My Writing

2025 has been quite a year, right?!  I spent time in fear, in rage, in despair, in hopelessness, and in historical review of ultra-right wing trends. I learned that I needed more than to white knuckle it. A few months in, I began to practice how to relax into the gunk and found two very important gifts. One is joy and the other hope. I am not letting go of hope (joy and hope combined)! I am holding on tightly! They are essential ingredients for what we are cooking! They will

Let's end the new year by anointing ourselves! Let's purify and honor making it through 2025! All you need is one bottle of essential oils- frankincense or myrrh or lavendar or orange, or even oregano or rosemary oils. And a few minutes. Sit in silence for a few minutes, feel yourself center, and then focus your mind on sensing where you need to release energy. You may want to release that energy which is stuck or honor the parts of your being that have been giving you streng

As we end 2025, its useful to look back at the year in review and notice how we fared as evolving beings of light, with an abbreviated version of the five hindrances. The five hindrances can be understood as very common, negative mind sets which hinder us on the spiritual path, as per Buddhist philosophy: The first hindrance is Desire. "Everything will be OK when I get what I want." Is that really true? The second hindrance is Ill Will or Aversion. "I don't want this. I don't

Really now, what matters most to you? Whether we are delving into a deep life review over the decades or considering the shape of our 2025, a few questions can frame our loving conversation with ourselves. This is the frame I use: 1. What mattered most to me (this year)? What gave me joy? What made me feel most alive? When did I have the most energy flowing inside me and experience the most openness to life? For me, there were three top things that made me feel super energize

Do you have a chronic health issue? A disease that has been with you for a long time? Do you feel fragile and vulnerable? I am in my late 60's and my health is good. I work at it every day. But I have chronic health issues that have plagued me for 25-45 years. I thought they were well managed until this year. Suddenly, my asthma was out of control, my interstitial cystitis was flaring up most days, and my piriformis syndrome got worse. Additionally, I was inexplicably gaining

I love the word 'delight'. Do you? For me, it conjures up the joy of pleasure in our senses, a moment of unabashed happiness, a lovely occurrence of pure glee. A delicious morsel on the tongue, a beautiful view of the sun setting over the ocean, an exquisite, dulcet sound, a sweet touch that is savored, the smell of a newborn's head. Ahh, delight. Could 'delight' refer to a lack of light? The prefix "de-" generally means "down," "away from," "off," or "removal".  Such as Defr

I have really strong thigh muscles. And a pretty strong core. I am reasonably content when I look in the mirror and flex my biceps. But my muscle of hope needs strengthening. It is sagging. It is covered up by despair, rage, and fear. Several times each day I have to remember to use it so that it can become more robust. I scour the news for random acts of generosity, for positive acts of protest, for people standing up for what is right. I go to arts events- poetry, painting

My armor of anxiety often obscures my equanimity. Someone I love very deeply had a surgery yesterday. I am breathing comfortably again. Sometimes that same suit of armor helps me figure out how to find the centered place of calm within. Last week I was locked inside a metal suit of anxious thoughts and feelings.  Every time I tried to let go of the fear of bad future outcomes, within seconds I was swimming in worry again. I kept trying to bring myself back to the present, onl

"Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." This is a great Buddhist quote. It reminds me of...

I have a 99 year-old client who is sharp as a tack! He says he has dementia. While the computer that is our brain may be slowing down,...

Here are 10 little-known signs your body is screaming for estrogen These signs are identified by Dr. Michelle Sands. I indicated on each...

One day last month, I coughed 276 times in a day. And peed 16 times, 5 of which demanded that I rise from sleep. It was a bad day. I had...

It is 13 years since my sister died. and In a few hours it will be 8 years since my mom died. In my tiny backyard, I wave to the...

So many amazing, hot women! Seventeen years ago when I went through menopause, I was hard pressed to find information about it, through...

I am not a 12-Step person but there are two 12-Step axioms that I just love. In my 60's, I think I finally get what they mean....

I did therapy on and off for a total of thirty years. I had a very high ACE (adverse childhood events) and it took me a minute. Or two. ...

Thoughts on MLK Day, January 20, 2025 “My head is like a bad neighborhood, I would rather not go there." I have been meditating for 51...

Stand up if you are a Caregiver! Let me, let all of us, applaud you!  Family caregivers, those unpaid folks who are on 24/7 caring for...

53,000 Americans are expected to die from colon or rectal cancer this year . I usually write here on topics of death and dying. I don't...

As per ScienceFocus.com: “In any human body there are around 30 trillion human cells, but our microbiome is an estimated 39 trillion...