Category: Blog-Psychology

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Milo, the Snowstorm, and a Small Lie

We recently had a big snow in my neck of the woods.

Everyone was hunkered down. The fridge was full, chicken soup was bubbling on the stove, and my book pile sat patiently on the coffee table. As the snow covered the neighborhood and the plows dumped fresh mounds over our carefully shoveled walk, we took turns peeking outside.

As a kid, snowstorms were pure joy.

The neighborhood gathered as we went sledding and built snow forts until someone’s mom called us in for hot chocolate or hot maple syrup poured onto pristine snow. After drying off in front of the fire, we played Monopoly until the next outdoor adventure began.

These days, naps and shoveling are more my speed.

“It’s still snowing,” my husband reported for the umpteenth time. Milo, with his nose pressed against the glass, stared longingly at the winter wonderland. After a while, the whole scene became a bit ridiculous.

So I channeled my inner child, bundled up, and took Milo sledding.

It was great fun, the two of us flying down a snowy hill on speedy discs, snow spraying everywhere. You can see for yourself that Milo was living his best winter life.

Except for one thing. At fourteen, Milo is deaf. He can’t walk down steps and he got stuck in the snow the last time he went outside.

So no, we didn’t go sledding.

I’m still laughing at the image I created using Milo’s post-bath photo with the help of ChatGPT. In the midst of all the controversy about AI, it felt worth remembering that a funny image can just be funny, even if it isn’t real.

These days, fake images and fabricated narratives are everywhere. That’s the moment we’re living in, and it will only become more apparent as people become more skilled with AI.

Humans making things up is not new. Civilization itself runs on shared fictions.

Myth, metaphor, theater, religion, advertising, etiquette, fashion, money, nations, marriage rituals, résumés, bedtime stories, polite smiles, academic theories, and social media bios are all constructed narratives. What has changed is the scale, speed, and reach of how stories travel. 

So how do you go forward from here?

When I listen to people talk about AI, I hear fear, anger, excitement, and certainty, often all at once. There’s a lot of positional shouting about whether we’re headed for collapse or a shiny new golden age. 

I’ve wanted to slow it down a bit. Not the technology itself. I’m not in charge of that. Just my own response to its obvious presence in the world.

These days, I’m practicing discernment in earnest.

I’m not dismissing everything and I’m not swallowing everything whole. 


Humans have always told stories to entertain, protect, educate, market, control, delight, convert, and create.

It’s complicated. So I’ve simplified it for myself with three questions.



First Question: What’s the intent? Why is this story being told?



Some stories are playful. They invite humor, imagination, or connection. Milo’s wild ride in the snow lives here. No one was harmed or misled.



Some stories are protective, using humor as a shield or storytelling as a way to hold a boundary.



And some stories are manipulative. They seek advantage at another’s expense, meant to sell, control, inflame, extract, or deceive. Our world is full of these narratives, and with AI, they can be harder to spot.



Still, it’s worth remembering that AI doesn’t create intent. Humans bring intent to the tool.



Second Question: What’s the context? Where does this story live and with whom?



A fabricated image meant to delight is not the same as one used to distort consent, truth, or power.

Absurdity works on a playground or a stage. Metaphor belongs in art and education. Accuracy matters in medicine, courts, and aviation.



The same story can be harmless in one context and dangerous in another.

Right now, we’re living with massive context collapse.



When everything arrives on our screens looking equally important, information easily loses its framing, expertise, and relational cues. The answer isn’t to believe everything or to decide nothing can be trusted. 



Discernment asks us to strengthen our contextual literacy.



Third Question: Who holds the power? Who benefits if this is believed? Who is impacted but can’t be heard?



A joke between friends isn’t the same as a narrative imposed on a population. The real danger isn’t fabrication itself. It’s distortion amplified by imbalance.



I understand fear and anger as responses to this messy moment, especially as people worry about the impact of AI on artists, livelihoods, education, the environment, and more.

But fear collapses discernment and anger flattens nuance.

Both push humans toward extremes and give away agency faster than any technology ever could.



Discernment, by contrast, requires a calm nervous system and a willingness to pause.

It asks simple questions: What’s being claimed? Who’s speaking? In what context? And what is being asked of me as I take this in?



As a wise human, you’re capable of asking these questions and choosing your response, including the choice to wait when something isn’t clear.



As for outsourcing creativity, critical thinking, or personal agency, that’s a human decision, not a demand made by AI. So it’s important to think for yourself before handing over that task to AI.



AI is very good at analytical intelligence: pattern recognition, extrapolation, prediction, optimization. Humans participate in a different kind of intelligence when they aren’t overwhelmed or constantly narrating experience. This natural intelligence arises through presence, attunement, coherence, relationship, and timing.



AI works with explicit pattern memory. Humans participate in living systems rich with nuance and meaning.



AI is a tool, an interface, a resource. It is not a human, a guru, a friend, or a conscience.

You choose how to use it, or not. You don’t have to hand over your agency, creativity, or natural intelligence to use a powerful tool.



Smiling at a picture of my dog wildly sledding down a snowy hill doesn’t diminish your capacity to create art, learn something new, share kindness, commune with nature, or embody wisdom.



So with all the harmful intent that has always existed in human history, remember this: don’t abandon your intelligence, your creativity, your heart, or your capacity to choose.



Stay curious. Stay relational. Stay human. 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

When the world is scary and the future frightening, it is helpful to seek good news. “Tell me something good” is a phrase I’ve used at home and in my therapy practice. When I feel like the world is going to hell in a hand basket and I’m wanting reassurance that there are lots of good humans, creative ideas, and communities working together on solutions, I head to Reasons to Be Cheerful. Created by David Byrne of Talking Heads (Burning Down The House – how appropriate).  Check out The Year In Cheer – 97 Ways the World Got Better in 2025. Seeking good news will not only boost your wellbeing, it might inspire you to be a beneficial presence. 

