Loss and significant change can have a big effect on your life, particularly when it involves significant bonds such as a partner, parent, child, sibling, even a close friend. It is important to address our human need for intimacy and…
The word motion is contained in the word Emotion. Emotions move us and our emotions move others. Sometimes they draw us together, sometimes they push us apart. It is good to know our emotions. They teach us about ourselves —…
According to the Beatles, All You Need Is Love to conquer fear. It’s true. Love makes everything possible except fear. The two emotions are incompatible. In the Beatles’ movie, The Yellow Submarine, the Blue Meanies are vanquished by love. We…
Valentine’s Day, with its focus on romantic love, can be challenging for those who have lost partners or other dear ones. Even when there is no special memory associated with the day, the promotional hype of the media can worm…
Barb, my mother-in-law, died last Friday. She has been declining for a long time so her death was not unanticipated, just a bit quicker than expected. Her death has given me another opportunity to explore grieving up close. My husband…
In February, on Valentine’s Day, we celebrate love and relationship. Humans Need Relationships We are biologically wired to love and bond. This is one of the reasons why the loss of a loved-one can be so challenging. A significant bond…
We are biologically programed to fear death. All animals are. By fear I mean that automatic response of fight, flee or freeze when faced with a threat to survival. A shadow passes over and the lizard freezes. It passes again…
Almost every summer for the past 18 years, my husband and I have driven north to Oregon to spend time with his parents at their summer cabin. The cabin is remote, situated 4 miles down a dirt road, deep in…
May is for Mother’s Day. Mother, mommy, mom. She is our first relationship in life. She carried us for 9 months inside her body. She birthed us, fed us, kept us warm and safe — to the extent that she…
April 1st – April Fool’s Day. The Fool inspired this month’s illustration. The Fool is the perfect next step to last month’s blog: A Leap of Trust. In the Tarot, the Fool is the first card in the deck. The…
The month of February bring us love and revolution. On Valentine’s Day, we pay special tribute to that human desire to bond and connect. The full moon in Aquarius, however, brings change and transformation. A significant relationship inevitably contains some…
In the dark of December comes the gradual returning of light. It is a time for celebration and joy. One way to express that joy is to sing in community. I love to sing. I guess that’s because I grew…
November is a transition month taking us from the vibrant colors of Fall to the somber grays of Winter. It is a time of rest and renewal, when the earth sleeps. Even in California this is true as the light…
Going after our dream is a little bit like a Halloween adventure. We don our costumes – a vision of ourselves — and set off to claim the promised rewards. Along the way we may encounter dark shadows and scary…
August — time to connect with friends and family! This summer I took some time off and went on retreat to a Sufi center in New Mexico. I’ve been doing this on and off for over 30 years, but two…
In the act of committing to your dream, you set in motion a chain of amazing reactions . . . The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would…
Love begins with loving oneself. When we love ourselves, loving others comes easy. Celebrate this Valentine’s Day by pampering yourself. Taking care of yourself is not selfish, it is smart. When we are rested, relaxed, and satisfied, we fill our…
I DON’T LIKE CHANGE!! Recently, I had to buy a NEW computer. I had to. I committed to finishing the fourth film in the Secrets of Life and Death documentary series (working title: Life After Loss) and my old Mac…
All living creatures come equipped with some form of a distress signaling system. It is a matter of survival and happiness. In his book Buddha Brain, psychologist Rick Hansen described three evolutionary stages of the brain that provide different signaling…
Grief is often described as a normal emotional response to loss. The problem with this definition is that we inhabit an emotion-phobic culture. Uncontrolled emotions are associated with being weak, unable to cope, and not being in command. Thus the…