Wisdom

Why do we fear emotions?

Strong emotions cause strong reactions.  And for some reason, we seem to think that they are similar to diseases or illness and that we should do something to remedy them whether they are happening to us or to someone around us. …Details

Healing is relational

Very few people manage to be islands of isolation.  It takes a great deal of personal effort, skill, and geography to pull that off.  Not just because you need to be able to live off the grid, live off the land, and be fully self-sufficient in everything you could possibly need, but because we are visual beings and isolation requires that no one can even see you, because being seen is still interaction.…Details

We are the stories we tell

I saw a tattoo today that was drawn to appear as if the skin were peeling away from a woman’s shoulder and underneath were written words.  And it really looked like her story was written under her skin.  We are the stories we tell ourselves, not just the stories we tell to each other. …Details

How to do that Present thing

My friends and I sometimes joke about the men in our lives and how they measure on the present scale.  You know, for a holiday do they get you a power tool that is something they actually want, do they forget altogether, do they get something that makes no sense, do they do a ‘Hail Mary’ and tell you something they go you before was meant for this holiday or hand you something you know they just grabbed in desperation, or do they give you things that are surprising and wonderful. …Details

Stress and the Truth

Life is a daily delight/onslaught of input.  From the time we awake to the time we sleep our senses intake information at a high rate of speed.  And our brains seek to make meaning from it and to navigate it using the maps of relationships, needs, wants, requirements, and survival to build it into something we call “My Day”. …Details

Live without regrets

Nothing is more heart wrenching than leaving something undone until it is too late.  If there is something you really want to do, don’t worry about what other people will think, don’t worry about how to get it done, get rid of the box you’ve been thinking in and go out and do it. …Details

Being present

Clients I work with all want to know, “What’s my purpose in life?”  and “Why am I here?”.   Sometimes the answers are really exciting and ‘sexy’ like, “You’re here to help heal small children” or “You’re here to learn this major lesson about love and family” or “You’re here to work in foreign countries bringing education and quality of life to orphans.”  However, sometimes the answer is just as important and amazing, but less sexy, like “You’re here to be present.”  Which always gets a ??????…Details

Practical Application

In writing about sacred space, I’ve been thinking about religious spaces.  And there are a lot of religious spaces to consider.  Just the number of temples in India boggles the mind, let alone the shrines, ashrams, and wandering mystics.  Or think about the number of churches in the Bible Belt in the states. …Details

Paying Attention

I hear people talk about listening being an art form or a lost art.  *sigh*  I don’t actually see it as an art so much as a necessity of life.  Kinda like looking where you walk.  You can not do that and stub your toe, fall and break a bone, go off steep cliffs and die, walk into buildings…the list goes on and on. …Details

Why are we afraid to be seen?

I know quite a few people in my life that are either self-employed or are trying to start a business or just get a new job, something that makes sense for their life and that they can at least be satisfied with and be able to pay the bills. …Details