Self Improvement Blog Posts - Personal Development

My Interview on the Amy Fournier Podcast

Last month I was interviewed by Amy Fournier on her Awakening Aphrodite podcast. She asked excellent questions, had a copy of The Wind Is My Mother full of post-its marking her favorite pages and I consider it one of the best interviews I’ve ever had. It’s long at 1 hour 23 minutes, but I recommend it!

Holiday shopping made easy! Books, books and more books!

There’s a lovely tradition in Iceland where the best Christmas gift is considered a book! It’s traditional to exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading them!

Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world, and most sales take place between September and December, in preparation for Christmas gift-giving.

The name of this Icelandic tradition is Jolabokaflod, meaning “The Christmas Book Flood.” Let’s do it here!

Time to Welcome Spring!

The spring equinox is Sunday March 21, 2021 at 3:37 a.m. EST in the northern hemisphere. How should we celebrate? Why should we celebrate? At the very least, let’s welcome Spring! It’s a day of equal balance of the hours of light and dark before the sun continues its journey towards longer daylight hours and […]

Holiday Shopping? Done!

Giving gifts on holidays and special occasions is a lovely tradition. But holiday shopping can be stressful, and not even safe if we go into the stores in 2020.

Rather than give more stuff that people don’t really need, I love to give experiences, such as books and courses. And I have a lot to offer along those lines!

Thank you for being! A Thanksgiving Prayer

This Thanksgiving will be a hard one for many people. Here in the U.S., we’re being advised to social distance and not travel to be with family.

Many of us have lost loved ones to Covid-19, or are struggling due to lost income with no silver lining in sight.

But if you dig deep, there is always something to be grateful for. And expressing gratitude has been found to be the secret to a happy, successful life!

Let’s turn to a traditional Native American Thanksgiving Prayer for inspiration.

For Veteran’s Day, Let’s Follow the Native American Lead

To me, Veterans’ Day, celebrated this Wednesday November 11, just isn’t enough to honor what our veterans have done for this country. We could learn a lot from how Native Americans take care of their veterans.

And I am deeply saddened by the lack of support and care our veterans receive today.

Yes, war is horrendous, and perhaps if women were running the world there wouldn’t be any wars. But those who did their duty and fought for us deserve better than one day to celebrate them.

Summer Solstice at Stonehenge: live streamed this year!!

Have you ever wanted to watch the sun rise on the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge? Well, this year you can because it will be live streamed!

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the time to celebrate life in all its aspects. It’s also the first day of summer.

Solstice means “stand still” and refers to the way the sun appears to rise and set in the same place for a few days.

At Stonehenge in England, built between 2500 and 5000 years ago, the summer solstice sun at dawn rises over the structure’s Heel Stone and hits the Altar Stone dead center. Surely our ancestors knew something we don’t about the importance of this day.

It’s time to go back to the Original Instructions!

“In the beginning were the Instructions…

The Original Instructions were to live in a good way

and be respectful to everyone and everything.”

All indigenous people know about the Original Instructions: the instructions passed down from the Creator, the elders, the ancestors, on how to live a life in harmony and balance with the world around them.

Sadly, much of modern non-Native society has forgotten. And that is what is wrong in today’s world.

Memorial Day: More than the start of summer!

Officially, Memorial Day in the United States is a day for remembering and honoring all Americans who died in any war.

However, Memorial Day weekend also marks the beginning of the summer holiday, with people traditionally focusing on shopping, family gatherings, picnics and sporting events. So we often forget the real meaning of the Day.

Of course, many of us are in lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, and may not be able to do summer-type things.

But whatever you do, please take time out from this holiday weekend to say a prayer of thanks for those that gave of their lives so that we could live ours in freedom.

A new book on meditation during these trying times.

I hope this email finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. As for myself, while staying at home these past weeks, I’ve been practicing all my stress-reduction techniques, and meditation is at the top of my list! It’s the best way to calm oneself during these trying times.

If you’ve always wanted to meditate, but haven’t had the time or haven’t found the meditation technique that’s right for you, I’m excited to share my new book with you:

Why I’m Hopeful… Our Golden Opportunity

The Covid-19 virus is giving us a golden opportunity to look at the way we live our lives, and the way the world functions. We shouldn’t want to return to normal, because normal didn’t work.

I hope we’ll all come out of this with a new commitment to live well on every level.

One of my favorite recent Facebook memes is:

“Kinda feeling like the earth just send us all to our rooms

to think about what we’ve done.” Luxepunk on Facebook

Are you impeccable with your word?

