Last month at this time I was tucked away in the snowy Sawtooth mountains of Idaho for a five day silent meditation intensive. When I first read about it and saw in the description “must be prepared for and comfortable with extreme weather” my initial yes turned into an absolutely yes. I get that this is not everyone’s cup of tea; it might, in fact, send a lot of people running in the other direction. But after fifteen years of facilitating retreats— both in silence and otherwise— I was so ready to climb over a snowdrift, throw my bags into a Snowcat and head into the middle of nowhere to find out what was in store for me.… Read the rest
metta meditation
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I can’t even begin to understand the times in which we find ourselves. With each passing day, instead of understanding more, I look into the world and I “get it” less and less. I’m baffled by power structures simultaneously restricting reproductive rights and a woman’s agency over her own body while (still) stalling on legislation for fundamental, common sense gun control measures that could save countless lives. My rising fury while listening to on-the-ground and near-term projected realities in abortion clinics, superimposed with photos of children murdered at school with a semi-automatic assault rifle, with a side bar outlining more atrocities in Ukraine, followed by images from the 1.5 million acres currently being ravaged by wildfires throughout west as freshwater lakes and reservoirs dip to all-time lows is incapacitating.… Read the rest
I’ve been really cranky lately. Irritable, tired, short-fused, impatient, or as it was called in my childhood home, owly. I don’t know the origin of that Sockmanism or why owls got such a bad rap early on. But while everyone is entitled to the occasional day of being in a Way, I’ve had too many of them lately to just let it slide. Peace of mind has given way to a piece of my mind a little too often.
I could blame this on a whole host of external happenings, circumstances and situations. I’ve been really, really, really busy. Too busy.… Read the rest
Meditate on Loving-Kindness
Old patterns and habitual ways are not going to go down without a fight. They may no longer serve us or feed us, but man, do they ever feel familiar and easy.
Striking a new path takes intention, determination, work and community. The part of you that creates intention to 
change is the knowing part of you. The voice that lives within and truly knows what you need. It may often be drowned out by the busyness of your lives, and old, comfortable ways, but when you are quiet and still, you can hear it.… Read the rest