WUNJO - The Rune of Joy
Years ago I bought The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum. It's a handbook for the Spiritual Warrior and the rune stones are an oracle providing a mirror and a little magic for knowing yourself deeply. I've consulted these runes many times over the years and value the way they consistently bring my focus directly to the heart of the matter. Wunjo (joy) is a rune that repeatedly appears for me - an inner urge to follow my joy always. It's a good way for me.
Writing is something that brings me peace, joy and exhilaration to share my inner world. Writing helps me make sense of myself and my world. I started writing for myself in high school. Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way introduced me to Morning pages and they have been my friend for years.
First smell of fall rain
First smell of fall rainStoking my desire for moreLet go letting go Seasons change, people change, and I change. I want with all my heart to be the most current, accessible, and loving version of myself at all times. I can be all those those things and still struggle to let life flow through me…
Grey Hairs
A few years ago I decided to stop hiding my grey hairs. I’ve noticed my grey hairs growing in for the last maybe 5-6 years. For the first few years, I decided that I would use demi-permanent hair color every 3 months or so to cover the grey hairs and fade out gradually instead of…
Adrienne Mehri Shamszad
Last night Adrienne’s voice, her songs and the music she and her band played blasted my heart wide open and made tears stream down my face. She sang poems by Rumi, Hafiz and other amazing mystic Iranian poets in Farsi and it made me understand the longing to be overcome by the love of god.…
More Guns Than People
In 1998, I lived in Brisbane, Australia for 7 months while studying abroad. So many Australians I met were so curious to hear about what America was like. The number one question that I was asked was, “Does everyone in America have a gun?” I was confused by this question because I grew up very…
Self Love
For many years, I’ve been aware of my tendency to join in when life beats me up. If someone or something hurts my feelings, I will sometimes think all these terrible thoughts about myself in the aftermath. Other times I feel distinctly self-destructive. I’m often able to find mostly harmless ways to cope. Sometimes I…
Anxiety
Behind the curtain of the personality I most often present to the world, I have a fair amount of anxiety streaming through me a lot of the time. The core of my anxiety stems from the experience of being in a group of people or at a party and feeling that no one sees me…
Body Shame
On Friday I had a conversation with a doctor that left me feeling upset and ashamed about my weight. A part of my recovery from 15+ years of struggling the an eating disorder has been that I am much calmer when I do not focus on numbers. I do not weigh myself and I tell…
Letting GO
My prayer today is to let the letting go happen in an easier, more peaceful way. Whatever is letting go of me is becoming something else that is useful somewhere else. The birds and the trees and the fire and the breeze showed me infinitely that the truth is right here all the time. It’s…
Never Too Late To Fight For What’s Right
It’s never too late to fight for what’s right. If you haven’t yet watched Ava Duvernay’s 4 part series “When They See Us” on Netflix, it is a must see. It’s truly brutal to watch this story told through the lens of the 5 young boys that were framed by New York prosecutors Elizabeth Lederer…
Oriel Katsir
I posted a 1 star Yelp review about a male spiritual teacher that I’ve experienced to be psychologically harmful and predatory. My heart pounds and I feel scared like I’ve done something wrong. I’ve written about this experience many, many times over the years, but never shared it publicly. I am still worried that maybe…
Intention and Impact
Shaun King talks about how his wife, Rai King, taught him the difference between impact and intention. He says, “You might not have intended your words to be harmful, but we aren’t just responsible for our intentions, we are also responsible for the impact of our words and actions. And sometimes the impact of our…
When One Of Us Falls
6 years ago, my friend Afran ended his life. Though I hadn’t known him long, his life and death impacted me so deeply. Witnessing the effect of his suicide on my community and the grief of so many people I love was almost unbearable. I didn’t know what to do or say, but I knew…