having an illness. Perhaps you distracted yourself tackling 14 things on your to-do list. Or you had an irresistible urge to check your social media feeds or watch endless TikTok reels of dancing cats. Or maybe you started telling yourself threatening stories (“What if they’ve been in an accident?”; “There’s something wrong with me”; “I can’t cope”; “I shouldn’t be feeling this way”). In my experience as a psychologist working with clients for 30 years, what is going on in these moments is we are escaping from our inner lives—and this happens when we are confronted with vulnerability. We are triggered by uncom... posted on Apr 5 2023 (6,333 reads)

always been fleeting. But it seemed real, even if it wasn’t something he felt comfortable talking about, except with close, trusted friends. Even then, he sometimes felt a little silly and self-conscious, as if others would consider him odd for having such experiences. In truth he did sometimes feel odd. But also blessed. Besides that, in recent years the man had stretched his sense of ethics and “right behavior” to include his relationship with insects. That was still a work in progress, though he’d even experimented with seeing how far he could go into summer without killing a mosquito. But back to the dragonfly. The man went into the cabin and grabbed a br... posted on Apr 6 2023 (5,835 reads)

1925, Frida Kahlo was on her way home from school in Mexico City when the bus she was riding collided with a streetcar. She suffered near-fatal injuries and her disability became a major theme in her paintings. Over the course of her life, she would establish herself as the creator and muse behind extraordinary pieces of art. Iseult Gillespie dives into the life and work of Frida Kahlo in this riveting TED talk.  ... posted on May 8 2023 (3,011 reads)

itself in healthy eating, yoga, ChiRunning and spirituality. After several years, my current partner, Jeroen, came into the picture with whom I can now share all that. And we started to do a lot of trainings to together. It did not mean that from then on, the road became a fully paved highway. Together we were challenged quite a few more times in letting go and following the voice of our hearts. First, the idea of starting a retreat center that after 4 years of hard work turned out not to be our path. Meanwhile, I was a vitality coach, yoga teacher and taught yoga&run classes. And yet my heart wanted me to partially let go of all of this, no more w... posted on May 9 2023 (3,132 reads)

to reveal what is real, to reveal the roots of what matters. And we all experienced that during the pandemic: The revelation of what matters—kindness, compassion, care for our fellow human beings. The realization of what shared breath really means. And from this space of what might be real, what is real, a new future, possible futures, can emerge. Leaving behind what isn’t real, you return to what is real, and from that place something can emerge. And this was the framework that we worked with for this issue, finding stories that explored this, finding stories that evoked the questions that were emerging out of that time. Gathering artists, gathering writers, gather... posted on Jun 1 2023 (3,484 reads)

on a short “workshop” given for Harvard Divinity School’s “Ecological Spiritualities” Conference, 2022) To shift my own awareness toward a more-than-human perspective, I sometimes take a wooden flute outside and begin to play, offering simple music to pine and stone, offering gratitude to billions of ancestors – from elements born in supernovas, to bacteria and trees, insects and trilobytes, to lineages of human ancestors both known and unknown. Offering wild prayers for all the beings who come after us, as well as gratitude to all of the teachers, both human and wilder Ones, is a practice to help destabilize my everyday mind and perceptions... posted on Jul 1 2023 (2,596 reads)

Fall for someone impractical. Reacquaint yourself with desire and all her slender hands. Bear beauty for as long as you are able, and if you spot a sunning warbler glowing like a prism, remind yourself – joy is not a trick. - J. Sullivan  I didn’t write for nearly 8 years. Well, to be fair, I did write email campaigns and landing pages and flashy paragraphs called brand narratives which read like bad poems but occasionally still made my clients cry. I worked hard and got promotions and always felt a little impressive when I ordered Manhattans on the company card.   But the truth is I began to develop chronic pain in my hands from 60+ h... posted on Jul 6 2023 (8,485 reads)

sum of which can disqualify you from becoming a pilot. Grounded by such shortcomings, you may find yourself commiserating with the ratites, a motley clan of birds that includes the emu and the kiwi and the cassowary, most born sans a keel bone upon which to hang their aerial ambitions. Unlike them, you can flunk your vision test and still be cleared for takeoff; all that is required is a statement attesting to your demonstrated abilities to soundly operate an aircraft. But this workaround would still be a diminishment of sorts, since you will not be permitted to fly commercially or at night, when cockpit lights conspire with the runaways below and the stars above to overtax ... posted on Jul 10 2023 (2,824 reads)

tree in full bloom can transport you in an instant, but only if you aren’t trying to get somewhere. Efficiency is always trying to get somewhere. This is why it does not gallivant,  daydream, linger, or lounge. Unlike Walt Whitman, efficiency has never been known to ‘lean and loafe’ at its ease observing a spear of summer grass– or a California buckeye tree in bloom. No. Efficiency is ever-preoccupied in getting you from here to there. For it to work you must be firmly tethered to space-time, not lifting veils, traversing realms and hitchhiking with eternity (things liable to happen when meandering or being Whitmanesque.) For most of ... posted on Jul 24 2023 (4,484 reads)

in her has gone so still she doesn’t need to breathe. And anyway, the iced-over pond will soon be empty of oxygen. Sunk in its bottom-mud, for six months she will not draw air into her lungs. To survive a cold that would kill her, or slow her so that predators would kill her, she slows herself beyond breath in a place where breath is not possible. And waits. As ice locks in the marsh water and howling squalls batter its reeds and brush, beneath it all she waits. It is her one work, and it is not easy. Oxygen depletion stresses every particle of her. Lactic acid pools in her bloodstream. Her muscles begin to burn—her heart muscle, too, a deadly sign. That acid has to ... posted on Aug 7 2023 (3,865 reads)

