Breathe deeply, until sweet air extinguishes the burn of fear in your lungs and every breath is a beautiful refusal to become anything less than infinite. ~D. Antoinette Foy Lately, I’ve been feeling some anxiety. Not debilitating or overwhelming, but anxiety is not something I typically experience, so I’ve noticed it and wondered about its […]
Happy spring equinox! Today the light that began to emerge from the womb of darkness at winter solstice is in perfect equilibrium before taking the lead into spring. The yin energy of quiet inner receptivity yields now to the yang energy of creative manifestation. Get ready to shine! In preparation for spring’s burst of blossoming
A Day of Perfect Balance Read More »
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” ~Isaiah 30:21 Lately, I have witnessed several people agonizing over choices. True, the decisions in question were important life-direction decisions leading to very different paths, not choices to take
You Always Know What To Do Read More »
If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~Toni Morrison We might not think of surrender as leading to power. On the contrary, the word often suggests defeat or weakness. But surrender in the realm of spirit is different. Here, we are referring to alignment with the universal energy of creation. The power
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There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. …[A]s we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Willamson I had a friend who, although barely five
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Let your deeds be the offspring of the path of light. ~Pamela Eakins Our deeds have an origin. We might act out of fear, or obligation, or obedience, or anger. Or out of joy, or love, or compassion, or kindness. Many of us are taught to submit to an outside authority, so we discipline ourselves
The mystery, the essence of all life, is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening. ~Toni Packer Listening. That’s not something many of us are very good at. While we’re listening to music or podcasts, our minds are often engaged in something else. We pride ourselves on multi-tasking, not realizing that our minds
Years ago, I was standing on a sidewalk in Paris, close to a line of cars parked along the curb, chatting with some friends. Suddenly a deep voice bellowed from the car closest to me. “Step away from the car! Step away from the car!” I didn’t just step, I leapt several feet, crashing into
I am never upset for the reason I think. ~A Course in Miracles What happens when we feel disturbed? The mind starts thinking. Emotions flood the body with sensation. At least that is what happened to me recently when I got upset after a conversation with someone. I was upset about what the other person
A Disturbance in the Force Read More »
Stories have power. We all know this. Jesus taught love in parables. Aesop’s wisdom was embedded in fables. Biographers tell life stories. Stories touch our hearts, tickle our funnybones, challenge us, inform us, inspire us. And sometimes stories entrap us. I have listened over the last year to one person’s stories about me, stories that
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I don’t need to go there. ~Swami Khecaranatha When I use my car’s GPS to set my route to a particular destination, sometimes I miss a turn or even intentionally take a little detour, distracted by one thing or another. The nice computer lady who gives me directions never fusses at me. I see the
Return to the Route Read More »
Talk less, listen moreJudge less, love more A mantra is a word or short phrase that focuses your attention. It can be a sacred mantra that connects you to the divine. It can be a brief, inspiring quote. It can be a reminder or guide to keep you focused on what is most important to
In Greek mythology, Arachne was a highly skilled weaver. So confident was she of her talent that she bragged her weaving was more beautiful than that of the goddess Athena. Athena did not take kindly to the comparison. She approached Arachne disguised as an old woman and issued this warning: “I have had much experience
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Recently I invited a friend to join me in an activity I had planned for the two of us. I had an idea of how this would all go, but when my friend showed up, she had a very different idea. Taken a bit by surprise, and thrown off balance for a moment, I did
Not once but twice in recent weeks I caught myself being judgmental in a way that surprised me. Both times, my judgment was based on a narrative, a story I was telling myself about things I had observed. At its inception an observation is neutral, but then we quickly start embellishing it with interpretations and
Living as a Perfect Human Being Read More »
Self-improvement is big business. It permeates our culture and our psyches. We are bombarded by messages of not-quite-good-enoughness from every direction, as well as promises of how to be better in every imaginable way. And it’s hard to argue that being healthier, happier, smarter, kinder, holier, and so on, would be a bad thing. There
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For a number of years, I used a non-dominant-hand writing method to access inner wisdom and guidance. Once, as my left hand was writing about seeing through all illusion to the reality of truth, I was counseled not only to see the truth, but to “live the seeing.” Curious phrasing, but the advice stuck with
I was describing to someone how working on the last stages of my new book as I was preparing for cancer surgery this summer really helped me stay centered. Reading and rereading the chapters to edit and proofread kept the content of the book front and center in my consciousness and was a constant and
This Shit Really Works Read More »
Recently I wrote about how I created rituals to help support me through having cancer this year. One ritual I didn’t mention was one that hasn’t happened yet, but will this weekend. When I knew I was going to have a hysterectomy due to cervical cancer, I decided I wanted to honor the body parts
Not long ago, I was contemplating whether to reach out to someone with whom I had had a falling out, who as a result had cut off communication with me. Months had gone by, and I thought perhaps I might offer a simple message, without expectation of response, just to let the other person know