I’m an estranged parent and was once a huge Oprah fan. Do I regret letting my kids watch the Oprah show with me? Absolutely! Yet Oprah has a new, again monetized platform on a trendy subject. Would I trust what she has to say? Absolutely not! Those who eventually know better do better.

A kinkeeper- the gatekeeper to the family, is a family member, usually, but not always, a woman, who takes on the role of maintaining family connections  and fostering a sense of solidarity within the family circle. Authentic kinkeepers play a key role in keeping the family together, acting as the emotional glue that holds things humming along despite family tensions that rise from time to time. It's a vital role in a world where connection with family is weakening, and ment

Men, particularly lion-hearted men, tend to disown their emotions, and the emotions of others, or at least assign them significantly less prominence than say putting food on the table- including their quest to earn a good living in their career or business, which, some think will be key to getting to be the one to copulate with the lioness, but also to give their families a better life.

For if and when your estranged child decides to walk through your door, keep it open. Your grown-up child will find a way to return when they are ready. But no parent will want to turn it into a blame session, even if there is a good reason to. Throwing your pain back at 'the source' is unproductive and will send them running.

But I didn’t escape that life by cutting her off. I escaped by finding my real identity. It was within me all along, and despite everything, my mother is still an intrinsic part of me, despite having left this realm.

It also makes sense that we are subconsciously driven by the human desire to connect with others- perhaps the human soul's desire is to attempt to return to oneness, to the one single cell with a particular place in the cosmos. So we reach out to other humans to connect with them for a while, before fears and tears drive us apart again, despite having a genetic link to every other human, and every other life form on Earth.

An adult child might feel that they lose themselves in the relationship, and don't return for fear of being drawn back into painful dynamics with their mother, or, in some cases, feel too guilty to face their mothers and are unable to get out of the corner they painted themselves into. The mother, who may then be dealing with depression and other issues, deals with any reconciliation attempts clumsily and may also be experiencing guilt and sitting in her unpainted corner.

Once limited to being an essential weapon for narcissists and psychopaths, dehumanization has seeped into many facets of life, as people struggle to survive and strive to thrive. Too many people choo se to dehumanize those around them as a response to conflicting motives, denying full humanity in others, cruelly inflicting suffering . The so-called personal growth through the generations has shifted from the stoic “Greatest Generation’s” selflessness and willingness to sacr

Every single child deserves to be treated with dignity. It's their absolute human right. But as a human who enjoys rights, some duties limit these rights, although these duties only emerge as they age.