If you've ever suffered from depression, anger or any other emotional blockage in your life, watch this episode. We booked a session with renowned counselor and healer Dr. Deb Sand…

I’ve been wrestling lately with some extra pounds that have me worried—and are changing the way I worry about worrying. Why? Because I’ve just read Cracking the Aging Code: T…

What helped is that I finally found a purpose for this sometimes-excruciating feeling.

Words of wisdom for those who are suffering the rawness of recent loss.

In our local sangha, we continued our reading and discussion of the chapter titled “Doing No Harm” in Joseph Goldstein’s One Dharma. Since I wasn’t able to be there, Karen led disc…

Kathryn Drury Wagner speaks with trauma expert Kathryn Templeton on how to move from immobilization into balance and harmony.

Grief yoga expert Paul Denniston reveals a compassionate practice for healing from grief.

In a time of unprecedented grief, we wanted to share resources to support anyone dealing with grief and the surrounding emotions.

The loss of a spouse can lead to a cascade of ill health effects.

Emotion is energy in motion, says Paul Denniston. Discover how to use yoga to move grief through your body.

After losing her father and father-in-law in quick succession, one Ayurvedic practitioner shares what helped her grow through her grief.

This season is a good time to process the grief you’ve felt this year. Practice this intuitive moon ritual that is easy to adapt to your own needs.

So far in my life, I’ve been amazingly lucky: I haven’t experienced a major traumatic loss, like the death of a parent, close family member, or friend. Sure, I’ve had my share of l…

The universal experience of loss brings with it a deep sadness. May these affirmations for grief bring you a moment of peace during a tumultuous time.

The path of grief is never a straight line, especially the complicated grief of suicide. One S&H editor shares her story, and an expert also has four suggestions for ways to make a difference in the suicide epidemic.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… right?

When we have walked in darkness for so long, we are sometimes allowed to step into a parallel world.

Fuzzy yarn, a toy xylophone, or a box of glass beads can be a better prescription than a pill.

In a culture that doesn’t help us hold our grief, how do we hold it for ourselves? Here are some ideas.

Open your heart, tap into joy, and explore the transformative healing nature of Grief Yoga.

Complicated grief is more than the intense, acute grief almost everyone experiences after someone dear to them dies. It is prolonged and all-consuming.

Lamentation: the passionate expression of grief, mourning, sorrow, or regret: a song or poem that expresses sorrow for someone who has died or something that is gone.

Nature has the capacity to hold all of our grief and sorrow. Being in nature reminds us that cycles of renewal are part of our reality.

The holidays often bring intense feelings of grief, particularly if we have lost grandparents. An alternative trauma healer provides four ways to navigate grandparent grief this season.

A grief garden provides natural healing, connecting you with those who are no longer living.

A yoga teacher trainee experiences Max Strom’s breath work

Create a grief collage to help you move forward.

“Life gives us pain. Our job is to experience it when it gets handed to us.”

I couldn’t imagine why I would want to dedicate two years of my life to studying with a man who could be confused with the grim reaper himself…

Feeling overwhelmed by the depths of loss? One of these meditation techniques (and 10-minute guided meditation) may prove supportive.

Acknowledge your grief and start to move past it with five lamentation practices.

We spoke with author LaUra Schmidt about climate grief, healing personal trauma, and how spirituality and climate awareness are connected.

For those of us grieving changed relationships with living loved ones, a faux funeral may be the key to healing. Explore what ambiguous grief is and how this ritual can help.

A mental health practitioner explores how her birdwatching practice supported her—and can support us all—through some of life’s greatest challenges.

What happens when the love of your life dies after a quarter of a century of an ever-growing, ever-expanding, ever-changing life together?

Gratitude and grief are both essential and need to be welcomed and honored, especially during the holidays.

It’s pretty easy to feel grateful when good things happen. Win the lottery or fall in love? Easy. But what if you lose your spouse, or child, or even your job, how do we find grati…

The suffering of grief can begin to heal by accepting support and practicing self-care.

“To say you need the afterlife to have meaning is the bleakest form of insanity.”

When we allow pain in fully (and then release it fully), the heart can transform pain into gold.

