It seems like everyone I’m working with at the moment is really going through it. I’m not talking about small hiccups in daily life or little bumps in the road. I’m talking about those life-changing, course-correcting, new-trajectory-seeking moments when we shed our well-worn skin, and have to figure out how to move forward: exposed, raw and disoriented. And even if your personal life is not undergoing a major overhaul, just one mindful glimpse out into the world can/should elicit a temper flare or wave of anxiety (or nausea). We have entered yet another season of reckoning: walking through the fire, and getting clear on how we are creating the life— and world— in which we live.… Read the rest
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Years of practice have served me well. In many ways, and on multiple occasions, applied Eastern philosophy paired with breath work, disciplined movement and meditation have saved my life; and I don’t say that lightly. I’ve learned to observe my mind with less judgement and engage with my thoughts with compassion to create a kinder and gentler inner world. I know how to access stillness, spaciousness and expansion. I am not this body. I am not these thoughts. I am not the fun house ride of emotions always coming and going. Or am I? What is the noise in there all about?… Read the rest
I remember the first time I heard the quote “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It was right up there with “Expectations are pre-meditated resentments.” They are phrases that stop me in my tracks as bottom line truths, where I experience a moment of suspension as the vibration of the words coming toward me evoke resonance with a vibration that lives inside of me. Comparison is the thief of joy. It only takes, it never gives, and it leaves everyone diminished in the process.
Celebrating Happiness If you’ve not studied the Locks & Keys sutra, it’s one of the few in which Patanjali addresses how to keep your mind and heart clear in dealings with the other humans.… Read the rest
I walked away from a silent meditation retreat last February with the imperative to get outside my comfort zone. To do something new and unfamiliar; to put on beginner’s mind and take it for a spin. That intention eventually evolved into the ongoing study in Depth Psychology I shared about last month. Let me tell you, the lessons keep rolling in. The latest? The question of purpose.
When I started the program, my mentor asked me to set a specific goal (something outside my comfort zone) that we would work with and toward through the course of the year to create a framework— a gauge for the self in relationship to the external world.… Read the rest
I’m grateful to have gotten to a place in my life where I’m not easily triggered. I’ve incorporated and interspersed enough mindfulness practices into my days, over enough years, that when the unexpected happens, I am (most of the time) able to just roll with it. I’m able to face surprises in their many guises, disappointment and frustration in a way that allows me to take a breath and choose my response. All of that is true to a point. All of that is true, until it is not at all in any way true.
I recently sent a note to a colleague in another state who I do not know very well with a request for some simple, logistical information.… Read the rest
I’m wondering… what rituals do you have in place that feel meaningful to you at this time? It’s a question I often ask during mindfulness programs as these courses are such a unique opportunity to look closely at and be available to receive insight about what we do and why we do it. In a recent 1:1 session, a participant shared their personal musings on the topic, including some reflection about the difference between ritual and habit. As soon as they said it, all the lights blinked on. Yes. There’s a lot in here to unpack.
What is a ritual? To my mind, a ritual is distinguished by its highly intentional and oftentimes symbolic nature.… Read the rest
I’m wondering how you’re closing your year. I don’t mean your plans for New Year’s Eve, rather, how do you find yourself as we tick off the final days of 2023? Excited? Exhausted? With anticipation or regret? Grateful? Content? Whatever it is, maybe you’ll carve out some time to reflect on where you’ve been this year, and with what are you aligning as we move into the year ahead.
Here are a few notions to get you started:
The garden of your mind. What is happening in there? Do you know? Is that voice in your head- your lifelong roommate— an ally or enemy?… Read the rest
In a recent 1:1 session, I was working with a woman I have known for years. She’s a kind, sweet, generous, powerful force of good in the world, and like the rest of us, she’s got her own little closet of demons to be dealt with from time to time. She was sharing about her longtime struggle with disordered eating and body dysmorphia, and we did some shadow work to see what might be ready to surface. At the end of our time, I asked her what was a small step she could take in the direction of the truth she had uncovered.… Read the rest
I’m coming off of the rare pleasure of a weekend with friends, among them, the ever-wise Glenda Mackie. This morning before teaching, she asked if we knew why leaves turn color in fall. I actually had no idea. Throughout spring and summer, leaves are constantly generating chlorophyll, giving them their green color. As we shift into fall and the nighttime hours grow longer, chlorophyll production stops and other chemical shifts occur— revealing the stunning array of pigments we see in autumn leaves. From darkness, beauty. As always, the nature. Right there teaching us what we need to learn.
It feels so appropriate as I’m currently studying a form of shadow work, rooted in eastern philosophy and infused with techniques of Jungian psychology.… Read the rest
“Every person must choose how much truth he can stand. “ — Carl Jung
Truth. Satya. It seems so straightforward. We think we understand it. It appears uncomplicated. We believe we choose it more often than not. However, after years of studying and teaching the topic and continuing to peel away layer after layer, I’ve found it is, as Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “rarely pure and never simple.”
Last weekend I led a four-day Tantra intensive and we spent an afternoon examining the intersection of sva dharma (your personal role, duty, or true nature), satya (truthfulness) and purushartha (four goals of human life).… Read the rest