Growing up as the only child of a single workaholic mom, I spent a lot of time alone.

It often seemed like everyone else knew something I didn’t. I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was on the outside looking through a window watching everyone else enjoying the party of life.

When people asked if I was an only child, I thought they were asking if I was a lonely child.

To both, my answer was yes.

Much of my early life was a quest to find a feeling of Belonging.

Later, I found it,...

When I was growing up, my mom was a nurse. She told me that some of the best doctors believe that “If you listen long enough to a parent, they will tell you exactly how to help their child.”

As we become adults, we can learn to integrate and cultivate that knowing and loving parent who lives inside ourselves.

We need “only” uncover that inner wisdom.

That isn’t always an easy thing to do when we’ve grown up in a culture that has told us that we should look...

Lists. Lists. Oh, how I love my lists!

Admittedly, I sometimes cross over into obsession (confession: sometimes when I do something that isn’t on the list, I'll add it just so I can cross it out).

As compulsions go, I’m okay with this is one.

I used to write my grocery lists on paper, sometimes forget the sheet at home, and then try to remember what we needed as I stood in the produce department. Not efficient.

Always one for an update, I came up with...

January has been a wonderfully full month of connecting with so many people working on valuable initiatives.

This past week, I was honored to be a guest on Jennifer Blough's Compassion Fatigue Podcast and interviewed on Facebook Live with Steve Prussack - The Juice Guru (this will be archived on his podcast on I Heart Radio). I hope you'll check out both!

Saturday, the 27th, you can catch me at the SacTown VegFest in Sacramento, California. I'll be talking at 1:15p about...

How often have you done personality gymnastics to be accepted by others, only to find that you feel empty and lost in the quiet moments of solitude? This is what it feels like to abandon the self. 

One of my clients was wrestling with the “Monster Mind” thought so many of us have that to be a “good person,” she must do whatever it takes to be liked. If you’ve had that thought too, you’re not alone. But you didn’t...

Do you fear that the world just might fall apart if you don't jump in and save everyone?

Self-care and intentionally Doing Less have been my practices since the summer of 2013. Having lived most of my life as a “do-er,” this new way of being has been revelatory and brought me so many gifts that I’ve made it my mission to help my clients integrate these practices into their lives too.

At first, they think I’m a little crazy when I say that learning to say...

For so many of us, including some of my clients, this year has been a bumpy ride.

I'm still grieving the loss of my dad.

As a nation, the U.S. feels more turbulent now than in the past few decades.

Though necessary, transformation and revolution are rarely comfortable and joyful.

Even in the darkness, we can still seek hope. Here's some inspiration:

• More of us are paying attention.
• We’re having conversations we’ve never had before as a greater society.
• An...

In Winter's darkness, we invite and celebrate the return of Spring’s light.

Before electricity, this was a time of moving inward, calm, rest, and ultimately renewal. Yet, in modern culture, it’s often the busiest part of the year.

If the holiday bustle isn’t chaotic enough, it’s easy to get caught up in the political negativity du jour.

Noticing how easy it is to find what’s “wrong” in the world (whether it’s my small personal world,...

I invite you to take a breath. Through your nose: Deeeeep Inhaaaaale. Out your mouth: Deeeeep Exhaaaaale. Now how about two more of those?

Okay, now that your nervous system has had a moment to recalibrate, let’s talk about the holidays. If that made your breathing quicken again, I invite you to go back and take a few more deep breaths before continuing to read.

Have you ever thought about how much you’re running in obligation mode in the month of December?

No matter what you...

With all the running around you do for everyone in your life, do you think about how you feed yourself? When I coach my clients, we talk about eight aspects of life that when addressed allow us to generate energy, create time, have fun, feel great, and increase joy. Yes, please!

One of these eight areas is consumption, which includes not only what we eat and drink, but also what we read, listen to, and watch. Today, we’ll focus on food. So often, we think that eating well involves...