Coming to terms with our cluttered spaces could be one way for us to heal.

“How much space do our dreams and griefs, our hopes and losses, need to have to have room enough?”

David Kessler, the world’s foremost expert on grief, talks about finding meaning in loss.

Many of us have “un-saids” with loved ones who have died. Growing in grief is about compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Not just for them, but for yourself too.

The Missing Stage of Grief

When heart-wrenching loss entered therapist Allyson Dineen’s life, she began writing meditations and affirmations for herself to process her grief and shared them on social media. Here is an excerpt from that collection, Notes From Your Therapist.

A grief guide offers seven techniques for honoring the many endings in our lives—death, divorce, big moves, and more.

When grief left her adrift, Jennifer Ewing found solace in spirit boats.

Modern Loss co-founder Rebecca Soffer shares how she transformed personal tragedy to a needed resource for others grieving.

How to use meditation to grow with loss.

Inspired by Tricia Hersey’s book Rest Is Resistance, Julie Peters shares her thoughts on the radical healing power of rest.

Meaning isn’t something that one finds; meaning is something one makes.

Your questions on God, grief, and living—answered.

Experiencing grief? No matter its form, affirmations can assist in the process of coping with loss.

A grief coach and death midwife offers six ways for us to support ourselves while we are grieving.

Grief is a sacred cycle, just like that of the moon. Utilize this powerful but simple month-long ritual to honor your grief in tune with the moon.

Accept gifts from your lost loved ones, even if doing so is difficult. A grief educator explains why.

“A ceremony is a powerful event that marks a change, usually a held space that allows growth and a deepening of understanding. As you flow through the ceremony you may have one or several rituals and then at the end of the ceremony, something within has changed.”

Anticipating our mortality via the lost Medieval practice of ars moriendi.

In dealing with a loss, your actions and words, thoughts, breath, diet, and more can all be tailored to a more mindful form of grieving.

Synthesizing her work as a social justice activist, anti-racism trainer, and yoga teacher, Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s latest book explicitly sets out to empower readers to prio…

How do we choose on behalf of another being and make sound decisions when we’re emotionally bereft?

The idea for Finding Refuge came to Michelle Cassandra Johnson from her ancestors. Her mission—“create a space for people to come together and grieve.”

“He that lacks time to mourn, lacks time to mend.”—Sir Henry Taylor

Healing the planet, grieving an animal loss, and more from Sacred Sendoffs with animal chaplain Sarah Bowen.

Sarah Bowen explores the intersection of animals and spirituality in Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain’s Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Trying to Heal the Planet.

Despite our cultural preference for happiness and comfort, a fully integrated life acknowledges the truth of loss and injustice.

“I understood then that this was the point of the dream. That I was being shown this world as a guest, that my job was to witness, to validate its existence. Perhaps even report that I had seen it.”

Ayurveda teaches us that emotions are connected to some of the body's major organs. Explore practical ways to soothe anxiety, grief, and anger and help heal the physical body.

Three healing professionals—Amza Ali, MD, Justin Grant, Phd, and Mary-Elizabeth Gifford—consider the high costs of not speaking up for palliative care with psychedelics.

How do we find a healthy balance between joy and sorrow? Rabbi Rami explores the concept of microjoys, as inspired by author and podcast guest Cyndie Spiegel.

The loss of a pet can be profoundly impactful, leaving us to make hard choices about their body. Explore our animal chaplain’s advice for what happens after our animal companions pass.

Ben Nussbaum spoke with Cyndie Spiegel about her latest book, Microjoys.

Feeling the loss of a beloved animal companion and conflicted about their passing? Eight animal chaplains offer their wisdom.

Pet loss can be as impactful as losing a human companion. Utilize these four affirmations to support yourself through the grieving process.

The first few pages of How to Live in a Chaotic Climate may seem ominous: You’ll find the words funeral, uncertainty, and grieve in the Table of Contents. Though these words might …

Sadness, while deeply uncomfortable, has a purpose and lesson to teach us. What medicine can your sadness offer you?

What are microjoys, and how can acceptance of the bad with the good improve our life? Author Cyndie Spiegel tells stories from her life to explain.

