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“A ll pain deserves to be held in the warm embrace of compassion, so that healing can occur.” — Dr. Kristin Neff, renowned self-compassion researcher and practitioner In an earlier blog, I wrote about taking the U-turn — that sacred pause where we regain our center, get back to our "home," the seat of focus, attention, and intention (some call it our true Self or best self). The U-turn keeps us from spinning outward in blame or panic. But sometimes a pause, a breath or two,

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” — Martin Luther King Jr. We are living in a historic moment. Here in Wenatchee — and in many communities across the country — students recently walked out of school to protest the actions of ICE. Their courage moved me. Their moral seriousness stirred my admiration. And I worried. Not because their cause did not matter, but because whenever we step into charged situations, we must be prepared for what we

“The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn One of the most dangerous myths we carry is the belief that evil lives somewhere else—in other people, other nations, other eras of history. It is comforting, but it is not true. What social psychology, history, and lived experience tell us—again and again—is that the capacity for cruelty and the capacity for courage live side by side in all of us. Which one emerges often dep

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” – Victor Hugo Today is September 11 th .  It’s a day of remembrance.  I'm mad....

We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness. — Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, prolific author, peace activist,...

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” Joseph Campbell, American writer, author of The Hero...

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, courage to change the one I can, and wisdom to know that one is me . ...

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky...

"The wound is the place where the light enters you." Rumi, poet Some years ago, my brother, Steve, shot himself.  Steve never recovered...

There is no 'them' and 'us.' There is only us. Father Gregory Boyle When a system is far from equilibrium small islands of  coherence in...

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the...

"Daddy," I whispered, feeling my own breath hitch in my throat, "I love you." Just when I was sure he was asleep, the one corner of his...

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies...Abraham Lincoln. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not...

For each event, use mindfulness, a sense of common humanity, and kindness to process the event in a self-compassionate way. Dr. Kristin...

“The practice of spirituality is a way of looking at a world where you're not alone.” — Rick Rubin, author of The Creative Act: A Way of...

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Mother Teresa An acquaintance’s obituary was published...

”When I first looked back at the Earth, standing on the Moon, I cried.” Alan Shepard, Apollo 14 astronaut This morning John and I woke...

There is definitely openness to others' suffering that is dealt not with distress but with compassion. Matthieu Ricard A couple of months...

If you fall off the horse, get back on (shouted by coaches and murmured by grandparents to keep us trying after failure...when they can't...

Let our New Year’s resolution be this: We will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word. —...