A New Year: Setting Goals and Peace of Mind January 5, 2015 • 2 Comments The beginning of the holidays were heavily dusted with bah humbug for me. When it came to decorating and buying presents, I simply couldn’t muster any Santa spirit. I was truthful with my family about my mindset and so my brother became the de facto Santa. Thankfully, I have kids who accept my honesty and are old enough to appreciate…
The Value of Letting Go January 2, 2015 • 2 Comments Happy New Year! This post is from a while back but in the spirit of ushering new energy in for the new year I thought it was a good one to share again. Next week I will be back on track with new thoughts and ideas for healing in 2015. At coffee the other day, my friend and I were…
What Can We Mindfully Learn From The Suicide Epidemic December 29, 2014 • 0 Comments I know it’s the holidays, not the best time for this topic, but this past week I learned about the recent suicide of a high school senior here in San Diego, a young man voted home coming king at his school, and thought to be happy. I also met a prominent Hollywood figure who knew of four recent suicides in…
David Whyte Poems: Loaves and Fishes December 26, 2014 • 2 Comments I never truly appreciated the beauty of poetry until quite recently. I think my brain was too distracted to understand the gorgeous simplicity contained in so few words. As my life becomes more and more simplified, I find I am drawn to the magical way a poem can evoke an ocean of feeling and understanding. We live in a world…
Relieve Holiday Stress: Whole Body Breathing December 19, 2014 • 0 Comments I remember standing in the living room of our new home four years ago, two weeks before Christmas, feeling totally overwhelmed by the idea of tree and decorations. The move had taken everything out of me but, desperate for a sense of normalcy for my kids, I wrestled my holiday mojo out of thin air and brought the holiday to…
Presence Is A Rare Commodity December 15, 2014 • 0 Comments The other night, I spent an hour chatting on Facetime with my son who is at college in Santa Cruz. My other son and I were curled up in bed, laughing and talking in front of the computer, and it almost felt like we were all together in one room, which made me smile, and reminded me of days when they were younger, long before they encountered tragedy.Read more
Grounding: A Healing Practice for Trauma December 12, 2014 • 2 Comments This post is a reprise but grounding is a good way to cultivate inner peace and stability in the midst of the busy holiday season. When I first started writing about the events that transpired in 2010, I wrote from the space of being a few blocks away, maybe even a few continents. It was something that happened to me,…
Talk About It: Don’t Allow Never to Define Your Future December 8, 2014 • 0 Comments This past week, I encountered the same conversation that I have had again and again during the last four years. It goes something like this: “My [Father/Mother/Sibling/Grandparent] chose suicide [ten/twenty/thirty/forty] years ago, and my family has [NEVER] discussed it.” Never is the common denominator and it is its own kind of wilderness. Never will stop healing dead in its tracks.…
The Transformative Power of Heartfelt, Active Listening December 5, 2014 • 7 Comments When was the last time you felt truly heard? I mean attentively listened to in a way that allowed you to actually hear what you were saying and make sense of it on your own, a time when your words were spoken and witnessed, no need for solutions, just a willing ear openly receiving them. I began to notice…
The Fine Art of Self-Sabotage December 1, 2014 • 0 Comments These past few weeks have been illuminating in a number of ways. As I wind down the edit phase of the book, my mind has begun flashing upon the possibilities in the future. Revisiting the events of 2010 has been no small feat, and kicked up a substantial amount of dust, but I now feel ready to let the…