“I don’t want to romanticize dying, but I do want to liberate it from the fears we foist upon it.”

Visualize a peaceful letting go for your loved one.

Experts and survivors agree—use rituals to ease the anguish of loss. Then practice acts of love to move forward toward a sense of peace.Near midnight on Good Friday, 1990, just hou…

The Armor of LightAbigail DisneyFork FilmsAbigail Disney’s emotionally overwhelming documentary portrays one of the more surprising political and religious alliances of recent year…

Dr. Neal Barnard on beating food cravings, the myth of moderation, and the health-changing power of a plant-based diet.

It’s often said that “grief is love with nowhere to go.” Ignore voices telling you to move on, and instead find a place to put all the love you once showered on your pet when they were alive.

Nourish your lungs this fall and winter by keeping warm, processing grief, and releasing emotions that aren't helpful anymore.

Stephanie Sarazin is a grief educator and grief guide. She is the author of Soulbroken: A Guidebook for your Journey Through Ambiguous Grief, one of Spirituality+Health’s 2022 “Boo…

Zen Buddhist priest Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel shares her wisdom on leaning into life’s many difficulties and invites us to explore our relationships to darkness and blackness as we know them.

HT Woodruff’s journey reflects a commitment to navigating the turbulent waters of grief and trauma with empathy and proven strategies.

Naila Francis is a writer, grief coach and death midwife. She is also the co-host of Breathing Wind, a podcast about journeying introspectively through grief, and the founder of Sa…

WHEN WE’RE GRIEVING, it can be hard to make it through the day, much less appreciate the sophisticated tasks our brain is performing as we mourn. But understanding that grieving is…

Creating grief rituals is as individual as the one who mourns and can help us continue to feel connected.

"I must write her a note of glad tidings / with tidbits of nostalgia instead of our grief"

For survivors of suicide, grief is compounded by the stigma and shame that often accompanies these tragic situations. Here are some healthy strategies you can use for healing—and forgiving yourself.

Rosemary has long signified deep friendship and lasting memories. This ritual for grief, built around rosemary, creates time and space for grieving and allows others to join and share the healing process.

Psychologist Sarah Neustadter offers three phases as guideposts for those left behind. “Our feelings of despair and broken-heartedness need to be fully felt in order for them to shift into something new that emerges from grief.”

Honor your grief as we enter into the season of generative death and prepare for the coming season of rebirth.

This gentle yoga practice supports digestive health and immune function to help you get back into the swing of things.

Contributing editor Rabbi Rami requests that his memorial service be held at a Waffle House.

Julie Peters shares her personal ritual for the new moon.

Feeling like two different people on two different paths? Unite the splintered paths.

An audio meditation for times of emotional pain.

At the beginning of my recovery from sexual assault, I needed to re-learn how to feel.

The work of pleasure and desire is to be honest with ourselves.

How can empathic people let loose the burden of other people's emotions?

When we suppress emotional energy, it lands in the energy system for the physical body, generating or exacerbating pain, illness and disease.

When you fictionalize your story, you can leave the technicalities at the door.

We often think of self care as something we do only when we’re stressed, in grief, or otherwise hurting, but it’s really something we have to be doing every single day in order to …

Whether it’s Israel/Palestine or Red vs. Blue, understanding why “I would be fighting me, too!” is only the second step toward lasting peace.

We can limit the amount of pain we create for ourselves by selecting better coping tools.

People new to mourning are often surprised at how brutal the run-up to the first anniversary of the death can be.

How you can create some new traditions to celebrate the winter solstice.

When the holidays remind us of those that have been lost.

In the Presence of Death: Using ceremony to explore mindfulness in the journey of dying, death, and the years following, in this 9-part series

Books, services, education and products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Here are a few tips for keeping calm and taking care during the holiday season.

Ideas for commemorative events beyond traditional funerals.

When we keep our shadow hidden, it runs the risk of controlling us.

