At this time of divisiveness we need our friends and our rituals of light and gratitude more than ever. Personally, I don’t know where I’d be without practices that remind me that, no matter how dark things may appear, light will return. The practice of daily gratitude has been like an old friend reminding me to not spin off into dark scenarios and to enjoy what there is in the present moment.
Read MoreDue to special circumstances I am putting out a newsletter mid month. This is in response to the suffering I’m hearing all around me as many of us are reeling from the latest Supreme Court confirmation and all that has been brought up about sexual abuse in this past two years. In order to bring healing to a wounded nation we need to first open to our own wounds, and healing begins with truth telling.
The experience of joy is more than a frivolous waste of time, it is a basic need that all creatures crave. A life without joy and color is a bleak life. The lamb bounds through the fresh green grass and the dog gets so excited to see his master he can hardly stand it.
Read MoreThe tree was dying. The land beneath the willow had become parched from years of drought and a lowered water table leaving the plant life in Sonoma vulnerable. Climate change was no longer an abstraction, as the mother tree that nurtured my family became a fire hazard threatening my home.
Read MoreWalking is not only great exercise, it is also a wonderful way to practice meditation. It’s a twofer- exercise and meditation. This is particularly good news for those who find sitting meditation too challenging, get frustrated and give up on it.
Read MoreWhile walking my dog, a neighbor’s puppy came bounding up to me on the road. This is the third time I found this little ball of fur running wildly outside…
Read MoreWhen I was 14 my mother took me to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles to hear the classical guitarist Andres Segovia. I was already in love with the instrument…
Read MoreI’ve been racking my brain trying to find a new, lighter, direction for Hearth’s 2018 newsletters. 2017 has been a very challenging year for many, the Trump election, hurricanes, fires, and mass shootings…
Read MoreSitting on the back porch, drinking wine, laughing, talking and enjoying happy hour with a few of my neighbors, it’s hard to remember how alone I felt in this house just a few years back…
Read MoreI had a free day. It’s early spring here in Sonoma- chilly mornings, clear afternoons with bright emerald green fields dotted with yellow mustard in front of fire charred hills. I’d been preoccupied…
Read MoreWhile looking at a sunset, the ocean, a quiet green clearing mottled with shade, or listening to breaking waves on the shore, our hearts feel lighter, even elated…
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