Have you ever experienced a time when you’ve been thinking about a friend, and then they call you “out of the blue?” Perhaps you find yourself somewhere you’ve never been before and realize that this location has been presented multiple times (e.g. you overheard it described; your best friend mentioned it; or perhaps you had a very detailed dream …
Darkness, a Dream and a Message from the Rainforest
Nightfall comes early in the Amazon rainforest to those of us who are accustomed to daylight savings time and extended daylight hours. Light fades as the sun sinks below the canopy of trees and the darkness is absolute. There is no glow from the lights of a city, traffic lights, street lights, or house lights. A velvet blackness swallows shadows …
Be Your Best Friend
“Oh, you’re my best friend…” The lyrics of that song by Queen have been running through my mind lately. Which is a much better choice than what usually cycles and recycles through my monkey mind at times. I heard the song a few days ago, and it caused me to ponder: what if we truly were a best friend to …
Demand the Ball!
Late spring is the time of graduation ceremonies. A time when people come together to acknowledge an important rite of passage. Moving across a platform to signify saying goodbye to one stage of life and hello to another. I like these ceremonies because they typically have speakers who offer sage advice and/or worthwhile questions to ponder. I happened across the …
Change, change, change…..
“Why is change so hard?!” This plaintive statement I’ve heard from clients (and muttered myself once or twice with added emphasis). Change is difficult because of two very important “laws” of nature. One from the world of physics and another from neuroscience. If you don’t remember Newton’s first law of motion, it’s okay. To paraphrase Newton, an object endeavors to …
The Walk of Life
We spend our days, walking on the beach, lazing about, reading, watching and listening to the ocean, snorkeling, and relaxing. Our one and only goal is to completely relax and enjoy our time together. One morning we take a new direction on our walk. We strolled past ancient fishing ponds and through an area filled with washed up pieces of …
Start Small
I was on a padded table, head on a pillow, a cushion beneath my knees. Soothing music played in the background, and the lights were dim. The woman with smiling eyes began by lifting my ankles and holding them gently. After a few moments she moved up to my spine, placing her hands underneath my backbone, making very subtle movements. …
The Holy Grail of Happiness
Have you ever thought about how many people search for happiness or question if they will “ever be happy (again)?” Searching for happiness is like searching for the Holy Grail. No doubt you remember the legend of the Holy Grail. Thought to be the source of mystical power, the symbol of the Grail as an object of search began in …
What Truly Matters?
I watched a short video a few months ago of the 2016 commencement address from Dean James Ryan of the School of Education at Harvard. His speech centered on five questions he thought were important to ask oneself when navigating life. I made a list of those questions. It sits on my desk and I review it regularly. The fifth question …
The Importance of Self-Gratitude
I’ve been reading about self-compassion lately, and wondering why it is so much easier to feel compassion for others and not ourselves. Why is it easier to forgive others for their missteps, but so hard to give ourselves grace? Those questions led me to ponder the nature of gratitude. Why is it difficult to recognize all the things in the …