Take it to the Fire

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Every day there seems to be something that could make me sink into despair if I didn’t have regular practices to help me stay grounded.  It feels like all the darkness is up for healing like a deep-rooted infection, it is asking for our attention.  It is exhausting. We are witnessing millennia of winner/loser and kill-or-be-killed thinking.  It is action/reaction creating a revolving door of retribution and “what about-ism.”  For those of us trying to connect to our highest heart and create a more loving world, witnessing events that seem to show the worst of humanity rising may be too much for us to bear at times. I feel a sense of Déjà vu.  One of my friends and I joke, “here we go again!”  as we talk about the sense that we have been in places like Atlantis and Lemuria as those civilizations fell.  We remind each other that […]

Children Will Listen

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I was walking through my neighborhood with my dog and I noticed a father kicking a ball around with his six or seven year old daughter. As I walked further along the street I heard the innocent little voice of the girl say, “But daddy that’s cheating.”  The father replied, “but the ref didn’t see me.” The little girl said again,  “Daddy you are cheating.”  The father replied “The referee didn’t see me do it.” It’s been 2 days and that little voice is still reverberating in my head. Is this what you want to teach her, Daddy, that it’s okay to cheat at a game as long as the ref doesn’t see you? Whether it’s cheating, unfair, illegal, or immoral, as long as you get yours, it’s all okay? A snippet of the song, “Children Will Listen” from the musical Into the Woods popped into my mind: Careful the things […]

Complain or Step Up Your Power?

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Today’s “From Scared to Sacred” post.   I have been getting slapped around (figuratively) in meditation. This message has been repeated again and again.  “Are you going to choose your power or stay stuck?” It is so easy to walk around saying, “this is f’d up” “we are screwed” etc., especially in this political climate.   It is okay to notice that things are not working but after that we have a choice. Do we keep focusing on what is broken or do we step into our power to vision what we want to create and take action toward that? It really is a personal and collective choice. Reminded once again that the life I want to live is connected with compassion and vision.  The world needs us to step up/out in our love power.  

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Heart-Centered Conversation With Superhero of Love Author, Bridget Fonger

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I have known Bridget Fonger, the author of the upcoming book, Superhero of Love, for over 20 years.  Yes, we were just children when we met (wink-wink).  It is so cool that we both ended up authors and we were able to have a cool discussion about heart holding, healing and all sorts of other good stuff on her podcast.  ‘I had a blast talking with Bridget.  I hope you enjoy!   If you like it, could you share it? Check it out:  Superhero of Love Podcast with Bridget Fonger.    

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Shaman, Fly and Spider—Navigating Connection with All Living Things

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The other night, I was in bed reading and a large fly repeatedly flew into my bedside lamp.  I tried to be Zen and concentrate on my book but it felt like the fly had a kamikaze death wish as it kept hurling itself into the metal shade of the lamp. I had a few options, I could turn off the light and try to go to sleep and hope it would take off for another room,  I could try to kill it, or I could try to catch it and release it outside. As I was reviewing my options, the fly climbed deep into the small cone shaped lampshade.   I made my decision: “Catch.”  I took a tissue and covered the end of the lampshade so there was no way out. The buzzing got more frantic, “I know it is hot in there,” I said as I envisioned trapping […]

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For a moment…reflections on a funeral procession

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This morning as Luna and I were taking our walk, a funeral procession passed us.  Two motorcycle police officers escorted a hearse and about 20 cars with their lights on.  The officers stopped traffic so that the cars could flow as one unbroken procession through the intersection in front of me.  I felt waves of grief flowing through me.  Was it theirs or mine? I placed my hand over my heart.  I breathed, and did Tonglen, a Buddhist exercise of acceptance, compassion and connection.  I felt the grief and breathed out love, hoping each person in that procession caught just a little fragment of comfort. I do not know the circumstances of that death.  I do not know whether the deceased was an elderly person who had lived a long life or a life cut way too short.   I do know that those in the procession will now have to […]

Peace Silver Dollar in My Mesa

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A shaman’s mesa (medicine bundle) is a very personal  representation of that person’s relations and connections with spirit.   I don’t generally talk about the meaning of all the symbols in my mesa but a few weeks ago something happened and spirit has been nudging me to write about it ever since. Many months ago, I put a silver dollar that had belonged to father into my bundle.  Recently I opened my mesa to do ceremony with a spiritual friend and she asked me about the coin.  I told her that the coin represented many things to me: My father and my father’s lineage. The Lady Liberty on the coin reminds me to seek to see the world in a way that enhances liberty and love for all. The eagle has the ability to fly high with Great Spirit and see clearly. I pair the eagle with the Einstein quote that […]

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2018 The Year of Embodiment

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Every year, I choose a theme or key word to help me focus my energy. I print the word big and bold and put it on my mirror and above my desk.  This year I chose EMBODIMENT. Before I settled on the word, I made a trip to the dictionary to see if it was the word I was looking for.  Embodiment/embody included the following: to give a body to (a spirit)/ incarnate to make concrete and perceptible to cause to become a body or part of a body/ incorporate to represent in human form or to personify. Yes, this is what I’m aiming for:  embodiment of health, joy, my shamanic path, creativity, writing and just as importantly embodiment of being fully human. Where are you on the embodiment scale?   If you’ve got it down and are owning all that you are good for you!   If you are “kind of, […]

Lesson From a Word Game App

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I have a Scrabble-like game app on my phone. I enjoy using it to pass time when I have to wait for appointments.  It reminds of playing Scrabble on Sunday nights with my mom, dad and sister.   Those Sunday evenings contributed to my love of words and probably to my becoming a writer. The app shares feedback after each word.  “Good job!” or “You scored 38 points but you could have scored 76 with THIS word”  I miss obvious words.  I wish I could say I was rushing, but I’m not. This is just a game but it did remind me that my brain is filtering all the time.   Just because something is obvious and right in front of us, doesn’t mean we are seeing it. This is why when solving the big life issues, sometimes the best request is: Help me see this differently.  What am I missing […]