Am I Really the Person I Thought I Was?

A radical twist in my self-perception happened recently…. My mother died early, at only 69. She was one of those always-takes-care-of-others-first people, so you never heard about her, as a person. I have felt cheated for almost 40 years, not … Continue reading

Why Do Some Men Think It’s OK to Be Such A-Holes?

What can be done about it? How do we deal with it on a daily basis? I can hardly believe the things men oh-so-casually do to women. The things they have the nerve to say. Even after decades of observing … Continue reading

Does Your Partner Have the Right to Strike You?

No. Not Ever. I could feel my body start to contract into itself, shrinking, freezing. My head fell, my chin pressing against my chest. I vaguely noticed my feet press down and anchor themselves to the floor. I wondered if … Continue reading

No More Letting Baby Cry Herself Out!

I had to slowly slowly convince myself to open to receive any thoughts at all that I might be worthy, and even lovable. In a reel I watched tonight by a gal whose name I never caught, she explains how … Continue reading

I Was Damned if I Was Going to Allow Hardship to Get Me

Nights when magical swaths of stars would span the entire ceiling above, making it seem as light as noon. Bright evening lightning shows burst through the dark evenings on the far horizon… Living in New Mexico in the early 1990s … Continue reading

Our Disconnect from the Cycles of Life

We allow little mundane BS things to distract and steal our attention away from what’s important: being with and cherishing the ones we love most, caring for those who need and want our love, attention, and affection. Lately I see … Continue reading

Freezing to Death for 3000 Miles On the Back of a BMW Motorcycle

Semi trucks started edging us sideways, pushing into our lane, trying to run us off the road. Gas stations and roadside restaurants saw us coming, switched their ‘open’ signs to ‘closed’ in their windows and front doors. 1966. I was … Continue reading

“Something Amazing Is About to Happen,” He Said…

It can be painfully hard to let go of the what-ifs and the blame/shames, he-did-it-to-me’s and the she’s-such-a … — or the what-am-I-going-to-do . . . I’ve been a devoted student of metaphysics for decades. One of the most basic things I learned when I began … Continue reading

How Could You Possibly Forget that Trauma?

In sessions with my clients, I’ve heard them say, “I didn’t even remember that until today! It’s been years since it happened!” I’ve experienced that same forgetting, myself: I was raped several times between the ages of 13 and 19 … Continue reading

HELPING LITTLE TINA STOP HER TANTRUMS

My friend Rachel had two grand-daughters, aged 2 and 4. The two-year-old, Tina, was prone to throwing some mean tantrums. Rachel was concentrating on finishing up a 3-year back-to-college program, and found it difficult to deal with the kids’ high … Continue reading

PATTY CAKE

Ahhh, yes! A bunch of innocent delightful critters playing in a lovely world where things are the way they’re supposed to be: open, loving, caring, fun, creative and compassionate…. PATTY CAKE, PATTY CAKE, BAKER’S MAN – Run away! Run Away! … Continue reading

HOW I DEAL WITH DESTRUCTIVE MONEY BELIEFS

Annie and I allowed ourselves to face the debilitating beliefs we had about ourselves, money, and business. Here’s what happened. Not too long ago, my buddy Annie and I got together on zoom, and did some inside work on our … Continue reading

BE KIND. NO MATTER WHAT.

We learn to hide the pain. We feel unacceptable. We learn to present happy faces, calm demeanors, soft voices — where what we really feel like doing is screaming until our throats rip apart. Be kind. That’s what comes to … Continue reading

TAKE BACK YOUR POWER!

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick to death of people telling me what I ‘should’ buy or ‘should’ do. Use the Law of Attraction! Do this technique! You should eat green! You should stop eating sugar! Use this … Continue reading

YOU’RE AN AUTHOR. OR NOT.

You wouldn’t have gotten the idea to do what you do, and then the idea to share it with others, and you wouldn’t have been asked to write a book if no one cared, if the Universe hadn’t conspired to … Continue reading

DIZZY ON MY FEET

On a larger scale, there were a couple times I’d simply not be driving anymore. The first time that happened, I about lost it. How did I get home, sitting at my kitchen table… There are times in my life … Continue reading

WASABI

You know those moments where an absolutely exquisite moment of silence descends upon a space before everything erupts into chaos all around you? It was 1966. I was 21. I was new to California culture, having lived back East up … Continue reading

‘I DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS!’

The secrets every last one of the characters carries are all starting to dribble out, with horrifying consequences. Everyone’s true nature is being revealed. I’ve been watching a fairly new show on Amazon called POWER. You have to know that … Continue reading

GET UPSET? OR TAKE the OPPORTUNITY to UPLIFT?

Images flooded my panicked mind of internet police coming to Get Me and Punish Me, hoards of angry women descending upon my house and doing Bad Things to me, being banned from being online forever…. The first time a customer … Continue reading

The PAINFUL WAY I LEARNED ABOUT MONEY, Part II

I guarantee you that if you do not, they will hang around and expect you to do and pay for everything for them — just like you have their whole lives! Because my parents were so tight-lipped about money, I … Continue reading

The PAINFUL WAY I LEARNED ABOUT MONEY, Part I

One of the problems that exacerbated my naïveté was my dad’s panicky behavior around discussing money. As soon as the very word slipped past any of our lips, it was hammered into oblivion: “We don’t talk about money! It’s nobody’s … Continue reading

LEARNING to READ the ENERGY

There was one point where I felt funny, and I looked over to see his face flash this weird face-video of emotions. I couldn’t read it, it went so fast. But I felt alarmed…. Right after George W. Bush the … Continue reading

HOW MY DOG FOUND ME AN UNEXPECTED FRIEND

…his voice was deep, gravelly. For some odd reason, I felt like I could totally trust him, so I told him I was just back in town, 54, no place to live, sleeping in my car, yadda yadda. Him nodding, … Continue reading

PUBLISHED! INSIDE SECRETS: Stories I’ve Never Told Anyone: Volume VII – Stone Carver in Italy

I’m very pleased to say that my latest INSIDE SECRETS book, Volume VII, is now out and on amazon! All about my crazy trip to Italy to learn how to carve marble. You can get it in print here: https://amzn.to/41RZgk1  … Continue reading

BITTEN BY A SPIDER. OR NOT.

Instead of coming to the surface and breaking out, the itchy-burny-hurty toxins spread out into the rest of my instep and into my head…. A month ago, I was bitten by a spider. Or something. I don’t know, because I … Continue reading

DON’T LET LIFE BLOCK YOU  -  EVEN HURRICANES

On a dark mid-November day in 1982, the boisterous, heavy-breathing Hurricane Iwa* swept in and wreaked havoc upon the island of Kauai, in Hawaii. (*pronounced EE-vah) I was a studio potter and stone caver. My kids and I lived in … Continue reading