Anyone who met Rica loved her instantly. No ifs, ands, or buts. It was impossible not to. She was the personification of love, coaxing anyone sitting in her reach to pet her by nudging their hands with her cold, wet nose. More please…more. RIca adopted us a little over two years ago when we took…

Perhaps…but only on the transcendental level. I have struggled with the concept of emotional closure for many years, decades even. I used to believe, as recently as last year, that closure of interpersonal misunderstandings was essential to my spiritual evolution and tranquility. But alas, I have begrudgingly come to accept that my own personal definition…

No matter how old you are or where you live on this planet, there is no way to escape the effects of the raging dissonance of our culture, which has become so pervasive that it is now considered mainstream. And before I proceed, a caveat…I am not talking about red vs. blue politics, or even…

A quick anecdote too rich not to share. As I recover from my reconstructive demolition derby aka surgery, I have sought solace in the soothing tropical flowers and foliage that surround our little paradise. Costa Rica is a beautiful country rich with compassionate, loving people (for the most part). There is no army here, just…

This is an especially difficult post to write because of its intensely personal and intimate nature. But, on reflection, I decided that I must put aside my extreme preference for privacy and continue to reveal my journey – if I am to stay true to my initial intention to help others on the path to…

I still sometimes find myself slipping into those nasty old patterns and reacting to the stimuli around me instead of standing apart without engaging. I was reminded of how drastically polarized our world has become when I read a thoughtful yet terribly flawed essay this morning.  The message was basically that my opinions (as in…

The path to health and wellness is a never-ending quest, but I have discovered that the more baggage I manage to release along the way, the more serene and beautiful the journey.  It’s not enough to just give lip service to the act of letting go. You have to actually let it go…all of it.…

Envy, that is. As well as its evil, more diabolical cousin, jealousy.  We all feel some degree of envy at some point in our lives. We can’t help but compare some aspect of ourselves with the perceived superiority of another. It’s human nature, unless, of course, you’re a Buddhist monk who has spent a lifetime…

The rewrite of my novel is consuming my every waking moment, and yes, most of my sleeping moments, too. I dream about my fictional characters, which is great for plot and character development. It’s when I dream about the real-life psychopaths on whom they are based that my emotional stability gets challenged.  So, by all…

Is that a call for help, or a call for celebration…I choose celebration! I remember many years ago, back at the girls school I attended, we all wore flowy dresses and danced around the Maypole to celebrate the arrival of Spring. We each held a colorful ribbon, which we wove in a crisscross pattern, over…