Elephant Journal

Here is something I’m not proud to admit. I got a matching tattoo with a guy I was dating. I know, I know. Technically, I should have known better.

I hate online dating. I know, therein lies the most unoriginal of thoughts, repeated time and time again. But there it is.

To devote our faith to the universe, we must first understand Chaos Theory. Chaos theory is defined as an interdisciplinary theory where random states of disorder and chaotic complex systems are actually governed by underlying patterns...

Liz Hoffmann’s first novel “One Ruby Button” is available on Amazon and is a fun and up…

So my husband and I, anxious, aching, and exhausted as ever, have hit a (fire)wall.

Colleagues who can make your work life a terrible experience

Wanting to help a loved one struggling with substance addiction is an understandable and natural response. Many family members and friends feel that it is their job to help a person suffering from alcoholism and that if they manage the problems caused by the addiction, they can help reduce their …

Have you ever felt that what you are doing daily isn’t where you are supposed to be? Do you feel that sense of anxiety that you want to break free but you are unsure of which direction you should be going in? Have you ever felt even though you are …

Yes, 2020: We all get it; we all love to hate it. The endless Zoom meetings, and the absence of music events and other types of usual entertainment. But I’ve come to realize that I actually like the quarantine life. Should I be concerned about this fact? Maybe. But so …

I don’t like you, and I never will. But I know we are going to make more memories together in the near future.

We are in a time where there is a lot of uncertainty and fear regarding the pandemic that is sweeping the planet. Life is not what we are used to. Many of the activities we are accustomed to are ‘on pause’ and most of us are spending a lot of …

Ashley Franklin: They say that the best stories come from experience, and when it comes…

Ashley Franklin: They say that the best stories come from experience, and when it comes…

We have forgotten that we don’t have to sell or paint a masterpiece to be an artist. We put so much pressure on ourselves and what art really means. It isn’t something outside of us; it isn’t something solely meant for galleries where we are told to look but not …

GHOSTWRITTEN: This is a ghostwritten piece for a former client that was accepted and published into Elephant Journal in 2018. *NOTE: Though the byline on this piece is the client's, this is my work.

I wonder at times if it is possible to be a perfect human. No, not that type of perfect that you thought of, because everyone knows that there is no perfection. I wonder if one can live consciously and intentionally, even at the expense of their own comfort. Because lots …

“Someday there will be girls and women whose name will no longer mean the mere opposite of the male, but something in itself, something that makes one think not of any complement and limit, but only life and reality: the female human being.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~ Rilke said …

This is a textbook prepared by the Provincial Curriculum and Textbook Board of the Government, for Home Economics taught solely to girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Unlike the title, the books do not teach them how to manage their finances successfully in life, but instead teach them how …

We met in an unconventional way, you and I—on Twitter, to be precise. You had a clever wit combined with a careless, youthful manner that immediately attracted me. You see, while your manner had a youthful carelessness about it, it did not mask the fact you were more intelligent than …

Sometimes when I close my eyes to sleep at night, I can hear the collective screaming, crying and sighing of generations upon generations of women: raped, forced to bear children, forced to give away their children, forced to provide nourishment to the man who would then use his strength to …

– Shall we go to a nudist beach? My best friend asked me during our vacation in Barcelona. She later admitted she wasn’t sure whether I’d agree or this idea would actualize. She merely “just said it.”But the idea was planted in my head and I kept mentioning it back …

We’re dedicated to sharing the good life beyond the choir, and to all those who didn’t yet know they give a care about living a good, fun life that’s good for others, and our planet. The mindful life is about yoga, organics, sustainability, conscious consumerism, enlightened education, the contemplative arts, …

While consumerism lies about what can give us contentment, lying in Savasana can—with training—give us real contentment, for the rest of our lives.

Before it was popular in movies, and way before Airbnb, I swapped my apartment for a few months with a complete stranger practically halfway around the world. I was lucky enough to be living just a few steps away from the infamous Boardwalk in Venice Beach, California. It sounds magical—and …

Every time you read, share, comment or heart you help an article improve its Rating—which helps Readers see important issues & writers win $$$ from Elephant. Learn more. My friend spent much of her childhood between Amsterdam and the United States. When she was in graduate school, she moved back …

My ex-husband and I planned the trip for weeks: our two daughters, ages eight and ten, would board a plane and fly from Los Angeles to Florida. They would spend the entire summer with him, and a couple of weeks before school started, they’d return and our lives in California …

We live our lives narrating our version of this truth to everyone we encounter. We sometimes tweak the plot to our advantage or censor it to legitimize the choices we make.

It took less than five minutes. I didn’t feel excited, angry, nervous, hopeful, or hopeless. I did it with the same nonchalance I exude going...

Before I left the U.S. for Thailand, the pictures I saw of students seemed familiar—little munchkins in uniforms, lined up with backpacks to salute the flag in the morning. Same same, right? But my first day in a Thai classroom clued me in to just how different this educational experience …

*Editor’s Note: No website is designed to, and can not be construed to, provide actual medical advice, professional diagnosis or treatment to you or anyone. Elephant is not intended as...