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…
Cook & Connect: Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Pie Recipe November 26, 2014 • 7 Comments This is a holiday reprise because so many people wrote to me raving about it last year. Thought I would share it again in case you have to bring something delicious to share at the Thanksgiving party. I can’t possibly find my way to one good reason why I was standing in Target in early November surrounded by Christmas décor, while…
Forgiving Yourself Is the New Black November 24, 2014 • 4 Comments Forgiveness is the new black, or at least it seems to be on everyone’s lips these days. It is something I think upon because people often ask if I have forgiven my husband. Every now and again, I notice a judgmental edge to the tone in the question, as though I’m not worthy if I haven’t reached the supreme state…
Tools for Healing Physical and Emotional Illness November 21, 2014 • 0 Comments My son has been wandering around the house fighting a cold for the past week or so, and despite my best efforts to avoid the cloud of pathogens, which included ingesting copious amounts of oregano oil, my body succumbed to the alien invasion of cold+flu germs. I hate being sick, but as I lay here flat on my back, I…
Healing Therapy: Using the Energy of the Body to Heal the Mind November 16, 2014 • 0 Comments I’m a big fan of therapy. Not sit-on-the-couch-talking-forever therapy. I’m mean peel-back-the-layers-quickly therapy. I write about it here because I think it is an important healing tool: a way to delve below the surface and unearth invisible forces that wreak havoc in our lives. The right kind of therapy can be instrumental in the journey to wholeness and create possibilities…
How to Make Eye Contact and Create Connection November 14, 2014 • 0 Comments Tragedy offers a front row seat to human nature and one thing I started noticing in the early aftermath was how we avoid eye contact. What is it about allowing others to peer through the “windows to our soul” that is so difficult?