Joko Beck, one of the beloved Zen teachers, started her practice in the sixties after raising four children on her own. She died last year at 94. Her style still influences us. It’s practical, useful in every day life. I’ve loved her work since I was first exposed to it in 2000. As I work [...]
Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin There’s something profound in accepting things as they are, not pushing for them to be different, to be changed. There are things in life that can’t be changed. People encounter this a lot when [...]
Transformation is one of those words that sounds good but definitely has its downsides. We all like the idea of being transformed but getting there can knock all the stuffing out of us. I know-having been through many iterations of transformation. It helps me as a walk that journey, again and again, with my clients [...]
What a gift to see – to hear – to be a part of life unfolding. That is what I remembered when I stumbled upon this image from so many years ago. Years ago I had been in New York wandering with a friend and came upon the museum showing Gregory Colbert’s extraordinary Ashes and Snow [...]
I was writing the ezine for this month, calling it Courageous Conversations after being inspired by Patricia Geller, my friend, colleague, supervisor. I didn’t realize how quickly life would conspire to get me to practice — or have the practice happen around me. Frankly, the story I’m about to write is less about me. My [...]
(Today’s blog post is contributed by Anne Hallward, that many of you might know as “Dr. Anne from Safe Space Radio.” She recently did an interview with Matthew Sanford and wanted to spread the word of his incredible wisdom.)I want to introduce you to someone I think will be a joy for you to know [...]
Years ago, a millenium ago, I worked in the advertising world. I had the good fortune of going to some pretty good parties in that time. The Pointer Sisters came to one of the parties and performed live. Those memories came flooding back when Gisela sent me this video: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxv6AFt7YM] Watching it reminded me of the [...]
Every courageous gesture we make, whether or not we think it’s successful, definitely imprints our mind in a positive way. The slightest willingness to interrupt our old habits predisposes us to greater bravery, greater strength, and greater empathy for others. No matter how trapped we feel, we can always be of benefit. How? By interrupting [...]
Every moment offers us the gift of transformation. We can choose to respond to life by tightening up, hardening, resisting or we can choose to soften, relax into the moment. The first doesn’t seem like a real choice. Our bodies naturally tend to tighten when a blow comes at us. It seems only natural to [...]