This 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 MoreA few days before my father died, I began to feel his spirit sending me messages. Although it was hard to believe it was actually happening, the hospice nurses told me that they’d heard similar stories dozens of times. They’d also witnessed many near-death patients suddenly be able to hear words whispered far away in another room behind closed doors, as if they were no longer tethered to their bodies or limited by their physical senses. Even after my father passed, I continued to feel his presence.
Read MoreToday I want to celebrate my incredible father, Mendek Rubin. Last week was the tenth anniversary of his passing, and tomorrow would have been his 98th birthday. When I think of my dad now, what I remember most vividly is his boundless, unbridled joy.
Read MoreLeo—my family’s extra-sweet, affectionate and quirky fox-colored yellow lab—is about to turn three. After “Lessons from Leo” and “Lessons from Leo II,” I didn’t expect to have enough insights for a third installment, but Leo keeps teaching me important lessons just as I am ready to receive them—all without uttering a single word. Happy 3rd birthday Leo! Thank you for sharing your boundless love and joy, as well as essential life lessons.
Read MoreMy only memory from kindergarten is playing musical chairs during a class party. Two rows of chairs had been placed back-to-back down the middle of the classroom. Dozens of parents stood against the walls, encircling the chairs. I had never seen the game before and was unsure what the teacher meant when she said, “Remember the rules! You can only sit down when the music stops, not before.”
Read MoreForgiving people who have caused us pain is challenging. When I’m not offered an effusive apology, forgiving rarely comes easily for me. My emotional underbelly is very tender, and old wounds tend to keep their sting. That’s why I’ve recently turned to my father’s teachings about the power of forgiveness.
Read MoreSome books stay with you long after you have finished them. I’ve been surprised by how deeply I was, and continue to be, affected by Happy Days: The Guided Path from Trauma to Profound Freedom and Inner Peace, by the New York times best-selling author and spiritual teacher, Gabrielle Bernstein.
Read MoreFourth of July makes me think about freedom—what it means, what it promises, and how hard it is to achieve. 246 years after the passage of the Declaration of Independence, we are still far from realizing the ideals of liberty and equality it proudly articulated.
Read MoreMy father believed that the most important thing he’d ever done was to become an explorer of his mind and heart. “I got to know myself as I really am, rather than who I imagined myself to be,” he wrote. “No one else could have deciphered the subtleties of my own mind. No one else could have faced my repressed emotions, heartbreaks, and fears.”
Read MoreToday, in honor of Father’s Day, I’m featuring something special: “Grandpa Says”—a song that shares my father’s philosophy and loving heart in the most delightful way. It’s performed by his talented granddaughter, Nina Harmer, and features footage of my father with my sister and me from the early 1960s, as well with his grandchildren from their birth until the end of his life.
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 MoreThese past few weeks, I’ve been eagerly soaking in wisdom from the beloved Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön. I read When Things Fall Apart and a few of her other bestselling books decades ago, but now I’m able to understand and appreciate her teachings in a whole new way.
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 MoreEvery week, I look forward to reading Maria Popova’s inspirational and thought-provoking philosophical musings in her popular Sunday digest, The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings). Maria is a Bulgarian-born, US-based writer who exposes readers to powerful ideas, artwork and poems from gifted artists, thinkers, and writers from around the world and across centuries. Maria’s weekly offerings delve deeply into tender topics, often focusing on what it’s like to be a human alive on planet earth
Read MoreThis week, I’m sharing an article I wrote for Spirituality & Health magazine in collaboration with a wonderful psychotherapist and author, Andrea Wachter, who specializes in tools to ease stress, anxiety, and overwhelm. The article contains some wonderful practices, including a 12-minute meditation where you’re guided to speak directly to your anxiety, giving it compassion and loving redirection.
Read MoreWhen I was 25 and pregnant with my first child, it became clear that I had to deal with my constant fear of an impending catastrophe. I’d been plagued by intense anxiety as long for as I could remember, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Unremitting worry that something would go horribly wrong with my baby was swelling along with my belly.
Read More“A hero is one who heals their own wounds and then shows others how to do the same.” —Yung Pueblo
This quote from the best-selling author and poet, Yung Pueblo, makes me think of two very special men: my beloved father, Mendek Rubin, and my dear friend, Bill Harvey, who passed away on March 31, less than two months shy of his 98th birthday.
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