Awakening Self Blog

Pause and Be Present

I have this painting you see here on my stairway. It’s a print of a watercolor of my spiritual teacher, Amma. I fell in love with it a few years ago, and knew it would look lovely on the landing of our stairs. Every day, as I descend the 7 steps at t…

Awakening of Gratitude

I was lying on a treatment table at my acupuncturist’s office, with a painful ear infection. I had felt mentally, emotionally, and energetically better since the first treatment two days ago, but the ears continued to feel blocked, and I…

Am I Better or Worse Than…?

The mind likes to do a lot of comparing. Am I doing as well as that person over there? My yoga poses suck. I am the best in the class! Their car is nicer than mine. It would be easy to write pages of this, wouldn’t it? It’s all too familiar. In m…

The Power of Dandelions

One of the first flowers to reveal itself in the spring, the Dandelion is a common sight in sidewalk cracks and my own front yard. I saw the first one stealthily growing next to my African daisy by the front fence. I pledged to stop pulling up th…

Think Small

I’m tired of everyone telling me to think bigger. “You need to play on a bigger field! You’re capable of so much more!” Does that message ever exasperate you? It sets us up for feeling we’re not enough as we are. And that whatever we do, it do…

Ring in the Great Mystery

I know you’ve made goals and resolutions. You’re thinking about a fresh start, because it’s the new year. Most of us have a long list in mind of what we want to have, create, and achieve after January 1st. But sometimes, it helps to let go of a…