“Okay God, spirit guides, Mary Magdalene, and all the angels, I need a little help here,” I mutter to myself as I trudge up the steepest ascent yet on my 200-mile hike on El Camino de Santiago Primitivo. I start humming the tune from “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” you know, the one when the elf who wants to be a dentist is afraid to go and chase his dream? “Put one foot in front of the other and soon you’ll be walking across the floor.” Except I don’t want to walk across t

Recently I have been in multiple situations regarding someone’s ego. Mine, a character I am writing, a lecture I am listening to, or witnessing it first-hand in one of the local stores. And it has made me think differently. Could be my new stage of life. Or it could be I am just ready to learn. But, in order to understand, I think I need to define it in a way that I understand it. And the best definition I have come across comes from one of my favorite books, The Untethered

Marilyn entered the world on January 14, 1938, in Newport, KY into the arms of her grandmother, Louisa. A home birth was not unusual back then, and well, Louisa was the local midwife, delivering most of the babies around town. And this was her fourth grandchild, one boy and now three girls. Marilyn’s birth had been eagerly anticipated by her older sister, Joyce, and her parents, Lena and Bill. Three years later, Bill and Lena completed their little family with the birth

My favorite year in high school was my junior year. 1986 I consider this girl the most authentic version of me. No fear. At 16 I drove a little red Toyota truck, windows rolled down and tuned to Z-93. The wind in my hair on a hot summer night singing along with some of the greatest music ever written. Lord, I loved me some Madonna, REM, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Jon Bon Jovi. I knew every word to every song on Casey Kasem’s Top 40 that year. Still do. I had three grou

“Inhale and lengthen your spine. Exhale and drop deeper into the pose,” I say to my students during one of my yoga classes. Synchronizing breathwork to movement is the key to a more meditative practice. A richer, more authentic practice. And it is by far the most difficult concept to teach and to perform. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I’m pretty sure I have been living on inhale for most of my adult life. Consuming endless amounts of information. Surface level inquiry. Unde

Black/White. Truth/Lies. Gossip/Discretion. I grew up with a very defined definition of right and wrong. One I mostly agree with and am grateful my parents instilled. And I have done my best to live within these precepts. Except every now and again I like to color outside these defined lines. Sometimes I like to kick conformity to the curb. Defy convention. Like having sweet potatoes for breakfast instead of eggs or cereal. Why not? And yet, it still feels weird to do it. Alm

I had the best experience yesterday . My husband and I went downtown during the Open House event for all the small businesses and local retailers. And let’s just say, we added to the economy. We had a wonderful time. My husband was not too sure about the event, but he was game to give it a whirl. I am not a shopper, so when I want to shop, he doesn’t like to miss out. We started on Main Street and popped into all the stores. The weather was lovely, and the front doors to all

Recently I was at a farmer’s market, and the event had very little attendance. Few attendees mean fewer sales. One of the jewelry vendors, a young lady around 20, came by my booth to ask me if I was frustrated. She obviously was. Was I frustrated sitting out in the hot sun for multiple hours and having no sales? Seems like an easy “Yes” and 10 years ago, shoot even two years ago I would have answered the same. But not anymore. I wasn’t frustrated at all. I was enjoying my tim

The interim. The in-between. Downtime. The pause. I used to dread this time in my life. The time after you have completed a big event....

Many years ago, I was experiencing a “dark night of the soul,” a time when all I had worked for was coming to an end—my career, my...

I’m not sure when it happened, this new disillusionment with the word grateful. In context, it seems like a great word. Grateful....

“We really need to do this more often,” my husband tells me as we sit on the porch of our little cabin overlooking the Shoshone National...

The month of May has always been one of my favorites. It could be because the weather is changing and spring is turning into summer....

“I booked us a sweat lodge. Can you make it?” My girlfriend asks. “And we are bringing another student. He’s an excellent grounder.” I...

I am almost 55 years old, and I feel like a complete fake. Sometimes. Not all the time. Who am I to suggest I can upend my entire...

This has been a phrase I have been contemplating for a while. What if. Simple, really, but for me powerful. What if I am stuck in traffic...

We all have them. Things that just set us off. And things that light up our soul. Triggers and Glimmers. Most of my life I have reacted...

As the holidays grow close, the chores to create a special time of the year seem to grow on top of each other. Every year I think to...

Tomorrow Pluto leaves the house of Capricorn and enters Aquarius where it will stay for the next 20 years. Or so I have been told. It...

I have figured out in my life that my biggest challenge is managing expectations. Like, not having any. For any reason. It's a joy...