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8 Ways To Embrace Your Shadow
Mindfulness, NewsletterWhile I love celebrating Christmas as a season of light and time of spiritual renewal, sometimes the days before and after this sacred holiday can be a bit dark for me. Between the cold, grey weather, honoring my deceased mother's Dec. 20th…
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(Video) Where Are You Finding Spiritual Renewal this Holiday?
Newsletter, Spiritual Renewal, Spiritual Self-careI woke up this morning craving the powerful music of Handel's Messiah. I grew up with a mother who was a gifted classical musician and this piece would permeate our home during the month of December. I listen to the Messiah at high volume and…
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(Video) 5 Tips for Finding Rest & Renewal this Holiday
Newsletter, Self-Care"If we're tired we think something is wrong. Nothing is wrong. We're just tired and need rest. Sometimes a lot of it, if we've gone for years vetoing our body's signals. ~ Dr. Claudia Welch
This past weekend I could not get enough naps. I was…
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(Video) 4 Ways to Find Balance During December
Newsletter, Work Life Balance"Beware of a sense of urgency," (wise words from a wonderful mindfulness coach I worked with in the 90s) floated across my mind this weekend as I glanced at my December schedule. Looking at everything I need to do in the next 30 days to move…
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3 Tips for Having Your Best Thanksgiving Ever
Newsletter, Self-CareMy husband and I are looking forward to some downtime with friends and family this week. We're also pausing before we head to (or host) gatherings to ask: what do we most need right now and how can we make these experiences as intentional, joyful…
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You Are Not a Self-Improvement Project
Newsletter, Self-CareOne Sunday morning, I was lying in bed reading from author Anne Lamott's beautiful little book Small Victories. In one of her stories about parenting, she shares with a little self-deprecation, but mostly tenderness, how she doesn't bake for…
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(Video) Am I Comfortable with Polarities?
Mindfulness, NewsletterYears ago, I started a nonprofit initiative in Austin, TX that focused on supporting parents of teens. Here's the lament that I heard regularly when one of our parent's children was struggling: "It's so hard for me to feel joy or happiness when…
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(Video) What is Possible When We Let Go?
Mindfulness, Newsletter, Self-CareMy husband and I are in the middle of several huge life transitions. We're pulling up 30-year roots, selling our sweet Austin, TX home and hoping to build a creative dream in the mountains of Western NC. There's much more, but needless to say…
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(Video) Everything You’re Feeling is Valid and Welcome
emotional self-care, NewsletterI sat next to a young college student on the plane the other day coming back from Kripalu. I listened as she talked about her fears and anxieties around her career path and "What's next?" When I got up to leave, I asked her, “Cristina, what…
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What Makes You Come Alive?
Newsletter, Self-CareI went to a local brewery last night to have a beer with a new friend. I loved her openness, honesty and how we were able to connect around what matters most to us. These days, my favorite question to ask people (whether I’ve known them for…
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5 Reasons to Take a Retreat (+ tips to start)
Newsletter, Spirituality, women's retreat, Women's RetreatsThroughout my twenties and thirties when my chest tightened from overwork and I could feel overwhelm lapping at my door, I would increase my work pace, thinking, “I just need to move faster and get more done.” Much of this stemmed from an…
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(Video) Are You Comfortable Taking Time for Rest?
Newsletter, Self-Care
“If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath - our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us.” ― Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and…