Category Archives: Elite Member Materials

How To Work With Impermanence

There have been times in my life when I felt I couldn’t keep up with all the change, and times I didn’t want things to change. Have you ever felt that way? Change is an inescapable law of nature, and it doesn’t take into account how we’re going to feel about it. Our best response […]

Train with Slogans

Pema Chodron teaches the value of training with slogans–they’re easy to draw on in a pickle.  I’m a big fan of doing whatever will work in the moment. I use slogans because they’re easy to access and though they can be trite, the right slogan can speak VOLUMES. Can I share the slogans that help […]

Vipassana: Insight Meditation

It’s been over a week since I returned from my vipassana meditation retreat. I haven’t fully processed the experience, but I figure it’s time to put some of it down in writing. Vipassana is a ten day, silent retreat. Students are trained in the style of meditation that the Buddha taught. This practice is all […]

Be Love Now

Every day we walk around with our hearts tugged in different directions. At any one moment, my heart can open up into love or close off in self-protection. It’s scary to live in openness all the time because that means we can really be hurt. What happened in Orlando this month is proof enough that […]

Ten Choices That will Make you Happier

In the interest of brevity, I’ve created a “Top 10” list for your dose of personal growth for the week! Hope it grabs you. Accept what is. It’s here (a situation, a feeling, a loss or a gain), no matter how you feel about it. Leaning into it allows you to learn from it. Using […]

It’s Hard to do the Right Thing

There’s a phenomenon I’ve witnessed over the years as I’ve worked with families, and honestly, as I pay closer attention to myself: it’s not always easy to do right. I’m gonna get more specific and and talk about why it’s hard to do right in our relationships. While I think our innate goodness wants us […]

Unconditional Love

One of my favorite teachers says, “Love everybody and tell the truth.” Sometimes I think about the things we hold ourselves back from saying. Does pride ever keep you from telling someone how much you love them or how wonderful you think they are? Does anxiety ever keep you from sharing your concern for someone […]

The Power of Boundaries

Boundaries keep us connected to our true self and they allow us to know if we are safe in the presence of others. How does this work? In my experience, the way we often become aware is by how we feel when we’re not honoring our natural limits. When we’re unable to say no by […]

The Right Hand Doesn’t Discriminate Against the Left

The skeptical part of my brain sometimes wonders what these buddhist monks really know about relationships, seeing as how they’re living monastically and all. But then I stumble upon teachings (like I did this morning) that reach directly into my heart and remind me that we are all part of a tribe, we were all […]

How we Give in Relationships

Growing up, I’m sure I didn’t understand all that my parents sacrificed to give me the blessed life I had. I couldn’t be aware of the hours of sleep they gave up to care for me as a newborn, the way my mother’s body ceased being her own and became a vessel for my nourishment, […]