There have been two reigning topics that have appeared in my treatment room the past few weeks. No matter the client, I felt like I kept having the same conversations. I'd usually get asked one and then both of these questions (though not always in the same order): How were your holidays? Can you believe what is happening in this country? (a.k.a. How are we supposed to be with all this??) I see what I do as my small part of holding space for all of this, holding space for you. While at the...
17 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Back in the early 90s, the most rented video on my family's Blockbuster account was The Making of Michael Jacksonâs Thriller. I was obsessed. There was something magical about watching Rick Baker transform Michael Jackson into a werewolf and the entire dance crew into zombies. If you asked me then what I wanted to do when I grew up, Iâd reply, âI want to be a horror make-up artist.â 10-year-old me rolled up to the local costume store asking about fake blood and latex scars. I remember the...
24 days ago â˘Â 2 min read
A few weeks ago, I saw that Kelly was watching a documentary. On the screen were the characteristic buildings in none other than my favorite Indian city -- Varanasi. THAT caught my attention. I can't say why, but I love this ancient city with its cows and temples, incense and bells. Here's one of my most favorite moments of me with a street goat on the shores of the Ganges in Varanasi: But this wasn't a documentary about the city, it was "AWAKE: The Life of Yogananda." My plans for the...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 3 min read
Back in college, I was assigned to read an article about how romantic relationships could be a place where spiritual paths and practice converge. My mind was blown. At the time, I hadnât been in any long-term relationships, but I knew this was something I wanted to bring into my future partnerships. And I tried. Turns out, reading about it was MUCH easier than actually doing it. But not impossible. Thereâs one word thatâs been a cornerstone for me on the path of conscious relationshipâcan you...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 2 min read
This weekâs Full Moon is all about talking⌠to ourselves. I love that it arrives right at the end of the year but the start of the month. It feels like an invitation to have an honest, compassionate conversation with yourself about the year you just lived. For me, the Full Moon is a sacred monthly check-inâone of those natural pause points where I reconnect with what I want, what Iâve learned, and whatâs shifted. (If you want to go deeper into this, I have a workshop that helps guide the...
3 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
The past few weeks in my treatment room I've had different versions of what feels like the same conversation: "I just need to get through Thanksgiving." Some clients are managing the duties of hosting like a professional caterer. (That's us. đâď¸) Others are doing Olympic-level schedule coordination to make it to several meals in the same day. Either way, there's usually a factor of "... and I have to talk to so-and-so." You know the one I'm talking about. đ They're the family member you have...
3 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
It usually starts with a tiny little bottle. My momâs story did. She was traveling to California in a VW van in the â70s when they stopped at a flea market in Texas (of all places). Thatâs where she found her first âtiny little bottles.â They were labeled essential oilsâor at least the closest thing to real essential oils you could find back then. She started putting them in her massage oils, and that was it. She read everything she could get her hands on, started a school and wrote books....
4 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
Apparently my generation was the last to grow up offline and the first to grow up online. Of course, I read that on the internet ⌠no irony there! đ But dang, Reader, I relate to that. I remember dial tones and busy signals. AOL Online. (âYouâve got mail!â) Yahoo before this new search engine called âGoogle.â Whatâs better, I also remember the lost art of playing outside. đ Riding my bike to my friendâs house. Kickball in the street. That satisfying *thwack* of a Keds shoe hitting a rubber...
4 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
They say good things come to those who wait. We didnât even wait a month after losing our sweet pup, Bodhi, before the universe brought us Papi Chulo a.k.a. Boomer. Meet the new love of my life. We werenât actively looking for a dog, but we werenât not looking either. We just said weâd see what appeared. Then a family in the neighborhood needed to rehome their 8-month-old French Bulldog. Never in my life did I think Iâd adopt a dog like this. I always pictured another Chihuahua, or maybe a...
5 months ago â˘Â 3 min read