Underneath all we are taught, there is a voice that calls to us beyond what is reasonable, and in listening to that flicker of spirit, we often find deep healing. This is the voice of embodiment calling us to live our lives like sheet music played, and it often speaks to us briefly in moments of deep crisis. Sometimes it is so faint, we mistake its whisper for wind through leaves. But taking it into the heart of our pain, it can often open the paralysis of our lives. This b

Stories hold great power in our lives, serving to inspire, encourage, and motivate us. These tales often come from the experiences of both ordinary and extraordinary individuals, from both the past and the present. Significant narratives also appear in the writings of global faith traditions. I encountered one such story recently in philosopher-poet Mark Nepo’s daily meditation book, The Book of Awakening.  The epigraph for his January 10 entry featured this tale from the Tal

Feeding Your Heart

What we reach for may be different, But what makes us reach is the same. I magine that each of us is a spoke in an infinite wheel, and, though each spoke is essential in keeping the Wheel whole, no two spokes are the same. The rim of that Wheel is our living sense of community, family, and relationship, but the common hub where all the spokes join is the one center where all souls meet. So, as I move out into the world, I live out my uniqueness, but when I dare to look into m

Self-help literature is out there and can provide quick and easy interventions. These books can also be very inspiring and help you recognize that you are not alone.

“My grandmother told me, “never hide your green hair – they can see it anyway.” Angeles Arrien From the agonies of kindergarten, when we first were teased or made fun of in the midst of all of our innocence, we have all struggled in one way or another with hiding what is obvious about us. No one plans this. It is not a conspiracy, but rather an inevitable and hurtful passage from knowing only ourselves to knowing the world. The tragedy is the many of us never talk about it,

“We could never have guessed, we were already blessed, where we are….” James Taylor This reminds me of a woman who found a folded sponge all dried and compressed, and tucked inside the hardened fold was a message she’d been seeking. She carried the hardened sponge to the sea and, up to her waist in the deep, she watched it unfold and come to life in the water. Magically, the secret of life became visible in the bubbles being released from the sponge, and to her amazement, a

“The coming to consciousness is not a discovery of some new thing; it is a long and painful return to that which has alway been.” Helen Luke Each person is born with an unencumbered spot – free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry. It is this spot of grace that issues peace. Psychologists call this spot the Psyche, theologians call it the Soul, Jung calls it the Seat of the Unconscious, Hindu masters call it Atman, Buddhists ca

Lead us from the unreal to the real.” Hindu Invocation It was a snowy night, and Robert was recalling the time two springs ago when he was determined to paint the family room. Up early, he was out the door, to the hardware store gathering the gallons of red, the wooden mixing sticks, the drop cloths, and the one-time brushes that always harden, no matter what you soak them in. He mixed the paint outside and waddled to the door with a gallon in each hand, the drop cloth under

Of all things that exist, we breathe and wake and turn it into song. There is a Buddhist precept that asks us to be mindful of how rare it is to find ourselves in human form on Earth. It is really a beautiful view of life that offers us the chance to feel enormous appreciation for the fact that we are here as individual spirits filled with consciousness, drinking water and chopping wood. It asks us to look about at the ant and the antelope, at the worm and the butterfly, at

As a therapist, it is essential for me to be adaptable and to possess the ability to "read the room," so to speak. This concept goes...

Do I always have to be good at everything? For that matter, do I always have to be right? The things that I don’t like to do or am not...

This theme of anger frequently arises in my practice. You know, that surge of adrenaline you experience when something really irritates...

Emotions can sometimes seem unfamiliar and even unacceptable - both to others and ourselves. We may be uncomfortable with feeling a...