About me
There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. True nobility comes from being superior to your previous self ~ Hindu proverb
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Hi there. My name is Laura Owens. Writer. Essayist. Blogger.
My focus is on wellness, natural health, personal development, psychology and empowered living. I offer evidence-based and experience-inspired articles and essays to empower people to reach their highest potential.
My goal is three-fold:
1. To help people realize they deserve to feel good. Wellness in my view, is our natural state of existence.
2. To help people become their own wellness advocates
3. To inspire people to pay their knowledge and wisdom forward
Is feeling kind of crappy our new normal?
How do you feel most days? Do you sense a low, simmering imbalance? If so, likely you’ve adapted to dis-ease. Over time your mind and body begin to function much like a dim bulb, lit enough to do its job but working at low wattage. Sub-optimal wellness becomes your new normal, your way of life.
Soon enough you forget that low energy, mood swings, poor sleep, irritability, aches and pains and a general blekk is NOT the normal state-of-existence or “an inevitable part of the aging process.”
In my view you’re only old (what we’ve decided in our culture is a bad time of life) when you’re dead. Until then, you’re just aging.
The aging process, our march towards the inevitable, doesn’t have to be a spiral down into miserable. Aging can be an upward flight into wisdom, joy and adventure. As we age we should feel good, markedly different, but good.
Joy loves company
Have you ever been around someone who constantly complains? You know the type. This is the person who focuses on the smallest annoyance, who makes the tiniest negative central to her conversation, her life and the fate of the entire world.
“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” “That’s the problem with this world today” are her fatalist perspectives.
On the flip side maybe you have a friend or family member who despite difficult circumstances always manages to find something to be grateful about. This is the person whose face smiles without moving a muscle.
He or she notices small triumphs inside unpleasant moments like the courteous cashier at the end of a long grocery line, the black wiry mutt enthusiastically wagging its tail at his quadriplegic wheelchair bound owner, the brilliant purplish weed growing through a dingy slum sidewalk or that the mixed green salad at lunch was astonishingly fresh even though service was astonishingly slow.
This person notices beauty hidden inside corners.
She delights in moments that puncture the mundane and the annoying. And her tragic moments? The horrors of her life that suck her breath out? Those things flatten her for a while, but they never destroy her view of beauty in the world. (Please see the documentary “Forgiving Dr. Mengele” to learn of this remarkable forgiveness-filled woman.)
How do you feel around these two people?
Misery shouldn’t love company, compassion should.
I don’t think we do ourselves or anyone else a favor by meeting someone at their misery. Please don’t misunderstand. As humans we have an enormous capacity to love, to empathize and to care for others, so because we can – we should. But we don’t need to contribute and reinforce misery by commiserating in the negative. I’m not suggesting we deny the obvious awful; just that we don’t decide awful is the way “it” is.
Healthy hedonism
There’s something to be said for being a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, for what the joy-seeking mindset does for our emotional well-being. In my view we’re here to be joyful people and inside that place, we serve others. And so goes the reverse, that by serving others, we become joyful.
I’m an avid health advocate. I like yoga, baked tofu, dark greens, indistinguishable foods from the health food store, the Dalai Lama, science, documentaries, spirituality and my very large cabinet of supplements. I also live a life of impractical bad habits. I love high heels, great cheese, red wine, every sitcom known to mankind, char grilled lean meat, french fries and the all important Twizzlers.
I’m an unapologetic hedonist who basks in the senses. (A great book for the sensist is the A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman).
I hate to diet and love to exercise. I figure what I’ve lost in muscle tone I’ve gained in tenacity to feel good, in gained wisdom about who and what’s worth the sweat. This seems a reasonable trade off until I see Megan Fox in a string bikini and then I’m not so convinced inner peace doesn’t also include table top abs and a toned butt. Why lie about the obvious?
Joy flows from I believe, deciding you deserve it and then empowering your body, mind and Spirit to live what you deserve. No doctor, friend, employer, spouse, parent or child can give us the joy we crave; they can only come along for the ride.
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Contact me: Lowens350@gmail.com
Click for list of articles on well-being
This site is designed for the general public, adults 18 and older.
My Background
- I graduated with honors with a B.S. in Psychology and minor in Marketing from Rollins College and University of Florida.
- I’ve been researching natural mood-balancing, well-being, natural health and alternative medicine for twelve years.
- I have a certificate of workshop completion on “Stress-related Disorders” by the Institute for Brain Potential.
After college I worked ten years as a Marketing & Advertising Director and Market Research Analyst. I co-founded my Mothers & More chapter. I’m married with children (one child & one obscenely spoiled pug).
My writing links:
- Editor’s Choice Award: Old Age Increases Happiness, Long Term Research Finds
- Editor’s Choice Award: Autism Research: Genetic and Environmental Factors Both Crucial
- Honorable mention skirt! essay contest
- My blog Treelight: Essays & Opinions
- skirt! blog
- Natural Muscle Magazine
- AKA Mom Magazine
- Susan Liddy International – Emotional Intelligence for Women
- Playground Magazine
- Sheknows.com
- Healthmango.com
- Sayanhealth.com
- Childpsychology.net
- Mothers & More Forum
- Mothers Movement Online
- The First Step Magazine (U.K.)
- Natural Mothering online
- The Orlando Sentinel
- and other local Orlando publications.
Contact Info
Email: Lowens350@gmail.com
Continuing Education:
- Stress-related disorders – Institute for Brain Potential
- Understanding the Gut Brain: Stress, Appetite, Digestion and Mood – Institute for Brain Potential
- Theory & Practice of Creative Writing
- A Writer’s Guide to Descriptive Settings
- Focus on Writing the Personal Essay
Skill endorsements:
LinkedIn endorsements
Testimonials:
“Laura is an exceptional writer who comes up with innovative spins on any topic she tackles. She is a go-getter and always meets her editorial deadlines. She is a pleasure to work with as an editor.” Former Editor, Playground Magazine.
“I ran across Laura Owens one day as I was researching data for healthy living. I was ASTOUNDED by the depth of knowledge and VALUE that Laura offered on her websites. So, invited her to guest blog and she said “YES!” Susan Liddy, Life, Biz & Body Benevolence Coach, Author, Speaker. , MA, PCC, CCC
I just wanted to take a minute and tell you how impressed I was with your latest article on autism — genetics and environmental triggers. I read every article on autism that gets published in the Health & Wellness or Parenting sections, and this rates far above the rest I’ve seen lately. I absolutely love how you handled it. The insights were good, and your article was very well written.” Vickie Ewell, Feature Writer Suite101: Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome.
thank you.