The past is just the beginning

There is so much more to each of us than just our past.  I try to help my clients and my students focus on this because looking into the past is ingrained into our psyche both by psychology that wants to find the root cause of everything in our formative years and by spirituality which…

Cut Off Your Nose?

You know the phrase “Cut off your nose to spite your face”?  Basically it means reacting in a way that hurts you way more than it does the person you are aiming at and doing yourself harm in order to make a point.   This happens a lot in the heat of the moment when we…

Need you = Like you?

Like good boundaries, good expectations make good neighbors.  Because having an accurate expectation of what is going to happen in a given situation can help you sail through with aplomb, help you achieve something you want or can save a life.  Having inaccurate expectations sets you and pretty much everyone else up for failure.  Having…

You are home

As individuals we often think that our actions are small and ineffectual when measured against others who have power, against things that seem larger than us, stronger than us, or extremely incomprehensible.  Who are we, such insignificant people, to make any impact on anything?  Doesn’t it make sense that our lives are brief, our impact…

Aptitude, yearning, calling

In working with my clients and with students I get asked questions about having a calling, about service or healing work, about individual paths and what people are ‘meant’ to do.  In orthodox religions there are structures in place with defined roles and boundaries that help people make choices about their spirituality, what activities or…

New Democracies

When an activity is new or new to you it can be exciting an awkward and joyous and full of missteps and stepping back to take another run at it.  Forming a new government works pretty much the same way.  Take out the old government, not just the people but the roles that they played,…

Thoughts on Consecration

Consecration is not a single act, although it is most often associated with the pomp and ceremony of initially opening a space.  Consecration is an ongoing process, an act repeated and reiterated through time building layers of dedication and actions like the rings of a tree, which grows in stature and majesty year on year. …

Identities and Memories

“Identities and memories are not things we think about, but things we think with.” – John R. Gilles I’ve been thinking a lot about memorials and monuments and public memory and political power through voice because of the new class I’m writing for DailyOm.com on Sacred Space.  There’s a lot to think about when you…

Turn Down The Noise

It is common for me to hear from clients that what I’m telling them is not new news.  They have usually been to other spiritual practitioners,  energy workers, astrologers, tarot readers, and have been told the same thing over and over.  Which is validating for me personally, but leads me to the question, “Why do…