“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.” (1) I’ve chosen this idea from Thich Nhat Hanh as the intentional focus for the week. It is a body centered practice and can be a movement meditation. Focusing deliberately on the feet’s connection to the earth can take us out … Read more
A Mindful Experiment My intention for the new year is to take one concept each week – just ONE – and dive into it in a focused and mindful way and see what happens – a mindfulness experiment of sorts. My hope is that I’ll be able to reach a deeper understanding and integrate it … Read more
Winter solstice always carries the symbolism of light dispelling darkness. That image seems particularly comforting right now as we have entered a dark period in which people full of hate and mean intentions have captured the castle. After weeks of mucking around in the darkness, I am ready to embrace the light. I’ve written a … Read more
Having grown up reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other fantasy books, I’ve been immersed in the concept of deep magic. Most everyone knows the stories…the ring to rule them all was forged by deep magic, the stone table on which Aslan was sacrificed was built with deep magic. The magic that created these things always … Read more
“We are all connected; to each other biologically; to the earth chemically; and to the universe atomically.” That’s from Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, author and Director of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC. His explanation is simple and to the point. It might be easy to miss how profound the idea is. For much of human … Read more
Creating a Strategy Having a strategy for mindfulness practice is as important as a technique. Many of the participants in the Mindfulness 101 class that I teach at the Colorado Mental Wellness Network already know about meditation and mindfulness. Many have practiced sporadically. Their challenge is not that they don’t know some basic meditation techniques, … Read more
Spiritual Practice A path, a journey, a long climb to the top of the mountain….all are analogies for spiritual practice. The implication is that we are trying to get somewhere. We start HERE and we get THERE, wherever THERE is. We are moving on a path toward enlightenment, or at the very least a reduction … Read more
Creating Winter Mandalas This moment and this moment and this next moment….that’s what we have. These moments make up our lives. And yet we seem to be wired to be anywhere but in this present moment. Certainly more than at any time in our history, the information on meditation and mindfulness is readily available. But … Read more
Listening & Hearing are Not the Same Thing Hearing is a sensory experience – waves of energy flowing over our eardrums and lighting up our brains. Listening involves some action on our part as we try to decode the incoming message. Mindful listening is deep attentiveness to the moment by moment unfolding of energy and … Read more
. Pattern Language Expands Possibilities What do forest gardens and peer run recovery centers have in common? • Both are innovative ideas • Both are phrases that help us envision new patterns and possibilities As I expand on each one and you’ll see the connections. On forest gardens Forest gardens are also known as food … Read more
