This episode is all about releasing one of the most common toxic patterns many of us have (and that easily that hooks me, personally): judgment and blame.

Continue reading

This past week when I was on a silent retreat, as the days went by and we all got deeper into our meditation practice, I could see that people were walking really slowly…taking long pauses to enjoy the nature around us; stopping and touching the leaves of a bush and even petting it in appreciation; gazing at a wild turkey and laughing at all its sounds and attempts at impressing us with displays of their feathers, or perma-grinning up at the full moon.

Continue reading

This past week I went to Maui with my good friend, Angela on a bit of an informal retreat. We had an absolute blast together – not just because we share so much in common and can laugh until we almost pee ourselves, but also because we both realized what we could change and what we couldn’

Continue reading

In 1991, my life seemed perfect. I had just started at UCSC, my first choice for schools, not just because of the amazing reputation of the rebel professors, but also because of the ancient redwood forests and proximity to the beach – nature was important to me, and this place had it ALL.

Continue reading

When it comes to the practices of lovingkindness & compassion in Buddhist psychology, it’s pretty well understood that if we only practice these things, we can end up getting attached to the way we think things are supposed to be.

Continue reading

During a ceremony on my last meditation retreat, I looked this woman in the eyes and she was sobbing (with joy) and BAM! I started sobbing – also with joy – for how beautiful and precious the moment was. I didn’t stop, the entire ceremony. I had an immediate response to her tears of joy. And I could not reign that shizzle in. For the life of me.

Continue reading

We talk about why it matters and how we hold it in a context where we debate if we even exist on certain levels. Specifically – I want to talk about the concept of non-self and and Ultimate Oneness as well as how – and if – this can exist simultaneously alongside the concept of the individual soul. I’m going to do this while reminding you that I’m no philosophy or theology expert, and that I’m sharing my own experience of this debate along the path – and it’s not a straight line!

Continue reading

If you’re like me, and you may have had a less stellar feeling about “ethics” or “morals” in the past because they were presented in a more judgmental way (and perhaps viewed them more as a constraint or a sense of deprivation). I invite you to indulge me in this episode, because the way I talk about it here is totally different.

Continue reading

We are all complex beings, made up of contrasts. Discipline and wildness. Security and freedom. Worldly and divine.

There are dichotomies everywhere. It’s part of nature, and we are all a part of that.

Yet often we are asked to choose only one aspect of ourselves and lose or leave the other. And for many of us, our culture believes it’s hypocritical to stand with one foot in each contrasting space.

Continue reading

I had a recent client who had a really tough time with letting go of the “how” before allowing herself to be happy, relaxed, and free. Everyday she felt anxious and even downright panicked because she didn’t have “The Plan” for how to create the life she wanted.

Continue reading