The holidays can be hard. They can be beautiful and rich. Joyous. Sad. Stressful. Peaceful. Whatever your experience is and whatever your traditions are, I invite you to practice caring for the kid in you. What do the younger parts of you want to tell you? What do they need?
Read moreOh Jealousy
Many of us learn that we should not feel jealous. However, jealousy is a natural part of the human condition and can contain important clues about our wants, needs and desires.
Read moreLearning to Fall: A Lighthearted Exploration of Faith
Faith does not mean we never feel anything bad. Having faith means we trust we will be caught. We will make it safely to the bottom even when it feels scary or impossible. Even as we are falling at speeds we did not expect, we trust we are okay.
Read moreWhy Meditate?
What are we trying to get at when we sit down, pay attention to our breath and our body and stay with ourselves, moment-to-moment? Is there a goal? Is there a wrong way to do it?
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An Experience of Mindfulness
I am lucky enough to have a part time job that includes sitting quietly in the woods for thirty to forty-five minutes. I lead or co-lead a group to a location with a stream or waterfall, an overlook or rocks to perch on. Everyone spreads out and finds their own place to sit quietly with themselves, pausing, reflecting, listening and being still.
The other day after the group split up, I sat down, leaned back and looked up at the trees. I appreciated the beauty of the green leaves and the sunlight shining through, but I also felt disconnected. It felt as though I was floating above my body and I had a sense of being "gone."
Read moreConnecting to the Earth
Two of the things that help me come back into myself and calm down are meditation and imagery. I often use these tools when I feel stuck and do not know what to do with myself. In this blog, I will walk you through one of the guided meditations that I find helpful. It is a combination of various teachings I have experienced in mindfulness meditation, qigong and somatic therapy.
Read morePausing
One of my recent practices has been to pause in between things. Rather than go right from one activity to the next, I stop and pause. I notice the pull to be full speed ahead and I notice what it feels like to simply be and breathe for a few moments. Sometimes it only takes a few breaths for me to begin to slow down.
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