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Name Brands

“I think we need to be friends.”

Those were the first words out of my mouth when I introduced myself to Rev. Hilda Covington. We’d just finished a county meeting of nonprofit mental health and social service agencies. She was the presenter that month.

We almost didn’t meet because Hilda arrived an hour and a half late to a two-hour meeting.

I later learned that Hilda moves through the world in her own time. That meeting was not the first she was late to, nor the last. But she lit up that room when she introduced her agency, SisterHood, or “Sisters in the Hood,” as the founders named themselves when they decided to serve the families in their neighborhood who were often overlooked or dismissed by traditional systems.

I was immediately taken by her light-hearted, warm-hearted, big-hearted way.

Having spent so many years with communities society loves to marginalize, I recognized a kindred spirit. I went up to thank her for her humorous and honest presentation, and those unexpected words just came out. I’m forever grateful they did.

Fast forward 27 years.

By now, I’ve learned to listen when something unexpected tumbles out of my mouth. Time and again, I’ve watched the Soul guide me into the right moment, the right person, the right doorway. You know how that works — the quiet nudge that opens a relationship that reshapes your life and deepens your understanding of yourself and the world.

Becoming friends with Hilda did exactly that.

We live very different lives. Our beliefs about the bigger picture diverge. Our thinking was shaped by very different worlds. Our ways of serving look similar on the outside but arise from distinct lineages and lived experience.

We speak an entirely different language.

I grew up with a felt sense of safety she never had access to. We were raised a generation apart, with differences in race, class, neighborhood, education, and economic stability.

These differences have paved the way for deep, often uncomfortable, always meaningful conversations.

My mother used to tell me a story from when we lived in Germany. I was a preschooler playing in a sandbox with a little girl who spoke an entirely different language. We chattered and played as if we understood every word.

Lunch with Hilda feels like that sandbox.

I walk in unsure what the conversation will bring — seeking her counsel, planning a project, or checking in about a neighborhood need — and I always end up on a winding path through delight, discomfort, insight, and truth.

She shows me the world I cannot see. I do the same for her.

Looking back, the hidden gem of that first encounter was discovering I can enter another’s world without defense.

With Hilda, I could bring both my knowledge and my ignorance.

I could let myself be disturbed without collapsing. I could grow beyond the ideas that once kept me small. I learned to listen past the familiar and allow my Soul to point toward the beliefs that needed to be uprooted.

To be fully accepted — and to offer that same acceptance — is a rare grace.

Despite all our differences, we share the same kind of heart. And thankfully, the same sense of humor. That lightness has carried us through years of challenges, tragedies, and triumphs in her community. It is often through her laughter that my eyes open just a little wider.

A few years ago, I called to wish her a happy birthday. Quarantine had kept us from our lunches, but she was still tending to her community and her flock. (Yes, she’s also a pastor.)

“Kathy! Your people collected so much food!”

Turns out it wasn’t my volunteer contact who told her about our Sidewalk Food Drive. It was the neighborhood.

“Pastor! Your friend delivered food. Name brands!”

I didn’t understand at first.

Hilda laughed and shared story after story about the excitement of receiving name-brand groceries — not the cheap knock-offs typically stocked in dollar stores or donated to poor families. Her joy carried an edge of truth that cut straight through me.

The inequity of our neighborhoods, our expectations, our lived experience landed in my body.

When our call was done, the tears came. Gratitude mixed with heartache.

Another glimpse into a world I don’t live in but care about deeply.

For 27 years, our Soul Sanctuary community has supported SisterHood families in countless ways. What started as a small intention — easing the financial burden of economically disadvantaged parents so they could have a little more room to breathe and be with their children — has rippled far beyond anything I imagined.

A bit of relief. A moment of peace. A chance to read, play, or talk together. Small shifts with long-term impact.

I could tell so many stories of how your generosity helped parents and soothed children, but those stories belong to them. What I can say is this:

When you show up for people, they become “your people.” Period.

Next week, my family will deliver a few car loads of toys and gifts to SisterHood volunteers for the Holiday Giving List — 450 children and teens this year.

My basement looks like the North Pole and an Amazon warehouse had a love child.

This Sunday (12/14), we’ll gather at Soul Sanctuary’s Holiday Open House and collect any last-minute gifts you feel called to offer.

Last week, my husband and I took Hilda and another SisterHood founder, Linda, out to celebrate Hilda’s 80th birthday. We laughed, reminisced, and honored the years of shared work, heartbreak, joy, and community.

So as we wrap up this year’s Holiday Gift Drive, please receive the gratitude of Hilda, the SisterHood volunteers, and the families whose lives you touch.

The greatest “brand name” you can offer another human being is to call them sister or brother — to recognize their belonging in your human family.

For every way you show up, in any neighborhood, for any people, in your own authentic way,

Thank you.

The world needs exactly what you bring.

Keep giving.

 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

“Recreational companionship” gives a boost to those on both the giving and receiving end. This phrase, coined by Willard F Harley Jr, PhD, combines two very important human needs: having fun and having someone to share it with. If you like rock climbing and your bestie enjoys knitting, you’re probably searching for a middle ground. Explore this concept with your family, friends, and colleagues. Find those activities which others also find intriguing, fun, or worth a try. Doing something interesting together can boost your sense of belonging, active the feel good chemicals, and create some lovely memories (and funny stories!). Communication, creativity, and a sense of adventure go a long way. Enjoy

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Uncertainty. A Traveling Companion

When standing at a crossroad in your life, it’s natural to seek answers.

To search for certainty about your next steps. To want assurance that the decision you are making will lead you in the right direction, with the best possible outcome.

