It’s Mother’s Day morning. With each passing year, I become more aware of how complex and sometimes fraught this holiday is. I am now in the minority of my friends whose mothers are still...
What Would Your Mother Say?
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How Meditation Landed Me in Berlin: An Inspirational Plug For My Upcoming Morning Program
I recently returned from an eight-day trip to Berlin, a city that shaped me when I lived and worked there for a year in the mid-1980s. It was an unusual travel choice for me at this stage...
The Suncatcher I Almost Gave Up On (And What It Taught Me)
"We don't usually get to see you stressed, Martha. Interesting!" Ten of us were gathered around the work table in Shona D'Cruz's (Blue Hyacinth Mosaics) home studio for our "Shine Your...
Spring Cleaning? Don’t Forget Meditation
I don’t know if this is just a female thing, but my internal “clean, clear, declutter” lever mysteriously flips on every March. It feels so primordial, especially when I hear my...
“You’re Not a Marine” and Other Truths About Post-Menopause Push-Ups
“You’re not a Marine. You don’t need to kiss the floor,” Stephanie said. Wait, what? I was struggling to do off-the-knees push-ups in my personal trainer’s studio. Calling Stephanie “my”...
What Mental Fitness Training Really Feels Like: A Client Story
There is something powerful about hearing someone name their own transformation — not in polished marketing language, but in honest reflection about what shifted inside them. Again and...
Walk For Peace Monks Lessons and Images
“Stop taking your lover to the bathroom,” Venerable Bhikkhu Paññākāra told the crowd. We all burst out laughing, forgetting that we were standing in sub-freezing weather. He was talking...
Seeds That Wait For Fire: The Slow Alchemy of Resilience in Uncertain Times
It’s been three weeks since my husband and I returned from our first visit to Australia. Yes, I have adorable photos of tree-hugging koalas and video of a mother kangaroo and her baby...
Nature Reminds Us To Keep Going: Rebirth From the Ashes
It’s Sunday, a week since we returned from our first visit to Australia. A friend texted me a couple of days ago saying, “You must have whiplash leaving sunny Australia to come home to...
An Empowering Space Between Breaths
The last few days of December always feel like a space between breaths for me. It’s that point where you have just completed your exhale but have not quite turned toward your next inhale....
The Groundhog Day Guide to Presence Power (again)
It's that time of year again, when you might find yourself heading to the post office for holiday shipments. This two-part story about a major mindfulness failure on my part still makes me...
A High-Impact Opportunity to Support Immigrants
Central to my mindfulness practice is a question I return to several times a day: “What’s most important right now? What action can I take to be part of the solution?” Sometimes the...