It turns out the reason it is so hard to rationalize with my automatic responses is because rationalization and automatic responses happen in two different parts of the brain.
Our Automatic Reactions
Collective Joy
I took my daughter to hear Taylor Swift the other week. The biggest surprise from the experience (other than the mere fact of me going) was how good I felt the next day. While parts of the whole experience felt…
Only 20% Hopeless
My father is visiting and one of the great benefits is that he fixes things for me. He has glued the bench, hammered the loose shingle, and applied WD-40 to the sticky lock. I get a little thrill out of…
Receiving and Healing
For more than two and half years I have been walking closely with my friend Michael as he lives with brain cancer. Recently he shared his health adventure as part of a healing stories project. I was so moved by…
Climate, Water, and Healing Grace
Water is making the headlines big time right now. Catastrophic storms. Severe droughts. Water is giving fearsome expression to the changes in our climate. Climate can be such a vague notion. But water is tangible. Water is my way of…
“In-the-Bones” Understanding 2.0
You may have noticed that “in-the-bones” understanding is a favorite phrase of mine. Intellectual knowledge gradually seeps into my body. As knowledge penetrates “the bones” it becomes spiritual understanding. And like our skeleton, this spiritual understanding creates a structure that…
Thresholds
A year ago I had the unique opportunity to celebrate the regenerative mystery of Easter in Lesvos, Greece. Just outside of the village of Molyvos I attended Laura Shannon’s Greek Easter Dance and Culture Seminar. Laura is my guiding teacher;…
Integral Self Care
Last weekend I got to dress up as a heron for my friend’s birthday party (you don’t get to do that every day!) and helped lead a workshop on our role(s) as guardians of life for future generations. I’m feeling…
Leaning into What’s Possible
I never thought I’d say that I’m grateful for my cancer experience. My healing adventure was painful but also unexpectedly blessed. I’m happier and more solidly myself than if I hadn’t been forced to transform. It’s the transformation that I’m…
Moving from empty change to transformation
Here is a nasty double bind. So many people I know are just trying to tread water while their lives heave and change. At the same time the suffering in our communities calls for major changes on many levels. We…