So you think through the pros and cons. You talk with trusted people. You consider expert advice. You scroll the web and social media for guidance. Maybe you even check in with your own heart and soul.

And still, you can’t know exactly where this choice will lead you.

Eventually, after all the thinking and seeking, there comes a moment when it’s just you and this one guest that refuses to leave: Uncertainty.

The two of you sit quietly together, perhaps over a cup of tea.

You feel the mix of discomfort and excitement. The longing for clarity. The ache to know for sure that everything will work out beautifully.

But as you spend time with Uncertainty, something unexpected happens.

Your anxiety softens.
Your mind loosens its grip.
Your Heart begins to speak.

Quieter now, more spacious, you can hear the subtle conversation unfolding between your Heart and this mysterious companion.

They talk about the wonder of discovery and the potential for extraordinary growth.

Your Heart remembers the countless times you’ve navigated challenges with grace, strength, and grit.

Uncertainty gently reminds your Heart to trust itself completely.

Together, they soothe the body.

Worry loosens. New possibilities flicker. A different kind of courage rises.

Somehow, without trying, your Heart and Uncertainty become allies — fellow adventurers in this next chapter of your life.

And as the two of them finish their tea and begin packing for the journey ahead, your Heart notices an extra bag sitting nearby. It’s already packed and glowing softly.

“Who owns that bag?” your Heart asks.

“Oh, that one?” Uncertainty smiles.

“It’s for your Soul. Whenever you wander beyond the edge of the known, your Soul insists on coming along — offering its light, its wisdom, and its quiet reassurance.”

Your Heart relaxes, remembering the truth it keeps forgetting:  You never walk alone.

So you gather yourself.
Take a breath.
Feel your feet on the ground.

You may not know what this path will look like, but you trust your companions — Heart, Soul, and even Uncertainty. Especially Uncertainty.

With a little spark in your step, you begin.

Not because you know exactly where you’re going,
but because everything you need is already within you. 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

When life is hard or problems seem insurmountable, it’s a good time to play, dance, or just get your body pumping.  Giving your brain space to organize and seek a solution. Reducing stress hormones, boosting endorphins, sharpening memory, and jumpstarting creativity.  Especially in the midst of personal, social, and global disruption, play is more important than ever.  Grab your hoola hoop, take a jog with the dog, or dance in your kitchen.  Play will boost your mood and build resilience.

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The Art of Nourishment


Life has a rhythm. It speeds up and slows down according to mysterious forces.

Your personal rhythm dances with the celestial bodies, seasons of the year, developmental phases, and the pulse of your Soulful evolutionary process. Living in harmony with these rhythms is in many ways hard to understand as it is a complicated and deeply personal process.

Your rhythm dances with everyone’s rhythm in the grand Cosmic Dance.

There is a Way of living in harmony, ease, and joy. Yet, most people in society have lost their rhythm and, thus, the wisdom of how to flow harmoniously each day.

No one is to blame here. It’s a natural side effect of technological and societal progress.

Most of you are living in comfortable homes, commuting on well established roadways or railways or airways, purchasing food and clothing from big box stores, and having anything delivered (quickly) to your door. Electric lights, 9-5 work days, 24 hour connectivity, news accessible at your fingertips, and a polluted environment has disconnected you from nature and the natural rhythms.

All of this has you moving fast. Perhaps thinking fast. Feeling fast. Eating fast. Relating fast. Getting bored fast.

The requirements of living, working, playing, and achieving as fast paced humans leaves little time for noticing Life’s natural rhythms.

Let along moving in sync with them.

When you move at a fast pace or spend your slow times recovering with social media or streaming shows, you don’t perceive the information the Cosmos is offering you.

You miss the clues and invitations that support the cultivation of a vital life imbued with meaning and joy.

When you’re dancing in tune with Life’s rhythms, you recognize when to dream, create, and produce. And when to rest, receive, and rejuvenate.

Life holds all speeds and levels of intensity. You’ve experienced this continuum.

At times, you’re drinking out of a fire hose there is so much going on. Other times, you are floating down the lazy river without a care nor desire in the world. And all things in between.

When you’re consciously aware of the rhythm, you join in with awareness since you understand how to dance.

Yet, when you’re moving within the societal schedule of movement, production, and achievement (in every category of living), you’re typically out of sync with the natural rhythm. So times of intensity may be too stressful and slowness may leave you bored or uncomfortably feeling you should be doing something productive.

Imagine if you were so in tune with your own being as part of the Earthly and Cosmic ecosystem that you knew when to move or still.

You’d recognize when to dream in unison with your Soul, create from the fire in your belly, or slowly savor the beauty of everyday existence. You’d know when it is time to replenish a tired system, strengthen a personal relationship, or explore a new area of learning.

The clues or signposts Life always offers would be bright and easy to read so your path was clear, enjoyable, and, dare I say, magical.

How then do you return to noticing and living in sync with the Soulful intersection of your personal rhythm and that of Life? It requires deep nourishment, stepping off the mind numbing treadmill, and leaving the box of habitual living.

It begins with you and you can begin right now. One simple breath gets you through that doorway.

The Art of Nourishment (downloadable pdf) offers gentle guidance about how to reconnect with yourself, your Soul, and the rhythm of the natural world.

A practice of deep nourishment leads you back to yourself and the capacity to be present in the moment and in the environment you are residing in or moving through. With intent, youmay wee use the minutes, hours, days, or weekends to enhance your lived sense of realignment and rejuvenation.

Remember this important truth: you’re always wise, intuitive, and connected to the pulse of Life. You’re likely just too busy living a certain way to notice.

Society (and every expert) can always tell you how to behave and what is normal. Living that way is a rhythm buster for sure. Yet, what way of living is right for you? The wise one residing within knows this answer if you give her/him/them a chance to emerge.

