In the late 1980s, a member of the fundraising committee for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum contacted my father for a donation. By all appearances, my dad should have been an ideal donor. A retired inventor and successful entrepreneur, he had survived three horrendous years in Nazi concentration camps while nearly his entire family was killed in Auschwitz.
Read MoreToday, I’m happy to share an article I wrote for Spirituality & Health magazine about Martha Beck’s transformative new book, Beyond Anxiety. I’ve done my best to capture its most profound insights in this piece. If you’re curious about finding freedom from anxiety by embracing creativity and curiosity, learning about the part of your brain that is incapable of experiencing anxiety, or discovering effective ways to calm your nervous system, I invite you to read on!
Read MoreIf I had to describe my father’s extraordinary healing journey in one short sentence, it would be this: “Mendek Rubin pursued joy with unwavering determination.” My dad believed that joy is everyone’s birthright. He often emphasized that we don’t need to do anything to “earn” happiness; we just have to replace the negative conditioning that stands in the way of being able to fully experience it.
Read MoreThe occasion of the New Year reminds me that none of us have ever lived this particular year, day, or minute before. Every single moment on this earth is unique—a once in a lifetime experience that can never be repeated. After spending a week meeting and falling in love with my newborn grandson, and watching my youngest child and his wife magnificently step into parenting for the first time, my awareness of life’s miracles feel extra-heightened.
Read MoreFor my final post of the year, I’m sharing some of Brianna Wiest’s wisdom about finding purpose, and the boundless impact of spreading kindness and love. I find her words, excerpted from her book, When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal, both inspiring and empowering as we head into 2025.
Read MoreI think of myself as a generous person, but not a selflessly generous person. For example, I always make sure baristas are looking my way before I place a bill in their tip jar. Although I’m embarrassed to admit it, sometimes I even move extra slowly to ensure my contribution is noticed. No anonymity for me!
Read More“Who are you?” was the first question Hilary Nicholls asked me over a dozen a years ago as I lay on her treatment table for the first time. “Who are you independent of being a mother, wife, daughter, businesswoman, and all the other roles you identify with?”
Read MoreEarlier this week, I celebrated my very first birthday without a living parent on earth. From the moment I woke up, I kept thinking about my mother and father, feeling much gratitude toward them both for giving me life, and all the love, time and resources they devoted to raising and supporting me.
Read MoreAnne Lamott once wrote, “Maturity is gaining a modicum of grace when you do not get your own way.” I like that Anne used the word “modicum,” the equivalent of a smidgeon—just a teeny, tiny bit. Disappointment is hard, no matter our age, and life is full of it.
Read MoreIt’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. It arrived so quickly for me this year, and many of my friends feel the same way. Although the holidays are supposed to be extra-joyful, they can also up our stress levels for a myriad of reasons, including disrupted routines, taxing travel, difficult family dynamics, excess food and drink, financial pressure, extra commitments, increased socializing, heightened emotions of grief and loneliness, and even the perceived pressure to feel upbeat and happy.
Read MoreI appreciate the following words by Thich Nhat Hanh not only because I spent thirty years growing salad greens, but also because I often think about the dangerous human tendency to reflexively look for someone to blame when something happens that we don’t like.
Read MoreToday I’m sharing an essay I wrote three years ago that first ran in Spirituality & Health magazine about changing my relationship with death. When I “assigned” myself this topic, I knew it would be both difficult and important, but I had no clue what would arise for me. It turned out that intimately contemplating death for so long helped me to discover that holding death close is a powerful way to wake up to life.
Read MoreOn September 1, two days before my mother Edith passed away on her 96th birthday, I remained glued to her bedside. Treasuring our final hours together, I soothed her with words, song and touch. I wanted her to feel safe, bathed in love and gratitude.
Read MoreWhile on vacation this week, I’m sharing a short poem by my father about different approaches to life, and the wisdom of allowing things to be just as they are.
Read MoreWhen my beloved Zen teacher, Katherine Thanas, passed away twelve years ago, I booked a session with energy healer Hilary Nichols to help me process my grief over this significant loss. After guiding me into a deeply relaxed state, Hilary asked me to think about Katherine and identify a quality of hers that I loved and wanted to always remember by fostering it within myself. Katherine’s hands instantly came to mind—hands that touched everything with full attention and gentle reverence.
Read MoreOn the heels of my blog Lessons from Leo V, I’m happy to share another dog-focused-post that first ran four years ago—a parody essay in response to my original Lessons from Leo essay that never fails to make me laugh.
Read MoreMy father, Mendek Rubin, grew up in a little town in Poland between the two world wars. When my daughter interviewed him for an elementary school project about immigration and asked him what surprised him most when he first came to America, he answered, “I couldn’t believe that people ate dessert every day and didn’t think anything of it.”
Read MoreLeo—my family’s extraordinarily sweet and quirky fox-colored lab—turns five on Sunday, which means it’s time for the fifth installment of “Lessons from Leo”! Leo joined our family in November 2019, right before the COVID pandemic slammed the world.
Read MoreLast week, I shared a story about my father’s spirit visiting me a few hours before he passed away. One of the messages he came to impart was that I shouldn’t be afraid to let my light shine. Although I feel a little self-conscious sharing this, the truth is, we are all beings of boundless light.
Read MoreMy exposure to spirits from other realms started early in life. Growing up, my parents were spiritual seekers in search of effective ways to mend their emotional wounds and find meaning in their lives. In 1970, when I was six, they discovered a group called the “Pathwork” whose members were devoted to learning teachings transmitted by the “Guide.”
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