world, wearing everyone-is-better-than-me glasses? I do, sometimes. In this short story I share one way to work with that painful feeling when it comes. Brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Sometimes we are overtaken by a sense of feeling personally insignificant and worthless. It can be so tempting to resist these feelings and try to deny them, rather than to notice them as feelings. This exploration will help you face these uncomfortable suspicions head-on. This Explorations is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

When we feel overwhelmed, the mind tells us to that we have to move faster or get more done to feel better. Unfortunately, this usually has the opposite effect, adding to the overwhelm rather than soothing it. This exploration supports you in letting go of the stress of overwhelm, so you can get back into action in a more centered, relaxed, and clear way. This Explorations is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠...

Something that you might not know about Welcoming, is that we can facilitate without needing to hear the background story. We don't need to hear content or any details about the issue you are bringing up. Stories and content are welcomed - but not required. Our client today demonstrated what it is like to ask for support simply by saying "There is something I'd like to Welcome." For him it could b...

Last night we spent our first night in our new rental home in Vermont. This morning I woke up terrified. If the feeling could speak, it would say “What have I done?” In this episode I share how I work with this kind of fear. This episode brought to you by ⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Many of us have been taught that there are steps required on the path to freedom. Maybe meditation or yoga, inquiry or compassion, or something else. Yet we have also been taught that freedom is here, now. How can these both be true? This explorations investigates the belief that Doing is Required for freedom. This Explorations is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠.

Losing someone we love can be an incredibly intense emotional experience. It can be full of overwhelm and wanting it to be different. This exploration helps you turn toward your loss, turn toward your love, allowing the pain to be as it is, as well as invisible sense of connection and completion. As I recorded this exploration, I connected with my own father, my best friend, who passed away in 201...

Welcome to our first Podcast Episode featuring a live Welcoming session! We are happy to start bringing you examples of what it is like to work with us 1:1 or work with us in our live Welcoming Way Community Calls. Our client today brought a topic that we can all relate to: "I'd be happier if…" [fill in the blank]. In her case, she is having the thought that she'd be happier if she lived more simp...

Making decisions is something that we do every day. Usually clarity comes quickly and easily -- and then there are those times when we feel stuck or stressed around a decision we are facing. We may feel fear, anger and even grief. When these feelings go unchecked, our view of what is possible becomes narrowed. We may even make a decision just get away from these feelings. In this Holistic Release...

It is very common to feel nervous or anxious before, during, or after a round of golf. These are feelings that we generally don't like and we interpret that something wrong. When these feelings are here there's often the idea that we need to get rid of them or change them or override them or push them away - and this is what distracts our mental game. Sometimes this can lead to poor performance in...

When we are feeling unmotivated, it also comes with a sense that this is a problem, that we’re not in control, and that it means something about us. In this 5 minute exploration, we will examine the story of “unmotivated” and open to the possibility that something more peaceful is going on. This Exploration is brought to you by⁠ ⁠Sharon Cavanaugh⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠Welcomingway.com⁠⁠.

Much of what we teach and guide at the Welcoming Way is based on the Sedona Method. Hale Dwoskin has been, and continues to be, a generous Mentor. You are capable of freedom in this now moment. You don't have to wait for that other person to change, or for all your goals to be achieved, or for all your problems to go away. This recording has a short description of the Sedona Method and then a guid...

This is a short story about someone who challenged his beliefs in order to choose happiness in his life. Brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠⁠.

So many of us do things in life out of a sense of obligation rather than a sense of choice. This recording explores the underlying thoughts and feelings that can contributed to a resentful, or choice-less sense of obligation, as well as our motives for doing what we do. This Explorations is brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠⁠.

Have you ever found yourself suffering, and then drawing the conclusion that your suffering is proof you are not growing? This is B.S., and in this episode, I'll share why. Brought to you by ⁠Leah Pearlman⁠ at the ⁠Welcoming Way⁠.

Are there situations in which you feel trapped? This could be in a job, a relationship, or a room full of people you're not particularly enjoying. If you frequently have the feeling of being trapped, then this exploration is for you. It helps you slow down the "trapped" experience to see what's really happening beneath the surface. This Exploration is brought to you by ⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠Welcom...

Would you like to hear the practice of Welcoming in Action? Leah was recently a guest facilitator in ⁠The Releasing Community⁠. She facilitated several people through different struggles including: Overeating / Trying to break a habitStress around health / diet & resentment Having conflict at work or with a person / Feeling left outNot liking one's Job Brought to you by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠⁠⁠ at th...

Sometimes we judge things and people and attitudes as being something we need to get rid of in the world, without realizing that everything we see is a reflection of something inside us, wanting our love. This Exploration is brought to you by ⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠ at ⁠⁠Welcomingway.com⁠⁠.

I used to believe there was something I needed to do to be free: Meditate. Mantra. Yoga. Inquire. Be nice. Go with the Flow. Give. Surrender. Accept. Eventually, I was shown, a thousand times over, that this belief had become my new (imaginary) prison. Brought to you by ⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠.

Many of us have been taught that there are steps required on the path to freedom. Maybe meditation or yoga, inquiry or compassion, or something else. Yet we have also been taught that freedom is here, now. How can these both be true? This explorations investigates the belief that Doing is Required for freedom. Brought to you by ⁠⁠Leah Pearlman⁠⁠ at the ⁠⁠Welcoming Way⁠⁠.

Do you ever experience "Fin-somnia," the lack of sleep due to financial stress? Then this exploration is for you.  Sometimes our financial fears are rational, sometimes they seem irrational, but either way, they can be highly unpleasant. They can lead to fear, even terror, if we think that we won't have enough for ourselves or our families. This brief meditation starts to bring those future fears...