Almost 12 months ago, I cancelled a trip to Las Vegas. I was going to meet my daughter for a long weekend and attend my dear friend's St. Patrick's Day party. I canceled because of COVID-19. The challenge became to find adequate toilet paper and food before stores ran out or closed completely. To say it was an upsetting time falls short of the reality we all were experience in the early months of 2020. Then we thought it would be a month or two, right? Now we are in the early months of 2021. I am having groceries delivered because it is safer. I faithfully wear a mask when I leave my home. By summer, it will have been almost 18 months since I have been with my daughter (we usually are together 3 times a year). I am fortunate to live in the same city as my son & his family. We spent 8 months apart. After following all of the necessary protocols, including testing, I am now in their bubble and it has made a huge difference in my mental/emotional health and wellbeing. In another 5...

We are designed for balance and wholeness on every level of awareness and being. Most of us understand, at least on a rudimentary level, the process of homeostasis. The physical body actively seeks its balance 24 hours a day. Years ago during a six-month stint in diagnosis, my doctor encouraged me to stay positive as test after test failed to reveal the cause of my deteriorating health. He told me that it was a miracle any of us are healthy on any given day because of the billions of elements that must be in balance for us to be healthy.

Several years after regaining my health, I returned to college and majored in psychology. While volunteering on a crisis phone service, I spoke with one of my professors about memories of abuse emerging decades after the events. I knew someone who had experienced that. He explained that the psyche (the mental & emotional bodies) also seeks balance and wholeness. As a person matures, the walls of dissociation begin to crack and crumble and...

In my last entry I referred to dark/light as an example of Yin/Yang. The first thing that comes to mind when I think in these terms is black and white photography. This is one of my favorite artistic mediums. The edges are more apparent than they are in color photography.The lack of color calls to the imagination. The shadows or dark areas give definition and clarity to the light. Rather than working against the light, the dark supports the light, making it shine more brightly.

Emotions are judged harshly if they have been labeled as negative. Fear is deemed negative in the Western mind and yet, in Eastern philosophy, it is seen as one of the Master Teachers. Fear definitely has two sides. Legitimate fear can save your life. Unrealistic fear can paralyze you. Learning from your fear increases your self-awareness and nurtures your spiritual growth. Sitting with an intense and uncomfortable emotion brings insight and often healing. Here is a practical example: When you feel...

Do you ever wish you could just have a normal life? Have you ever asked yourself what you mean by that or what "normal" is in our society? Let's do that now.

The word "normal" is a statistical term meaning an average, standard, model or pattern. For example, if there are ten homes on the block and seven of those homes have garages, then 70% of the homes have garages. It could then be said that an average home on that block has a garage.

As I listened to a recorded speech given at a national Alcoholics Anonymous gathering, my mouth dropped open when the speaker reported a statistic that claimed 70% of motorists on the roads at any given time in this country are chemically impaired. That number includes alcohol, illegal substances, prescription medications, and over-the-counter medications.

I burst out laughing as I realized there was no way I wanted to be "normal!" That statistic did not deal with the resulting dysfunction in friends and families of the impaired drivers. Normal...

Our physical, mental, and emotional bodies are designed for balance and wholeness. Talk of proper diet, sufficient exercise, sunshine, and water abound. It isn't very often the conversation of sufficient rest arises. Human beings have decided, for the most part, that multi-tasking is a necessity and technology has taken this practice to unbelievable extremes.

Eating out is an education. Look around at other diners, even in gourmet restaurants. It is common to see people sitting together at a table using phones and tablets, never interacting or looking at one another. I'm not thinking of a group of friends sharing memories of favorite books and films or photos of a recent adventure.  That enhances conversation and can even quicken our memories of other details to be shared. I'm thinking of times when I was not able to interact with someone at a table because they never stopped texting. They say they are present with us but they are not.

Do they ever let their eyes, fingers, or...

Our physical, mental, and emotional bodies are designed for balance and wholeness. Talk of proper diet, sufficient exercise, sunshine, and water abound. It isn't very often the conversation of sufficient rest arises. Human beings have decided, for the most part, that multi-tasking is a necessity and technology has taken this practice to unbelievable extremes.

Eating out is an education. Look around at other diners, even in gourmet restaurants. It is common to see people sitting together at a table using phones and tablets, never interacting or looking at one another. I'm not thinking of a group of friends sharing memories of favorite books and films. That would enhance conversation and even quicken our memories of other details to be shared. I'm thinking of times when I was not able to interact with someone at a table because they never stopped texting. They say they are present with us but they are not.

Do they ever let their eyes, fingers, or brains rest? Rest is vital to...

Most of us have heard of and/or made gratitude lists. The speaker at a weekend retreat I attended said, "Gratitude opens the heart for further blessings." When we are overwhelmed by life, the body pulls into its center. It is a survival mechanism that shunts blood to the most vital internal organs. The body often literally curls in toward the base of the rib cage and navel. The circumstances that overwhelm can be physical, mental, emotional, or all three. The physical is most obvious, of course. Mental and emotional demands can create the same body responses but it is a bit more difficult to recognize the source. Picture where your physical heart is. Now, curl slightly forward and roll your shoulders down as you tip your head toward your waist. You are creating a physical haven for the heart.

This can be helpful in the face of immediate trauma; shut down, turn inward, protect yourself. Staying there longer that necessary for survival is counter-productive and can be harmful for...

From "Zen Cards" by Daniel Levin:

The center is not always the point of balance. When you find that place where Balance is achieved, peace will result in all situations. There is no conflict, for everything rests without strain.

As I read this, I wonder.....then I pick up an un-sharpened No. 2 pencil. I lay it across one finger at its center point and  it falls off. Of course it does. The eraser end is heavier than the writing end. I move its resting point toward the eraser end. It balances.

So what? Well, balance is essential to our wellbeing. Healthy diet, reasonable amounts of exercise, fresh air, sleep, and the meeting of other physical needs keeps the body in balance. Attention to these things benefits our physical wellbeing. Many of these things are also necessary for mental and emotional balance, and thus, wellbeing. Too much sugar and not enough sleep directly affect how we react/respond to daily life. These two things can throw our mental/ emotional balance off very...