Our brains like lists and stages to give us some kind of idea of where we are and where we’re heading. In Zen Buddhism, it’s the 10 Ox-Herding pictures. According to Rick Hanson, in his book, The Buddha’s Brain, there are 4. Both can be helpful. But first, let me back up to a universal

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You know when you have those moments where you did something or said something, and then immediately cringe at what just came from you. Or realize later it wasn’t the most “skillful” moment of your life? I had one of those moments this week.  I call those my Medusa moments. In Greek mythology she’s described

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There’s something I’ve experienced with expectations. They can create both greatness and not so greatness in people (including myself). When I instructed for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), I saw over and over how clearly communicated expectations of students created a better leader, follower, outdoor cook, and expedition member. But here’s where expectations are

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The long answer is “YES.” Yes, yes, and yes. ANYTHING can be used to escape from what we feel in the body. Including meditation. And the entire spiritual path. “I’ll just say my prayers, do my mantras, meditate, wish good will to the world… but don’t ask me to call my brother I haven’t talked

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One thing I know is that every human being wants happiness. On some level. Whether it’s conscious or not. You want happiness. I want happiness. Yet it seems like an illusion. Life has challenges. The kids are rowdy, you’re late for work, you’re stressed about money, your spouse doesn’t want to connect, you want your

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Sometimes it feels like you’re on a bucking bronco – being thrown around in the air like a 5 year old’s play toy on a bad day. Which way will you be thrown today and for how far? And where? Transition and change are some of the most unsettling times in our life. Yet often,

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The answer is… only if YOU think so. You’re the only one who is stopping it from happening. No one else. I hear people say, “I’m 40. I’ve been doing this job for 15 years. It’s what I know how to do.” Yet they are uninspired, stressed, bored, and even depressed with the THOUGHT of

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You fight for certainty. You want to know. You run from the uncertainty. “Give me the answer!” you yell from the top of your lungs. The answer to why you feel unsettled. I know. I’ve been there.  For the last year and half, I’d felt this unsettled feeling. Not a lot, but when I’d come

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I got some news I didn’t like. I was pissed. But I didn’t let it show. After all, anger isn’t a nice, lady like thing to show. I don’t get angry. So I reached in the cupboard for a box of cookies. “Ahhh, that’s better.” I thought.  And then it happened again. I was pissed.

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I was 38 years old when I forgave my dad.  Did he actually do anything “wrong?” My little girl voice said he did – up until that moment. I spent almost 30 years wanting him to be different than he was. To be loved different than I was loved. To be given attention like I

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