In the tradition of yoga, there is a philosophy called Bhakti Yoga. Bhakti is the path of love and devotion, the path of heart. There are many ancient sages that have taught the path, but my best teachers have been the animals in my life. Read more »
Entering a new year often means it is a time to take stock of ourselves, our beliefs and the truths we hold dear. We all know about and likely engage in the age-old tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. Typically these resolutions focus on the negative: I will not eat as much. I will not laze around but will get up and go to the gym…and on and on ad infinitum. Yet year after year we find ourselves engaging in the same behavior, likely even resolving to do the same things we resolved to do the year before and the year before that. Read more »
I was intrigued by the four agreements and decided to try to integrate them into my daily life. To say it wasn’t easy is an understatement. This is not a book to be read quickly just to satisfy your curiosity about what the agreements are, and I’m so glad I decided to reread it. This time I studied it, savored it, was made uncomfortable by it, and ultimately came away loving it. Read more »
The Essence of Love Heals Remember when you were a child and fell down and scraped or bruised yourself? Your mom probably kissed it or cupped it with her hand and made it feel all better. Well, there was really something to that gesture beyond getting you to stop crying. Her intention plus the vibrational frequency of love energy had a powerful healing influence on the body. That combination of love and intention is the very essence of Reiki and many alternative healing modalities. Read more »
Unexpected occurrences happen in all of our lives. How we deal with them reflects not only our deepest ingrained values, but also our current state of mind…our mindfulness. By way of example, at a recent retreat along the Northern California coast, one of my colleagues had the unfortunate experience of being “skunked.” It seems his dog, Marley, rooted out a skunk that was none too happy to be disturbed. Already in a compromised mood because of Marley’s intrusion, the skunk became rather assertive in his quest to share his bad mood and proceeded to not only spray poor Marley but also my colleague. Read more »
September…October…A little too soon to think about Christmas? I know it is a lot to stomach. Back to school displays have barely come down, Christmas goes up and we usurp Halloween and Thanksgiving. I have overheard similar complaints more than a few times while standing in line at the popular big box retailers. Even Facebook book friends have noticed the premature red and green push. Read more »
Sometimes when I listen to my mind chatter, I am reminded of Chicken Little. One little acorn fell on his head and off he went to tell the king that the sky was falling. In most versions, his story does not end well. We’re often driven by our worries and fears, and then we too are taken off our best path. Read more »
Diabetes is a topic that hits close to home for me. My mother has it. Her mother had it. My aunts had it. Within our culture, it seems to be on the rise. Physically, it is the starvation of a cell. The cells have sugar outside of themselves within the bloodstream but lack the key, insulin, to have access to what they need most in order to live, let alone thrive. The cells are surrounded by what they need but are unable let it in. There is a physio-chemical reason that this happens, but I believe that it happens energetically and spiritually first. Read more »
Are you irritated by just about everything? Do you see only the negative in any given situation, stumbling, crawling, even leaping over the sublime to persevere in your foul disposition? In today’s overcommitted fast paced social norm, it’s no wonder that our mirrors have grown dim from irritation. But it does not have to be this way. Despite the demands on our time and energy, each one of us deserves to find and even revel in our bliss. Read more »
Healing the world within is the quickest path to joy. Whenever you see something on the outside that is upsetting or incongruent to your way of seeing or doing things, do you feel the need to fix it in order to feel all right or move forward? If so, next time this type of situation arises, pause for a moment and decide first to feel all right no matter what, acknowledging the piece inside of you that resonates with this issue and watch how the event tends to “fix” itself. Read more »
