Awakening Self Blog

Have Your Emotional Poop

I know it’s crude – but it’s true. Just like we need to poop out what we eat, we also need to poop out our emotions. Here’s the why and how. My acupuncturist always emphasizes to me the importance of, shall we say, clearing my bowels. Every…

Spiritual Money Alchemy – Interview with Morgana Rae

It’s rare that I offer a guest blog on my Awakening Self website. But I felt compelled to share with you someone who has had an impact on my life – in particular, my relationship to money. Her name is Morgana Rae and she’s kn…

The Oak Tree and the Boulder

At a point of internal crisis in myself with my fears and worries, two friends from nature - an oak tree and a boulder - grounded me and brought me back to my Divine Self. It was a particularly intense day at the 5-day silent retreat. A lot of fear arose within me...

Fear: The Onset of Power

This post contains excerpts from Chapter 15 of my book, Awakening from Anxiety: A Spiritual Guide to Living a More Calm, Confident, and Courageous Life. The definition of fear is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or s…

Pramada (Carelessness): the Fourth Obstacle of Spiritual Practice

This post, on Pramada (Carelessness), is the fourth of a 9-part series on the obstacles to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣēpāstē̕ntarāyāḥ | ...

Living in the Flow

Many of us have heard of “flow” states – where effortlessness and ease move through us and we enter, as many athletes call it, “the zone”. Living in the Flow is allowing more of the Divine to move through you and as you, as Rev. Michael Ber…