“Happiness comes when your work and words
are of benefit to yourself and others.”
~Buddha
Archaeologist, architect, author, horticulturist, inventor, paleontologist, and statesman – the one-man Renaissance that was Thomas Jefferson was born into a well-healed family in 1743 in Albemarle County, ... Views: 852
Question:
Lately, out of my insecurities, I have been toying with the idea of doing plastic surgery for my nose. Yet, at the same time, I am aware that I want to develop my spiritual life (I have been practicing yoga for 11 years and I've been teaching it for the past three years) in more ... Views: 706
Last week's concert in NYC which reunited Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney has once again brought attention to Transcendental Meditation. It's quite historic for the two surviving Beatles to perform together, and the concert brings back images of the Foursome's days in India so many decades ... Views: 728
Mallika's post about the TM movement and children's meditation touched my heart and reminded me how I've been quietly helping children meditate for the past 25 years, not calling it "meditation." At least not till recently. Because when I started in the inner city schools in Los Angeles, it was ... Views: 721
I’m pretty uncomfortable about it at this point, and I know too that I’m doing the right thing.
As you know, I function as a Chief Spiritual Officer for several businesses. It’s hard to explain what a CSO does. The basic job is to look at business scenarios of all kinds and listen for guidance ... Views: 748
Music legend Phil Spector was convicted yesterday of murder - as you may know - when what is said to have been a game of Russian Roulette (how did that ever become a ‘game’?) claimed a woman’s life. She was the sixth such woman that we know of on whom Spector inflicted this behavior over a ... Views: 825
Got sidetracked from the blog post I was writing (the magic of feeling your feelings) when I read an email about The Noticer Project.
It’s a “worldwide movement to ‘notice’ the five most influential people in your life.” (Based on the book The Noticer by Andy Andrews.)
Naturally, I started ... Views: 5376
Commit to Protect and Preserve
Earth Day is the perfect day to commit to doing what you can to help preserve and protect our environment. Many do not realize that making changes to your diet is perhaps the most effective way to lighten our footprint on our fragile planet. Those accustomed to ... Views: 900
Someday, in the not too distant future, we will learn to communicate with others through a harmonic language. It will be a language of tone and melody, without words. This once was. Then as the bible literally illustrates, languages developed and all forms of havoc were created. Global ... Views: 2004
In the past, when I’ve talked about “The Cancer Card,” I’ve done so jokingly, as in “pulling the Cancer Card” when you’re pulled over for a traffic infraction.
“Oh, Officer, I’m sorry, I didn’t notice that stop sign! I have [sniff] cancer.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” coos the officer, “You just go on ... Views: 689
The sand mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and also destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. In the ritual, a group of monks create an elaborate and very intricately designed piece of art using colored sand. The artwork holds much symbolism, and is ... Views: 780
Imagine that you are a lover of music. You are, in fact, so in love with music that you spend your days seeking out the most beautiful melodies – the most transporting songs. Music is the thing that warms your heart and lights up your world.
One day you meet a woman who shares your passion. ... Views: 990
What's your reaction to President Obama's recent statements to the Muslim world that "the United States is not, and never will be, at war with Islam" and that "we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation"?
Enough Americans feel bad about the Iraq war that they didn't become upset over ... Views: 755
I have witnessed people close to death with loved ones by their side, they have not spoken to in years. There appears to be a lot of pain there.
I think bonding is organic. It comes from love, it cannot be forced.
I’m sure we all have had someone we just can’t bond with, and that is okay.
... Views: 1237
Martin Luther King was a natural yogi, as is President Obama. When your activity is for the benefit of others, and your intention and heart is pure, then you are truly yogic. As Martin Luther King said: Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree ... Views: 865
Uncertainty is difficult. But there is also a potential for joy in it. After all, the joy of surprise depends on not knowing. Take a lesson from my German Shepherd dog, Sherpa.