We live in an era of “fake news,” when what we read on social media sites may well be made up. Yet, if the stories align with our own views, we’ll press the “share” button without bothering to verify if it’s true.

Social media giant Facebook announced it wouldn’t even try to fact-check political ads, many of which are full of lies.

That is the crux of what is wrong in the world. We only care about our viewpoint, and not who may be hurt by it.

Years ago I read an interview with actress Susan Sarandon in which she told a story about her daughter’s 11thbirthday slumber party. The girls were always gossiping so Ms. Sarandon suggested the ground rule that they not talk about anyone who wasn’t there.

The astonished reply from one of the little girls was, “Then what are we supposed to talk about?”

Sleep: Your life depends on it!

1 in 3 Americans aren’t getting adequate sleep at night. According to The National Sleep Foundation, adults 26-64 should plan to get a solid 7-9 hours each night and anyone above the age of 65 should get at least 7-8 hours.

Getting a good night’s sleep is easier said than done, but it can be dangerous for your health and wellness if you don’t make it a priority. Sleep can improve your personal and professional life, your creativity, your decision making, your personal relationships, and so much more – it can even help you live longer.

The perfect holiday gift: a “Book Flood”

Is there any better gift than a book? Not to me!

There’s a lovely tradition in Iceland that I would love to see embraced here in the U.S. In Iceland, the best Christmas gift is considered a book. It’s traditional to exchange books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading them!

So here are some books and CDs you might consider giving as gifts, unless your shopping is already done!

Give gifts of inspiration and health this holiday season!

Holiday shopping is easy with these inspirational books and CDs by Molly Larkin and Bear Heart. Thousands of buyers can’t be wrong! Happy Holidays!

How Meditation Made Me A Better Golfer

Dear Readers: This guest post by Loîs Talagrand demonstrates the point I’ve been making over the years about meditation. It can even enhance your golf game!

A few years ago, I heard about a strange practice that could take my golf to the next level.

If you’re anything like me when I was a kid, you would watch the PGA tour and your jaw would hit the floor. How were these people able to hit the ball so far and with that much accuracy?

Watching these pros was like watching modern-day magic being to me. I became instantly hooked and the desire to play the game has never left me.

Uluru and Mauna Kea: Where the Gods reside

There is a spiritual war going on in the world today, and our future depends on how well we deal with it. What’s happening at Mauna Kea in Hawaii is a prime example of the problem.

So is Standing Rock, Native American land on which oil companies wanted to build a pipeline without Native permission.

And the desecration of Uluru in Australia by tourists for generations, even though it has been spiritual home to the Anangu tribes of Central Australia for 30,000 years. While tourists climb to the top of Uluru, the Anangu don’t.

Have you noticed all the sacred land being confiscated for use by corporations and oil companies? It’s not just for them to make money fracking or drilling for oil, or putting up a telescope.

All this sacred land that is being confiscated and defiled has been cared for by indigenous peoples for time immorial.

The land is sacred because many of these locations are portals to allow celestial energies to come through and help us. This is why indigenous people fight so hard to protect these lands.

By taking over the sacred lands, the corporations are shutting down the light and divine guidance coming to this planet. We simply must not let that happen.

Are we waking up? Or falling asleep? Why meditation matters.

In the words of Charles Dickens, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Those words apply just as well today. How can we keep sane?

I have found meditation to be an excellent resource.

Why weeding is a great meditation!

If you have a garden, I know you spend time weeding. Many consider it an inconvenience. But true gardeners can get in “the zone” while doing it – and that is actually mindfulness, or meditation.

When I purchased my first house over 20 years ago, I was pretty darn excited. About everything, even weeding.

I do know that, in the bigger picture of things, weeds are simply plants that we don’t know the use for. . . yet.

But sometimes they grow where we don’t want them. And what’s to be done, but … weeding!

Why we should celebrate the Autumn Equinox

This year, autumn officially begins on September 23, 2016, at 2:50 a.m. EST.

Our ancestors celebrated all equinoxes and solstices, but the autumn equinox seems to have been a little less celebrated than the others. I’m not sure what the historical reason is, but for myself, I’m sad to see summer coming to an end and am not quite ready to say goodbye to summer and welcome in the fall.

But it happens. It’s part of the cycle of life, and to be in tune with the natural world, it’s important to honor these special natural events.

1 2 3 … 12 Next »

Archive