Hello Beautiful Soul,

This week I have been reflecting on the words of Jesus in which he said,

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

We have discussed the topic of "right speech" before but today I would like to specifically focus on the idea that your words are an extension of your heart.

Your words are an extension of your heart. How does that feel to you?

When your words are not in alignment with your heart it manifests in your life as anxiety, anger and depression. It is very important…

Recently someone asked me, on a YouTube comment, how to do "perfect meditation."

This is the sincere reply I wrote, which I am sharing here in case you have also been searching for the "perfect meditation." 

There is nothing such as "perfect meditation" to strive towards. Meditation is non-striving. It is not about getting any "new" or "perfect" technique. Meditation is about remembering that you are already whole. You have everything you need right now.

You are an extension of Divine Love. Nothing is…

I woke up one day and decided that I would no longer focus on lack of any kind. I’ve understood for a long time that what you focus on expands, and yet I still found that I was giving too much energy to lack and not enough energy to Abundance. Recently I realized that the idea of lack is actually an illusion. Think of it in this way; One night you look up and see the full moon in all of its beautiful luminosity, lighting up the dark sky. But on a different night the moon is merely a thin crescent, barely…

Hello Beautiful Soul, 

Recently I was watching a video by Donna Eden, who works with the energy of people’s bodies. In the video there was a brief demonstration on how thoughts affect the energy of the body. She had a volunteer in front of her and asked him to think of a happy thought. Then she “Energy Tested” (you may have heard this called “Muscle Testing” with other practitioners) his arm (energy/muscles) and it was quite strong. She was not able to lower his outstretched arm by pressing down on it with…

I am often asked how exactly tarot works. How can a stack of cards give you advice or predict the most likely outcome of a situation? So this is my feeling about the Tarot; how it works, and how I use it.  

Most of us can readily admit that there is something ”beyond” ourselves, something limitless, something Divine. But do you ever wonder how such a source could communicate with you? There are many stories from various religious traditions where an unexpected interaction or a sudden vision of the Divine…

Tarot Beginnings  

You may know me as a singer, a music teacher or as a Yoga & meditation teacher, but did you know that I am also a Tarot card reader? I began reading tarot cards in 2017. In a time of upheaval and confusion, I saw how the tarot could offer clarity by helping me tap into my own inner wisdom, connect to my higher self, expand my view and at times reveal unseen aspects of challenging situations. I found the tarot to be a wonderful tool for cultivating and strengthening my own powers of…

Greetings from Haridwar, India, where I have been staying since Tuesday at a beautiful Ashram that is within walking distance of the Ganges River. 

Yesterday we took a day trip to Rishikesh, which is considered to be the Yoga capital of the world, mainly in regards to the spiritual aspects of yoga beyond the poses. Rishikesh is located on the Ganges River. Here the river is wide, deep and fast flowing. It was an amazing day. 

 I’ve selected 7 photos, out of the very many I took, to take you on a virtual…

After two long years of pandemic induced anxiety,  a war in Europe is now heaping more stress and worry on top of that Covid mountain, and with it the concept of peace, let alone world peace, starts seeming like a fading mirage, an illusion. We feel powerless to change the root cause of senseless violence. Standing firm in our hope and with diminishing optimism, we offer financial support and encouragement to the Ukrainian people, but at times it feels like we are just placing a bandaid on the severed limb…

It’s a Saturday afternoon in India and I am sitting in a health clinic waiting out the mandatory observation time after receiving the second dose of the covid vaccine. There are about 3 dozen other people here as well. I am in my own thoughts as I sit here with my breath. I am managing my pain, not from the shot but from a different health issue I am working through. The pain is intense. I am uncomfortable. I focus again on my breath.  In my view I can see the nurse who is administering the vaccine doses…

If Namaste means "Hello" then why do we say it at the end of a Yoga Class?

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of "Namaste" and its use in the yoga community?  Perhaps you have heard others discussing why we should or shouldn't use this word as part of our yoga classes. I would like to offer you my own unique perspective on this topic, as a white, American Yoga teacher living in India with my Indian husband. But first, let's take a look at the literal meaning of this word and its modern day usage. Then…

Recently I was giving a private yoga session to a gentleman via video call. During the session I noticed that he was pushing his stretch further than what his body could reasonably accommodate. I gently reminded him not to force a stretch. He made a joking reference to the well known motto; "No Pain, No Gain." I told him that my yogic philosophy does not include that belief. Then he asked me, "How can I make progress if I don't push myself?" This was my reply; 

