Category: Inspiration

Grief: 15 Ways to Process Pain and Start to Heal

December 21, 2022

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final…
Ranier Maria Rilke
This is the quote on the handmade cards I’m giving my kids for for Christmas this year. I want them to remember, as tragedy and sorrow swirls around us, to allow themselves to feel everything, even the sharp and jagged edges of pain, to allow it in, let it change you, invite the pain in to teach its lessons. It hurts to lose people we love, and what can this brutal lesson teach us? I’m still learning myself, but I have noticed a deep and abiding compassion growing in me, forged in the fire of loss and pain, that urges me to show up for others who are in pain.

Who Knew a Speeding Ticket Could Turn Into Magic?

December 3, 2022

Best of all, I paid off my speeding ticket by performing, which makes me wonder, what magic is about to happen for me now? I am embracing the miracles all around me now, and I can not wait to see what is around the corner. Who knew that a speeding ticket would forever change my life for the better? Who knew that I was speeding right into magic that night?

Castles in France for the Mother of Dragons

November 24, 2022

As we checked out, we did a little Game of Thrones photo shoot in the empty rooms we walked through. Mind you, my kids are too young to watch it, so it was just me living my Mother of Dragons fantasy because I so resonate with the character: I feel like I’ve spent a long night in a fire, burning with grief and love and heartbreak, and now as the fire simmers down, I emerge, not burnt and weak, but stronger, braver, with my arms full of fierce baby dragons.

Can Dancing Actually Change the Brain? YES!

November 4, 2022

Can dancing actually change the brain? Make you smarter? Heal broken hearts and act as therapy for cancer patients? The research says YES!

Aloha Wanderwell

October 11, 2022

I recently came across this photo of Aloha Wanderwell, an explorer, vaudevillian, filmmaker… a female Indiana Jones. She is largely forgotten in today’s history books, even though her list of achievements is impressive in any century. Not only was she the first women to drive around the globe, she also was involved in a murder mystery.

Ode to Joy: The Cello

October 2, 2022

Today, without knowing why, I found myself driving to the cello store, then hiking around my backyard forest with it in my arms. I sat down on an ancient rock and moved the bow across the strings until it finally started to fill the air with its sumptuous sensual tones. I wanted to play it by the fire and by the waterfall. I wanted to play for my pink flowers, dripping ferns, and fairy rocks. This time the cello didn’t make me weep, it made me laugh in delight and skip back down the hill.

Flash Sale! Today Only! Buy One book, Get One Free!

September 22, 2022

One Day Book Giveaway!

The Razor’s Edge

September 13, 2022

I want to preserve its lessons in my memory. Like others may have a sacred box to hold incense, exotic spices, or rubies, I have an exquisite little box in my soul that holds The Razor’s Edge. I am so grateful for the paths it opened up to me: reading the sacred Hindu books of India, the desire to travel, backpacking around Europe, going to school in Paris, and feeling like richest person in the world when I am sitting on a bench with a hot cappuccino in one hand and a book in the other.

Belly Dance to Prepare for Childbirth

September 10, 2022

“Belly dance is an excellent form of prenatal conditioning.”
Was I hearing correctly? Was my OB/GYN telling me that one of the most beneficial exercises I could do for my pregnancy was belly dance– an exercise done barefoot wearing shimmering silks and velvets; an exercise that is fun, sensual, toning, and inherently celebrates fertility and pregnancy? No sneakers, no scary metal equipment…sign me up!

Teaching Writing with Secret Writing Weapons

September 1, 2022

If music be the food of love, play on! I agree with Shakespeare–music is the food of love, but for me, music is also the food of creativity, originality, and storytelling. But let me start at the beginning. Last Saturday, I asked my writing students