When I pressed play on the dusty old cassette labeled “Catherine’s Senior Assembly Speech – March 14, 1983,” I didn’t expect to hear my father’s voice. The moment it came through the speaker—steady, familiar, bold - time collapsed…

I walk into Dr. Chris Foley’s office, and the air in the room is calm, as usual. I take in the calm, fluid energy…

I arrive out at my 93-year-old mother’s house for lunch. I’ve picked up some delicious sandwiches from the deli near my home, and I find my mom waiting…

I tossed and turned through the night. My mind kept reviewing the book chapters I’d finally finished and submitted to my editor…

I opened into the pain I had buried, unearthed it, and released it. For me, I chose the path of forgiveness and letting go…

In my first few classes in graduate theology school, professors asked, “What do you believe?” The emphasis was not on accepting a particular belief, understanding, or words…

It can be challenging to respond to others with love when their behavior pulls us out of a state of emotional equilibrium. At these times, it can be easy to focus on others’ shortcomings…

As I was sitting in my home office, looking out the glass-framed window, a large egret swooped by, headed towards the nearby lake. My heart skipped a beat as I marveled at the sight of this bird…

“To be awake is to be alive.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden

As I write this blog post, I’ve spent a year living in a strict isolation setting in my home with my family. I’ve not gone out in public…

I look out my living room window and see Tim’s car in front of my house. I put on my ice cleats and grab my coat, winter hat, mittens, and mask as I walk out the door…

I call my 92-year-old mother on a Saturday afternoon to check in on her during these gray days of January in the middle of a pandemic. “Hello!” she answers…

I get into bed after pushing my dog Gigi over a little so there is room for me to lay my head on my pillow, and pull the covers over my body. My husband is fast asleep and I look over our king-size bed to see Bella, our other furry friend, smashed up against him…

“I feel hopeful and I feel discouraged all day long” a friend shared with me the other day. Her words summed up a sentiment I’ve been hearing regularly in my private client practice…

Lying on the couch, lethargic, weak, with a blanket over me, I watched TV. It was a typical Wednesday for me as an eleven-year- old. I weighed 65 pounds and was exhausted from throwing up half the night after my last round of chemotherapy. I didn’t know if I could even muster the energy…

In this moment, we are fully alive. When we bring our minds back from ruminating on the past or the many what-ifs of the future, and come into just this moment, this breath, we can be here now.

“Suffering is sometimes the sandpaper that awakens people.” Ram Dass, Polishing the Mirror

Living in a pandemic, where life, death, and upheaval are front and center, we are challenged to find peace.

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” Rumi

Few of us escape being polished in life. Some of us may go through hardships as a young child, and it shapes the trajectory of our whole lives.

Who are you becoming in this time of confusion, uncertainty, and upheaval?

Most of us have never lived through anything like what we’re living through now. We are all experiencing grief in some form.

How do you touch your inner guidance?

Start with stepping back from your mind. Doing so creates space for you to just be in this moment.

How do you know when you are fully alive?

Maybe a surge of energy moves in your body. Maybe a warmth fills your chest, or a strong emotion of gratitude or love fills your being. You feel the softness of the wind touch your cheek.