I have just returned from a conference in which I heard Bill Plotkin say something profound about the ego and the soul. He reported that it was his belief that during the first half of a person’s life, the soul served the ego; in the second half of life, the ego was to serve the […]
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In the middle of winter my thoughts are turning to seeds and what is sitting just below view, ready to burst into its essence with the coming of warmth and sun. Seeds are powerful because they sit “underground” in a state of potentiality, waiting for the right opportunity to sprout. In the beloved text of
A recent New York Times article discussing the harm yoga can cause, has created quite a stir. It has also created an opportunity for us yoga practitioners to re-look at our yoga practice, an opportunity that I am grateful for. I find it so easy to seek change while unconsciously holding the very patterns I
If you are anything like me, you keep waiting for your practice to magically make you a better person. But in truth, is this the purpose of practice? And what is a “better person” anyway? At best it is an individual idea of perfection…..which ultimately is sought after only by the ego. What is practice
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I am doing something radical for myself this year – no resolutions. For someone who loves accomplishments and goals, who expects and demands a lot from themselves, entering this New Year without a resolution is both disorienting and provocative. You see, I have been getting more and more curious about who I really am. And
Here it is again, the holiday whose job it is to remind us to be thankful. And perhaps we need the yearly reminder, just in case we have forgotten. Holiday music is playing, turkeys and the trimmings are being purchased, family plans are being made, and underneath it all is the hope that somehow we
The philosopher Thomas Hanna spent his life pursuing an answer to the question, “What does it mean to be a fully realized human being; what does it mean to be free?” In his quest, he studied philosophy, sociology, history, and finally neurology. Hanna called human freedom “somatics” and is responsible for putting that word into
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These are times when much is being asked of us. How do we pick ourselves out of the exhaustion and the dullness that often finds root in us and choose to meet the challenges of our days? How can we be a people who brings kindness to an unkind world, who seeks to need less
