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 …
Open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me that I may walk through this day with the kind of awareness that calls forth grateful living. ~Macrina Wiederkehr I’ve been using this quote recently to start my day. I like the idea of waking up with a blessing, an expression of gratitude for a precious …
It’s that time of year, at least in the temperate climes of the northern hemisphere. As we approach winter solstice, health is in our awareness more than usual this year. Some of us are getting our flu shots and Covid boosters. Health concerns are now part of our plans for holiday travel and getting together …
Good structural alignment helps keep our bodies healthy and pain free. If you are young, good structural alignment will prevent damage to knees and hips as you age. If you are older, correcting your alignment will alleviate lower back pain, take pressure off your knees and hips, and help you avoid tripping and falling. It’s …
Life has been … what … lately. At times overwhelming, at times sad, at times distressed, at times upset, at times peaceful, at times distracted, at times frustrated, at times joyful. In other words, lots going on. Especially in my head. Stories, worries, plans, lack of plans, projections, more stories. Scattered. Recently I had a …
As a person who often advocates “practice,” I’ve been exploring what it means to practice something. We might have lots of practices. I practice martial arts, for example. Some of us practice mindfulness, meditation, yoga, loving-kindness, and more. When we have an intention to cultivate or develop a skill or a habit, we devote time …
This chapter starts with a description of a small country with few people. They live simply and in harmony with nature. (This chapter could have been the model for the back to the land movement of my younger years. Reading it brought back wonderful memories of living in a shack in the mountains of Montana!) …
Sometimes we have a challenging encounter with someone. Sometimes we have an ongoing challenging relationship with someone. It’s hard to be at peace or to keep an open heart when someone hurts us, irritates us, enrages us, or frightens us. It’s easy to justify our judgment, our feelings, our reactions. After all, this other person …
My grandson, who can sometimes be a glass half empty kind of kid, was telling me the other day that he had decided to look on the brighter side of life. “Yep,” he said, “if I’m feeling bad, I can just look out the window and think at least there’s no volcano.” There is that. …
Lately I’ve been feeling drained, like my life force is seeping out of me. Absent any other symptoms indicating illness, I’ve been puzzled by this general malaise. Last night I gave it some focused thought. What is different in my life? What has changed in recent weeks? Two things came to mind. First, I’ve been …
Last weekend I was walking along a trail with a friend. We had our dogs with us – my little fur ball and her big Lab. We came to a small single plank bridge over a tiny creek. The plank was 12 inches wide. I started across. Just then her dog decided that she wanted …
Someone jokingly said to me recently, “You are my guru.” I laughed and responded, “No, I’m not anyone’s guru. Your breath is your guru.” It’s true. And it’s that simple. My shelves are filled with books on spirituality, mysticism, happiness, meditation, enlightenment, and more. I used to read them because I thought they held a …
When I’m up at my cabin, I have no TV, internet, or phone service. I don’t miss it. I don’t even think about it. Or if I do think about it, I think about how glad I am to be free of all these things for a few days. However, yesterday at home I ran …