Twice last week I bumped into friends while in the midst of busy days. These are women who I adore, but haven’t seen in much too long, each of us consumed with the busy-ness of our…

Lawrence Wood was born and educated in Canada and worked for seven years in Winnipeg before moving to Chicago as Professor of Medicine and founding chief of the Section of Pulmonar…

We asked our readers to scout the spiritual landscape for emerging leaders who will help set our course for the decades to come. Your response was wildly enthusiastic, passionate, heartfelt, and all over the map (and the globe). Wow! What constitutes a spiritual path is becoming ever more diverse—and ever more likely to be led by women. In future issues, you’ll hear from more of your choices. We chose 10 (nine plus a wonderful collaboration of old and new) who represent your votes as well as our hopes for the spiritual future.

Sherry Cormier, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and a certified bereavement trauma specialist. She is the author of Sweet Sorrow: Finding Enduring Wholeness After Loss and Grief, …

The world is a wild, wild place right now. The problem is, when we don’t pause to process our emotions, we cannot evolve. But in order to evolve, we’re going to have to deal with our emotions.

Clinical psychologist MOLLY HOWES explains why the first step to an apology is to not say a word.

“Our hearts convey the most poignant picture through the eyes. It is not merely a window, but a reflection of our state of mind.” —Jeffrey Benjamin, MD

We all contain multitudes, and accepting the light and darkness in another can be a sign of deep trust and friendship. But acceptance doesn't mean being passive when a friend is suicidal.

“The emotion of anger is designed to spark transformation. ... Anger is how your spirit tells you not to bow to injustice any longer. [It's] is the sacred messenger communicating that something in your life needs transforming.”

In this book, the reader gets an insightful look at the soul through the stories of two women.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Here is how to address what still nags at you, and to finally right those long-standing hurts.

Emotional intimacy outside of marriage isn't necessarily harmless. Here are some ideas on how to maintain boundaries that work for both partners.

“What is Heaven like? Turn your heart and mind toward your heavenly soul and you will experience Heaven firsthand.” --Matthew Fifeforaite

Cats are spiritual—or at least they can help us be spiritual. Here are five lessons your spiritual cat wants to teach you.

“Do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?” —Rumi

Question: My 80-year-old mother died six months ago—nine weeks after she was diagnosed with cancer. Our relationship was complicated. I loved her dearly but she was also the …

“These age-old gestures that have shaped us as humans—ritual, ceremony, sharing dreams and stories, gathering around the fire, talking with beings other than humans—these are not written in stone and belonging to the stone ages. They are born from a knowing that the world is alive and are brought to life through the natural reciprocity that comes with this knowing.”

We talk to Karla McLaren about what we can learn from our anger, how to approach anxiety, why positive emotions aren't always positive, and more.

“It might be time to learn to hunker down, pace ourselves, and try to marinate in all those daily small wonders.”

Susan Cross is a certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® from the Celebrant Foundation & Institute. She lives in northern New Mexico, well-wisher to ravens and coyotes. Susan works from he…

Your quarantine partner just aggravated you again. You’re angry—or are you? Reflection may reveal something else.

Dealing with pain can be life-altering. Shift your perspective with these affirmations for back pain.

In the face of pandemic, there remain milestones—and growth—worth celebrating.

Renowned Buddhist meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg’s first book on meditation was Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, which she penned in 1995. Since then, she ha…

Paul turns 65 and reflects on eight things he has learned in his life.

Someone you know has died due to COVID-19. Here’s the script on writing your gentle condolences.

A Meditation on Life and DeathBy Erica BrownSIMON & SCHUSTERWith sensitivity, humor, and unflinching honesty, writer and educator Erica Brown explores how fear and denial …

“In Buddhism, we often talk about enlightenment or awakening, but words like that feel far away to me. I speak about intimacy.”

If you’re having health challenges, there are four key ways to let go of your confusion, bring in some clarity.

The heart holds our love, connection, joy, and forgiveness. It can also hold grief and anxiety. Sometimes what the heart feels is very different from what the mind thinks it wants.…

Rather than piling shame on top of shame, we need to slow down and honestly feel whatever it is we feel.

Rabbi Rami talks to trauma expert and Zen priest Dr. Joanne Cacciatore.

This meditation is a practice of honoring and acknowledging the range of complex sensations and emotions that may be present at any given moment.