Begin with 30 seconds or 1 minute. Practice building your nourishing attentiveness to yourself in the moment and environment you’re actually in. 5 minutes. 1 hour. 1 day. 1 weekend.

Imagine that. Small practices creatively applied throughout each day lead to a shedding mind numbing, body tiring, and Soul tightening habits. Awakening you to a spacious exploration of your interaction with self, other, time, place, dreams, and limits.

There is no set path, practice, or prescription that works magically for everyone.

A few key components such as slowing down, engaging curiosity, reconnecting with nature, inviting self enjoyment, communing with the Sacred, and exploring what feels good or right for you are important. Even these vary person by person or day by day for an individual.

Think of this as more of a game in the neighborhood than a goal oriented work task. Have fun. Explore something new.

Stepping out of habitual living and societal conditioning doesn’t mean you quit your job, miss your kid’s soccer games, or forget to feed your family.

Rather, it’s the embarking upon a free for all discovery of what brings you into a sense of vital aliveness, sense of wonder, deep peace, loving exchange, and enthusiasm for the moment however magical or mundane.

The Art of Nourishment (downloadable pdf) is a simple list of suggestions for when you have just a few moments or longer to explore where the practice of deep connection with self, others, nature, and Life Itself may lead you.

In time, you’ll begin to notice the synchronistic invitation to dance with what is meant for you.

As the song says, I hope you dance.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Your brain likes to meditate. Silent contemplation, or simply closing your eyes and breathing, activates neural pathways that support calm. These pathways underlie beneficial traits such as feeling present, grateful, and steady. With meditation you can deliberately stimulate that circuitry and bring such experience into awareness. Activating calm, steadfastness, and contentment within your body actually converts those experiences into lasting change in neural structure and function.

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Building Cathedrals

How’s your perspective these days? 



Especially in the midst of upheaval in this country, famine and war in the world, and an unbelievable swing toward hatred, greed, and cruel behavior. That is before you consider your everyday stress or the big challenges your and your loved ones may be facing.

When stress rises, perspective shrinks. 

It’s the brain’s natural response to survival signals.

You hyper focus on essentials like food, funds, work, and family (unless you’re ready to toss your family out the window, but that’s another story. Hang in.)

This contraction is understandable. Yet, the invitation is to remember to take a breath, soothe your system, and connect to the wisdom within and beyond you.

The Self Soothe System is free and available to assist you. Get that free resource here on my site here.


When your system is disorganized, harmony is unavailable. 

The Soul’s vision becomes cloudy. So the first move, always, is to harmonize. To come into coherence. Then you can see more, know more, and be more. This matters, not only for you, but for all of us in this interconnected family.

From this Soulful perspective, beautiful questions arise:

What am I learning? 

How may I grow, mature, evolve during this challenge?

What might I offer others without compromising my own wellbeing?

What is asking to be healed within me so I can transcend the smaller story of my life?

That last question – it’s a big one. In the midst of this turmoil, your patterns are likely activating.

Perhaps you may view your vulnerability as your Inner Healer trying to catch your attention. Once you’ve soothed the stress response, you’re more likely to become curious.

More Beautiful Questions arise:


What belief or pattern is creating this tension?

Do I want to carry it or is it ready to be released?

Am I carrying burdens that aren’t even mine? 

Am I still listening to that societal voice that tells me I have to hustle and achieve to be worthy (such a silly idea, but we’ve all been snookered)?

This moment is potent and rich with possibility.

So, do the work with yourself, a friend, a mentor, or a celestial ally.

You may be just fine right now as you read these words with a full belly, safe house, cell phone, and a few dollars in the bank. But, don’t miss this energetically charged moment because there’s something deeper waiting to be freed — something beautiful.

Recently I recalled receiving a strong perspective jolt (mini lightning strike) during the pandemic. (Remember that crisis and how we weathered it together?)

I had come across a youtube video of Andrea Bocelli’s Concert of Hope. In the isolation of quarantine, he stood before the massive Duomo Cathedral in Milan. 



Singing. Alone. To the world.

His voice carried across silence, through distance, across grief and hope. His open heart awakened hearts across the globe. Tears. Prayer. Awe. Beauty. Google it and you’ll see the image. 



Tiny human. Massive Cathedral.

Humans have built cathedrals to the Divine for millennia. Imagine it: a Soul envisions a Sacred monument. Artists, funders, and masons gather. Grandfathers, sons, grandsons labor generation after generation to honor something greater than themselves.

A cathedral was sparked by a simple person who was moved by a Divine impulse.

Infused with imagination and devotion, they gathered others to build something magnificent for others to inherit.

It humbles me every time every time I see a cathedral. A sense of majesty that unfurls when you widen your view.

When you open your heart to the mythic operating within the mundane. When you honor your vulnerability and your magnificence. Both together as one Sacred human journey.

When you let your Soul move you, everything changes.

Andrea Bocelli, a tiny human with a huge voice, offered hope his way. This is what generous beauty does. It wakes you up and returns your focus to what matters. It’s a good time to wake up to what deeply matters and ask the beautiful questions that lead you to offer your song to the world.

By the time you’re reading this, I’ve flown into Milan and traveled to the Temples of Humankind in Damanhur, Italy.

Here, I’m committed to listening to both my Soul and my stress. 



I’m going to walk amongst the builders of another epic cathedral buried deep within a mountain. Over 45 years ago, one idea sparked 70 people in the Damanhur community to create the inexplicable and make the impossible possible. I’ve walked in the Temples of Humankind which are dedicated to awakening the Divinity in all people and honoring every wisdom tradition. It’s extraordinary and inspiring. 



I’m grateful to bring the Q’ero shamans from Peru to Damanhur so they may add their magic, ceremony, vision, and love to the Temples, Crystal Labyrinth Project, and Damanhurian community.

