Shifts happen: we move, change careers, and start and end relationships. Whether we are navigating our own, changing lives, or helping a friend through a transition, it is helpful to understand the three stages of change: beginnings, endings, and the in-between times. In our culture, we love to celebrate new beginnings: a new baby, a [...]
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh! he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?” “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” -A.A. Milne We all need reassurance now and then, reassurance that our friend or partner is there for us. It is one of our basic human needs. Call it [...]
Inspired by all the free-flowing love and generosity today, I decided to share my recipe for bliss! I have taken to making these "bliss balls" on a regular basis. People have come to depend on me. Last night I brought them to my yoga class to share with everyone after a sweet, heart-opening set. People [...]
A close friend of mine, who grew up in New York, told me about the first time she met a tree, at the age of twenty-five: "I had seen trees growing on the sidewalks and in parks, of course. But I'd never been to a real forest. I just ran up to a tree and [...]
This post is dedicated to Shirley. When I was around fifteen years old, I came across Joseph Campbell's teaching, "Follow your bliss." I remember holding the magazine article, printed beside an image of two people paddling kayaks. I tried to show it to my brother, but he was not too interested. For me, however, it [...]
There are many teachings that lead us to the One. I call them guidelines. I collect guidelines, the same way I collect stones, feathers, and bones. I started my collection at around age fifteen. Life kept confronting me with questions I was completely ill-equipped to answer. Why is there suffering? Why are we here? What [...]
I took this photograph in a forest in Oregon. I had stopped on a little bridge to savor this creek and the warm touch of sunlight that stretched through the trees. When I look at this image now, I can't help but take in a deep breath, through my nose, as if I could once [...]
I call this image "friends" because it's their togetherness that stands out to me. These two were hanging a little lower than the rest, and they were catching that late afternoon sunlight just right. As the mid-November sun sets perceptibly earlier each day, I seek more comfort in the warmth of my friends. We seem [...]
