Posts Categorized: self-awareness

You Get to Choose

Let’s talk for a moment about something very simple in our everyday lives but so easy to ignore. That is what we believe things mean. The truth is that nothing means anything except what we assign to it. We make a mistake when we are convinced that a phrase or graphic means the same to… Read more »

A Pile of Diplomas

I am doing so much work on myself that it boggles my mind. If I got a degree for each course of study on myself I would have earned a post doctoral, three-theses, advanced study pile of diplomas.  But every time I examine my behavior, step up to the plate and take responsibility I feel… Read more »

I Don't Know

In trying to improve my vocabulary, I have come across a powerful ancient American phrase of three words.  And it is: I DON’T KNOW. I appreciate when someone says that to me rather than explaining things from a limited factual basis and even more limited personal understanding of the issue at hand. It is refreshing… Read more »

Tenderness of the Warrior

Today was day five of a seven-day intensive qigong workshop nestled in the mountains of New Mexico. The venue is remote, isolated, enlightening and powerful. We spent the day in silence, all 53 of us, from morning until night. Without the distraction of chatter, I actually tasted a blueberry and noticed how it was different… Read more »

Everything Happens Once

My daughter was doing a major cleaning out.  She didn’t have fond memories of high school and wanted to throw out her yearbook.  She asked if I could give her any reason to keep it.  I said that years later in anticipation of a reunion she might want to look up classmates.  No, she was… Read more »

Measuring Success

Success can be measured in many ways, one of them being how bravely you approach what you have an aversion to. Whether it is initiating a difficult discussion, firing an employee, setting a boundary with a child or starting a diet and exercise routine, we all have our aversions based on our beliefs and experiences…. Read more »

The Special Castle

It was a cold day in December when my son and daughter-in-law were visiting. I told them to take a few hours to themselves and I would watch the kids – ages 5 and 3. We baked cookies, watched a show on tv, did an art project but I was running out of activities and… Read more »

Taking Responsibility

I have been thinking a lot about the theme of taking responsibility for myself and my health, happiness, relationships, hopes and dreams.  Do I accept my obligation to communicate my needs to others or do I sit back and chastise them for not responding to the unspoken signals of what I want?   Am I… Read more »

High School Reunions!

A few weeks ago I went to my high school reunion. It was a big one and people came from all over the country to attend, from a Park Avenue entrepreneur to a southerner sporting turquoise jewelry and a fringed leather jacket to someone wearing an authentic high school jersey ripped to shreds. I hadn’t… Read more »

Are You Fully Alive?

There is something about my qigong teacher. I can’t quite put my finger on it. He is extremely adept at creating and transmitting the forms. When he laughs the room lights up sparking many to say that he sounds like Robin Williams. He speaks of Greek mythology like they are his friends. When in his… Read more »