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85, but not
Today would have been Mom’s 85th birthday. It’s been five and a half years since her body finished its life here. I’ve mourned. I’ve remembered and memorialised. I know that she is always here with me – quite literally as half of my DNA and also in the way I move, think, and express myself.…
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Empress Kristen
In my mid-30s, I had political ambitions. I didn’t like the way the world was headed. In the late 90s there was corruption and conflict and too many politicians clinging to power. Those things don’t go anywhere good. A shake-up would improve the situation. I decided that if I were elected president of the US,…
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Well-met in Art & Nature
Saturday’s retreat was a rousing success. Four people participated in a day of creativity, nature, and enjoying one another’s company. I was delighted to meet two new faces from Tokyo and to welcome two old friends to my dining room turned classroom. Everyone got on so nicely that it was hard to interrupt the conversation…
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The Little Things
If you aren’t happy now, you might never be and I know why.* You are missing out on the pleasure of the little things in your daily life. A joyful life is a series of small events, micro-moments, little tickles of happiness brought about by acute awareness of each moment that passes. Many of us…
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Running a Retreat
After 18 months at 555, I am finally ready to open the space to the public for a Drawing Meditations retreat. Won’t you take this as a great excuse to visit? These times definitely call for some quiet and self-care. With everything going on in the world and in your life specifically, give yourself a…
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Vigyan Bhairav Tantra No. 79
I set myself up for the weirdest meditation experience this morning. On Sunday my yoga class practices meditation. We have tried many techniques over the years – everyone has a different way of getting to their inner silence and we don’t know what will trigger an interesting insight. So we try as many as I…
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3 modes of me
I seem to have three mental modes: Hyper GSD; (Anti-)Social Butterfly; and Napping Hermit. Maybe it’s how I am all the time but I notice it more when Tod isn’t here. And this week, he is in Tokyo for work. Hyper GSD Getting Shit Done. I get a lot of big, heavy, or challenging projects…
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Moriya Beach
Today was the last day of a very long and relaxed New Year holiday. Tod & I did just about nothing all week. We puttered around the house, made meals, and played with the cats. We missed midnight. Haven’t been to a temple yet. I didn’t even see friends’ Line greetings until today. This morning…
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Project 2025 Bingo – pregame
We are just about two weeks from Day 1 of this bingo. I’ve been trying to keep track of the topics on the card and to be honest, it’s already a challenge. It should get easier when the 100 days begin since there will be news about what’s happened, rather than speculation. But using speculation…
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Remembering Philo
I didn’t expect this would hit me so hard. I met Philo Hagen only twice in person. I couldn’t call him a friend, but my life between 2008 and 2018 was shaped his influence and our online collaborations. I left my “hooping era” years ago, and so did he, but now he is gone from…
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