Your childhood would have either been at least a bit arid or overrun with strong winds and ongoing cloudbursts. These early beginnings were marked by too much or too little affection, attention and encouragement. There would be no perfect climate. You would turn to the only thing in your control. You were not able to…

It is extremely helpful to recognize and name tension in the present moment. Locate the tension in your body. Direct your breath to the area of the tension. When possible, verbally acknowledge the presence of tension. Recognition and acknowledgement go a long way toward helping manage tension. Notice and name any emotion associated with the…

You have loved in so many ways. You’ve loved with caution, commitment, anticipation, hope and even with desperation.  The heart has boundless ways to love and if you’re to come to know love, it will serve you to welcome them all. This blessing is for conditional and unconditional love. Unconditional love arises from deep sentiment,…

“It behooves us to follow only those who, in so many ways, understand how to follow themselves.”

We have heard from several visionaries. Rilke reminds us to avoid being seduced into complacency by comforting ourselves with the familiar. Frankl suggested remaining in a sustained relationship with life by being curious about what life is asking of us.  Kopp invites us to let go of striving for improvement. He recommends embracing our essential…

It’s been said that when we trust another, we hold the belief that the other will tell us the truth and be kind to to us. In a culture so concerned with what goes on between people, we define trust as a belief in two things: to believe the other will tell us the truth…

This week’s quote is from Sheldon Kopp: “I’m no longer interested in character development, as long as that implies in any way that my Buddhahood is not already at hand. My aim is to know and celebrate all that I am.” Kopp’s message is the cornerstone of my own growth and healing as well as…

This week’s quote is one of my own.  You can’t get life right. But, if you allow, life may get you right. Given the guidance we receive from Rilke and Frankl, we may find enough ego adjustment to allow life to get us right. If we don’t follow their suggestions, it is likely that we…

This week’s quote is from Sheldon Kopp. “I no longer hope to achieve good character, so long as that implies in any way that my Buddhahood is not already at hand. My aim is not improve my Self but only to know it all more clearly and to learn to celebrate all that I am.”…

I am typically very thankful when a quote comes my way, immediately touching and moving me to adopt its meaning.  My favorable response indicates that more information has just been added to my road map. A writer willing to get honest about life inevitably helps me to not only get more honest, but also to…