MARINA OPPENHEIMER BOOKS AND BLOG

A few years ago, due to my divorce, I moved from Coral Gables to Miami Beach. While living right on the beach by the sea brings me a lot of serenity and joy for life, the fact that in Miami Beach it’s very hard to make new friends annoys me. It was then that a former work colleague suggested introducing me to one of her friends who, coincidentally, lives very near me and is also from Argentina. After my colleague gave me her name and phone number, I sent her a text message and we both decided to meet for dinner at a nearby restaurant. While at this stage of my life I prefer to have lunch rather than dinner, my colleague's friend replied that she was very busy with work during the day and that having lunch was not an option for her. So we agreed to have dinner instead. On the day we were supposed to meet, I arrived at the restaurant a little early and decided to wait for my future friend while enjoying a glass of chilled white wine. And so half an hour went by without her showing up...

Cuando la playa se encuentra solitaria y vacía, mis recuerdos se borran y se duermen mis penas. Cuando nadie pisa esa arena blanca y las aves se entregan a su silencioso vuelo, mi alma se adormece con el ruido del agua

I often wondered about the hidden meaning of that phrase. I had a marriage that, although it lasted thirty years, was the source of profound suffering for me. After the relationship ended in a quick divorce, my then-husband decided to remarry a younger woman who shared his religion. Meanwhile, I moved into an apartment in Miami Beach. In the years that followed, there were many nights when I pondered the truth behind Eckhart Tolle’s famous saying. From the outside, my ex-husband had created a new life for himself, while I was desperately trying to adjust to the solitude of my new home. Fortunately, my apartment offered a beautiful view of the ocean, which made my nights feel less lonely. One day, while walking along Miami Beach boardwalk, I ran into the man who had been my partner for so many years. At first I barely recognized him; his face had changed—he had aged. After a brief greeting and farewell, I headed home, my thoughts returning once again to Tolle’s famous proverb. Although ...

*************DEDICO ESTE LIBRO A MI AMADO NIETO, BEN MANUEL OPPENHEIMER **************** *********CUANDO ESCUCHO TU VOZ*********** Cuando en el silencio de mi casa solitaria escucho tu voz, amable y serena, torrentes de agua límpida se desmoronan de los techos de la ciudad dormida, y desaparecen las penas.

As per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3. Major Depression disorder affects more than 16.1 million American adults, or about 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Although the precise genetic make-up of depression is unknown, there are many theories that try to explain the role of the brain in the etiology of this disorder. Most probably however depression is a multifactorial syndrome where not only genetics but also environmental factors play a role. This is where neuroplasticity plays an important role in the treatment of depression. If we are able to transform our negative thoughts into thoughts that are more resourceful, we will be able to rewire our brain connections; in other words, by changing our thoughts we can feel and behave differently. Those thoughts that fuel our despondency by focusing on what we have lost can be replaced by thoughts that generate ou...

Ayer mientras me deleitaba con las fotos de Instagram, un video me llamó la atención de inmediato: la foto mostraba una bellísima águila al tope de un cerro empujando suavemente a su aguilucho para que empezara a volar. Y cuando así lo hizo, su madre se lanzó detrás de él para felicitarlo con sus alas abiertas. Como nunca había visto nada parecido, la ternura de la imagen me emocionó profundamente. Pero al terminar de ver el video no pude menos que preguntarme si mis lágrimas se debían a la belleza del momento, o más bien al recuerdo de esa etapa compleja de mi vida cuando mi hijo también abrió las alas de su nueva vida. Como para muchos otros, ese fue uno de mis momentos más penosos. Al tener un hijo único, mi relación con él se había convertido poco a poco en el significado de mi vida. Me acordé entonces de una frase del psiquiatra Americano M. Scott Peck cuando dice que si supiéramos lo que significa tener hijos nadie los tendría, y me dije que, en momentos como ése, era muy probabl...