Tidbits from Liwei

When two people come together, they’re bringing two nervous systems into relationship with one another. Each has learned how to stay safe in its own way, each has different protective strategies, and each carries different experiences and histories. I’m learning that when two nervous systems meet, there can be a natural and possibly lengthy adjustment period. Even though it can be slow, this perio...

Hi there! I’ve been learning to become more securely attached so that I can be in a healthier relationship. As part of this healing process, I have had to unlearn some things, rewire my nervous system, and see how things this time around are different than before. I’m going to try and start sharing tidbits of what I’ve learned so that it can help you be in healthier relationships too ◡̈ Here’s one...

One of the topics I return to often is slowing down. I seem to be learning this lesson again and again, because I still have a tendency to rush or make big moves. I suspect that it comes from having lived a life of frequent transitions since a young age…moving from place to place, adapting again and again. My body and nervous system are used to being in motion, so slowing down is an ongoing practi...

Ever since moving to Seattle, I’ve experienced greater degrees of joy and an enjoyment for life. I’m appreciating even more than before the mundane, ordinary, and simple aspects of daily life. You might even say…falling in love with the boringness. A little more joy is a big deal. Sometimes it comes not because everything got easier but because we found a new way to breathe through the hard parts....

Have you ever wondered where you might want to live and build a life? I began exploring this question in 2022. I traveled the world in search of a “perfect” place but what I found along the way was something unexpected. More than a location, this tour around the world led me to learn more about myself, my core values, to be patient with how things are unfolding, to shift my relationship with uncer...

Sometimes we are so focused on where we are headed, where we wish we could be, always thinking of what’s next that we forget to take a step back to do two other important things. * Pause, relax, and appreciate where we are. * Look back and honor how far we’ve come. I’ve learned that these 2 practices are so important to nervous system regulation. Coming from Asian culture, I didn’t receive praise...

When these parts want different things, we can’t move forward and become unstuck by forcing our way forward. We could do all the actions that seem right and seem to make it appear as if we’re making progress. Yet we can only move as fast as our slowest part. When we try to override or ignore the part of us that’s scared, we don’t move forward. We just burn out. The real shift happens when we turn...

For those of us who grew up in an Asian culture, it wasn’t very common for family members to say “I love you” to one another or, for that matter, really express any emotions through words. Love was expressed through acts of service, like cooking delicious meals for each other. It was shown through actions, and less so through words. Our physical needs were met with utmost care and devotion. Yet fo...

What if peace and happiness weren’t something you had to earn or achieve? What if it’s in the stillness? We’re so used to rushing. Our nervous systems are usually stuck in survival fight or flight mode. So wired for productivity, achievement, and trying to avoid what we fear. But that’s not how we’re meant to live. That’s not sustainable. What if we rewired ourselves for safety, juicy slow spaciou...

There’s something sacred about the in-between. The space between the question and answer. The space between where you were and where you’re going. The transition. The threshold. The doorway. It can feel uncomfortable and uncertain but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It may be exactly where you need to be. It’s better to pause and listen than to charge ahead in a direction that you might end up not lik...

About 8 years ago, I landed a job that seemed like a dream. It had great pay, top-notch benefits, good work-life balance, and I was working with a great team. It was at a tech company in beautiful San Francisco which was an ideal place to build a tech career since it was a tech hub. The job was everything my parents had hoped for me and everything society told me I should want. But something was m...

Most people knew another version of me. The one who was put together, winning at life, fun and loving, warm and giving, and conflict-avoidant. But that was only part of me. I had another side, too. The part that could cry and feel sad about things, or feel fear and uncertainty, or have insecurities. I just never let most people see it. Here are ways you can support me and my work: * I am a heart-c...

My pet budgies have taught me so much about love, loss, gratitude, acceptance, freedom, and then more love (again). Their fleeting lives reminded me to cherish life – life is so precious and life is a miracle. Back in the day, I didn’t let myself love. I put up a wall and armour around my heart because I feared the pain of loss. After many many heartbreaks, I learned that it’s possible to open up...

