Today, in our last newsletter of the year, I’m focusing on the theme of awakening joy. While life is always filled with both boundless beauty and deep pain—and for healing and health we must allow ourselves to feel and process all of our emotions—one of the biggest lessons my father continues to teach me is the power of consciously choosing joy.
Read MoreToday, during the peak of the holiday season, I’m happy to share a Take a Moment micro-meditation called the “letting-go breath.” This slow inhale through your nose, followed by an even longer, slower exhale through pursed lips sounds deceptively simple, but it will quickly leave you feeling more relaxed and settled in both body and mind.
Read MoreI recently returned from a lovely vacation in Hawaii, and I’m pondering how to access “vacation mind” more often in my everyday life without having to travel far away. A big part of what makes vacations feel special is how much more attentive and present we are when everything is new and fresh, versus “ordinary” and routine.
Read MoreNovember is Native American Heritage Month, and today—the Friday after Thanksgiving—officially became “Native American Heritage Day” in 2009, when President Barack Obama signed the resolution. Still, many Native Americans feel slighted that our country’s most highly commercialized shopping day was chosen as the national day to honor their heritage and people.
Read MoreIf you’re at all like me—someone who habitually rushes through life and lives overly in the realm of thought—taking regular short pauses to stop amid all the busyness to relax and get grounded in the present moment can yield big results. That’s what inspired me to partner with mindfulness and meditation teacher, Katie Dutcher, on a new Quest for Eternal Sunshine free resource called “Take a Moment.”
Read MoreThis November marks ten years since I took my first writing workshop at Esalen Institute in Big Sur. It was called “Writing What You Can’t Remember,” and the exceptionally talented and insightful teacher was Laura Davis, the best-selling author of the groundbreaking book, The Courage to Heal.
Read MoreThis week, I’m happy to share an article I wrote for Spirituality & Health magazine about transforming our relationship to change that features profound insights from Diego Perez—the wise young man behind the pen name, yung pueblo, whose new book, Lighter, just debuted as #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Read MoreWhat is intuition and where does it come from? How does it differ from gut instinct or an idea that suddenly pops into our mind? When we tap into intuition, are we tapping into wisdom from other realms? When I brought these questions to Tina Powers—the extraordinary medium who is leading our free online afterlife event tomorrow—she told me, “We are all built with an inner compass that guides us. This guidance comes through our entire body and includes all our senses of perception, not just the physical.”
Read MoreI loved my recent conversation with author Diego Perez—the writer behind the pen name yung pueblo, whose eloquent, wisdom-dense words have become an Instagram sensation. Diego now has millions of social media followers and two New York Times best-selling books. His third book, Lighter, was just released this week.
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 MoreMemorial Day weekend signals the launch of the summer season. With long, warm days beckoning us outside to exercise, play and simply relax, now is the perfect time to consciously reconnect with the beauty and healing energy of Mother Nature. I’m thrilled to mark this occasion by sharing one of my all-time favorite meditations: “Connect with the Natural World”—a 20-minute guided outdoor meditation led by Katie Dutcher, a seasoned meditation teacher and certified Mindful Outdoor Guide.
Read MoreI recently had a magical experience. While being guided through a 10-minute “Outdoor Refresher” mindfulness meditation, I was able to see everything with fresh eyes and became completely enchanted by the world around me. It felt as if my senses had been reawakened, and my childlike awe rekindled. Remarkably, I still feel a positive shift two weeks later. It’s as if after many decades of neglect, some of my essential wiring has been dusted off and is coming back online—wiring that connects me to the innocence and openness of my inner child.
Read MoreI have what psychologists call “porous boundaries.” Common characteristics of such boundaries describe me perfectly: fearing rejection when I don’t comply with other’s expectations, overexplaining and feeling bad when I say no, getting over-involved in other people’s problems, and a tendency toward oversharing. My porous boundaries extend emotionally and energetically as well—when I’m with someone who has an upset stomach, I often begin to feel sick too.
Read MoreI have had two clear “awakening” experiences in my life. The first was as a third grader in Brooklyn when my class took a trip to tour Pete Seeger’s boat. As I lay on the deck with my eyes closed, palms resting against the polished wood, a strong sense of awe and reverence filled me. The sun warmed my face as the boat rocked gently on the water, and I suddenly had the best feeling of my entire life: CONNECTION.
Read MoreThis week marks the one year anniversary of the publication of Quest for Eternal Sunshine—A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey from Darkness to Light, a book based on an unfinished manuscript my father, Mendek Rubin, left behind when he died in 2012. The four years I spent researching and completing the book transformed my life in significant and unexpected ways.
Read MoreThe most basic lesson I learned when I first became an organic farmer was that the seeds we water are the ones that grow. This isn’t only true for lettuce, arugula and carrots; it’s also true for weeds, which wait patiently in the soil for the chance to spring to life.
Read MoreIn addition to working hard to affect transformation in the “real world”—getting people to vote, stand up against injustice, and help those in need—I’ve grown to believe that we can also be powerful changemakers in the energetic realms by amplifying the love in our hearts and sowing much-needed seeds of positivity. Visualization, done together in big groups to magnify the impact, may actually be able to function as a type of “spiritual elevator” for us right now.
Read MoreWhat an exciting day! My father’s remarkable life story and wisdom are now being shared with the world. I feel immensely grateful that Mendek devoted his life to healing his trauma and awakening to his true nature, and then spent a decade documenting his quest so we could learn from his revelations and wisdom.
Read MoreTrudy’s odyssey in life has been analogous to a turbulent ocean crossing filled with unanticipated, treacherous storms.
Read MoreFor decades after the war, my father was plagued by terrible nightmares and unrelenting depression. Happiness felt like a far-away shore he could dream about but never reach.
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