One after another of these young people talked about finding not just a community of understanding at Mindstream, but a new family. They reported finding confidence they never had, self-esteem they had lost. They found self-respect, and purpose, and passion.

When we fail to identify and separate from this inner critic, we allow it to impact our behavior and shape the direction of our lives. So how can we challenge this inner voice?

Feeling powerlessness is real. Being powerless is real. And acknowledging it can grow us. But let it lead you not to despair or destruction, but toward honoring yourself. Channel your powerlessness to bolster your strength, resources, authority, and capacity to act.

The Golden Rule teaches that we should treat others as we, ourselves, would wish to be treated. This basic ethic is repeated in a multitude of variations in the texts of all the great religions of the world.

When another living being loves you so much, why would you ever doubt your self worth? We should instead strive to live up to that love and be the type of person our dog thinks we are.

What is this first name stuff and why does it bother me? I understand the whole "let's be friendly" movement. The problem comes when you recognize that giving one respect over another diminishes someone, and perhaps that's why we have a protocol called manners in the first place.

Wise actions flow naturally from the right principles. When respect directs our daily choices, all our interactions are in harmony with our greater good. Respect for ourselves, one another, and for life itself should be at our core lighting the path for us.

Over the course of the last 20 years, many things have changed and developed in my life. Here are some excellent guidelines I have picked up along the way and have learned to follow, without a doubt.

However you do it, get back in touch with your body, your heart, and reconnect to your source of wonder. Because that wonder is you.

We need a society that offers opportunities to care for ourselves and our families. However, those who live only for money and power are usually miserable in all aspects of their lives and bring deep unhappiness to all those who rely on them.

It is amongst the daily chores, to-do lists, dentist visits and parent-teacher meetings that I breathe, listen, remember and use the skills yoga has given me to find that peace and balance I'm looking for.

Instead of using your coping mechanisms to mask what's going on underneath, why not use them as an early warning system that something is going on and begin to take a look under the hood?

We have the freedom to do whatever the heck we want, when we want and how we want. Respect for who we are and how we deserved to be treated should be at the top of our list.

People like Woods don't change. So if you were his' wife, what would you do in this situation? Would you allow him back into your life, or would you get some self-respect and move forward with your life?

My first memory in life is of my mother holding me up as a human shield to get my dad to stop beating her. I was just 2-years-old. Now my goal is to break this cycle of disrespect.

When Oprah Winfrey realized she was the dreaded 2-0-0, she wrote in the January issue of her magazine: I'm mad at myself. I'm embarrassed....

Based on my own risky journey with sex as a teen--and my mom being a 2x teen mom--to me a big part of the "solution" comes down to boosting self-respect.