Author: Louis J. Alloro, M.Ed., MAPP

[caption id="attachment_511" align="alignright" width="221" caption="SO, in this MOment, which do you choose? Opportunity or threat? Love or fear?"][/caption] --'cept my flight to LGA was cancelled and I found this out as I was enroute to the airport in Cleveland Friday morning, the first leg of a long travel day. “WTF Continental?” I thought. Threat! Threat! Error! Error! What was I going to do? Synchronistically, I was on the phone with my friend and travel agent, Donna when the email popped in with the seemingly tragic news.“Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to NY in time for your flight to Turkey,” Donna reassured...

Wow. This is huge. Coming out. It's huge. I grew up thinking that who I am is not good enough. That the world wanted me to be something other than I was. Than I am. My essence. It was really hard to be me when I thought that I had to be different than I was. You picking up what I'm putting down? I think a lot of people can relate to that sentiment -- not just us gays. Diversity is our greatest asset, so why are people so fearful of it? An opportunity, not a threat, so long as we perceive it...

I was recently asked to write some fodder on what inspires me for a teacher, colleague and friend doing a collective inspiration project. Here is my submission: With so much talk of mavericks a few seasons ago, I could not help but think about who fits that bill? Is it Barack Obama for his ability to inspire hope? Harvey Milk for following a civil rights dream? Was it Mother Teresa who touched the lives of people no one else wanted to help? Who are mavericks closer to home? Is it my friend Bright who helped me change a belief system about...

[caption id="attachment_499" align="alignright" width="300" caption="To date, this was the biggest screen to show my slides!"][/caption] Helping people think differently: this is what it's all about. An opportunity, not a threat. I'm not telling you what to think, but merely suggesting that you think about how you think. This takes a slowing up, a mindfulness and consciousness which can be built by learning positive psychology, a movement where eastern tradition is meeting western science. You in?...

-- temporarily. My belief is that everything is temporary -- and this changes my feeling about moving away from NYC. Makes me move closer to my true knowing which is: right now, Cleveland calls. Never before have I had such a holographic view of my life: I am teaching people to think about their own beliefs - and being more aware of my own than ever before. This must be what they mean by consciousness. It is built! And it is good. Gets us more of what we want: happiness, health, wealth. Dreams coming true, literally. Want some of it? Get in...

We form habits of thought around stories, and each time we retell them the old way, we reinforce the habit. The ruts get deeper and harder to get out of. But what if we told different stories? It’s About Stories Today I actually stopped a client cold in the middle of a story. We were talking about his being single and to illustrate in his mind the “why” of this reality, he began to tell me a story about a past relationship—about one that had failed. His story was about blame and fault. It was entirely focused on what was wrong, nothing...

[caption id="attachment_2060" align="alignright" width="224"] RIP Todd Louis Alloro (1971-1991)[/caption] --twenty years ago today. I was weeks shy of my 13th birthday and Todd had just turned 20. I remember waking up that morning to voices in the kitchen below. "Too early to be nana's pinochle game," I thought (She was watching us because as my parents were away for the weekend). Half asleep, I walked downstairs to hear the tragic news that changed our lives forever . . . I remember parts of that day -- awful and heart wrenching -- especially seeing my parents return home & get out of their car,...

From Marty Seligman's new book Flourish. Marty is my mentor from the University of Pennsylvania, where I completed my graduate work in 2008. He is known as the father of positive psychology and is really an incredible visionary. "Happiness Is Not Enough When I started my work in Positive Psychology, my original view was closest to Aristotle’s—that everything we do is done in order to make us happy—but I actually detest the word happiness, which is so overused that it has become almost meaningless. It is an unworkable term for science, or for any practical goal such as education, therapy, public policy,...

[caption id="attachment_474" align="alignright" width="384" caption="Not expecting a miracle from beyond me - but creating one within me."][/caption] I turn 33 on May 21, 2011. My intention is to feel the strongest & healthiest I have ever felt in my life on May 21, 2011. To do this, I will: Meditate regularly. Exercise daily: lifting, inten sati, yoga. Train for the Cleveland Half Marathon, which I'll run on May 15. Choose healthy food options (What's been 'kissed by the sun'?). Eliminate toxins (no drinking or inhaling anything other than fresh, clean air). Love myself fully, exactly as I am. I will know I'm successful when I feel it. I set and spoke...

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