Dear Friends, I hope this finds you healthy and feeling purposeful this fall. It’s been an unsettling summer for many due to personal, climatic, geophysical or sociopolitical disturbances. Many have been left feeling overwhelmed, disconnected and in deep grief. May our hearts and hands go out to those in need. Are things falling apart or falling into place? As Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron reminds us, things fall apart and come back together, fall apart and come back together again. May this be that time of coming together! Now that fall has arrived, this gentle season calls for rest, realignment and reconnection to our vital life force, our joy and our intentions. Fall is a time of turning inward and letting go of what no longer serves us. Replenishing our beloved body and spirit gives us the strength and inspiration to create and be of service to others. Know that I am here to assist and support you on your healing journey, be it stress or pain relief, fortifying your […]
Aging with Trickster Wisdom
BY LINDA JOY STONE Many of us find beauty in gnarly old trees, amongst overgrown forests and within nature’s oddities, but shudder at the wrinkles, barnacles and deformities human bodies develop with age. The Japanese have a jaunty term—wabi sabi—for the beauty of imperfection. In our rather adolescent culture, imperfection is seen as a flaw. However, striving to achieve some kind of perfection or perpetual youth can rob us of joy. I find the “anti-aging” movement a bit of a con job that feeds a vanity-motivated, death-fearing, multi-billion-dollar industry. Instead, consider “pro-aging my way” as a better description for a natural occurring process, and then choose wisely. Our bodies and our hearts know what to do if we listen and take care of them. Having a good sense of humor is a vital attribute in aging well and being able to appreciate the unpredictability of life. This is where we […]
From Ow to Wow, Overwhelm to Wonder
Welcome to the “Age of Overwhelm (Ow!)” where people are stressed and running on empty. Some common symptoms are anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, IBS and musculoskeletal pain, not to mention hormonal imbalances. The demands of parenthood, jobs, aging parents and our own changing bodies can feel daunting. And there never seems to be enough time. Ow! It takes skill and awareness to navigate this fast-paced world of radical flux. Somewhere we bought the program that we can do it all and be everything for others until the pressure to perform gets to the point where something’s got to give. We can either stop, evaluate our circumstances and revise our so-called “reality” or deny the warning signs and wait for an emotional or physical breakdown. Sometimes such a profound shift can be what the system needs in order for a breakthrough to occur, but it can be costly. It’s time to […]
From Detox to Nourishing Spirit
In TCM, each organ system has an associated emotion. For example, anger and frustration can negatively affect the liver, creating stagnation and constriction. Worry, stress and overthinking can impair the spleen’s digestive function, causing heaviness and lack of mental clarity. A buildup of toxic emotions can be as deleterious as an overindulgence in food, drugs and alcohol. Conscious and appropriate emotional expression is necessary for optimal health, but the body will become unbalanced when any emotion becomes chronically discordant. So, what do we need to detox—which actually means “to dispel poison”? Maybe what’s needed is “disciplined wildness” and beneficial ways to nourish—not only our body, but also our spirit. Laugh, dance and be in harmony with nature. These may be the best medicines to help cultivate joy and our innate wisdom of being.
Calling All Spirited Women and Everyday Mystics
You know who you are. You are dedicated to beauty and fiercely protective of Earth’s flora and fauna. You are highly sensitive and alarmed by misuse of power. You appreciate paradox and irony. You are drawn to the eternal mysteries of the world. You have a big heart to match your creative and imaginative spirit. You laugh and cry easily. You find yourself questioning your role in this amazing and complex drama called life. As you age, you become more aware of the joys of crazy wisdom. You want to play and be in community. You want to express your unbridled energy, yet may still feel the need to subdue and “play it safe”. What if these “Orwellian” times are a catalyst and a wake-up call to the seeker, artist and everyday mystic within? Maybe this is what evolution and culture change look like—and it feels destabilizing. We haven’t been […]