I was moved by our conversation last night. I understand how you feel the presence of suffering always in the background, juxtaposed against the peaceful times and moments of abund…

S&H’s Favorite Guides for Walking the Seeker’s Path

Book Giveaway: Visit bookmark.spiritualityhealth.com by January 31, 2017, and enter to win a collection of select titles.

Those who have deeply suffered know the only way to attain authentic and lasting contentment is to turn our hearts outward in service to those who are suffering. Here are two stories…

So how can we, with Dhumavati, embrace the ways in which we are, powerfully, ugly?

Excerpt from Hope, Make, Heal: 20 Crafts to Mend the Heart

Sponsored Content from Celebrant Institute

Capture: Unraveling the Mystery of Mental SufferingBy David A. Kessler, MDHarperWaveWho hasn’t wished they could control the anger, grief, and anxiety that lead to actions tha…

Every morning, I meditate. Badly. I know meditation is good for me. Meditation can help with anxiety, stress, insomnia, self-esteem and a whole host of other things. There are a m…

Have you been searching for God? I guess I always have, too. Today, I have something to share with you, and it will help you find God more quickly."Man is the most insane species. …

Spirituality & Health's July/August 2017 issue is now available.Subscribe / Order this IssueFEATURESThe Swim of AwakeningIn the absence of data, we will always make up stories.…

Recently a young man came to me very upset. Faith and a belief in God had been strong pillars of his upbringing. He had relied on his beliefs and up until this point this had helpe…

We are in a moment of change. Some of us are hopeful, others rageful, and others fearful. I’ve been thinking lately about a set of stories told by Sally Kempton in her book Awakeni…

I was 22 years old when I sat with my grandmother as she was dying. There were four generations of our family in the room, from my two year old nephew to my mom and her brothers, t…

“I would sit,” she offered unapologetically, “uncomfortable in my own skin, and think to myself that it would be worth the suffering because when I finished, I’d be happy. Like I w…

I don’t always make New Year’s resolutions—I find the darkest coldest months a pretty difficult time to start new things. This year, however, I did make one that not only helped me…

We all know living in the moment is a key aspect of happiness. We know we need to learn to pay attention to what’s actually happening around us, the people we are with, and all the…

How can you tell if your self-esteem is improving? Sometimes—thanks to luck, work and/or miracles—self-loathing ebbs. But self-loathing is so sneaky, so habit-forming, that when it…

I find myself feeling despair, grief, and fear rise as I listen to the news of shootings, racism, hate crimes, discrimination and innocent lives lost. In my silent moments I questi…

Vajresvari wants us to find power in being present with our joy, imbibing in delightful experiences even to the point of intoxication.

Finding a way to free yourself from the underlying cause of your pain.

Your back pain is trying to tell you something. Chronic back pain might be caused by stuck emotions.

We quit things we love because we believe ourselves unworthy.

Stages we unconsciously engage in to try to repair a relationship.

When you face inevitable loss, remember these three things.

Charanpal

On what poetry is all about

From the book Rock and Water: The Power of Thought; The Peace of Letting Go

When we are ready to find our way to solid ground, these two steps can help us in our journey

Suffering is Optional. Here’s how to find the teacher inside.

Columnist Paul Sutherland offers his personal experience living abroad to shed light on the question.

Making amends can help loosen the weight of the past.

(And Other Lies I’ve Loved)

Look to these exceptional titles as guidance to navigate your way through the joys and heartbreak of this one precious life.

A simple and effective end of year ritual is to carve out a little time for yourself to meditate and journal.

The holidays can be rife with conflict, division and struggle. Here are some ideas that can help.

A guided meditation for tasting a little sweetness.

Everett Worthington taught others how to forgive. One night, he had to become his own best pupil.

When we can channel our anger into compassionate communication, it can help us cultivate a stronger sense of self along with even more intimate and satisfying relationships.

Columnist Mark Nepo shares his field notes on living and insights found in his lifelong conversation with the Universe.

How to offer assistance to those in need.

Megan Devine holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology, and through her many articles and speaking engagements has emerged as a bold new voice in the world of grief therapy.…

A preview of the Nov/Dec 2017 issue.