You don't push. You hold. When you feel that…

On Sunday evenings or Monday mornings is when I look to the week ahead. I review my schedule, which changes from week to week, and I review my enormous to-do  list. I mentally prepare myself for the week ahead and for the tasks I need to accomplish. 
At the start of this week while I was looking at my list of tasks, and categorizing them, and prioritizing them, it occurred to me that in all this planning and everything I hope to achieve, I haven't planned out how I want to FEEL. This is a very important…

Visualize a starry sky, on a clear night with every corner of the sky as far as you can see, sparkling with countless diamonds in red, silver and blue. I hope you've seen such a sky at least once in your life. Bring that image into your mind with as much clarity as you can envision. Feel a sense of peace wash over your body and mind. The stars remind us that this world is bigger than our struggles. Stars live for billions of years. Our little drama will play out in a handful of decades. 100 years from now…

Growth is a continual process of death and rebirth. We shed old ideas and beliefs. We shed old relationships and ways of being. We shed former versions of ourselves. It's painful. Its exhausting. And yet, let's be honest, there is a part of us still expects, or desires, a smoother path.....maybe lit with rainbows and shooting stars and constant signs and encouragement from spirit/divine/universe that we are on the right path.  (but for real, that would be awesome!)  After we did the difficult inner-work…

It may be true that suffering is a part of life. It may even be true that we need a certain degree of suffering to help us grow into a compassionate human being. But one thing I know for sure, we can greatly reduce our suffering when we understand how the mind works and something that is called "the suffering of suffering"

"The Suffering of Suffering" is when we encounter suffering and then the mind itself behaves in such a way that compounds our suffering. In other words, your own thoughts take a situation…

Let me tell you a story of falling and flying, of bleeding and becoming.

It began small and wholly unnoticed at first. I was being nudged towards the edge for years though little neglectful actions and small unkind words. Contained within the tiniest of moments the disregard for me had crept in like a cancer. But the moment of falling began with a note.  Left there carelessly, was a note addressed to the one I loved that read, "Thank you for a wonderful weekend" and signed by a name that wasn't mine. This…

"Yes, you really understand the process. We need that vulnerability and humility to let go. We feel that wave of release and a lightness comes over our being. But it is never once and done, is it? Even when the clarity and realization is strong, there always seems to be a deeper level,... more letting go,... more clarity.... more vulnerability. Like flowing water can, over time, carve into and reshape rocks and stones, so are we having our rough edges smoothed, little by little, as these waves of…

"Our own life has to be our message"

This is a quote by Thich Nhat Hanh

Read these words again

"Our own life has to be our message."

What is your message?

 Before your mind goes making a list of your achievements and your successes, think about this; what do you really want to say with your brief time on this planet?

 Each one of us will have a different answer to that question. And I hope that your message will be your own, a message that has blossomed out of your authenticity. Only you know what your…

Trust in Divine Timing.

That’s what we are told. Trust. I’ve even reminded myself and others to ‘allow the unfolding’. To let things unfold naturally instead of trying to force a certain outcome. When we are doing our work, learning the lessons, shedding the layers, and moving forward, sometimes …. (Umm, actually a lot of the time,)… we would like some concrete affirmation that our work is paying off, that our efforts come to fruition in a tangible way, and preferably RIGHT NOW. This is normal human…

“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it” – Thich Nhat Hanh

What a beautiful thought. This week in several of my yoga classes I invited students to reflect upon this quote, and I also shared some of my own explorations of these lovely lines. Here I would like to share my ponderings on this quote and also explore further.

“I have lost my smile, but don’t worry. The dandelion has it”

First of all, I confess I adore dandelions. They are tenacious, growing up through sidewalk cracks and…

Here is the image. You have a goal. You’ve planned a path to that goal. You are walking the path with total commitment and dedication. You should make it to your goal then, right? But what if you don’t? You are focusing on every step and keeping your eyes glued to the path…. Then you hit a brick wall. You are standing there with your face up against the wall, so close that all you see are the bricks. You try to  punch, kick, climb, scratch and claw your way through or over the wall but nothing is working…

I read a quote once that has stuck with me for many years, although I don’t recall to whom the quote was attributed. It said, “By choosing to be our most authentic and loving self, we leave a trail of magic everywhere we go”

Isn’t that a beautiful image? A trail of magic… but what does that really mean?

We understand ‘loving’ but what does it mean to be ‘authentic’? It is something beyond just ‘being yourself’. It is not just about being yourself, but being OK with ALL of yourself. To have the courage to…