“Anger is an integrity-protecting response to the invasion of your personal boundaries. It is “no” to a wrong, a violation. It draws lines and throws up barricades. Proper anger cuts like a knife through water. It is quick, clear, needs no explanation. There’s nothing cleaner, more effective than appropriate anger. Authentic anger is specific and justified, and it’s direct expression exposes impropriety and defends integrity in a way that benefits everyone.”  I grew up in a home where we expressed our anger VERY openly. As I moved deeper in to the yoga world I began to think that our biting truth, our raised voices and body language were problematic aspects of my childhood. For a few years, especially when I moved to cbd shop California (from New York/New Jersey) I really tried to hold my tongue and refine my speech as people seemed generally offended by me. Even with this […]

“Fear properly channeled yields wide-awake engagement….”Fear is a vitally useful emotion. It places you on alert, catalyzes your senses and heightens your awareness in the face of danger. Fear is your friend, your radar for your voyage through life. It is a basic instinct of human survival — physical, psychological, spiritual. We need to have an acute sense of what threatens our well-being. Fear teaches us to pay attention to what’s going on, and a well-honed sense of fear allows us to maintain dynamic equilibrium in an inevitably unpredictable world.” -Gabrielle Roth, Maps to Ecstasy.I find it unhealthy when people completely negate fear and reduce it to only a negative force. To completely deny and disregard this very real aspect of human nature is to turn away from the divine–as every aspect of who we are is a tool for our awakening. Gabrielle goes on to address what happens when […]

“Feelings are neither positive nor negative; they simply are elemental forces in our life energy with their own vibration and functions. They are essential to our health and well-being. Essentially, fear protects, anger defends, sadness releases, joy uplifts, compassion unites. Fear is close to the surface of ourself, anger is rather deeper, sadness and joy are progessively interior, and compassion emanates from our profound center. Each is a level and a vibration of energy that needs to flow freely for us to really be engaged in the present.” I’ve been immersing myself in Gabrielle Roth’s book Maps To Ecstasy and it’s such a beautiful spiritual teacher. The chapter about The Power of Loving unpacks 5 emotions as a way to a spiritually awakened heart. The quote above is from her book, as is the one below. I highly recommend! “…To achieve this we have to let our emotions surface, get […]

These words came through me after one of the most powerful moon cycles I’ve experience in a long time. December 21, 2014-January 20, 2015 I was Taken… This cycle I was taken by Life. The exquisite beauty of connection, the devastating fear of loss. This cycle I was taken with Presence, It turned me on. It scared the shit out of me.  This cycle I was taken with Myself. I can understand nothing if I cannot remember myself.  This cycle I was taken with Beauty. It brought me down to my knees This cycle I was taken with Self-hatred, I love myself now more than ever.  This cycle I was taken by the Light. It can blind me with it’s potential This cycle I was taken with Commitment. I am humbled by its wisdom and grace. This cycle I was taken by Life. This cycle I was taken by Love.