Most of the time, the medicine I offer is intangible, unseen, unmeasurable by scientific standards. It’s felt. No matter which form my medicine takes, I know it will always spill out in the way it needs to to my family, my friends, my community, and the world. As long as I live with the utmost authenticity to what is most alive in me in every moment (today, this year, and this lifetime), that in i...

One of the things I love most about life coaching is helping clients set meaningful goals right from the start. But these aren’t just any goals—they’re heart-centered goals that resonate deeply with who you are and where you want to go. To learn more about mind-driven vs. heart-centered goals, listen to this podcast! If you’d like support with setting these kinds of goals for 2025, I’m here to sup...

Sometimes, life surprises us in the most unexpected ways. Over the past month, I’ve realized that some of the hardest moments I endured over the last few years were the catalysts for profound healing, growth, and grace. What I once thought was the most terrible thing to happen to me turned out to be one of the most beautiful gifts. My heart now feels bigger—able to hold the full spectrum of the hu...

It’s hard to put into complete sentences and paragraphs what I have been going through the last few weeks. This episode is currently my best expression of the process I am in. In the darkness and void, I await my rebirth. Here are ways you can support me and my work: * I am a heart-centered coach who supports Asian millennials to deepen their relationship with themselves and gently free themselves...

Here is something that is not often said and taught in society. True joy, serenity, and love aren’t something that you have to force yourself to create or feel.  In a world that often tells us we need to “create” happiness, peace, or love, it’s easy to fall into the trap of forcing ourselves to feel a certain way, even when it doesn’t reflect our true inner state. Real joy, peace, and love come no...

When we begin to believe that beauty and goodness are everywhere around us, we start to notice this in our lives more and more. What we believe in has a huge impact on our lived experience because we often consciously and unconsciously validate what we believe until it feels more and more true. Start to pay attention to what stories you tell yourself. As we live our lives, may we remember to notic...

I believe our bodies are a hologram of the universe. When we begin to understand ourselves more, we can understand the intricacies of the families, communities, and the world in which we live. As I’ve been navigating my journey, I’ve had to face and learn to accept dichotomies that can exist within myself. As I’ve had to do this more and more, I’ve come to accept the fact that dichotomies can also...

I have somehow found the courage to move forward in a direction that I never in my life would have imagined I would do. I am in the final stages of establishing and registering my business in China and will soon have my business license! Eeek! I hope to bring life coaching to China – to guide people to come back to their hearts. It is very much needed. I am not sure if it will be successful or if...

Healing isn’t about rushing to a destination where all wounds are healed, or where we’re a perfected version of ourselves. It’s about meeting ourselves where we are and accepting ourselves as we are, with all our imperfections, pain, and emotions. In this episode, I talk about myself navigating through heartbreak, lessons learned, meeting myself where I am, and keeping an open heart. Here are ways...

My experience of dating a Chinese guy for the first time has been so different from my experiences of dating in the West. He was so wonderful and amazing in so many ways; yet, it was also heartbreaking in so many ways. Navigating a cross-cultural relationship has revealed the differences in dating norms, pace, and mindset in looking at the various factors considered when choosing a partner. Factor...

In our interactions with those close to us, whether we find ourselves calm or agitated is rarely because of someone else. Instead, these states often reveal something within ourselves that needs attention. Family members, romantic partners, or close friends can act as catalysts for our growth and healing, triggering responses that highlight areas where we need to look deeper. It's natural for huma...

The crickets chirp day and night rejoicing that this summer heat is to their liking. Wuhan is unbearably hot, humid, crowded, and the traffic is terrible. It is nothing like the perfect place that I had envisioned with my reasoning mind that this is what I would come to love. Far from it. Yet quite unexpectedly, I’m crawling in love with being in China and with the people. Happiness doesn’t come a...