Radical Vulnerability and the Art of Being Real

Allowing ourselves to grow up - to truly GROW-UP takes a leap of faith. It takes embracing radical vulnerability. Yes, loved ones might and will get sick or die. Yes, we might get sick or die. Yes, when we reach out we'll get rejected sometimes. Yes, we might need to accept that we're not as self-confident and accomplished as our professional circles might think we are. Yes, we will need to own up to being messy human beings, never "round and smooth", always a bit "rugged and sharp-edged". Accepting how inherently imperfect and, yes, vulnerable, we are is the ultimate act of courage and, paradoxically, it might lead us to becoming better, wiser, more patient, loving humans, more at peace with ourselves and all those around us - close and far. It might lead us to becoming real.

When Butterflies Turn Back Into Caterpillars

It looks like we humans have to die multiple times throughout our lives. Our time as a butterfly might just be the preamble of becoming a caterpillar all over again. Maybe we are bound to live through several cocoons over the course of our lives, each time breaking apart again, only to emerge on the other side with different coloured wings and more consciousness.

How a Kitchen Table Helped Make Me a Better Human Being

In the end, I am deeply grateful for the wisdom that came, unexpectedly from one of the most mundane objects in the world. That kitchen table became the metaphorical bridge upon which we, as a family, stepped into our new life. It was our bootcamp. Our testing ground. It opened a door to more mindfulness and it reminded us that the work of growing wiser never ends.

Mindfulness, Psychology, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisMay 14, 2019relationships, wisdomComment

Courage is Fear Walking

To love your child and be there for her suffering while embracing your own, to love her completely and unconditionally and yet to allow her to live her own life, on her own terms (which may not be yours), to accept that you have no idea what is truly "right for her", to bear her moments of rage and yet love her just as much, to hold her tight and then be willing to let her go, to refrain from judgement and just hold space for her when she mourns her losses or nurses a broken heart, to play and laugh with her knowing that one day you'll also cry together and all of that is ok - that is conscious love. That is "fear walking".

Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisFebruary 12, 2018courage, fear, self-awareness Comment

Mindfulness - a Life Skill for a New World

Just as nobody argues that, in order to maintain a healthy body, one has to eat a balanced diet and practice sports, lately more and more people understand that in cultivating a healthy mind and balanced emotional life takes work. Meditation is one way to get there and it's result, Mindfulness, is one amazing way to step off the "hedonic treadmill" which makes so many people chase happiness as an ever elusive external goal and start looking inside for more sustainable personal wellbeing and actually building a joyful, fulfilled life, from the inside out.

Leadership, MindfulnessAlis AnagnostakisJanuary 9, 2018meditation, Mindfulness, NeuroscienceComment

"Must", "It's Impossible", "I'll try" and other Tyrants

This post is for all the beautiful youngsters who are just beginning to walk their own path in life. It's for all the people who have a dream and tell themselves every day that it's impossible. Finally, it's for all those who had the courage to take responsibility for their own lives and use the greatest right we have all been given upon birth - give their life a meaning.

Featured, Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisSeptember 5, 2014life, limiting beliefs, meaning, vocationComment

Coaching, More Than a Fad

Socrates, with his maieutics, was most likely the world's first coach. Coaching is not just another fad. You, I, any of us can be coaches for ourselves and our loved ones. We don't need sophisticated courses for that, we just need the honest openness to listen, refrain from judging and assuming we are the keepers of absolute truth and finally, we need the courage to ask those questions that really matter, not for ourselves, but for the other.

Featured, Leadership, Mindfulness, TrainingAlis AnagnostakisAugust 30, 2014coaching, john whitmore, transformationComment

Life in Fear. Life in Trust. Or, the power of becoming "Blue".

Dear ones, my invitation to you is to reflect on the emotions that drive your lives at the moment. What lies behind your most important life decisions or behind your reactions to those closest to you? Discover if you are living in fiear or in love and, if there is something to change, change it consciously.

Leadership, Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisAugust 19, 2014Comment

10 Recipes for Guaranteed Unhappiness

Featured, Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisMarch 12, 2014happiness, recipes for unhappinessComment

Cause, Effect and the Lesson You Have Yet to Learn

Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisFebruary 25, 2014cause, effect, life lessonComment

About learning and why I love my job

Mindfulness, Thoughts/Ideas, TrainingAlis AnagnostakisFebruary 9, 2014coach, job, passion, trainerComment

People. Roads. Love.

Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisJanuary 20, 2014life, love, peopleComment

The Fear of Happiness

Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisNovember 3, 2013Comment

Stories with and about Grandparents

MindfulnessAlis AnagnostakisOctober 13, 2013authenticity, grandparents, life lesson, life story, loveComment

One Drop in the Ocean

Featured, Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisOctober 1, 2013 Comment

Romania Rising

Featured, Mindfulness, Thoughts/IdeasAlis AnagnostakisSeptember 11, 2013rosia montana Comments

Feeding Your Demons

This is the very idea that lies at the core of this practice - whatever inner demons we are fighting in our lives are in fact potential teachers. Even illness can be a powerful teacher, if we treat it as such.