When we go to the park she wants to play the Stick Game. What’s the Stick Game? First, I find a good stick to ... Views: 544
If prayer is an intention that we announce to the universe in order to create a desired outcome, then our every thought is a prayer. This includes thoughts of worry as well as of hope. All thoughts are subtle creative energy. Some thoughts are more focused or repeated more often, gathering ... Views: 943
I've been going through a time of letting go of things, projects, and people from my life lately. It's never an easy process and, frankly, some of it can be quite emotionally draining. I was feeling a bit down about the ending of a particular professional relationship when my husband reminded ... Views: 796
Who better to suggest how to celebrate life than one for whom life is no longer on this earth but whose perspective is eternal. And so it was that Ways to Celebrate Life came to be. My son Josh was struck by a car and killed at age 15 ½ in 2002. My profound grief was tempered by a blessing. Josh ... Views: 951
Question:
I'm trying as much as I can to think by myself about my deep questions but this one I thought, I really need to ask you, because I feel stuck: a year and a half ago, I fell deeply in love with a man. It was 'love at first sight' and felt so completely obvious that "he was the one", ... Views: 597
A simple guide of agreeable ideals and intentions as a foundation and touch stone for spiritual love relationship.
We believe that our relationship has a spiritual basis and serves the Divine and our own evolution.
We experience this, manifest, as a deep and powerful desire to know ... Views: 919
Let’s see if you can walk across 6th Avenue without criticizing yourself.” I have no clue why that thought jumped into my mind one muggy July-in-New-York-City afternoon. Maybe it’s because I was so sick of the Criticism Committee playing its soundtrack during my every waking moment. I had an ... Views: 609
Sometimes we have to be patient and sometimes we have to get moving. Wisdom is knowing which time is which and when to do what. I know, easier said than done. But we all know when we've exhausted certain possibilities -- and quite possibly ourselves -- in the course of finding out. Wouldn't it ... Views: 704
I have to say, this recession thing is taking me back to my youth. Growing up in the 70's, the era of inflation, oil embargo's and doing without was central to my foundation. We grew up in a middle class family, struggling to make ends meet. With both parents working, my brother and I grew up as ... Views: 920
The human tongue is a thrill seeker. As it tires of one taste, it looks for another. This sensation-seeking tendency of the tongue is what accounts for the so-called sensory specific satiety.
Recall what happens in a buffet: while you might feel too full to eat another plate of roast beef and ... Views: 2500
A lot of people say to me: "Someday Syndrome. That sounds like something I might have."
Well, if you're one of those people, you don't need to guess any more. Take this little quiz and find out exactly if you have it or not.
1. Picture your ideal life. How different is it from the life you ... Views: 549
I used to be a competitive rifle shooter for my University in England. I have several Oxford ‘Blues’ as a result, and was the captain of several teams. We'd shoot at paper targets, nothing else. And that’s why I feel I can say something about guns now.
A newsletter I received today stated that ... Views: 873
This year, my Dad celebrated his 90th birthday. In December, he and my mother celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary. I have a younger brother and sister. We are a very loving family.
Dad went to school to train as an officer in the British Royal Navy. As a young man of 20, he went to serve ... Views: 579
~I return to the ease and flow of life now. I let go of my judgements and opinions of the way I think life should be, and accept whatever comes as part of a Divine process. When I connect to life itself by accepting and surrendering to each moment, I experience a smooth flow of events, ease, and ... Views: 1393
A friend was telling me about a recent trip to Germany, where she was daunted by the strict and varied recycling rules there. Apparently, they have a host of different color-coded bins (brown, blue, yellow, and gray) for sorting waste recyclables. That really puts me to shame, since I have ... Views: 2349
I received an email from a dear friend this morning, asking why I haven’t posted recently. What can I say, I’ve been busy.
Lots of stuff going on.
It hasn’t all been bad stuff... some of it was really good. Still, I have once again fallen prey to the over-scheduled, over-stressed lifestyle that ... Views: 558
Because both cities and tightly packed suburbs offer wildlife bountiful nooks and crannies in which to hide, it can be difficult to spot the animals that live in our midst. Many thrive among paved streets, sidewalks, buildings, parking lots, and high-rises. There are animals in abundance ... Views: 595
Giving in the hope of receiving isn’t giving, it’s lending; and when you lend you’re at great risk of not being paid back.
