Lessons From Shaping Clay

Noticing a sign announcing a pottery class, my friend and I impulsively stopped our bike and inquired if we could have a class right away.  With only a few hours left before we headed back to our city, we could not have imagined how easily this opportunity had presented itself.  She an artist and me …

Unpeeling Our Labels

When we call a dog a 'dog', there is an implicit expectation that we are both in agreement with who/what a dog is.  But this is an incomplete communication of what a ‘dog’ means to each person in the conversation.  For example, for one - it is immediately associated with a soul friend, for another …

What Would You Do If You Found Frogs On Your Wall?

If you are an urban dweller with little exposure to the wilderness, most likely you will jump out of your own skin.  In fact, I suspect many readers won't be able to make it past this headline. Seeing a large, orange frog clinging to the walls is disorienting to say the least. The protected species …

Individual Clearings and Collective Consciousness

You may have felt that "this only happens to me". "Only I know how this feels." But it is not true. As we peel away layers of our trapped emotions, patterns and limiting beliefs, we begin to see that there are many angles that contribute. While the details and intricacies will vary, there are common …

Lost In Transit

We have developed a plethora of platforms and devices to communicate, and we have also learned to speak in numerous languages.  We interact with people across different cultures and have far more ease of access to each other than we ever did before. And yet, we seem to stumble in the basics. Our words often …

Being Together

They say misery loves company.  Which is probably true.  Whenever you want to share your sadness, the frustration at your job, the differences with your partner, or the lack of one, or crib about the state of the world, it is not difficult to find company.  The pain, the drama - it all triggers the …

All The Time In The World

How often have you felt that you are running out of time?  That you have to leave the business on hand incomplete, heartfelt words unsaid and fulfilling tasks undone, because you need to rush off elsewhere in an attempt to experience or accomplish something else?  Most of us are accustomed to goal oriented thinking. We …

Going further with The Four Agreements

Don Miguel Ruiz's book "The Four Agreements" is a compact text full of practical wisdom that can transform our lives.  I often recommend it as a resource to those wishing to lead a conscious life. Don Miguel Ruiz subsequently added a single "Fifth Agreement" and wrote a separate book on that as well. Here, I …

Poems: Remember

Don't dismiss these wordsI know it is hard to take me seriouslyWhen you feel walled up in a dark holeIt is difficult to see clearlyUnder all the overwhelm, the helplessness, the painWho you truly are remains unchangedA loving, luminous light in the worldWho will eventually emerge againThese are temporary clouds,The ensnaring webs but illusory talesThat …

Walking the Talk

How does one respond to the frequent headlines of violence and mayhem across the world?  While most would respond with anger, frustration, fear and other similar impotent emotions, there are others who may be righteous, or equally violent, albeit in different ways. For those of us with an interest for looking deeper and taking responsibility …