My father believed that shallow breathing was “endemic to our day and age”—an indication of how much tension we hold in our bodies and how often we routinely suppress our feelings. He was convinced that changing how we breathe can lead directly to deep relaxation and profound healing.
Read More“Although we are part of a country and culture that places utmost reliance on linear, rational thought, our greatest wisdom doesn’t reside there. To gain access to our deepest knowing and discover what we’ve been storing in our hearts for so many years, we can tap into our imagination, emotions, memories, intuition bodily knowledge, dreams, and the relationships we have with the earth.” - Patrice Vecchione
Read MoreToday, I’m happy to share a piece I wrote for Spirituality & Health magazine—Leaning Into the Back Side of Your Chakras—that features a delightful practice I’ve been doing to help me balance my continuous output (everything I do in the world) with sufficient input (re-fueling, nourishment and rest).
Read MoreMy dad once wrote: “Whenever I compare myself or my life against my ideas of perfection, I come out the loser. Nothing is perfect—not my family, not my job, not my body. If I have to wait for perfection to be happy, I will surely be waiting forever. The very belief that life should be a certain way—that I should feel happy—greatly contributes to my unhappiness.”
Read More"To always have faith in the limitless power of love" was the transformative agreement my father was committed to embodying every single day.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, I took a haiku writing class with one of my favorite authors and teachers, Natalie Goldberg. One of the prompts she gave us was to write ten haiku about summertime in five minutes, but to convey the season without ever specifically naming it. What a lovely exercise!
Read MoreFor most of my life, one of my greatest pleasures was gazing up at the stars on clear, dark nights. As my eyes adjusted, I was always mesmerized by the countless new points of light that kept magically appearing as time went by. I never tired of communing with such vast, mysterious splendor.
Read MoreI first discovered the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, decades ago when I read The Alchemist—a mesmerizing story about a young boy who learns to listen to his heart and find the courage to follow his dreams. “You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say,” is wisdom I will always remember from this short, inspiration-packed novel.
Read MoreMy father, Mendek Rubin, wasn’t alive to witness our book, Quest for Eternal Sunshine, get published and be so well-received, but I believe that on some other dimension he is rejoicing. Getting books out into the world was of huge importance him, and when I published my first cookbook, Food to Live By—The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, he was extremely delighted.
Read MoreThis week, I am happy to share some wisdom-rich quotes from Lao Tzu—a Taoist Chinese philosopher from the sixth century B.C. who is said to have authored the Tao Te Ching. Many famous sayings trace back to the Tao Te Ching, including “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Read MoreI sat down to write this Mother’s Day essay on Wednesday, April 21—the morning after George Floyd’s murderer was convicted on all charges. Instead of the upbeat post I intended to create, it feels crucial to acknowledge the gravity of this moment. Along with feeling relieved that justice was served, I am also experiencing a tidal wave of shame and heartbreak over the cruelty and dehumanization that Black Americans have been forced to endure for centuries.
Read MoreLast July, in a blog titled “Wisdom from the Stars,” I announced that I’d decided to study astrology by enrolling in an entry-level class at the online astrology school run by my friend, Debra Silverman, who is an extraordinary therapist, astrologer and advisor to many celebrities and thought leaders. I promised to report my findings in a future post… and here we are!
Read MoreFresh running water is something many people living in developed countries take for granted. When we turn on the tap, water magically appears. If we want hot water, we simply twist a handle.
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 MoreA writer, poet, filmmaker, actor, dancer, civil rights activist, and much more, her list of “firsts” is very varied and impressive. From being the first black female streetcar driver in San Francisco when she was sixteen (her “dream job”—she loved the uniforms), to the first female inaugural poet in U.S. presidential history in 1993, Maya Angelou was a brave pioneer.
Read MoreDays of Remembrance for victims of the Holocaust falls on April 8th this year. During its first commemoration in 1979, President Carter spoke these powerful words: “We must remember the terrible price paid for bigotry and hatred, and also the terrible price paid for indifference and for silence… We must recognize that when any fellow human being is stripped of humanity—when any person is turned into an object of repression; tortured or defiled or victimized by terrorism or prejudice or racism—then all human beings are victims, too.”
Read MoreI took my first writing class at Esalen Institute in Big Sur in the fall of 2012, a few months after my father died. It changed my life. The remarkable writing teacher, Laura Davis, told us at the outset of the workshop that if we plan on writing anything autobiographical, we need to give up the hope that our family stories will feel accurate to everyone involved.
Read MoreMy new grandson, Elián Ruizquez-Goodman, was born late at night on January 30th. My daughter Marea labored for forty-eight hours to bring her ten-pound baby into this world. Although arduous, she gave birth in the comfort of her home, surrounded by loving, skilled support.
Read MoreI live on a farm on the central coast of California with two small groves of towering redwood trees. I visit one every morning when I walk my dogs, stopping to stand amidst the trees, tilting my head up to look at the sky through their branches.
Read MoreIt’s often said that we don’t need to move to India to live in an ashram in order to get enlightened—all the opportunities we ever need are available right at home, in the midst of our daily lives. For many of us, as we approach a full year of pandemic restrictions, these opportunities for self-realization and growth abound.
Read More
