I got pregnant on New Years Eve, 1998. I was drunk.I still remember cheering NINETEEN NINETY-NINE like a madwoman outside the bar as fireworks went off at midnight.My full bladder didn't like all the jumping and screaming, so I made the drunken decision to keep celebrating and empty my bladder at the same time.I brought …
What’s Different This Time?
Lately I've been talking with people about their primary addiction - the one that precedes alcohol or drugs. Of course, in my work with helping people overcome sugar and food addiction, I have heard many say food is primary. But it wasn't food for me. It was boys. At five years old, I was called …
A Twist on “One Year, No Beer”
1 YEAR NO SUGAR, 20 YEARS NO CIGARETTES This month marks 20 years no smokes, and 1 year no sugar for me🤩 My foto was taken last weekend and shows how I feel living in freedom🎉 I've had numerous substitutes for beer since I gave it up in 1999 at 22 years old. Cigarettes, though …
Digital Detox
I'm taking a few days away from screens. Here's why. I had a moment of clarity last week when I tried to read a book. A book I'm really interested in, that when I saw it on my friend's shelf, I immediately got it down from the shelf and wanted to start it. I sat …
The Gap
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 …
“Even though” and “Still”: A Path to Unconditional Love
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, …
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I Don’t Know
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. …
Pick Your Brain
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 …
A 3-Step Method To Work With Distractions During Meditation
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 …
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Then / Now
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 …