One of my teachers is Thich Nhat Hanh. I know I have to move through the challenges in life, yet those challenges bring me the gift of inner strength. I find that strength when I meditate on words such has Thich Nhat Hanh’s. I would like to share with you some wisdom from his book, No Mud, No Lotus. Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud to help the lotus flower of happiness grow. There can be no lotus flower without the mud. Both suffering and happiness are of an organic nature, which means...

I have had trauma and abandonment in my life. Because of the PTSD, I went my path as much as I could alone, closed down, shuttered from the world as I felt I could not trust anyone. I certainly had raised a family, multiple marriages, yet, I was never fulfilled or felt safe. I felt that I had do it all myself since I had been let down so many times. My mantra became “I can do it myself” and felt no one could do what I needed done better than me since they were unreliable throughout my life. I...

Indeed! Smile and the world will smile with you. A smile, but especially a laugh is contagious! I am currently in Laughter Yoga training which is something I’ve wanted to do for some time. Each day I have to do “One Minute of Laughter for World Peace” for 40 days. If you are not familiar with Laughter Yoga, it is a concept where anyone can laugh for no reason, without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. We use laughter exercises along with yoga breathing and stretching exercises. This brings more oxygen to the body and the brain and makes one...

Emotions rise and fall. It is a given. It can be expected in this world. This I know all too well in my life with all of the challenges I have faced. Yet, through the practice of mindfulness I am seeing my way through the pain and other challenges that go along with an unfortunate strong resurgence of my fibromyalgia. The last few years have been mild in its occurrences, but I knew from when I was first diagnosed in 2015, my doctor was clear that it could always shift and change since it is a lifelong condition. Recently, I...

I know for me, even after 41 years of mindfulness meditation practice, that I can still at times be swayed by habitual actions, chores, and activities without granting too much attention to them. It’s an auto-pilot that we probably all know so well. We become caught up in the “doing” of activities or even in our thoughts by ruminating. In these times, we are not taking the time to pause and to be present. I know that I have to make the conscious choice to mindfully pause throughout my day. When we can make the conscious choice to invite momentary...

The Story! Oh, how we like to listen to our thoughts and let them write a full story about someone else, a situation, or even ourselves. I know this myself in various situations of my life, be it the trauma, the health challenges (even those of late) and the relationships gone and forgotten. It spins around us like a spider capturing its prey. It creates unfair judgment against ourselves and that’s where we find the limiting self-beliefs. When we can look at the thoughts with open awareness, presence, acceptance and non-judgment, we stop the story in its tracks. Mindfulness is...

Last week I had a health scare and it presented me with an opportunity to slow down, offer compassion to myself and reassess aspects of my life. On top of this, thankfully, I was still able to receive my second dose of the COVID vaccine which brought additional mental relief. Whew! In all, I know that I nor anyone wants to walk the road of pain in whatever form it may take, physical, mental or emotional. When I can bring the Light of Awareness to my fears and tears, the anxious thoughts, or the unpleasant feelings, I am moored in...