I recently learned about a field of study dedicated to the collection and study of proverbs: Paremiology. As someone who greatly appreciates cleverly conveyed wisdom, this discovery made me both curious and happy.
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Is it terribly naïve to dream of a world without war? As I sit in the sunshine on my deck sipping tea while writing this post, bombs are falling on Ukraine. 3 million people have fled their homes, families are broken apart, thousands of precious lives are being lost. Around the world, fears of nuclear warfare are intensifying. Unlike the pandemic and natural disasters we’ve been enduring, humans are intentionally inflicting this immense suffering upon one another. The escalating situation and accompanying heartbreak are difficult to bear.
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As a New York City kid who moved onto a small heirloom raspberry farm in Carmel Valley right after college, I quickly fell deeply in love with working with the soil and living in sync with the rhythms of nature. Being outside most of the day, using my body rather than my mind to accomplish the tasks at hand, brought me a level of peace and wellbeing I hadn’t ever experienced before.
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Every Tuesday morning I receive an email with an intriguing writing prompt from my writing mentor, Laura Davis. I always respond to them in my head, if not on paper. A while back, the prompt was, “Write a letter to a great, great, great, great grandchild, or to another child living far off in the future. Impart your hard-fought wisdom about what truly matters in life.” My response surfaced at lightning speed: “I hope you’re not spending your life glued to a screen.”
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There are times when life unfolds to reveal gifts we could never have imagined. Quest for Eternal Sunshine—the spiritual memoir I co-authored posthumously with my father, Mendek Rubin—has brought me many of these unexpected blessings. There are times when life unfolds to reveal gifts we could never have imagined. Quest for Eternal Sunshine—the spiritual memoir I co-authored posthumously with my father, Mendek Rubin—has brought me many of these unexpected blessings. One of them is becoming a regular contributor to Spirituality & Health magazine, which gives me the opportunity to interview people I greatly admire. Today I’m sharing a Q&A with one of my all-time favorite writers and spiritual teachers, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel.
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Today I want to share a short post featuring calming artwork and gentle wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh’s lovely book of Zen calligraphy, This Moment is Full of Wonders. I only recently discovered how much Thich Nhat Hanh loved calligraphy, and that throughout his life he created over 10,000 images. It was one of his favorite forms of meditation.
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Last week, I wrote about my aunt Bronia’s 90-minute private meeting with President Biden on January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I was very moved by the many people who reached out to let me know how touched they were by the story. Those emails validated that the event was not only incredible for our family—it was also deeply healing for others as well.
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Last Thursday, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a dream came true for my 90-year-old aunt Bronia—she was able to share her life story with the President of the United States of America.
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Yesterday, January 27th, was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As I’ve been honoring my four grandparents and dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins who were murdered at Auschwitz, I’ve been pondering the possibility of true progress in this world.
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One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from my father is that each of us has a perspective that is totally subjective, and that the world we see is never independent of our individual projections.
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I’ve been reading a wonderful book, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, by Thich Nhat Hanh, the extraordinarily wise Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. Much of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings revolve around the benefits of mindfulness, and he emphasizes the importance of regularly bringing that deep attention to our fear.
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Grounding means establishing a strong, conscious connection to the slow, calming frequencies of Planet Earth. For people like me—those who live much of our lives up high in our heads, readily spinning into the frenetic world of thoughts and worries—being able to ground effectively is a powerful antidote to this emotionally and physically draining pattern.
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It’s hard to believe another full year has passed, and 2022 begins tomorrow! Wanting to share some optimistic musings with you on this special day, I collected some uplifting and empowering quotes by Dr. Wayne Dyer, whose philosophy about the essential good nature of all human beings and the immense impact of our thoughts was very similar to my father’s.
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On this holiday eve, towards the end of a challenging year plagued by huge and heated divisions, it feels essential to remember that our common humanity runs much deeper than our particular conditioned beliefs. It’s an important time to recommit to spreading seeds of joy, compassion and kindness.
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This week, instead of an issue I’m pondering or bits of philosophical wisdom I’ve collected, I’m sharing the recipe for my household’s favorite new treat: Maple Cinnamon Pecans. Only slightly sweet, they are delicious, healthy, and very quick and easy to make. I bake off a batch at least every other week—my husband and I never want to be without them!
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Winter marks another completion around the sun—a perfect occasion to contemplate what brings us the most joy and nourishment. Just like pruning dormant trees in the winter removes damaged branches and overcrowding to yield a healthy and bountiful crop come summer, winter can summon us to slow down and think about how reduce what is depleting and unnecessary in our lives so we can focus our precious time and energy on creating more ease, happiness and fulfillment.
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Today is my 58th birthday. Reflecting back on the past year, I feel extremely grateful for many things, especially the birth of my beloved grandson, Elián, who turned ten months earlier this week. Also topping my list is the new ritual I established exactly one year ago today during the height of the pandemic, when I gave myself the birthday gift of a full day offline—a much needed break from my screens, as well as from the relentless avalanche of bad news.
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Last Monday morning, an email from Macy’s arrived in my inbox announcing, “BLACK FRIDAY EARLY ACCESS—HURRY, SHOP SPECIALS TODAY!” There was a clock with big red numbers ticking down, announcing “Only 12 hours, 26 minutes, 53 seconds left!” Soon more emails started pouring in from other retailers that got my adrenaline going as they urged me to shop, shop, shop before it’s too late for deals that are too good to pass up. Some were quite tempting!
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Today I’m sharing the first article in a four-part series on elemental wisdom I wrote in collaboration with the master astrologer and psychotherapist, Debra Silverman. Debra always starts off teaching her students about the four elements because it’s the foundation upon which all understanding of astrology is built, and because she’s witnessed what an extremely effective model it is for understanding human nature and cultivating compassion for both ourselves and others.
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I’ve recently become a devoted student of astrology. It began when I learned that the positions of the planets above our heads at the moment of our birth can reveal countless essential details about our personalities—including how we perceive the world, what we yearn for, and the particular ways we think, act, and love.
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