The Five Elements offer information that connects us to nature and our bodies and helps us to understand our energy and emotions.

More…

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How do we shift that critical voice in a way that supports us rather than knocking us down?

The cleaner and clearer the aura, the more authentic, aligned and balanced in-the-moment experience becomes.

Books, services, education and products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Already a big believer in the value of friends cooking for friends, I became essentially devout.

No matter your spirituality or background, it's possible to turn every day into a living, breathing ritual. Explore how one author transformed her life by doing so.

Although it is not common to experience a healing crisis after an energy healing treatment, here are nine tips for moving through the process.

Consider one way you could bring a little bit more pleasure into your day.

Books, services, education and products that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Letters from our readers.

An interview with author Fred Bahnson about the limits of activism and what an earthier Christianity might look like.

5 ways to fit a bit of the sacred in any kind of space.

An excerpt from You Are Not Alone: A Heartfelt Guide for Grief, Healing, and Hope. My body shuts down the moment Jim dies. Someone hands me a glass of water and I don’t think I …

Debbie is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City, where she has specialized in trauma, grief, and loss. Her husband, Jim, died suddenly in her arms when she was onl…

3 ways to keep hope alive in the face of a grim reality.

A protocol to use to evolve your energy through intention and attention, and an audio meditation to help guide you.

Excerpted with permission from Crystals: The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing by Yulia Van Doren.

An excerpt from Ending the Search: From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness

Sometimes fear, anger, or sadness are appropriate responses to the complexities of life.

In the past three years both my sons committed suicide, and now I constantly hover over my young adult daughter for fear she’s plotting to do the same. I’m angry with God, worrying…

Quite simply, the hauntings of our mind stand between us and everything else.

Life simply and harshly demands that we dive into the depth of what we’re given, meeting life, not avoiding it.

In search of the meaning of Khodiyar Ma

S&H's Stephen Kiesling sat down with Tara Brach, founder and senior teacher of the Insight Meditation Center of Washington and author of Radical Acceptance, to explore her RAIN practice: Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture.

We interviewed Sharon Salzberg for this issue to honor her remarkable career. With COVID-19 on everyone’s mind as we went to print, she graciously allowed us to share an adapted excerpt from Real Happiness.

Julie Peters talks with Indigenous dance artist Olivia C. Davies about dance as a healing practice.

Stuck at home? Feeling out of sorts? We picked 10 episodes of our podcast, Essential Conversations, to help you get through the pandemic.

In his book Death Is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life’s End, hospice doctor Christopher Kerr offers a glimpse into what happens at the end of life. “What the dying fear most is not death but the loss of a life they can recognize as their own. Ultimately, to die well is to humanize dying from an irredeemably grim reality to an experience which may also be rich in meaning and love.”

When Italians shuttered their windows and the singing stopped, this mystic mother went in search of solace.

A living will relinquishing your ventilator to a younger, healthier sick person can help spare our healthcare heroes from extra grief and pain.

“It may be that poetry’s work is preparatory, like the work of the earthworms in garden soil.”

More…

Sarah Bowen shares ways humans can rebalance their relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom.

"It is only by giving our all that we open our soul as a conduit to all of life. Whenever we do this, we’re sensitive enough for the unexpected utterance to flow through us."

Is anything better than waking up refreshed? Are you unable to answer that question because you don’t remember what waking up refreshed feels like? We can relate. Read on if you or anyone you love needs tips on how to get a good night's sleep.

Rabbi Rami speaks with internationally acclaimed yoga teacher and public speaker Seane Corn, about her very first book, Revolution of the Soul. Full transcript of discussion included.

“On Valentine’s Day, I want to focus on true love: the energy of power, desire, courage, intuition, and deep emotion. This spell invites that energy into our hearts while mindfully clearing whatever may stand in the way of that love.”

More…

“For years, consciously contracting my pelvic floor when I felt unsafe or when I needed a little more power and confidence was really helpful for me … It creates a kind of energetic shield of protection between me and the world.”

Opening ourselves to life means becoming vulnerable, which means that at some point we will suffer loss and pain. Being achingly present to the experience helps us recover.

