Transform Yourself
I have spent the majority of my life in the meeting rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Since I was first sent to rehab at 17, Twelve Step programs have been a backdrop of my life. In 1999, at the age of 22, I put down alcohol and drugs for good. When I was in the early …
When the phases of lockdown first started rippling throughout the world, I downplayed it in my mind. I listened to early reports of the virus saying that the situation was being overblown, and felt assured that this was something I could watch go by, a blip on my radar, and that things would soon return …
There is a space between an event that occurs and how we interpret the event. This gap is imperceptible for people that are living unconsciously. You know the type: they go stumbling around their lives, bumping up against things unwanted, and react to everything. They take everything personally, internalizing everything in their outer world. It's …
All types of love share common themes, whether it is romantic love, familial love, or love between friends. One of the biggest themes is expectation. Where there is love, there is expectation due to the roles people take on when the label of love is applied. However, expectation is the opposite of love. Expectation binds, …
Continue reading "“Even though” and “Still”: A Path to Unconditional Love"
Have you ever noticed, really noticed, how identified you are with your thoughts? Maybe you don’t even know what that means. It means there is nothing between you and your thoughts. You are your thoughts. Most of us live this way, not knowing there is an alternative. We think a thought, and totally believe it. …
Have you ever noticed how you can react to the same situation in different ways, depending on the day? It is most easily apparent in your close relationships. One day, the way your husband loads the dishwasher annoys you so much you go behind him and re-load it; the next, you don't give it a …
Early one morning, I sat in meditation in my villa in Bali. The lotus pond in my yard mirrored the sky tinged with pink from the sunrise. Wisps of cloud crowned a distant volcano on the horizon. The palm trees and emerald grass of the rice fields surrounding me were still. I felt bliss and …
Continue reading "A 3-Step Method To Work With Distractions During Meditation"
I'm sipping papaya juice at a Nepalese restaurant while watching a cricket match on TV. The muzak version of Yesterday that's playing is being drowned out by the road noise of hulking diesel trucks painted circus colors. Motorbikes weave around them, blaring their horns to announce their presence. The occasional tuk-tuk chugs by, spewing noxious …
Then My eyelids are heavy and they don’t want to open. Yet the stark light is insistent, telling me that it’s late. I turn away from the window onto my right side. My left temple’s throbbing intensifies, an unwelcome reminder of last night’s overindulgence. My whole body feels like it’s encased in lead. I want …
I looked up from the massage table that I was laying on and into Dr. Thuy’s eyes. “Did I hurt you?” she asked as she touched my arm. Her eyes were large and luminous pools that emitted tender warmth and compassion towards me as tears fell from my eyes. She thought I was crying because …
