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life speaking the truth VanLife

The Happiness Infusion

I’m happy. You know how I know? I keep saying it. Out loud. To myself. There are different phrasings that arise: I’ll be driving down the road, some road, heading somewhere, anywhere, and I’ll hear myself say “God, I’m so happy right now.” I might be sitting by a river playing my guitar and the […]

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favorites life nepal on traveling spirituality

Attending to Transitions – Saying Goodbye with Awareness and Appreciation

I just departed Nepal. I’ve been there enough times now (six) that it’s becoming somewhat of a second home for me. My time of course is largely spent with Nepal Orphans Home where I assist in whatever ways that I can. I teach classes at times, organize and present workshops for the older kids as […]

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growth life

Welcome to Our Shared Humanness

Difficulties occur in life. Challenges arise for all of us. The beauty of it all is that these struggles are something which, if attended to, can deeply connect us. Think for a moment about whatever may currently be bringing some difficulty in your life. Perhaps these challenges are manifesting in any or all of the […]

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life love

Eyes of Compassion

People who are special are very good at making other people feel special. It’s a well-honed talent which has it’s roots in humility and kindness. Joyce Hayes was a master at making others feel special. Although she just recently passed, she left a flotilla of people in her wake who, thanks to her generous heart and love, have […]

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growth life nepal spirituality

Escaping the Kinetic Bounds of our Birth

We are to a large extent what our parents make of us. While of course we are all magnificently unique beings, and have varying degrees of agency in terms of how we live our lives, it is hard to deny the effect that our upbringing has on the eventualities of our beliefs and ultimately our […]

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life nepal poems & stories

Photography and Training the Soul to See Beauty

I’ve been enjoying photography for most of my life now. Some might even call me a “photographer” but to me, it’s simply one of my many things I love. I’m hesitant to accept the formal “photographer” label, preferring to allow photography to move through me rather than fitting myself into a mold of what that […]

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favorites life poems & stories

Loving Too Many People

Today it feels like I love too many people. I know it seems like a silly thing to say, but the truth is that with all the wonderful things that love brings, it is also accompanied by loss. Today I am feeling the acuteness of the prospect of losing my dear cousin Irv Spivak who, […]

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life nepal spirituality

For All We Know…

After working with the after school programs this afternoon at the orphanage I went to the boys house to work with one of the boys on filming his part for the music video I’ve been pulling together here. I finally got him to actually feel the music in his body and express himself as if […]