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Thoughts & Ramblings

Stress. What Can We Do About It?
June 10, 2020

Do you remember the memes about this being THE year for seeing clearly . . . a not so subtle play on the idea of 20/20 vision? While many of us have been following stay-at-home edicts from our state and local leaders in the face of this pandemic, this is [...]

Finding Peace in the Midst of Chaos
January 28, 2018

Do you ever wish that you could stop the world and climb off . . . if only for a minute? Just long enough to catch your breath and regain your center? Most of us willingly acknowledge that our world seems to be getting a bit crazier, a bit more [...]

The Gift of Mindfulness
November 10, 2017

Now that visions of ghoulish, ghostly & fantastical creatures, witches, warlocks, Superman and Wonder Woman are behind us for another year, you’ve likely begun thinking about the holidays that consume our attention for the remainder of the year. As the end-of-year holiday season approaches, how do you feel? For many, [...]

Living In a World of Possibility . . .
August 1, 2017

First in a Series on Possibility Lina Landess You’ve tried everything you know to do, but you still can’t shake the hurt, the pain, the self-doubt, the anger, the fear. And yet, you want to. More than anything . . . The truth is, you can. “But how?” you wonder. [...]

Freedom from Stress . . . Yours for the taking!
June 29, 2017

Is stress getting the better of you? According to the experts at the Statistic Brain Research Institute, American Institute of Stress, NYStatistic Brain, here are some numbers, disturbing as they may be, that confirm that you’re not alone: Percent of people who regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress 77 % [...]

Handling Upset
April 12, 2017

How do you handle upset? When things don’t go your way, what do you do? Do you strike out, or can you accept? Do you react or do you respond? Just this morning, I found myself in a situation where I had to choose whether to get upset and react, or [...]

Today. Of all days.
March 14, 2017

Why not today, she asked? Today is a Tuesday, as good as any other day. The sun is intermittently shining her light through the clouds. It’s just noon. A good time for a change. A good time. For anything, really. I’ve been adrift. This past week I’ve been kind of [...]

Heavy on my Heart
January 29, 2017

I had planned to attend a Unity service today, but felt a strong need to share my thoughts, my concerns and what is in my heart. I heard this term, ‘Heavy on my heart,’ not too long ago; a phrase perhaps indicative of my current geographical location in the southeast [...]

5 Pieces of Good News You Probably Didn’t See!
December 21, 2016

With only 10 or so days left in 2016, I thought I’d share with you some of the history-making news of the year that you might not have heard or seen. Some of the historical events have been hysterical while others help prove that our better angels are still present [...]

Meeting the New Year With Grace
December 21, 2016

What a fascinating, hopeful and challenging year it has been. From the worldwide outpouring of support for the Water Protectors in North Dakota to a political season unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes, we hover on the precipice of a new year. No matter where we stand on [...]

Beyond Our Knowing
November 1, 2016

(I wrote this blog before the 2016 presidential election, but it is still relevant.) Much has been written about this drawn-out election season and many of the issues that have come up during it. While many of us have been shocked by the vitriol and misogynistic comments on the part of [...]

Creating Community
September 15, 2016

During last weekend’s National Folk Festival thousands of people traveled the world without leaving the U.S. The event in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, was a beautiful expression of how strangers; people who have no connection other than sharing a street, a laugh, or a song, can come together and create a sense of [...]

The Kindness of Strangers
March 27, 2016

Hola! I’d like to shift the focus of my blog this time, and share my experiences in a somewhat more personal, less travelogue-y vein than I have before. (Before I leave, I’ll jump back into travelogue mode with lots of photos!) The reason for this shift right now? I’ve come across [...]

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From the Banks of the Sacred Ganges to the Coast of Australia
February 25, 2016

What a difference a day — in this case, a 14-hour flight and a 6-hour layover — makes. I left Coimbatore, South India, and climbed aboard a flight to Sydney, NSW, Australia on September 3, 2015 in the wee hours of the morning. Swamini Pramananda (Ammaji) and I had returned [...]

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India, Part 3
February 10, 2016

Namaste . . . and welcome back! This post details a little more about the Ganga Dasahara celebration and the amazing happenings I witnessed there. Some of it was challenging for my western mind, so I won’t be at all surprised if you, too, are a bit skeptical. I wouldn’t have [...]

India, Part 2
February 1, 2016

As anyone who has ever visited India will tell you, any attempt to describe their experience can only serve as a second-hand view. India must be experienced first hand to be believed. Having said that, I will try to share my experience in the hope that you will forgive my inability [...]

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India, Part I
January 24, 2016

Almost six months to the day I left, I gratefully found myself back in the U.S. Now, as I sit in the warmth of a friends’ charming little apartment in Roanoke, Virginia, with a view of snow covered roofs and the homey sight of woodsmoke pouring from chimneys, I find myself [...]

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South America? Here I Come!
January 16, 2016

One month from today I will fly to Ecuador! I’ll land in Guayaquil (pronounced why-a-kill) and from there take a van to Cuenca, a 2.5 to 3 hour drive through the mountains. Friends have told me that riding through the mountains at night is where the adventure begins. (They have obviously [...]