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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Through my travels, I found, ironically, that the farther I moved away from my comfort zone and the familiar, the closer I actually felt to the truth of my very own self. So what was keeping me from writing my book? Were my stories not worth telling?
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My husband is often surprised to learn that when I seem, to him, to make a decision, I haven’t really made it at all. “Haven’t you already decided to do that?” he asks. Coming from a male viewpoint, my husband can’t quite understand why I need to discuss the same thing multiple times and have it reflected back to me and affirmed by multiple girlfriends before I actually DO what I say I am going to do….
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I don’t know about you, but I am practically just as excited to have Michelle Obama in the White House as I am her husband, Barack Obama. I am finding myself totally drawn to this new female role model — smart, sexy, motherly, proud, independent, supportive to her husband and family. She seems to be carrying it all in one package, or at least that’s how it appears. Maybe this package isn’t new, but it feels new to me….
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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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A trip that was meant to be a sacred and romantic trip with my husband-to-be turned more into what he and I now laughingly refer to as “the husband test.” He was surely put to the test as I writhed in pain, cried in fear, felt my temperature rise higher and higher, and generally just lost it. He was calm, level-headed, wise, compassionate, loving and nurturing. He sought out the medical care I needed and watched over me every step of the way….
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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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There is a new trend happening all around us as I am sure you are aware called Green Gift Giving. “Have a Green Christmas!” “Go Green Christmas!” “Give Great Green Gifts!” and other green slogans are permeating our tv commercials, magazine ads, newspaper circulars, and store window displays. But what does all of this actually mean? Is giving a green gift better than giving a gift that is not green?
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As many writers know, writing can be painful, but also one of the greatest joys. I have been writing on and off for years. I have worked as a reporter, an editor, a researcher and a writer. Since my college years I have dreamed of being a writer, and telling the stories of the world. This early writing dream eventually expanded into wanting to write my own novel, my own screenplay, and my own songs. What held me back over and over from getting serious about this and taking my writing to the next level was the fear of writing from a personal place and others judging me…
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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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Next week brings Thanksgiving and while reputed as a celebratory holiday of gratitude, it can also be a time of uneasiness and discomfort for many. Some gather with family members who, while blood-related, have nothing much else in common, others mourn the absence of a loved one who was at the table last year, and others feel sad about the geographical distance that keeps them from...
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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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Are we stuck in the trickle up effect?
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