Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I love having the family all together. I love having significant others and best friends join us. I never cared much about the food, except the pumpkin pie, so over the years the traditional turkey dinner became the traditional Chinese takeout dinner. But we still have pumpkin pie. […]
Redeeming Thanksgiving Read More »
All life is your guru. There is absolutely nothing that does not reflect the perfection of creation and the power of love that created it. The very cells of your body vibrate in harmony with all that is. Your understanding or your lack of understanding changes nothing. But your experience changes everything. Once remembrance is
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The way to find love is to be love, which is just another way of saying be who you are. You are not lovable because someone loves you. You are not without love if someone doesn’t love you. It is not possible to be without love or to be unlovable. It is only possible to
When someone says thank you, there are several common responses: No problem.You bet.Of course.No worries.It was nothing.My pleasure.Happy to help. And the traditional response, “You’re welcome.” We respond to thanks without really thinking, but lately I’ve been paying more attention to this unnoticed little phrase and what it suggests. You are welcome. You are welcome
One of the things I did last year to sustain me during some challenging times was to create my own inspiration cards. I got some multi-colored index cards, some pens with various colors of ink, and a box. Then I started writing down quotes, poems, thoughts, verses, whatever caught my attention and provided inspiration, encouragement,
Do-It-Yourself Inspiration Read More »
I ran across this phrase recently. It caught my attention because I love the word abide. Looking up its etymology, I found that it carries with it a sense of “waiting onward.” I loved that too. Not waiting passively or impatiently, but with an attitude of alert attention, open receptivity, readiness to engage fully with
Several years ago, the desire to know, to merge, with the Divine Beloved was so strong within me that I knew without that union, nothing else would ever be enough. And so I wrote this prayer: BelovedOh to feel your touch of graceI ache for your embrace of compassionTake me to yourselfLose me in the
An Answered Prayer Read More »
I haven’t had a word of the year for a decade. In an illustration of cosmic humor of the universe, my last word of the year was in 2013 and my word was “wait.” But as 2013 came to a close, no new word came for 2014. Now, ten years later, as 2023 drew to
The Power of Being Willing Read More »
Greetings to all and wishes for a good start to the new year. I was at my cabin for New Year’s Eve. I did my usual ritual of writing a letter to the old year thanking it for its blessings, and a letter welcoming the new year. It’s normal as a year ends to reflect.
Tonight is winter solstice, the longest night. Tomorrow the light returns just as winter begins. How perfect. A few days ago, I sat on a driftwood log, watching the seagulls swoop over the waves crashing on the shore. All I could think was, “Thank you, God, for letting me live long enough to have this
Thank You for This Day Read More »
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 »
As the American holiday of Thanksgiving approaches, we find our own ways of celebrating, or, for some of us, not celebrating. Some have traditional dinners with friends or family. Some are uncomfortable with the controversial origins of the holiday and choose not to acknowledge it, while others embrace the first Thanksgiving narrative. Some choose, like
Speaking Gratitude Read More »
[Note: I’ve been trying to update something on my subscriber service, and apparently my last post got resent one or two extra times to some people. If that happened to you, I apologize for the annoyance. Hopefully, everything is fixed now.] Someone complained to me recently that she had gotten away from her spiritual practice
Everyday Life as Spiritual Practice 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
Buddhism is sometimes described as the middle path or the middle way. This has a specific meaning in the context of Buddhism, but for me the general concept of a middle way helped me navigate my journey with cancer this year. I have written over recent months about the challenges and blessings of this journey
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I began this year every morning saying a prayer I wrote asking for liberation, whatever it takes. When people asked me what I meant by liberation, I said I wanted to release anything and everything that blocked my awareness and experience of union with the divine. I recommitted myself to my practice of allowing, trusting,
Liberation Looks Like Love Read More »
A koan is a paradoxical statement or question used in Zen Buddhism to confound logical thinking and facilitate enlightenment. For example, what is the sound of one hand clapping? Our brains like to identify, categorize, explain, and evaluate. When they are not able to do this, they get agitated and start scanning more anxiously for
Life, the Ultimate Koan Read More »
Yesterday was a day of fortuitous synchronicity. A friend and I had planned to meet at a lovely spot in Portland known as The Grotto to walk the labyrinth there. The Grotto is an outdoor Catholic shrine, with beautiful gardens and stone labyrinth nestled under large pines. I find this place peaceful to my soul
Have a Wonderful Life Read More »
Many of us have had the experience of hearing our name called as a teacher or group leader goes down the list. The typical response is usually “Here!” or “Present!” Sometimes this is accompanied by a raised hand to help identify ourselves. The person calling the roll is not asking anything of us at that
The Roll Call of Life Read More »
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things. ~Philippians 4:8 Since the beginning of the year, I have paid a lot more attention to my thoughts. Many of us
Think on These Things Read More »