I Am a Mother Mountain Written in 1992 and revised in 2026 A simple photograph can feel like an explosion of my senses Catapulting me back 60 plus years Causing a reflection of my life from the lens of a bird looking at the whys and hows of my circumstances.   I have to ask why we suffer? I have to ask why it’s necessary for hurt others? I have to ask.   And yet here the adult stands having survived the abuse. The adult has laughed and cried. The adult has celebrated and wept

Our Breath is Our Bridge It is astonishing how my wounded child influences my behaviors and actions that have curtailed my comfort, my sense of peace and my sense of wellbeing.   Part of my trauma-based therapy has invited me to visualize a safe environment. I build this environment with my imagination that supports me, eases me into a relaxing surrender.   With awareness, I breathe in and I slowly breathe out I relax into my comforting breath.   This is a meditation about co

Coming Home If I could stand in the street and wait, wait for anyone to come up to me and ask what is the meaning of their life, I would say to them, the meaning of your life is that you matter. You matter in this world. Your presence is important. I see you. You belong here. You belong. Healing happens. If I stay in my corner of the world and continue to ask why trauma happened to me, my inner child can’t find answers.  If I place my inner, loving adult next to me, my questi

NO MORE OTHERING The story of my past holds so much trauma that it blurs my present.  I feel I have been swimming upstream against the force of life. I have always been in the passenger seat, not at the wheel, feeling misaligned reacting to injustice, and suffering. It is also an irony that I have felt so stifled while my body grew into maturity ultimately whole and complete. Yet inside, my wounded child is hiding, reacting, and struggling. As I undergo trauma-based therapy,

BREATHE Each one of us is working hard in our lives to find little successes and these successes help us find some solace during these challenging times. Every day I cultivate something inspiration to help me stay sane and some days are much harder than others.   I wanted to share these words by Matt Kahn on Emotional Fitness.  We are our own advocates. I stand up to take care of me. I invite you to use your good advocating skills for you.   EMOTIONAL FITNESS Excerpted from M

One Day at a Time This is a poem I heard at my Unitarian Universalist Church in Medfield a few weeks ago. It really spoke to me when I heard it. I've lived most of my life by living one day at a time, and it helps to be reminded of what that means. When things aren't going well, it's good to focus on today and not on what one is worrying about. -- Thea Iberall Start where you stand Start where you stand and never mind the past, The past won't help you in beginning new, If you

Big Love I made the decision to take the word “frustrated” out of my language. Frustrated feels hopeless, and I don’t want to feel hopeless in my inside or outside world. Hope helps me feel better. Hope gives me a reason to wake up in the morning, even on mornings when I have had very little sleep. Hope holds creativity and the good smell of something I just baked, and finding order in a chaotic room. Instead, I am using the word “challenged.” To be challenged means I will fi

LIFE IS NOT MY FAULT! I made the hard decision to begin trauma-based therapy four weeks ago. The pot is stirred and life feels like a field of land mines. I am okay, if I take time to remember to grant myself space to recover after sessions and remember one moment at a time. I am accountable to my decisions and take action for change. I have had enough physical pain in my life that I claimed “enough”. Life pissed me off a long time ago and I got angry but didn’t know what to

Surrendering It takes a lot of courage to live in this world. We walk this earth together. There is a reason why we suffer. There is a reason why we experience triggers. There is a reason why we fear. There is a reason why we love. There is a reason why we struggle. There is a reason why we doubt. There is a reason why we witness suffering There is a reason why we lose ourselves. Our souls seek wholeness with our humanness And what better way to seek this merger is through ex

My Inner Sanctum on this Solstice   I often share my belief in silence. I preface my explanation by saying I am a meditation teacher, but not really. Sitting in silence cannot be defined by meditation. It is more a practice of sitting in my own energy while listening and trusting in silence.   Sometimes the practice of sitting in my power leads to tears and anxiety, a distraction of my ego to keep me small in a familiar place buying into the illusion of my smallness. And alwa

We Breathe We live in unusual times. The world is amidst transcendent change, and like a fish, we can’t yet see beyond the water we reside in because we’re still surviving the storm.  Roots buried in complacency are shaken loose. People are dying. People are surviving. Hearts break open as a global movement of awakenings of massive proportions takes place.   It’s exciting and terrifying. We feel helpless and find power in presence. We react in stunned silence and thankfully o

I See Me I manage my fear. I manage PTSD from years of fear. I walk through fear and there is still more. An inside voice feeds me worries that build into mountains and I become immobilized. I am unsafe with myself. Sitting in silence has helped me uncover this hidden presence always reminding me. Life is hard when I am unsafe. Nothing feels doable. Nothing feels manageable. I have uncovered limitation after limitation as I slow down and listen. The difference between my inne

BE KIND TO YOURSELF I was recently reminded of the author, A.A. Milne and his book, Winnie the Pooh , about a kindhearted, honey-loving bear named Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. The main characters include a timid piglet, a gloomy donkey named Eeyore, a wise owl, a maternal kangaroo named Kanga with her joey Roo, a busy rabbit, and the boy who owns them all, Christopher Robin. The stories revolve around their simple adventures, which often highligh

REACH BEYOND FOR YOUR INNER LIGHT With gratitude I open this morning’s meditation. I enjoy greeting each of you. Saturday morning greetings have become a sound byte that resonates respect, warmth and an authentic salutation that I feel in my heart. Sometimes I have fun with it as I say your names; always I feel excitement in its redundancy. The language of the heart can be challenging to express at times because of all the emotions that ride along with it. I witness your hear

Play It is time to play. Find wonder in my life. Life is harsh, painful and unpleasant. and yet, I see moments when I could lighten up and experience joy. Whether it is for five minutes or a half an hour, Creating play will lift my heart. Lifting my heart and ease the ache about life. I hold the reins of my imagination. How I use my mind helps me ease my insides and remember past times on the beach with my granddaughter She had purple hair and a twinkle in her blue eyes Col

Training for Life Be patient with yourself In your complexity Your mind is figuring everything out And your heart is listening   And the war starts - which one is right But there is no right or wrong There is no good and bad There is only tender love   The mind believes what it sees Using the filter of its upbringing. Fear plays a part to keep you small Harnessed in its walls of safety.   Notice when things go well, it is like a rubber band As the mind is standing at the edge

Silence & Prayer Silence has allowed me to know what I want because I’m finally listening.  Silence exposes my bully within so we can sit down and have a heart to heart. ·      Silence is a gift that keeps on giving. ·      Silence helps me make heart-centered choices. ·      Silence becomes fuller with practice. ·      Silence is the key to filling my inner void. In gratitude for silence, I offer up this prayer by Reverend Thandeka , who was given the Xhosa ( Kow-sa)  name T

The Journey About a month ago I was asked to perform a task I thought was beyond my abilities.   It’s not important the task or the people What is important is the door that opened.   My calendar was noted for four weeks ahead   I wasn’t ready was my inside voice Yes, I am was my quiet voice   I’m not good enough is my inside voice. You are everything you need said my quiet voice   I imagined myself into panic My quiet voice sat by me in silence   I imagined my failure My qui

Murmuration of Spirit Draft by Chat GBT heavily edited by Guest Host Nancy Bragg   I’ve been concerned about the current darkness in our society where individualism prevails; with emphasis on independence, self-reliance, and choices based on “what’s best for me.” Whereas, in nature, collectivism prevails: with emphasis on interdependence, relying on social groups, and choices based on community welfare and impact on the group.   When I observe a group of starlings at twilight

Befriending Uncertainty Over time I have learned about five or six am is my time when my mind is quiet and my heart is resting. I am not...