August in Flourish & Bloom Collective, has us exploring, “Knowing Who You Are.” I didn’t want to write this post. I put it on my calendar. I moved it to another day. I busied myself with other tasks… Why? Because the topic, “Knowing Who You Are,” is so BIG that it intimidates me. What about you? Do you feel like you know who you are? Does this feel like too big a question to ask?
Read MoreWhy is it important to show up for yourself? Because you matter. You are a person on this earth, living (as far as we know for sure) your one and only life. You, just like all beings everywhere, want to be happy, fulfilled, and fully alive. Showing up for yourself is foundational to this important work. As a human being on this earth, you deserve to be nourished and supported, most of all by YOU.
Read MoreA group of us took part in the “Joyful Living Challenge” — an invitation to five daily joy-boosting practices: meditation, naming 3 gratitudes, journaling the day’s highlight, enjoyable movement, and random acts of kindness. Seems pretty simple, right? Seems light, fun, and sweet, yes? And yet… life isn’t really like that in this moment. There is quite a bit of intensity and heaviness in the air, on our minds, in our heart-space. To focus on joy or positivity can sound, on the surface, either inauthentic, shallow, or tone-deaf.
Read MoreFlourish & Bloom Collective is a structured online membership community for mindfulness and personal growth. Each month, we dive deeply into a topic relating to awareness and well-being. We unpack and explore the month’s topic through weekly live calls, online discussions, solo writing, and other modalities. Learn ~ Connect ~ Transform.
Read MoreLast week was once of the most intense weeks in my memory, as protests continued against police violence and murder of black people. Along with the protests came a flood of information through the news and social media channels: what is happening, how to help, how to learn, how not to harm as we learn.
Read MoreIn this moment, we’re in the middle (?) of Shelter-in-Place, and there is quite a bit of talk and action around “opening things up.” We’ve been in what some folks call “uncertain times” for around 2 months now, depending on where you’re living or when you started to pay attention… and we are continuing with “uncertain times” as things keep changing day by day. I don’t know how you feel about this, but I had a sense that this might be a good time to share about a special kind of courage…
Read MoreI keep hearing this. From a friend when we have our now weekly phone call. In a coaching call. And I keep feeling it, too. This is what we feel during this pandemic, as we continue to focus in on our day to day reality and then zoom out to a larger acknowledgement of the bigness of what is unfolding, yo-yoing back and forth. This is also what we feel almost all the time— it’s up and down. Our experience, like everything else on earth, changes in each moment.
Read MoreLast week, I had a meaningful and fun conversation with Julie Fogh and Casey Erin Clark of Vital Voice Training. We talked about mindfulness, and especially about practices and ways of being that are useful RIGHT NOW. This one is for everyone, and those on the introverted, highly sensitive side may feel especially”seen.”
Read MoreThe practice of mindfulness is a living, breathing thing. It isn’t something that only happens while meditating in a quiet room: some of the most vivid and lasting learnings are those that are discovered with our eyes wide open in the course of our everyday life.
Read MoreI've been thinking a lot lately, ideas and notions passing through and coalescing underneath the skrim of daily life. One of the thoughts that keeps coming up in this initial time of shelter-in-place is about our practice of equanimity and flow.
Read MoreThis morning I attended a yoga class that was AFGO. A recent class participant delightfully gave us this phrase: Another Fabulous (or pick another F-word) Growth Opportunity. :) I’m using the phrase facetiously, because I am glad to have this learning experience, and at the same time with a sigh because… yeah, these experiences aren’t always pleasant.
Read MoreI'm reading in various places lately about different people's perspectives on crossing into a new year, thoughts about what we should do: Make resolutions. Don't make resolutions! Set intentions. Choose a mantra. Pick one word of the year. Don't do anything— the beginning of the year is just an arbitrary day, and you are fine as you are. Well, this is confusing!
Read MoreThis moment, right here, is what exists... like it or not. Sometimes we find ourselves fighting to get out of this moment, wanting to be somewhere else, sometime else. What happens when we choose, willingly, to surrender?
Read MoreMeditation isn't about achieving a perfect "blank slate" mind, a state of perpetual calm... no matter how attractive that might sound. In meditation, we are opening— opening to the curiosity of "What is happening now?" "What is unfolding in this moment?" Come take a seat in the river of this moment and have a look at what is floating through.
Read MoreAre things feeling busy right now? They are in my corner of the world! Let's explore how we can respond and adapt to the circumstances of the moment, with the time and energy that's available. Bringing wise compassion into this moment allows us to release judgment and take a broader view.
Read MoreFLOW is the opposite of resistance, and often in times of challenge, when things are not unfolding in the way we expect, FLOW is exactly what we need. When we flow, we accept and open to what is occurring and we work with it rather than pushing (futily) against it. By letting go, we have access to more peace and ease. Join me for this exploration and meditation on flow.
Read MoreI am feeling a distinct pull inward, to recharge, refresh, re-set. And as you will hear me explain in this video, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m listening in to my intuition. I’ll be taking some time to travel, which offers time away from the routine, to look at things with new perspective, to lean into my own practice, growth, and learning.
Read MoreThe movement of the breath is not so different from the movement of waves: there's steadiness and a soothing quality to the movement... and within this movement, there is also change ever-present. Take a few moments at the beach with me.
Read MorePema Chödrön writes that to stay with the shakiness is the path of true awakening, the path of the warrior. Join me in sitting with emotion and sensation, in offering kindness and compassion to your own dear self.
Read More