I’ll walk in silence upon and within that place of power so that I may listen and perceive the mythic story that wants to birth through me.

Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, I’m committed to building cathedrals, not walls. I hope you join me in that idea, however you do it.

And a reminder. Breathe and soothe your system when life gets inexplicable and overwhelming.

If you need support, ask for it. Reach out to me, to someone. Don’t go it alone. Not now. The world needs harmonized people in tune with their inner wisdom and open to the Divine Spark that may launch a simple action or a magnificent project.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Have you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It puts generational cathedral building in perspective. Story style. What are you creating for your great, great grandchildren?  Just a thought. I’m full of ideas. Perhaps we’ll build together. 

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Conscious Living. Sacred Dying.

There are conversations you may instinctively avoid. Death. Dying. The journey beyond are among them.

The final exhale. The closing of the body. The long walk home. The next place of being. In many ancient traditions, this is not an ending, but a sacred passage—a birth into new realms of being. Yet here, in this fast-moving world, death often remains veiled in silence, wrapped in fear, and avoided in conversation.

Yet what if these were not endings to fear, but sacred thresholds for you to consciously walk?

What if the mystery that awaits you was approached with the same reverence you might offer to birth?


What if you could soften the edges of this inevitable passage—through understanding, preparation, and relationship with the luminous beings who accompany you?

This September, Soul Sanctuary welcomes Gene Ang back for a profound weekend immersion: Death, Dying & the Afterlife Training (September 6–8, 2025, in person and on Zoom).

Gene is a rare teacher.

With decades spent exploring the landscapes of consciousness, he weaves together shamanic traditions, mystical frameworks, and meditative practices into something deeply grounded and profoundly transformative. His teachings offer you a compassionate space to explore your relationship with dying—not as a final collapse, but as an initiatory passage into a greater reality.

This is not a weekend of theory.

This is a weekend of initiation—a call to live awake, to meet the unfathomable with reverence, and to remember that you are always accompanied by grace.

During this training, Gene offers you an invitation (with plenty of support) to explore death consciously, your own and that of those you love, so you may release the silence and fear that often surround death.

He offers practical and energetic tools with meditations, journeys, and spiritual structures that prepare your soul for its next great adventure.

You’ll sit in council with life and death. You’ll lift the veil, prepare for the most profound of crossings—consciously, courageously, and with grace.

Gene will guide your meetings with the unseen allies, angelic presences and luminous guides, who walk with you between the worlds. You’ll learn to journey beyond the body and explore the bardos, the in-between states mapped by spiritual and shamanic traditions. You’ll learn how to soothe both heart and mind, using meditations and energetic practices to bring comfort—to yourself, to loved ones, or to any soul in need of compassionate guidance. And discover how to assist transitioning souls through the sacred practice of Soul conduction.

And in doing this work, you’ll discover a paradoxical gift.

That in preparing for death, you begin to live more fully. You walk the earth lighter, more present, rooted in love.

This training is for you if you feel called to meet death with clarity and courage. Whether you are an elder, caregiver, nurse, hospice worker, or simply a soul ready to transform fear into reverence, you are welcome.

You do this work not only to prepare for death, yours or another’s, but to live more fully now. To hold your life, and all lives, with tenderness as you walk this world with deeper trust—knowing you are held, even as you prepare to cross into what comes next.

What if preparing for death is the most radical way to live?


You soften to mystery. You listen more deeply. You walk more tenderly.
Life becomes luminous when you realize it is not forever.

Come with an open heart. Come ready to explore, to remember, to live more fully, more consciously, more connected.

All details and registration may be found on my Workshop Page. 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

The final breath is not an end, but a return. A sacred passage into the arms of the Infinite. Can you imagine meeting it with peace? With grace?

You are not alone when you cross the threshold. Ever. Angelic allies, spirit guides, and luminous presences walk with you.
There is light on both sides of the veil.Facing death doesn’t take life away—it gives it back. When you walk consciously with the Mystery,
every moment becomes sacred.

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I Am A Dog

I was playing the game “Headbands” with my dog the other day.

You may have played the game with your kids. You choose a card with an image and statement “I am a …..”. Sticking it upon your ‘headband’ facing others, your playmates offer clues and you have to guess what you are in the moment.

Playing board games and interactive games like charades are good fun.


They engage humans without screens, encourage positive social interaction, activate the creative brain, and produce feel good chemicals via lots of laughter.

Given my kid has flown the coop, we hoodwinked our dog to play a rousing game of Headbands with us. We even let Milo choose the first card, but he seemed to have a hard time guessing what his card said. 

Australian Shepards are supposed to be smart, so I wasn’t sure why he was having such a hard time.

He played the game well as he sought clues in the yes/no answers to his questions.  “Am I an animal?  Do I have four legs?  Do I chase balls?  Do I  live with a great family?”  Yet he couldn’t seem to grasp the correct answer … “I am a dog.”  I thought maybe he was losing his mojo. 

Then he looked at me with that all knowing gaze and I finally got it.  He was beyond smart. 

He was wise. Playing the game while knowing the whole time it was a "game."

So when he asked me the next question “Am I the infinite, interconnected, harmonious flow of energy that many call LOVE also know as the fabric of the Universe?”  I simply said yes.

We stopped playing the game at that point. 

Instead we walked outside marveling at the how the natural world was waking up in unison as if it knew exactly what to do and how to do it.  I had plenty of time to notice the sights, smells, colors, and surprises as he frequently stopped to “smell the roses” and water everything else.  It was really more of a meander than a walk. I recognized that I experienced more of nature’s gifts with him than walking on my own.  So wise, this D-O-G. 

Sometimes he surprises me. Like the day he taught me that sweet treats are to be shared.

