No matter where you are on the political spectrum, this has been a bruising year. The election is over, so now where do we go from here? There is so much division, anger, and even hate—all of which don’t lead us to happiness, peace, or thriving as human beings. We’ve…
Since April of this year, I’ve been the unlucky recipient of pain in various parts of my body, all Musculo-skeletal. This is the 2nd time I’ve had pain for extended periods so I’m hoping this one will resolve too. In the meantime, it’s been a challenge to my meditation practice as…
I led a retreat a couple of weeks ago and this talk was particularly helpful in shedding light on the retreatants’ meditation practice. I hope it does the same for you. The overall theme of the retreat was what our attitudes are as we sit in meditation, how events before…
Lately, when I sit in the late afternoon watching the sunset through my family room door wall, I’m aware of the beauty of this time of day. For photographers, this is called the Golden Hour. The slanting of the sun, shining through the trees and shrubs gives a glow you…
Recently I saw a foreign film titled ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ which was one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a story of a couple with an 11 y.o. son who is mostly blind following an accident. Both are writers but she is much more…
What makes it hard to be compassionate to yourself? What did you learn growing up, from school, work, your family, or community about being compassionate to yourself? Did you hear things like; ‘Get going’, ’you’re just feeling sorry for yourself’ or ‘you’re just having a pity party’. ‘be strong’, ‘be…
I recently had a request from some group members to talk about resistance because it was becoming noticeable in many of their sittings and their lives. They wanted to know what to do about it. These are some of the questions I asked: Resistance is biologically driven especially against the…
While I was on vacation, I made a concerted effort to limit my news intake. It was easier because I was on the beach or in a new town and wanted to explore the area, go to restaurants and museums, or take a hike in a nature preserve. I regularly take…
I’m writing this after my 3rd day in New Port Richey, Florida where I’m staying at a lovely house called The Mermaid’s Cove. There are dozens of statues of mermaids throughout the house of all sizes including a 10ft metal sculpture of a mermaid holding a pearl and her tail…
There is a book written in the ’40’s called “The Living Mountain”. It was written by a Scottish woman named Nan Shepherd. She spent her life exploring a mountain in a small area of Scotland in the Highlands and wrote a book about what she learned. She apparently spent hundreds of days…