More than 25 years ago I had a painful and frustrating experience which made me understand that only when you give to others unconditionally and without expectations do ... Views: 561
On top of everything else we face in the global mess that industrialism has left us — crashing financial markets, ponzi scams passed off as economic theory, peak oil, disappearing forests, ocean dead zones — we also face a global soil crisis. Note these interesting developments regarding food ... Views: 679
Why is it so hard to stay put? Sitting still (even with a thousand thoughts zigzagging in my mind like a school of tropical fish) continues to be one the greatest challenges in my life. But now that I’m a parent, it is even harder, and doubly important, to learn how to be still.
Before ... Views: 545
I’m pretty uncomfortable about it at this point, and I know too that I’m doing the right thing.
As you know, I function as a Chief Spiritual Officer for several businesses. It’s hard to explain what a CSO does. The basic job is to look at business scenarios of all kinds and listen for guidance ... Views: 693
When most people think about losing weight they envision the ugly act of dieting. They imagine all of their favorite foods being taken away from them. No fun! No fair! Most people find that dieting is not sustainable. They can do it for a month or two and lose a few pounds, but after a month ... Views: 543
Not too far in the past, if a woman was assertive, demanding and purposeful, she was considered a controlling bitch. On the other hand, if a woman complained about her lack of opportunity and played victim, she was considered an annoying whiner. Today, many women are looking to each other for ... Views: 701
Question:
I'm curious about the spiritual concept of "evil tongue"(speaking evil of others) and its pervasiveness in our culture. Why do people become energized when they say or read something negative about someone else? What does it say about where that person is? What are the consequences ... Views: 1126
To renew and reinvent our lives, WE NEED A PLAN! Here it is: a seven-day process to work with over and over. This plan incorporates physical, mental and spiritual work. Use the whole seven-day process, or choose any one of the days to work with as you create the life you want.
DAY 1: ... Views: 753
Question:
When one begins the path to Enlightenment, I've read it can be from either what we would call a painful or a wonderful experience. My enlightenment began when I fell in love with a man whom I left my husband for. I thought he was the love of my life. After leaving my marriage of 13 ... Views: 735
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. We take one day to remember mothers and fathers, those who gave their lives for this country, the signing of The Declaration of Independence, a man who gave his life in the name of civil rights, and the day Christ was born. I have often wondered ... Views: 1122
Almost every day we come across some news or another about the atrocities of the Talibans in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Most of us have been viewing this issue as some incomprehensible disease in a remote and perennially troubled part of the world. The truth is, as we have all come to learn ... Views: 986
Most of us long for relationships in which we are loved and accepted just the way we are. Our hearts' desire is to give and receive love in relationships that make us feel that even if others disagree with what we do or say, they still love us. They accept us. They appreciate our contributions ... Views: 753
Like tiny ripples that merge to form great waves, combined human intent is worth more than the sum of its parts. A single individual can initiate worldwide improvement by emitting conscious frequencies of love, beauty, goodness, and wisdom. A group of people focusing their energy on sending out ... Views: 497
I loved this photograph I found on a blog called One Million Peace Signs. The commentary asks, “Who’s peacing who?” Reflections of peace in two mirrors, and one of the reflectors is also the photographer!
Peace, my friend, often requires reflection, a luxury for many of us whose lives are too ... Views: 762
Question:
I have just recently ended a three year relationship, yet I am receiving a lot of guilt from my ex-boyfriend and his family. How do I avoid taking on this guilt and how do I feel confident about who I am again?
Sherri's Answer:
In order to regain your self-confidence, you need to ... Views: 1661
Most of us are aware of the studies that indicate women would rather be 10 pounds thinner than almost anything else. As an eating disorder therapist, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the refrain, “I’ll be happy when I’m thin.” This can take different forms as people will focus on an ... Views: 680
Just the other morning we were going to the gym when we passed a little girl holding hands with her mother. The girl was happily skipping along. It immediately made Deb ask: Why do little girls skip? And why, as young William says, do little boys walk when they can run?
Obviously, it is because ... Views: 792
Since my book The LifeQuake Phenomenon was released in February, I have done a lot of interviews with journalists on a variety of topics, some with the theme of addiction - mommies who drink too much wine at play dates, men who use exercise to compensate for big appetites, screen writers who ... Views: 722