I thought my frozen yogurt was safe in the middle of the coffee table, yet I forgot how quickly those paws could jump up. My miss was his reward as he enjoyed the top half of my dessert. When I suggested his behavior was unappreciated, Milo gave me the side eye and wandered off to enjoy his sugar crash in his comfy cabin.

I also appreciate how Milo demonstrates how to Be in the Now. 

Eckhart Tolle has nothing on him when I walk in the door to be greeted as if I appeared out of thin air.  What a celebration of the miracle of “walking in” to a new scene … a new moment.  The energy is contagious and I totally understand why dogs wag their tails and people spontaneously speak that sing song voice offered to babies and pets.  When I return to the car to get my last bag and return 15 seconds later to the same response, I don’t know whether to value the ability to be truly and delightfully present or check for dementia. 
 
Just when I think I know something, Milo reminds me that not everything is as it seems. 

Like when he quizzes me on the nature of reality with questions like “what is real?” and “who am I really?”  I just never know what “game” he will come up with next. After our rousing game of Headbands, Milo suggested I meditate upon the nature of anagrams. Hmmmm. D-O-G. That explains a lot.

One thing I know for sure, I have a lot to learn from that wise being I thought was a dog. 

 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Turn off those screens. Game playing as a family enhances wellbeing and the potential for creative navigation through life. Game playing indoors or racing around for a hilarious game of hide and seek develops “soft skills” which improve social navigation, creative problem solving, and working together as a team. Collaboration, delayed gratification, emotional intelligence, and ingenuity are only some of these soft skills which support success in formal education and workplaces. As the brain has the potential to change and grow through the lifespan, game playing which includes enthusiasm, learning new skills, creativity, and laughter are good medicine.

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How to Keep your Heart Open

These past months have been filled with confusion, anger, and fear for many in this country.

Witnessing deportations without due process, assaults on the courts and universities, flip flopping tariffs, and military action have shaken the foundational sense of safety and justice for many Americans.

I’ve been listening to you and engaging in many conversations about how to live in balance during these times.

When the world seems hostile, disrespectful, and unsafe, it’s a really good time is to explore how to navigate with sturdiness, skill, and soul. 

Soul first.

What’s the highest ideal that guides you? Perhaps love, compassion, generosity, or kind understanding? Whatever has guided you thus far is important in this moment of history. The challenge is how you apply that ideal in a practical manner through your energy, thoughts, words, and deeds.

When you’re hair’s on fire or you’re shaking under the covers, it might be a challenge to view people or situations who trigger you with compassion. That’s understandable. 

So body next.

Remember how important it is to breathe. Deep, slow breaths. Long exhales to calm the nervous system. Square breathing. However you choose to practice breathing will be helpful.

Soothing your nervous system with the power of HeartBreathing brings you into greater organization. This means you’ve got full access to the wisdom of your brains (gut, heart, head). Allowing you to return to a centered, calm state to determine how to proceed. This supports emotional regulation so you can tolerate what you’re facing. [The Self Soothe Strategy guides you through this.]

Where’s your mind focusing?

If you’re reactive to the many media news streams (including your inner dialogue or friend’s opinion), it’s easy to get distracted and dysregulated. Frustration and fear love a reactive mind. So does the opposition or whomever you’re getting all riled up with.  

When your mind-body is organized, it’s easier to choose your focus. The intent to do your best as you move through the day with an open heart and strong self care supports your potential to bring compassion, generosity, or love to your interactions. 

Connection. Communication. CommUnity.

Look to those who bring comfort and feel sturdy to you. Connect with others who can engage in conversations that explore without demonizing. Support one another with care and consideration as you process your feelings or concerns. 

If you’re in a family, friend group, or work space where folks think very differently than you or are reactive, it might not be the best place to explore your differences. However, when you’re able to have an honest conversation with those who view situations differently than you, seek to understand them.

Bridging divides in perception, opinion, or lifestyle requires openness and a true desire to put yourself in another’s place. 

Do your best to become peaceful in your mind, body, and emotions. So your interactions throughout the day broadcast peace. Explore where acceptance, understanding, generosity, and forgiveness may be responses that support, empower, and heal. What you choose to share in today’s unrest really matters in everyday interactions. Don’t underestimate the impact of small ripples. Just make a lot of the positive kind all day long.

As the country becomes polarized, seek to keep your mind and heart open.

How do you keep your heart open in hell?

Here’s some advice from a wise man in tune and in balance with feminine wisdom.

I receive succor in this higher understanding of how to be in a world that holds so much pain, destruction, and beauty. 

This may help you explore how to live in the world and keep your heart open. To choose to be spiritually focused without losing touch with your humanity. Herein lies guidance for action that is balanced, coming from a perspective that there is harmony to the implicate and explicate order of the universe. And your experience within it. 

I discovered the wisdom of Ram Dass after he passed. 

I’ve learned a lot from the documentaries about his life and his talks. He offers a richness packed into a few minutes or hours that often left me more willing to live in this beautiful, horrible world with a heart that stays open.

Plus, I like how he talks like a calm, happy hippie. Words like “far out, cool, and groovy” bring me back to my high school days.

Ram Dass taught about courage, how to sit with pain and grief, encouraging an experience of hope within despair, and offered an invitation to face death consciously. He demonstrated what a heart wide open looks like in a person who is clearly human. 

Imagine a country filled with hearts that want to stay open. 

No matter what side of any situation you find yourself on, I wonder if you could begin with calming your body and opening your heart and mind. Every choice, every ripple matters. 

You’ll find the link to Ram Dass’ talk in the HeartWarming News below.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Ram Dass’ talk led me to a creative, cool resource: the After Skool channel on youtube. I found some of my favorite teachers there. Listening to their voices while the concepts were illustrated artfully. It’s a visual delight. The intent of this channel is to empower individuals to shift their inner world with artistic presentations of profound thinkers. The idea that the world changes when your internal world changes is not new. It IS empowering and shared by mystics, physicists, and medicine men and women. Here’s the link for How to Keep your Heart Open in Hell by Ram Dass. Next up for me? Allan Watts. He probably says groovy too.

