A Lion Of Courage ~ Getting married to amazement
I have a dear friend, a beautiful Frenchwoman named Marie. I met her in Berkeley, twelve years ago, when we were practicing together. One of our practices was facing the reality of death, the immediacy of it, the fact that it can come in any moment. Marie is someone who lives whole-heartedly. She gives herself to whatever is before her, with passion and dedication. It’s a beautiful quality, so deep in her I feel it as the substance of her soul. When I am with her, I drink it in. I get...
Read MoreThat Abrupt Waking ~ Love’s Fierce Initiation
Now that I am an elder, I realize for how many years I’ve been watching people fall down and flounder around in the ocean of intimate relationships.
Read MoreWhat’s Holding You Back? ~releasing the courageous creativity of the soul
What holds us back, when these beautiful, passionate impulses and longings arise in us? When they keep us awake at night, when they enter our dreams? When they disturb the known and habitual rhythms of our lives?
Read MoreThe Badger & The Buddha ~catastrophe, survival & what really matters
I woke up this morning to find that the city of Victoria received a tsunami alert last night, while we were sleeping. My daughter had been trying to call us at three in the morning to let us know that the large earthquake off Alaska had triggered the alert all along the Northern Pacific coastline. By the time we woke up the alert had been cancelled; and I was left feeling decidedly edgy. I started remembering similar moments, especially ones that happened in India, triggered by floods,...
Read MoreLiving with Heartbreak ~ The Awakening of Our Feeling Body
I had a conversation that impacted me deeply this weekend, with Keith Witt, an integral psychotherapist, teacher and author. We were talking about the #metoo movement, and his perspective on the root cause of the sexual violence, harassment and inequality that have been a part of so many women’s lives. “We haven’t taken care of our children,” he said. “A good parent raises a child who becomes a healthy adult. A healthy adult does not treat other people like this.” His...
Read MoreTransforming Our Relationship With Fear ~ Meeting the Dragon at the Threshold
Our relationship with fear is at the heart of our human journey. Fear can so easily paralyze us, stop us in our tracks. But the fear is not the problem; it is not what stops us. What stops us, what ties us up in knots, is how we relate to it. If we look at the big picture, we’ll notice a lot of fear moving around our world these days: fear of very specific things and also a lot of free floating anxiety. Fear is one of the most difficult emotions to stay present to: our nervous system...
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