As I laid there in the hospital bed for what seemed like endless hours, I came to realize that whatever was going on with me went much deeper than the symptoms I was experiencing on the surface. It wasn’t just my physical body that needed to be cured, but my mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies were asking to be healed. Thus, the healing work began.
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Think of how you feel when you hear the sound of a baby crying, compared to the soothing sound of trickling rain, to the sound of a jackhammer, ocean waves, gunshots on the tv news, or the sound of laughter. We all can feel how sound affects our mood, but what is interesting to me is why and how. I recently learned that sound does not go through a thinking process. Sound actually connects to the emotional component of our brain. It…
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In a recent blog, I wrote about how the country of India is referred to by many as “Mother India.” A dinner conversation a few nights ago with my friend Lotta, however, made me reflect and question this warm reference to India.“For a country that desecrates the land and treats women as second class citizens, I am not sure how it has earned that title,” said Lotta. This struck a chord with me because on my recent trip to India, my husband …
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I took a foot bath in the holy Ganges River today — Christmas Day 2008! Just a few days before, what looked like could possibly be an unsatisfying and slightly depressing Christmas, turned into a day filled with gifts. I arrived in India three days ago to find an India that felt tough, unclean and unnerving. I have been to India two times before, but this time for some reason India felt dirtier, noisier and more crowded. This time around I was bringing my fiancé and wanted to show him an India that was sacred, special and beautiful…
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I am packing for my trip to India. I am leaving in a few days. This is not just any ordinary trip. This is a trip to get married! My fiancé and I met two years ago on a New Year's yoga retreat here in California. We felt it only appropriate to have our special wedding day this New Year's in yoga’s birthplace, India. I have been a big fan of India for many years. I spent six months there a decade ago on a spiritual journey. I thought it was a trip of a lifetime and that it would be many years before I returned. But then India called me again…
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A number of years ago, I took that option myself. I wanted a trip that was based on personal growth and discovery. Today this is called Sacred Travel, and is a growing niche of the travel market. It is a kind of travel that is not just recreational, but “re-creational,” where the focus is on personal growth and sacred experiences. It involves visiting “spiritual hotspots” where the traveler is able to tap into ancient cultures and philosophies through meditation, ritual, prayer and …
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As I sat in the waiting room at the dermatologist’s office today, I thought about how much our attitude affects our health and our healing process. I was diagnosed with melanoma just over 10 years ago at my very first appointment with a dermatologist. I had made the appointment under the plea of my mother who had been heavily suggesting a check up for the past few years. I was young — in my 20s — and thought I was the queen of health and surely invincible. That particular appointment back in 1997 showed me otherwise…
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