Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Black Friday, Over-Indulging, Hanukkah, Advent, Solstice, Re-Connecting, Christmas, Family Celebrations (& Obligations), Less Light…and then More Light, Mourning Old (& New) Losses, New Year’s, Looking Forward? No human heart could possible hold that whole list for any meaningful length of time. And yet we do. Our heart does remarkable things, even as it […]
When Our Hearts Are Broken…
I recently got my heart broken…again. Sigh. When that happens, a whole chain of meaning-laden reactions get stirred up. It’s not just grief or sadness or hurt or anger. I can’t stop making meanings. How about you? Do thoughts like this arise? There’s something wrong with me. There’s something wrong with them. There’s something wrong […]
‘for two who slipped away almost entirely’: a poem for the descendents of victims and perpetrators…
Last week, I had the honor of attending, staffing, and presenting at the 2013 US Constellations Conference in Seattle. What a wonderful five days! A group of practitioners who are committed to whole-system healing, a way of finding peace that includes everything that is and has been. I am refreshed and full of joy. I […]
The Ups & Downs of Becoming More of Who We Really Are…
I just got off the phone with a prospective client. At one point I said to her, “So, what you really want is to become a healer who honors her ancestors in her work, a happy mother and wife, and a person who just enjoys life deeply, is that right?” She sighed deeply: “Yes, that’s […]
The Good Intentions Our Bodies Have For Us…
This quotation is heard frequently in certain circles from the Jesuit mystic, Teilhard de Chardin: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. I can’t exactly argue with this statement, but I admit, it’s always rubbed me a bit the wrong way. Why? Because in the […]
When Our Bodies Don’t Feel Like a Safe Place for Us…
Our bodies are our home. When we are chronically ill, or have some persistent problem with our bodies, like weight or hating how we look, we feel like we cannot truly be at home in the world. Our bodies take guidance from our hearts and our minds. Our physical experience therefore will be an expression […]
When Life Isn’t Working, and Hasn’t For a Long, Long Time
I have a number of new clients right now who are dealing with the sense that their life is fundamentally not working, and hasn’t for a long time. They are demoralized, they lack trust in themselves and their lives, and they are understandably skeptical about whether anything can help, even though their desire for help […]