Hey Reader, It's been a minute. If you're new here, I usually send this newsletter once a week. But apparently I've taken an accidental sabbatical. I shared a few months ago that we're renovating our house ... while still living in it. At this point I'd say I don't recommend it. 😫 So we've spent the past few months shuffling our belongings from room to room, trying to make space for the work while also going to work, taking care of ourselves and our animals, and generally keeping life moving....
7 days ago • 4 min read
Every time I sit down to write this email, I face the same thing: The voice in my head that tells me I don't have anything worth saying. Or worse, that what I have to say is not worth saying. I'm sharing this because I want to normalize the battle with the Inner Critic. ⚔️ (And I'm guessing this sounds familiar to you, too.) In the latest episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and I discuss the next two sayings from Uncle Murray's canon, both of which point to a way through one of the...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Hello from Cocoa Beach, where Kelly and I are enjoying this view from the porch: Thanks to a sales pitch on a rainy vacation day, my Dad decided investing in a timeshare back in the early 2000s was a good idea. (Despite popular opinion, it’s worked out great for us!) We’ve been coming here twice a year ever since. But this time something’s different. The place we stay has a boardwalk to the beach through a natural preserve of palms, grass and sand dunes. I love the view across a...
5 months ago • 3 min read
When I first encountered the Buddhist teaching of emptiness, it honestly kind of bothered me. 🙈 I didn’t like the idea that there wasn’t an essential nature inherent in the things I loved. My spirituality resonated more with feeling like there’s something out there – some being, some ultimate reality, some personified divinity that I could have a relationship with. Over time, I found other Buddhist teachings that did resonate. The practice of loving kindness, or metta, is one I lean into...
6 months ago • 2 min read
If there is one thing that helps us to keep pressing publish on our weekly podcast it's this: Done is better than perfect. (Believe me, that's also easier said than done!) I can't tell you how many different versions of our cover art we went through before deciding it's "good enough." Or how listening back made me realize I didn't get the sound levels right. Or how many times we've been interrupted by Papi, our dog, barking or chewing things he's not supposed to. But it's all okay. We just...
7 months ago • 2 min read
A client of mine referred to their new dog as a “dopamine dispenser,” and I couldn’t agree more. 😍 It’s like, “Move over phone, Instagram, all the apps and devices that vie for my attention. I’ve got something REAL here.” This reminded me of a visit to my cousin after she got a new kitten. We were on the floor playing with it when, inevitably, a phone came out to show a funny cat video. Apparently, at some point I broke from my haze and said, “Wait, why are we watching videos of cats when we...
7 months ago • 3 min read
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...
7 months ago • 3 min read
Back in the early 90s, the most rented video on my family's Blockbuster account was The Making of Michael Jackson’s 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, I’d reply, “I want to be a horror make-up artist.” 10-year-old me rolled up to the local costume store asking about fake blood and latex scars. I remember the...
8 months ago • 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...
8 months ago • 3 min read