This last year has been and continues to be a challenging time for everyone. I have been giving some thought to what we can each do to maintain our own energy--and energy hygiene--so that we may stand each in our strength and integrity, and support ourselves and others. We each hold the possibility, and the opportunity, to make positive change, and it can happen in simple and subtle ways. It can be summed up as: share your self light. This of course means that first you need to recognize and nurture your own light. And how do we do this when we are stressed by outside events and … [Read more...]
We Are All One
As we celebrate this season of holiday blessings, gratitude, and cheer, I want to share a story with you. For several months now I have been thinking about the distressing circumstances in which we find ourselves in the world today. I have been contemplating our situation and, ever hopeful, looking for understanding and reasons for encouragement. Notwithstanding the constant barrage of media and the fear mongers, I am encouraged! As I was leaving the gym last week, my attention was drawn to a woman standing with her back to me, in conversation with another. I did not know her, indeed … [Read more...]
People Are Good
Really. I mean it. We often forget this is fundamentally true, and are too often reminded of our weaknesses, not our strengths, as humans. But it is my consistent experience that generally people are good, they mean well, and try to do the best they can for themselves and others. We can feel so discouraged or disappointed at times in what we see in the world around us, and alas, any such sense of pessimism can be negatively reinforced from a variety of directions (not the least of which is the incessant barrage of bad news by media on a 24-hour cycle of filling digital formats of all … [Read more...]
Score: Darkness 2, Light 1,000,000
I am a Bostonian. We have had a tough week here. We suffered a violent act of darkness as two young men attacked us, killing 3, critically injuring and maiming scores of others, and attempting to shake our individual and communal senses of security and trust. They failed. Resoundingly. And so, even in the midst of this crisis, we have had a great week here. Everything that is the best in us, in humanity, is on full display: love, compassion, fearlessness in the face of danger, generosity, strength, selflessness, kindness, commitment to community, protection of others, clarity, … [Read more...]
Why am I here?
In my work I often am asked by others to help them understand why they are here. “What is my purpose in this life?” is the question I hear. And it is a universal question, perhaps not always in focus, but certainly surfacing during various stages of difficulty, growth and development. Our human experience is rather rugged, ranging through many emotional, spiritual and physical highs and lows, ever presenting new challenges, bringing us into direct confrontation from time to time with this question of “Why am I here?” Further complicating this fundamental existential inquiry is the … [Read more...]
We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For
As we arrive at this time of endings and new beginnings, I have been in deep contemplation, seeking to understand what is going on in the world around us, and wondering about our human station, as we mourn twenty young children, and six of their teachers, from Newtown, Connecticut. Blessings upon them, their parents, their teachers, families and friends, and all of us. They have served well, reminding us in unbearable sacrifice of themselves, of the truth and what matters, and moving us to take action now and do what we need to do, to be our best selves, in the fullness of the best that is … [Read more...]
Building a World Wide Wave
There is great movement taking place—and I am sure many of you have felt it, perhaps without understanding even that you have felt it or exactly what you are feeling. The last several months have been especially challenging for many. This is a time of transition, and transition is most always uncomfortable. But transition heralds change, and positive change is what we look towards now. Many of my colleagues also involved in spiritual practice, teaching, writing, and mentoring report perceptions very similar to my own at this time: many of us now experience an increased inner awareness of … [Read more...]
Freedom and Unconditional Love
As I sit by my window, snowbound in New England, I have been thinking about love. We have moved past the frenetic holiday rush and settled into the steadiness of winter, watching each day lengthen into more daylight (not dark 'til 5 now), bringing the promise of Spring. Eventually. Meanwhile, love beckons. What is love? What is its true meaning? How can we each best express love in this short, sweet life? What does it mean to love unconditionally? Love is the expression outward from your center of your expanded self, your soul, your spirit, the unique spark of life and creativity … [Read more...]
A Call to Inner Action
These are interesting times. Our home, Earth, seems to be taking a strong, outward stand, erupting and quaking and behaving in volatile ways, all-in-all making quite a concerted effort to get our attention. Natural disasters, and, tragically, man-made ones, seem to be clustering together over the last many months, as if upping the ante each time. Many of us have a feeling that something in this is trying to get our attention, but don’t know what it is or what this means or what to do about it. We need to expand our response. We must craft a fuller response. But that response is not … [Read more...]