weight. “Water has the ability to cleanse itself, and because we are largely made of water, we are a part of that cleansing cycle as well,” Egawa says. “That is why it is so important to offer gratitude and prayer to water as we use it throughout our day.”  Internally, water delivers essential nutrients, moves our digested food, and regulates our temperature. Being adequately hydrated can increase our energy levels and diminish our aches and pains. Our Ancestors worked diligently to master oxidation and browning reactions for culinary creations, passed down through generations in recipes.  We are absolutely a part of the cycle of water. All of life is... posted on Aug 14 2023 (2,584 reads)

humility to contain and admonish those who have strong opinions and perspectives. For example, the stereotype of humble Asians and Asian Americans acts to silence important messages that are quite critical to our time of change and distress. To be bold and not “humble” per se risks being called “arrogant” or “difficult to deal with.” I think it’s possible to be both brave and humble, but it requires constant internal and interpersonal work, and risks rupturing or distressing relationships. That perspective keeps me grounded even when I express myself and my concerns for marginalized peoples quite strongly. In that way, a sense of r... posted on Sep 13 2023 (5,731 reads)

the Discipline of Authentic Movement, a studio practice sourced in the relationship between a mover and a witness. Her teachings in the past 50 years are offered in numerous books, films, interviews and presentations. In May 2022, I visited Janet in her home and Kiva studio on Galiano Island, off the coast of Vancouver, B.C. We embarked on a journey of discovery, a collaborative process that was rich with mutual inspiration and learning, and which developed into a friendship. The result of our work together is the film: “LIGHT | Five Days with Janet Adler". It is a homage to the life and legacy of one of the great teachers of our time, who lived within the natural beauty of the P... posted on Sep 18 2023 (4,558 reads)

in the middle of the paper, OK? Look up at your partner. Look at the inside of one of their eyes. Doesn't matter which one. That's where you're going to start. Ready? Deep breath. (Inhales) And begin. Now, just draw but notice where you are, you're starting there and you see there is a corner, maybe there's a curve there. Notice those little lines, the eyelashes. People are wearing masks, some aren't, just work with that. Now just go slow. Pay attention and draw what you see. And don't look down. Just keep going. (Murmuring) And just five more seconds. And stop.&nb... posted on Oct 21 2023 (6,206 reads)

music is trying to say.” What does that evoke for you? Cave:Well, okay, so… Tippett:Of course the point of the poem is that you can’t sum that up, but I’m just curious about where Nick Cave’s mind goes. Cave:Well you can’t really sum that up, but I can give it a go. And my feelings about this have changed, too, over the years. But it feels to me that music in itself, I would say, has a moral dimension. That it’s essentially good. That it works to improve matters. And that’s how I go about concerts these days. And it’s not me in particular, but any musician. In fact, playing any kind of music can do something to improve mat... posted on Dec 6 2023 (3,875 reads)

because we had just met, and there he was, absolutely right. I told him I was having second thoughts about the band. “Well, do you have a picture of what you would like your life to look like in ten years?” I hadn’t thought about it until he asked me, but I closed my eyes and could see a vision of who I wanted to be. It was so clear. I started describing the vision of a young man who was married with children, walking his kids to school, being involved in community work, and helping and assisting others with their spiritual pursuits. When I finished describing the vision I had seen, I looked at Alex, and his eyes were filled with tears. “Alex, I know I ... posted on Feb 13 2024 (4,695 reads)

of meaning.” Here is an example of a spiritually literate reading of a scene from a movie. In the 1995 film Smoke, Auggie Wren manages a cigar store on the corner of Third Street and Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn. Every morning at exactly eight o'clock, no matter what the weather, he takes a picture of the store from across the street. He has four thousand consecutive daily photographs of his corner all labeled by date and mounted in albums. He calls this project his "life's work." One day Auggie shows the photos to Paul, a blocked writer who is mourning the death of his wife, a victim of random street violence. Paul doesn't know what to say about the photos; ... posted on Mar 12 2024 (3,570 reads)

of the Luray Caverns. Each note reverberates across the caverns creating an otherworldly, all encompassing sound. Listen to the World's Largest Instrument It’s difficult to describe just how incredible this instrument sounds, so here is a short video from one of our favorite video creators, Great Big Story, to give you a special listen. Via: Great Big Story ³ Now, if you’re a curious sort, or musically inclined, you may have some questions about how this whole thing works. How does the sound make its way to the organ? Who plays this thing? Do you need to tune it? These are all great questions with fascinating answers. Like any instrument, the organ needs ongoing... posted on Apr 25 2024 (5,676 reads)

travel with me -- her name was Zhang Yun. She passed away, actually in a car accident a few months after she arrived and she was just a college student. I think about her often and just wanted to honor her for bringing me to the United States. In my youth and most of my childhood, I was really achievement-oriented. It wasn't for fame or money, but if I could name one thing, it was probably to honor my mama and baba -- they gave up so much of their life, to provide a future for me. I remember working on the Wall Street, fresh out of college and sort of being proud of myself for getting the hardest job to get, coming out of school. It was during my first year that I remember this very poign... posted on May 11 2024 (3,458 reads)

August 2022, my wife and I had the sublime privilege of hiking in the Canadian Rockies, urging our aging bodies forward, putting one foot in the front of the other along incessantly uphill trails. We established a daily routine not unlike preparing to go off to work: get up early to beat the crowds; pack our cameras, snacks, water, bear spray, and hiking poles; and drive to the trailhead in hopes of securing a place to park. Without knowing quite why, I found myself raising my camera often to frame the clouds that formed above and around the majestic peaks. My wife asked me if I thought the clouds and mountains were “in dialogue” (they were, at least meteorologically). Taki... posted on May 9 2024 (519 reads)