39 essays on connection, boundaries, mindfulness, and making change feel survivable.
3 min read
I started working an office job again recently, after about a 5.5 year break. If you’ve ever talked to me in person and tried to maintain eye contact while I wiggled around the room, you probably =now that I have ADHD.
4 min read
Major life update for me: I’ve gone back to work for someone else. I spent a long time believing I wouldn’t do this again, but I have a Monday - Friday 8:30-5 J-O-B job. And it feels… AMAZING. Not every moment feels amazing.
11 min read
It’s almost impossible to explain the impact of Camp Pride. I don’t think I could have understood it until I experienced it myself. But the world needs to know about it, so I’m going to try.
4 min read
Ever find yourself replaying a situation, wishing it had gone differently? Like... really overthinking it? Ruminating. Spinning. Trying to make sense of something that already happened.
9 min read
Holy f*ing moly was my 37th lap around the sun amazing. I didn’t just luck into this incredible year, I created it for myself.
7 min read
This was originally shared with my newsletter community. To receive future monthly newsletters, click here to sign up for free! February Update My February was FANTASTIC.
7 min read
I originally shared this as October’s newsletter. I adapted it for my blog after receiving significant positive feedback. My monthly newsletters are released on the first Tuesday of each month and contain a monthly update (with lessons...
8 min read
This is the story of how my mind ruined THE greatest night of my life. Ok, maybe it wouldn’t have been the greatest night ever.
9 min read
In honor of my birthday last week, I took some time to reflect on the greatest things I learned (or was reminded of) during this last year. I got it down to 50 things.
2 min read
When I was in college, watching a friend smile as they danced imperfectly changed my life forever.
7 min read
Me, Bara Mann Hi! I’m Bara. I’m a life coach and a writer, amongst many other things. I’ve changed a lot over the years, and so has my identity.
7 min read
If you’ve been following me for a while you may have noticed that when I write about other people I tend to use “they/them/theirs” for those individuals’ pronouns.
6 min read
Spoiler alert! This is a continuation of a love story that began 10 years ago. You’ll want to start at the beginning to get the whole story. TLDR the first few blogs: after 9 years of being apart, Alex and I reconnected.
5 min read
This is a continuation of the love story I began in my previous blog. I highly recommend starting there, or this blog may seem pretty out of context! Click to start at the beginning.
6 min read
The past few months have been some of the best months of my entire life. And they've also been some of the most challenging. They involved a love story that began 10 years ago. With… let’s call them Alex, for the sake of this blog.
7 min read
(no, not your feelings. The thoughts that you call feelings… which you probably do constantly.) Y’all may have heard me talk about the importance of feeling your feelings. Of accepting them and allowing them to exist.
6 min read
True love is unwavering. That is the kind of love you want to have for yourself. Strong and steady, even when times get tough. I was not happy when I was told I needed to work on my self-love.
7 min read
Believe. There’s so much power in that one simple word. Photo of a pillar in my Lasso-inspired-friend’s home. It’s why Ted Lasso posted it in the locker room.
4 min read
This month I’ve been pretty occupied by the PQ (positivity quotient) coaches training I mentioned last month. I’ve juuuust started incorporating it into my client sessions, so I’ll have to wait to share those results.
9 min read
Last October I embarked on what I knew would be the greatest adventure (thus far) of my adult life. I was going to paddleboard into lower Antelope Canyon, alone.
7 min read
Much of what I learned about the right way to say no (to enforce my boundaries) came from a Google search I conducted in 2013: “How to break up over the phone?”
5 min read
When I was in college I had a friend who was much more free spirited than me. They weren’t very studious from what I could tell; they seemed to have this trust that everything would just work out.
12 min read
I love to share the things I love! Here are 22 of my ‘22 favorites: products, consumables, and community!
9 min read
I realized I was making a classic mistake: I was running away from what I didn’t want, instead of moving toward what I did want… I trained myself to make my positivity and optimism stronger.
7 min read
My mind was caught up in worries about the undefined, unknown future. It was essentially hallucinating unpleasant scenarios that were unlikely to become real.
10 min read
I know how to manifest, so I could just focus on that… but first I decided to reflect. Was I holding myself back in any way? The answer came in quick–I was. With the three $100 bills hidden away in my closet.
8 min read
I wasn’t the first person to make this mistake, and I won’t be the last. People frequently ignore the part of their life that sucks, or that they feel frustrated or “stuck” in. They convince themselves that the rest will make up for it.
8 min read
My healing journey kicked into high gear when I moved in with my parents in my 30’s. Being home with my parents was great at first. My anxiety about their health dropped significantly once I was able to police their actions in person.
4 min read
Have you ever felt weird after something in your life changed for the better? Like… you know you should be happy, but you don’t feel that happy?
8 min read
Back to my 35 years on this earth: this birthday sure feels like a milestone. It’s the age my mother was when she had me, which means I’m half of her age now.
11 min read
What is most memorable about my compassion journey is the moment that I realized I wanted to increase my compassion for others. I was so angry I couldn’t think straight.
9 min read
Do you say any of these things? “No problem.” “It’s no big deal.” “Yeah, but it could have been better.” “Thanks, but it was overcooked.” “Yeah, but you should have heard HER tell it.” “Yeah right, they’re way too hot for me.” “The call...
10 min read
Part of the reason I struggled when learning how to meditate was that I didn’t truly understand what my goal was. I thought it was to make my mind go blank, which I found impossible (likely because I’m human).
14 min read
I define connection with the self as being consciously aware of what we have going on inside. Inside as in, within the mind and the body. With what’s ACTUALLY present, in this moment, vs.
14 min read
Fortunately, as with any skill, we can get better at connecting with others! It tends to get easier the more we practice. This means that with some work and perseverance through initial discomfort, most of us will be able to create...
10 min read
I like to focus on two main pillars when it comes to building connection: connection with self and connection with others. I believe that when we do the work in these areas the rest comes naturally.
11 min read
My journey picked up as soon as I got back to Houston, where I was living at the time. I realized that I should probably experience Reiki myself before getting certified in it, so I hit Yelp and Google and wound up booking a session with a...
8 min read
“But Bara, you were a CHEMICAL ENGINEER. How could you possibly get interested in energy healing?!!” If you have this question, you’re not alone. Check out this blog to hear my story.
6 min read
If you’re reading this, you probably know that I’m in business startup mode (at least I am at the time of writing this on October 29, 2021). What you might not know is that I have felt pretty much paralyzed when it comes to naming it.