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Awaken Your Inner Healer with the Emotion Code

Stress is a natural experience in life. It’s often viewed as a doorway to disruption of wellbeing, peace of mind, and a clear navigational path in a challenging situation.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Working as a psychologist with thousands of people over the past 40 years, I’ve learned that the relationship with stress is complex. What seems supremely stressful to one person may be a walk in the park for another.

Some folks court stress as a way of life, while others seek to minimize its influence.

So much of how you relate to life’s stressors depends upon what you’ve experienced, what skills you’ve been taught, what strengths or vulnerabilities were modeled, what help was withheld from you, how you’ve sought to learn from challenge, what strategies you’ve developed, your natural temperament, and how resilient you are in the face of tumult. There’s more to it, but you get the gist.

Some folks view stress simply as that which elicits the fight or flight response. Sure, it may do that, but there is more to it than that. (Read my Self Soothe Strategy Playbook for more on that topic).

Living in the current state of the world is challenging everyone these days.

I’m sure you can easily tell me the top 3 stressors of your current reality.

Take a moment and make that list. What are the top three stressors of your life at this time? 1-2-3.

Being human requires a flexible array of skills so you can navigate life with sturdiness. As I witness what’s happening in the United States and tracking what is happening around the world, I see, feel, and hear the rising tension. Like an unseasonably high tide, it is threatening to drown some while leaving others afloat in an uncertain sea.

So now is an excellent time to master skills which will help you navigate whatever uncertainty you and those around you are experiencing. I know a lot of skills that are useful and want to simplify things, so let’s start with one focus.

I’m really interested in helping you rapidly lower tension in your body, mind, emotions, and energy field.

The less tension you store, the freer you are to think, act, relate, and navigate in harmony. No matter the storm.

I use a lot of Energy Psychology techniques and modalities in my healing practice and daily life. I’m extremely interested in ways to translate more complex clinical practice into easy to use, self treatment techniques. So you can “treat” the rising tension efficiently and effectively as soon as it is noticed in every day life.

Given that the world is changing and collective stress is increasing with no resolution in site, I believe you need to become even more skilled at managing tension than you are right now.

That’s saying something as I’m sure you have skills a plenty, yet these are indeed challenging times.

I also believe you have an intelligent, integrated body-mind-emotion-energy system which, when working effectively, can support self-healing. You’re already primed for self-healing.

The Emotion Code is an Energy Psychology modality created by Bradley Nelson, DC.

It’s well known by many and is intended to rapidly clear the energy that is interfering with the flow of your vital life force. Why is that so important? Your vital life force, and how it flows through your physical-mental-emotional system, is integral to your health and wellbeing at all levels.

I’m offering two opportunities to explore The Emotion Code and how you may apply this for your own self-treatment.

I’ll offer a brief overview of The Emotion Code and a group energy healing session during my Virtual Salon on ZOOM on Tuesday, April 29th, 7 – 9pm ET.

Whether you are new to or deeply familiar with The Emotion Code, you’ll enjoy the benefits immediately during the group session. I’ll be exploring basic information about stress, energy psychology, the interrelated mind-body-emotion-energy system, and influential factors in storing tension (eg, emotions, beliefs, energy habits, wounding). I’ll introduce The Emotion Code as a modality and demonstrate its use with a group healing session. You’ll determine how that works for you.

Next I’m offering Self-Healing with The Emotion Code as a two week mentoring group on ZOOM, May 6th and 13th, 7 – 9:30pm ET.

I’ll be covering a lot of ground in a simple and practical way so that you can use The Emotion Code for yourself, with family members, and your pets. Here’s the deal. It is a mentoring group, not a practitioner training. It requires you purchase The Emotion Code book or audio book from your favorite bookseller. Bradley Nelson wrote this book to teach you how to use The Emotion Code for yourself and your family. I’ll be reviewing some basic aspects of the book and the process so that you understand the theory and rationale behind The Emotion Code (and Energy Psychology). You’ll get some practice with muscle testing, identify how to run a self-treatment session, and get some practice.

You’ll have a week to explore this for yourself and come back with more practice and an opportunity to clarify your questions.

After the two weeks (or three if you join the Virtual Salon), you can dive more deeply into the book and practice sessions with yourself. Once confident, you’ll share this with family members who are interested. I’m adding in a bit about treating pets and you’ll know why when we meet. Remember, this isn’t a practitioner training so you aren’t offering this professionally to any one. If you want to add this to your practice or start a healing practice using The Emotion Code, let me know and I’ll guide you to the training.

I’m committed to sharing Energy Psychology methods for self-treatment that build upon a basic foundational knowledge of why they matter, how they work, and when you can apply them for yourself.

If you’re feeling stress and want to learn how to lower tension (past and present), join me to explore how The Emotion Code may support you.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

The Greater Good Science Center at Cal Berkley has been exploring how to bridge differences since 2018. They ask some valuable questions. “Does “bridging differences” mean that we paper over social injustice in pursuit of social harmony? Does it require us to sacrifice our ideals in order to always find common ground with others? Or to accommodate views or behavior that we find abhorrent?” They have discovered a lot in all these years. Go explore.

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Willing to Broaden your Perspective?

I’m a bit of a news hound these days.

As one who hasn’t watched a newscast in years, I’m surprising myself. Ordinarily, I wait for the news to come to me. And it does. When something is important for me to know or respond to, I hear about it. Kind friends, clients, my husband, or a random stranger share a soundbite which cues me to look into a situation further. I’ve been very comfortable with this level of engagement for years now.

