Kill the Buddha! I am blessed to meet with people who are searching for that “peaceful” place that the spiritual teachers and books speak about. They read books, sit with teachers and engage in practices such as meditation, inquiry, yoga, religion, A Course in Miracles, AA, etc. For years I did that too. I read… (Read More)
Free to Be Me ~ The Unique and Individual Expression of Life Free to be Me Free to Be! Free! Many years ago I bought a poster showing a young woman running through a meadow, pony tail flying with the words “Free to be me!” written across the bottom. I had no idea what ‘free… (Read More)
Do You Really Want to Know the Truth? I’ve asked myself this question many times over the past several years. I sit in the question without expecting an answer. It is a question that really has only one honest answer: “I don’t know!” Many people will answer with “Yes!” or “Of course I do!” Only… (Read More)
The Buzz of Gratitude I have an adorable 13 year-old granddaughter who rarely says “thank you” for gifts or for all the amazing things that are done for her and come her way. Over the years I’ve puzzled over how to support her in understanding the value of “thank you” without putting her in a… (Read More)
Who Am I? Tennis Racquet to Cloud I am the bird, I am the tree The earth and sky and I feel free No time, no after, no before We all are one, I am no more Ellen – Plum Village 1998 Have you ever tried to answer the question, “Who am I?” I lived… (Read More)
Sage on the Stage or Guide on the Side Several years ago during a workshop for leaders I heard a saying that, as a leader, you could be either a “sage on the stage” or a “guide on the side.” I contemplated what that would be like in my role as a professional facilitator, working… (Read More)
Life is Unfolding Just As it Should “Life is unfolding just as it should.” About 30 years ago a dear friend shared that quote with me. It evidently came from a sage whose name I don’t remember. At the time I thought it was interesting but didn’t really “get it.” It remained with me like… (Read More)
The Truth About Santa Claus Like many children, I grew up believing in Santa Claus. I delighted in the story and the mystery of the man in the red suit who could visit everyone’s home in the course of one wintery evening. I liked living with the illusion. Even when my friends told me otherwise,… (Read More)
I Don’t Want Her for a Mother Many years ago as Mother’s Day approached I offered myself a gift of exploring what, if any, judgements I still held about my mother. It was a gift I could give myself since any judgement still held on to would come between me and the love I have… (Read More)
A few years ago I hosted a retreat in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with an amazing group of women. During our time together we shared, we laughed, we cried, and we discovered how we try to manipulate others for their love, approval and appreciation. We questioned our strongly held beliefs, had conversations that opened… (Read More)
It IS a Friendly Universe Recently Life gifted me with a series of circumstances that has taken me on a most amazing internal journey. I got fired. As I looked back I could see where it actually began. As it unfolded I observed my experience and I was struck by how quickly I seemed to… (Read More)
I Am Not Special! Several years ago I had the shocking realization that I’m not special ~ never have been and never will be. I wish I could say I loved realizing this, but I didn’t! The spiritual texts talk about this concept, but it’s always been out there as a nice concept and not… (Read More)
Sitting in the Fire of Truth I hear myself and others say, “I want to know the truth!” I have been convinced, at times, that this is true. I have really believed this! THEN I bump up against a very strongly held belief, one that threatens my sense of security and who I think I… (Read More)
Learning to Say “Yes” I used live in Colorado and loved riding my road bike during the warmer months. While out riding one of my favorite routes I encountered a road that had been recently chip sealed – small crushed gravel is laid on a layer of tar that eventually gets packed down. On a… (Read More)
Small Shards of Glass During the course of a 2-week period one summer I experienced 8 flat tires on my road bike. Sometimes they came while riding and sometimes I would come out to go for a ride and find a flat tire. I would patiently or impatiently, change the tube and carefully check the… (Read More)
Creativity, Patience and Doll Clothes Like most everyone, I grew up believing what other people said about me and how they saw me. I grew up believing, among other things, that I was impatient and not at all creative. I lived my life as though both were true. And if you were to talk to… (Read More)
Beautiful Noise I hate motorcycles. Not the seething kind of hate but hate nonetheless. They make too much noise. I especially hate Harleys. They make more noise and supposedly people like it that way. The louder the better, I’ve heard. I’ve never been able to figure that out. I prefer bicycles. On a bicycle I… (Read More)
Taking Care of Yourself Every time we talk my mother tells me to take care of myself. I have found myself saying that very thing to others over the years. In the past I thought that getting a massage, buying myself something, taking a long leisurely bath or eating some decadent chocolate thing was “taking… (Read More)
Moving, Trusting and Integrity Several years ago I moved five times in four years and that doesn’t count the year that I was “homeless” . Every move brought amazing gifts. One move involved moving just 11 miles from where I had been living. And while it was only an 11-mile move it involved an emotional… (Read More)