Incremental Progress

There are silver linings in things that catch you at the oddest moments. Being a goal driven person who tends to forget that her body has limitations, I have throughout my life made decisions to climb that hill, walk that trail, take those stairs and set of with every intention of just plowing through like…

Have To/Need To/Get To

Something I figured out a while ago is the categories I put things into in my head when I’m thinking about everything that could/should/would happen in that day.  Being a Capricorn I’m a list maker and so either the night before or in the morning of I’m making to-do list of everything to accomplish that…

Avoidance Engine

There are as many ways to avoid what we do not want to do as there are people.  The examples that come to mind the quickest are the enjoyable time wasters like social media, online games, TV and movies, or various hobbies we drop into so we can tune out. Then there are the more…

The Future Present

Written language allows us to freeze moments in time.  It creates history as a dead thing, static facts accreting like coral, the bones of the dead building structure for the living. Written language, recorded history changes our experience of the past, altering our perception of the now, and warping our relationship with the future. If…

Boundaries Vs. Ego

In the spiritual community it is not uncommon for someone to be called out for “being in their ego.” This phrase has its origins in psychotherapy all the way back to Freud and the various parts of the mind. It was necessary, neutral, and like many things in life, only caused negative ramifications when it…

The Forgiveness Trap

This is from Dr. Susan Forward’s book Toxic Parents but if you substitute “person” for parent it’s easy to see that this applies to most cases of hurt and harm no matter what the situation or relationship. “One of the most dangerous things about forgiveness is that it undercuts your ability to let go of…

The First Step of the Path

Each of us has a path.  A way of living our life practically in this world that allows our bodies/hearts/minds to harmonize with our soul.  We dub it ‘authenticity’ and some people seek it forever as if it’s somewhere ‘out there’ and needs to be found.  But like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ, the…

Connection

I was reading something today that suddenly brought things into focus: “Fire qi is the full expression of Wood’s vision. Fire brings forth the rose, lays the paint on the canvas, and gives voice to the song that’s been forming in the depths of your heart. “Fire is intense, passionate, and calls forth our need…

We Teach Our Own Lessons

There is a difference between experiencing a sequence of events around excessive heat (someone turns the oven on and leaves it over night, the thermostat goes all out rather than turning things off, the car overheats suddenly and you’re stuck by the side of the road, someone puts Habaneros in the salad by mistake) and…

Manipulation & Responsibility

Manipulative people are those who try to get other people to do what they want, sometimes without the person knowing they are being manipulated, but not always. This can be because they don’t want to do the thing themselves, they don’t want to be responsible for the consequences, they don’t want to expend the necessary…