Blog
Stories told ‘round the fire
“Original Peoples the world over sat before warm fires and shared stories of the hunt, stories of the Ancestors, stories of birth and death, land and sea, faraway places, and visions seen. Wisdom and information were passed from generation to generation, an oral tradition that created living history. Modern humans might not sit around a fire like their early ancestors once did, yet, it’s still vital that we share our life experiences, feelings, and insights. Sharing stories remains one of the deepest ways we can connect with our fellow humans. Through our stories we live on.”
Celebrating My 70th Birthday
Often when we face life’s challenges with determination and courage, we discover our most empowered selves.
Pandemic Opportunity
Have you ever felt, even momentarily, that you have not accomplish anything or gotten anything done? It’s not like we always have to be busy, but often we can feel that we ‘did nothing.’ Yet…rarely is this true.
Eye of the Storm
Most of us know how hard it is to lose our dearest friends, but when death stacks one loss upon the other in a short time, then something deeper is asked of us.
I Am So Done
I am so done with my culture diminishing, shaming, sanitizing, and pathologizing the rich, fertile Soul of our shadows, vitally important shadows laden with primordial wisdom.
They Had Nothing: They Gave Everything
I was grief-stricken that they would only have this one little gift, and what I gave them to take home to Mama….and then no more. How long would they survive?
Dancing with Danger…or maybe not
They seemed almost suspended there, all facing me. It was an eerie feeling, as if aliens had flown in and were scanning me to collect data, to better understand who and what I was.
Keepers of This World
I saw shame again flit across the little girl’s face threatening to snuff out all hope. I watched her shrink back into herself, joy retracted. I started to speak, but the father was already marching forward.
Freedom From Spiritual Violence
In my culture, I have witnessed a form of verbal violence that affects the emotions and psyche of our tender human spirit. This violence is so pervasive and accepted that it's almost invisible. It is often disguised as love, spirituality, wisdom, and being helpful. And yet, more often than not, it fosters shame, alienation, and a lack of true human connection.
He Rose From the Deep
If I had knelt down, I could have reached my hand out to touch him. But I was rooted where I stood, and could only stare in stunned awe.
Of Children and Stars
How many souls before me stood with faces tipped upward in breathless awe of those same twinkling stars? How many souls were comforted by their timeless presence? How many ancient boats were guided through dark seas? All I knew was that they tenderly watched over me, just as they tenderly watch over us all, no matter what we feel, no matter what events unfold. There they sit in the night sky loving us as if holding together the very fabric of The Great Mystery.
I Stood My Ground
Suddenly, Little Robin realized that Mrs. Thatcher had just attacked her dream. No one else has been attacked. Why me? There had been one too many times when Mrs. Thatcher ridiculed Little Robin in front of the whole class. Today would be the last time.
Way of the Deer
Even as I lay immobile in my bed, my soul wandered with the deer. Single file, we climbed steep, rocky slopes, and slowly descended into deep, sandy ravines. They roamed through my mind and soul just as they roamed the mountain through all forces of nature.
True Story “Crash”
In split seconds my thoughts frantically clambered over each other, racing to the top of my awareness. My brain exploded in liquid terror that screamed through my veins like razor blades. I automatically glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw bumper-to-bumper cars mere feet behind me.
The Power of Small Sparks
Sometimes a small spark ignites within us, inviting us to change the course of our lives, compelling us to move in directions that barely seem possible or real, like a dream beyond our reach.
Vulnerability: A State of Grace
Somewhere deep inside we long to reveal our beautiful hearts, hearts that might be marred by dark pain, grievous mistakes, hidden shame, and fear. Nonetheless, we are starved for connection, whether we realize it or not. Without connection something in us withers.
It Takes Courage
Rarely have I found courage to be something I experience before I leap into the unknown. More often than not, it's an after-the-fact emotion, one I feel after I've made myself face an abyss of fear. Although the actual decision to leap into the abyss has to be made by each of us, individually—and in that regard, it is a solitary experience—I feel that we do not walk alone to the edge. Others walk with us or have walked the edge before us, or follow behind us, whether or not they know it. Most of us cannot get through this life without at least one leap of faith.
The Wildheart Knows
The longer I live the more I shy away from cultural, familial, human/social expectations and edict. I listen more closely to my own wild heart yearnings and less to the push and pull of ‘shoulds’, ‘supposed to(s)’ and ‘have to(s)’.
Dear Living Earth
DEAR LIVING EARTH --- I could not love you more. You saved my life when I was dying. You gave me family and soul-connection, a place in the Cosmos of Life, a place where I belong.
Lucid Living
I thought back to my life in the Australian rainforests where my lucid dreams took on astonishing proportions. Without waking, I was able to rerun my dreams in the same way I’d replay a movie. With each new playback, I often changed plots, settings and characters until I was satisfied with the dream.
I Remember
I Remember
You sat beside me,
clinging to life,
only weeks left to live,
yet, you were more alive than ever.
I listened as you tried to make sense of life and death,
your eyes so beautiful and sad
as you tried to embrace all that you felt.