I was in my twenties when I started dabbling with yoga and meditation. For a long while, it was like many things are with me: all or nothing, coming and going in fits and starts. Looking back through the lens of years of experience and the patterns of thousands of students, I can see it for what it was. In the beginning, I did just enough practice to make me feel better. I did what was needed to take the edge off the pain of being human. And once that sharp edge was smoothed a bit, I fell back into old habits.… Read the rest
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First and foremost, a giant and heartfelt thank you for the stream of messages and texts inquiring about our safety and the state of things in the mountains. I was in DC and my mom was in Raleigh, so we are safe. I don’t have information about the house at this point, but when so many are experiencing unimaginable losses, we can just be grateful that we are fine. What I do know is this: the faraway world is burning and the nearby world is drowning. There is so much to hold, and we need to feel all of it.
Honestly, I didn’t really have a sense of what was happening over the weekend.… Read the rest
I cannot pinpoint exactly when it started. The celebration of diversity. The pouring rain. Athletes, spanning generations, jogging together through the darkness, passing the torch. Celine Dion, in the midst of her heath crisis singing her heart out from the Eiffel Tower. It doesn’t really matter, and I can’t pick a moment. Let the games begin. And let the weeping commence. Is it just me?
One among a multitude of reasons this newsletter is coming out late is due to the number of hours I am spending in front of the television instead of in front of the computer. I don’t think I’ve missed a single minute of the women’s artistic gymnastics, and that’s certainly not all I’ve watched.… Read the rest
It seems like everyone I’m working with at the moment is really going through it. I’m not talking about small hiccups in daily life or little bumps in the road. I’m talking about those life-changing, course-correcting, new-trajectory-seeking moments when we shed our well-worn skin, and have to figure out how to move forward: exposed, raw and disoriented. And even if your personal life is not undergoing a major overhaul, just one mindful glimpse out into the world can/should elicit a temper flare or wave of anxiety (or nausea). We have entered yet another season of reckoning: walking through the fire, and getting clear on how we are creating the life— and world— in which we live.… Read the rest
Years of practice have served me well. In many ways, and on multiple occasions, applied Eastern philosophy paired with breath work, disciplined movement and meditation have saved my life; and I don’t say that lightly. I’ve learned to observe my mind with less judgement and engage with my thoughts with compassion to create a kinder and gentler inner world. I know how to access stillness, spaciousness and expansion. I am not this body. I am not these thoughts. I am not the fun house ride of emotions always coming and going. Or am I? What is the noise in there all about?… Read the rest
I remember the first time I heard the quote “Comparison is the thief of joy.” It was right up there with “Expectations are pre-meditated resentments.” They are phrases that stop me in my tracks as bottom line truths, where I experience a moment of suspension as the vibration of the words coming toward me evoke resonance with a vibration that lives inside of me. Comparison is the thief of joy. It only takes, it never gives, and it leaves everyone diminished in the process.
Celebrating Happiness If you’ve not studied the Locks & Keys sutra, it’s one of the few in which Patanjali addresses how to keep your mind and heart clear in dealings with the other humans.… Read the rest
I walked away from a silent meditation retreat last February with the imperative to get outside my comfort zone. To do something new and unfamiliar; to put on beginner’s mind and take it for a spin. That intention eventually evolved into the ongoing study in Depth Psychology I shared about last month. Let me tell you, the lessons keep rolling in. The latest? The question of purpose.
When I started the program, my mentor asked me to set a specific goal (something outside my comfort zone) that we would work with and toward through the course of the year to create a framework— a gauge for the self in relationship to the external world.… Read the rest
I’m grateful to have gotten to a place in my life where I’m not easily triggered. I’ve incorporated and interspersed enough mindfulness practices into my days, over enough years, that when the unexpected happens, I am (most of the time) able to just roll with it. I’m able to face surprises in their many guises, disappointment and frustration in a way that allows me to take a breath and choose my response. All of that is true to a point. All of that is true, until it is not at all in any way true.
I recently sent a note to a colleague in another state who I do not know very well with a request for some simple, logistical information.… Read the rest
I’m wondering… what rituals do you have in place that feel meaningful to you at this time? It’s a question I often ask during mindfulness programs as these courses are such a unique opportunity to look closely at and be available to receive insight about what we do and why we do it. In a recent 1:1 session, a participant shared their personal musings on the topic, including some reflection about the difference between ritual and habit. As soon as they said it, all the lights blinked on. Yes. There’s a lot in here to unpack.
What is a ritual? To my mind, a ritual is distinguished by its highly intentional and oftentimes symbolic nature.… Read the rest
I’m wondering how you’re closing your year. I don’t mean your plans for New Year’s Eve, rather, how do you find yourself as we tick off the final days of 2023? Excited? Exhausted? With anticipation or regret? Grateful? Content? Whatever it is, maybe you’ll carve out some time to reflect on where you’ve been this year, and with what are you aligning as we move into the year ahead.
Here are a few notions to get you started:
The garden of your mind. What is happening in there? Do you know? Is that voice in your head- your lifelong roommate— an ally or enemy?… Read the rest