death

The growing popularity of sites like ancestry.com and services like 23andMe underscores our deep human desire to understand where we come from. While digging into archival records and testing DNA can shed light on our cultural antecedents, ancestral healing practices add another valuable layer to the picture. Ancestral healing is a modern, spiritually-based ritual process which seeks to bridge the chasm between cultural wounds and cultural treasures.

There are close to 90 million dogs in the United States and an even higher number of cats. While these pets—for many of us, companions, best friends, and loyal members of our family—often go on to have full lives, their passing is unfortunately inevitable. Burying our loved animals in the backyard is often the best choice, but is not always practical or possible.

Let’s say that one is on a sports team and their ultimate goal is to win a championship.  However, the current incarnation of the team just doesn’t allow for this.  Let’s say that the necessary changes to be made and the only way for this to happen is to marginalize one’s input, recognition, and utilization.  Other people need to be brought in and new strategies need to be employed which will move the needle towards the goal, but comes at this self-detriment.

After, oh, roughly the age of 21, birthdays get a little less exciting for a lot of people.  Instead of counting down to your birthday, you might find it sneaking up on you, leaving you no time to plan any kind of celebration.  Or maybe as an adult, you’re stuck working on your birthday and don’t feel up to making a whole day of it—or even an evening.  In this global age, perhaps you’re living far away from most of your loved ones or a recent transplant to a new city without a large local social network.  Some of us are watching our wallets and want to celebrate our big

I recently wrote on citrus essential oils, my favorite oils for scent. Now, we’ll move on to conifer essential oils, another group I love. These are uplifting and motivating, and they blend beautifully with citrus oils for both scent and energetics.

As turbulence shook and rattled the cabin I chanted the Mahamrityunjaya mantra silently to myself to offer protection, to myself and to the entire plane. I had done the same thing in buses and car rides in India, when the terrain was so uncertain, when the cliffs were only inches away and I had no other way to comfort myself. We had chanted this mantra weekly during my time at the ashram and I had felt its power.

OM NAMAH SHIVIAH

In the name of the aspect of the divine within, which is both destructive and regenerative, all-seeing and ever-present, we say Blessings and with deep resonance, we activate this attribute for the good of all.

Recently, I learned of the unexpected death of a colleague. In addition to grieving, I’m learning a lot about intimacy.

So often when I think about intimacy, it’s in the context of a romantic relationship, but the truth is, intimacy is not confined to a romantic partner. Real intimacy is like unzipping yourself and displaying your insides, and that can be done with anyone, something I’ve witnessed in this process.

Years ago I read an interview about James Franco’s childhood. When he found out he would die one day, he cried because there were so many things he wanted to do and he didn’t think he’d be able to accomplish them all in his lifetime. I relate, but not exactly in the same way. Yes, there is a lot I want to see and do, but my predominant feeling is that I’m behind. If life were a race, my perception is I’d be losing.

It’s been a rough week. I found out a friend of mine committed suicide and it sent me reeling. Not only am I grieving the loss of my friend, but I’m also questioning the meaning of life, what my priorities are, how I’m spending my days, etc. The inconsequential questions, in other words.