Entrainment: Why Our Energy Impacts Others
Fireflies flash in unison. Two pendulum clocks on the same wall swing to the same rhythm even if they didn’t start out together. Women who spend a lot of time together begin to synchronize their menstrual cycles. This phenomenon is called entrainment and it’s a natural law that can be observed in nature, chemistry, pharmacology, […]
Your Greatest Teacher is Within
I’ve never had one primary yoga or spiritual teacher with whom I’ve worked. There are many I’ve studied with, but at times I wonder if I need to find one “guru” and stick with that person for a long period. This weekend I leave for a week to start a meditation training program with Deepak […]
Power of New Moons
I’ve always been one to love the “start” of things whether it is early morning, the first day of school, or ringing in a new year. Perhaps this is why I’m consistently drawn to tuning into the energy of the new moon, which happens TODAY. A new moon brings the opportunity to slow down, take stock, […]
Happy Earth Day
Gaia is the name of the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth, and she symbolizes a dynamic, nurturing and sustaining force of abundance. Gaia is the ultimate symbol of motherhood….limitless giving. So why have we become so apathetic, disconnected, and ignorant toward this benevolence? How did we get to a place of such disconnect that we […]
Moth Metamorphosis
“We are always in transition. If you can just relax with that, you’ll have no problem”. -Trungpa Rinpoche My house has been infested with small white moths. They are harmless, yet frustrating because we cannot figure out where they are coming from. I spent the weekend cleaning cupboards and making sure all my dry […]
What really makes us happy?
A former student of mine emailed this week to share an amazing Ted Talk by Robert Waldinger, a Harvard professor who studies what keeps us healthy and happy. Waldinger is a researcher, yet a unique one, in that he is looking at data that has followed the same men for 75 years. It is the […]
Be More Awake for Your Life
The cold, gray days of January in Iowa are always challenging for me. It sometimes feels impossible to practice contentment, keep my heart open, and my attitude positive. Yet the hum of dissatisfaction certainly distracts me from accepting the reality of my life and creates distance from the present moment, which right now happens to […]
Meeting Life with Full Presence
“Life is not meant to be a long series of unfelt and undirected experiences. We are not to be zombies and slaves, unconscious animals trapped in dumbness to the moment, leading mindless and powerless lives. We are not intended to be inattentive to our loved ones and the duties of life or the dreams in […]
Dark Night of the Soul
“The feeling of being overwhelmed and torn apart, prepares you for new ideas and a fresh start. Your dark night may provide you with an opportunity to discover your toughness. You can see the point of staying in the dark is not to trick it into making you brilliant or germ free, but to make […]
Living to be 100
“Even if you live to be 100, it’s really a very short time. So why not spend it undergoing this process of evolution, of opening your mind and heart, connecting with your true nature – rather than getting better and better at fixing, grasping, freezing, closing down?” Pema Chodron
