Faces and Places

I've been thinking a lot about how to handle the triggers in life. Most of the time, it is human nature to react to circumstances that are uncomfortable, aggravating or vexing. I see this everyday when I drive in traffic or when I read Facebook. It's a time in the world where it is easy to react to the news and to behavior that is surprising or shocking.  I've reduced my news reading to scanning headlines and I've wondered if it would be better if I didn't even read the news. And, then I thought that perhaps there is an...

A client of mine who wants to become a published author recently asked me, "How did you get published and how long did it take you to write your first book? And then your second?"  The answer in terms of years is different than the answer in terms of actual time spent writing.  I started writing my first book, Face Reading in Chinese Medicine, in 1980 right after my father died. It was published in 2003. In that time, I held a variety of "real jobs" before I started teaching and seeing clients. I also got married, had two children and then...

Most people I know make New Year's Resolutions. That's never worked for me. Instead, I find a Spiritual Action that I practice for the entire year.  I spend some time on New Year's Day contemplating what I could do to grow spiritually or perhaps it is better stated as I think about what I could do differently to help me become a better person.  Over the years I have practiced Patience, Forgiveness, Non Judgment, Compassion/Kindness, Letting Go of Expectations, Gratitude and many more. Sometimes I made myself do the Spiritual Action for two years if I had trouble with it...