Our Way Out of Hell

Have you ever prioritized your own needs over someone else’s? Have you noticed there was a cost to doing so? I have been pondering over this as I witness events in Israel-Palestine. I desire to get to the core of what is happening and extract the needed lessons for myself and civilization. Join me in…

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No Bad Parts – In the Violence of Our World

No Bad Parts is the title of one of Richard Schwartz’s latest books on Internal Family Systems (IFS), an approach to trauma healing. In the IFS model, inner “parts” of our psyche take on more extreme beliefs and roles in order to keep our system safe, particularly to protect other hurt parts that have been…

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Empathic Understanding in War — A Revolutionary Act For Peace

The violence and suffering happening in Israel-Palestine is excruciating to witness. I can only imagine how truly horrific and unbearable of an experience it is for those living there. So much is being written and spoken about what’s happening. What can I possibly add to the conversation that could be helpful? There is talk about…

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Fear and Trust Facing the Year Ahead

At the boundary between 2021 and 2022, looking out over the future landscape of the coming year, I see conflict, violence and suffering growing and spreading in the world, And I also see, at the heart of the dissolution, a tremendous light getting brighter and brighter, brilliant and beautiful. Sharing with a dear friend and…

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Becoming Regenerative

I am feeling deeply inspired by the regeneration movement. Paul Hawken, an environmental activist for many decades and one the leading voices in this movement, has written a new book called Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation. The movement as I understand it is about not only living sustainably on the planet but…

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Inoculation For Outrage

This weekend was the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attack on the U.S.. Thinking of 9/11 reminds Americans of the trauma of that day and entering into the “War on Terror.” It can remind us also of the daily trauma and terror of the staggering amounts of violence and human-generated suffering still happening around…

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Our Afghan Story Revisited

Close to 20 years ago I went to Pakistan with my close colleague Ike Lasater to work with Afghan tribal elders in a refugee camp along the border. It was January 2002, soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. and our bombings and invasion of Afghanistan. It was a particularly dangerous time for…

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Code Red for Humanity

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Monday released a major report of over 200 leading scientists from around the world confirming dire, catastrophic consequences from climate change if we humans don’t take rapid, radical action.  Although we have been hearing about the potential effects of climate change for decades, Monday’s report from…

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Faith and Courage

I want to write about faith and courage, and share with you about a particular core conflict dynamic with my wife Schena that has been quite repetitive and challenging for us over our now almost 19 years of marriage. I have grown enormously over the years learning how to truly live and apply the skills I…

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Returning Home

I’ve lately been thinking back on my childhood and remembering how I would look to Nature and Life for a mothering spiritual presence that was absent in physical form. I’m sure I didn’t think of it this way then, but as I look back I believe that’s what I was doing. It has been with…

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