I’m not one to drift on social media. In fact, I’ve spent less time on all platforms than anyone I know.

I made a decision years ago to “pull” data rather than have it “pushed” to me. So, no notifications, no newsfeed, and under 15 email subscriptions. The result is that I feel freer to meander through the informational streams of life. Those delivered through people, the natural world, my inner musings, and a direct connection to something wiser and brighter than myself.

That all changed a few weeks ago when I was lured down the rabbit hole.

It began innocently enough. I was telling a friend about something on youtube and pulled it up to send to her. When I hung up the phone, I noticed the next video was a monologue from a late night host. I watched it and laughed through my discomfort of what he was sharing. Funny and clever, I liked his delivery so I returned the following day for more “news.”

I now see that was my point of entry to a much deeper exploration.

Youtube has the power to suck you in and drag you through all things relevant and wasteful. I get that it is a gateway drug to social media addiction, as well as a free source of inspiration and entertainment. Did I mention time wasting? That, too, as I’m sure you’ve experienced regardless of wherever you travel through the digital world.

Following my morning “monologue,” I found an enticing talk and figured I had 13 minutes to become educated.

It was helpful. I agreed with some of what I heard, learned something new, didn’t understand a few references, and was mildly aware that this presentation was built on a larger foundation of belief and perspective about the world at large. So, I dove deeper within that organization’s video series. And deeper. And deeper.

I’m uncomfortable as hell.

I’m so uncomfortable, I want to put my phone down, grab a novel, and sink into my happy place. As life would have it, I couldn’t seem to get into the book I was reading. In fact, I returned it to the library. That was new because I read fiction every morning and evening and always finish my book. Reading fiction is oxygen to me and a very well engrained habit. So, I was quite surprised when I gave up on 6 books in a row. This was unheard of in the history of my reading habit which began in earnest in 5th grade.

I know it is no coincidence that I was guided to my nonfiction book pile as I was also leapfrogging right and left through commentaries and reports on what was happening in the world.

When reading nonfiction, I typically read 3-4 books at one time. Gaining a bit of information from each source and letting it settle so I may integrate the knowledge in my everyday life. It’s a bit like a puzzle as the pieces from various sources coalesce into a larger picture, often leading to an expansion in my world view. I saw how my puzzle process was now including the written word, online articles, videos, and podcasts.

I’m bingeing a wide array of topics and perspectives about what is most important, solutions for making the world “work,” and why the author feels their position is correct.

Being uncomfortable and staying the course is a choice. In realizing there is a whole world that thinks differently than me and my “likeminded” community, family, and friends, I wanted to understand how to be in that world too. I can’t imagine being a part of one human “family” if I don’t understand how my “family members” think, feel, and act.

So, I’m diving deeply into perspectives that are very different than my own.

I’m learning that I know very little. I’m witnessing a true desire to listen so I may understand. And I’m choosing to remain in discomfort rather than defend, judge, or turn away.

I have a great capacity to be uncomfortable.

Practically, I’ve explored discomfort in the complex process of growing up human. Expanded it in my work as a psychologist. Allowed discomfort as my spiritual exploration exploded my system of meaning again and again. A few times a week, I breathe peacefully and still my mind while holding a pose in yin yoga that is physically uncomfortable. So, yes, I am willing to be uncomfortable.

I don’t know any other way to bridge human differences than to first seek to understand. And then learn how to stay open amidst discomfort (even perceived threat) to explore a dialogue which holds the possibility of coming together.

As a human race, we’re just so divided. In my country, this division reigns supreme.
The deeper I dive, the less able I’m able to say I’m from the United States. Perhaps this is not news to you, but these Divided States of America seem to be growing further apart than ever. It disturbs me, but that is not new. I’ve been disturbed since grade school by the way humans often treat one another.

So, I’m sliding right and left these days. Leaving the familiar and entering the incomprehensible. Only to learn there might be something to that thinking, as limited or harmful as it seems on the surface.

I’m not in charge of global decision making and don’t need to express an expert opinion for any news organization. I’ll never grasp the complexity of what I’m journeying through, yet I feel as if this exploration is only just beginning. It’s interesting, when exploring positions that land far from my own, to discover shared ideals and ideas mixed within viewpoints and recommended actions that make me shudder. I’m learning to keep listening through that shudder.

I encourage you to grow your “window of tolerance.” To explore a topic that is unfamiliar, listen to a position that you reject, or dare head into a news source that is far across the aisle.

It’s important to stay calm in the face of turbulence. You know that. And it is a skill that we humans clearly need to develop.

If you want to dip your toe in the political morass, try a different news media outlet than you’re used to. All sides are funded by someone as the media is a great profit generator and influencer. Knowing that, enter the game gently. If you’re not sure where things land, just Google AllSides Media Bias Chart. It tells you where your comfort zone is and which way you may be leaning in your news consumption. If news isn’t your thing, find a new podcast or wander the book store for an unfamiliar nonfiction author with a perspective different from your own.

Everyone sees the world through their unique perception. Remember that.

With a deep desire for belonging, humans group together in the most comfortable way possible. This naturally creates the “other.” So you gain comfort, but lose the opportunity to expand understanding of what being human means in the broader sense.

One caveat. Skip this invitation if you’re in the midst of great upheaval in your life or feeling afraid, unskilled, and overwhelmed. Care well for yourself and reach for those in your comfort zone to help you achieve that task.

Above all, thanks for listening.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

The Greater Good Science Center at Cal Berkley has been exploring how to bridge differences since 2018. They ask some valuable questions. “Does “bridging differences” mean that we paper over social injustice in pursuit of social harmony? Does it require us to sacrifice our ideals in order to always find common ground with others? Or to accommodate views or behavior that we find abhorrent?” They have discovered a lot in all these years. Go explore.