In this book, a self-healing journey results in a voice crying out of the abyss, “I am a survivor!”

Kelly McGonigal says to use the latest research on movement to bring more delight into your life.

This is a potent time for honoring the darkness that surrounds us, seeking the wisdom it holds, and creating space for light that is making its way into being.

Avoid overeating and drinking too much this holiday season by mindfully focusing on giving yourself pleasure rather than trying to numb the pain.

"the apron aspires to stand before / sinners and saints and carve / verses on stone: Mon coeur mis à nu,"

"How many of us have entered a doctor’s office only to be met by an unemotional individual with very little time for us who mostly stares into a computer screen?"

David Kessler is the world’s most well-known expert on grieving. He worked closely with the legendary Elisabeth Kübler-Ross for the last decade of her life. They co-authored t…

“Don’t I want hummingbirds to have flown safely away from nooses / of silk string collectors once hung from the necks of lilies?”

Read about inspiring people transforming the world — with a little help for S&H.

More…

Mind-body medicine pioneer Dr. James S. Gordon shares a technique to shake loose trauma from the body.

Is our capacity for compassion and kindness enough to resist the ‘dark psychic force’ threatening us?

Unlocking the wisdom of past hurts can help you heal yourself and others.

“These three practices all have the key quality of inviting pleasure while reducing stress.”

The death wellness movement is about facing hard choices openly and mindfully. For author Leslie Krongold, this has been a very personal exploration.

Dive in to our special section on 100+ books we love.

In the Soto Zen tradition, emphasis is placed on ethical or mindful acts in everyday practice. This Earth Day practice held at Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center in Northern California is offered to benefit all beings.

"But where he was welcome most / Was often where he was his worst."

I wouldn’t have expected the ER doctor to say, “Welcome, you’ve just entered your dark night of the soul.” But if he had sent me on my way with information about what was happening, it would have been easier for me to arrive at the why.

“That you didn’t know her is your / misfortune: a hot planet’s core, / late summer’s best light.”

A comforting prayer to use when releasing a pet from this life.

When a labyrinth is walked with even a small amount of direction, it becomes a powerful field for self-discovery, transformation, spiritual deepening, processing grief, relieving stress, and finding clarity.

"Though commonly labeled a disorder, anxiety, for Paul, is simply evidence of the imagination and an invitation to wholeness. She shares tools and mindsets that allow us to approach anxiety with curiosity instead of shame, so that we may decode its messages, wherever they surface."

The author recounts the pursuit of Joseph Kony, a brutal warlord whose guerilla group killed more than 100,000 people. She also writes about balancing her activism against Kony with her own family life.

When we avoid feeling what we feel, it tends to dampen all emotions.

"Mother's and Father's Day are gauntlets, radiating expectations. Even vowing to ignore these holidays, to voluntarily opt out, weighs heavily because it means going against the mainstream."

The physical act of walking brings us more fully back into the present. Author Antonia Malchik shares, "Walking is what we turn to when we wish to show our devotion to our gods, and how we move when the precariousness of our precious human existence is laid bare."

Mark Matousek has spent decades studying how obstacles morph into strengths. He shares what he’s learned from master survivors.

Find out how to turn your morning cup of coffee into a sacred ritual with ceremonialist Mara Branscombe and Rabbi Rami.

Feeling the burden of climate change on an emotional level? Here are some skillful ways to manage eco-anxiety.

An adapted excerpt from Courage for Caregivers.

Explore what it means to manifest like a goddess in this empowering interview.

Kids can experience psychological distress for up to three years after losing a pet. Animal Chaplain Sarah Bowen, author of Sacred Sendoffs, has six tips to help you companion your kids, grandkids, or friends of any age through animal loss.

“I developed a spiritual worldview that allowed me to accept suffering as a part of life. It’s how we respond to it that’s so important.”

Explore what it's like to be grounded in the divine in this discussion with guest host Sarah Bowen and Rabbi Rami.

Letting go of the attachment to what was once a symbol of the love you shared can be reinvigorating and uplifting in itself.

Use yin yoga to target the channels of energy that fear, anxiety, and confusion flow through. Then release these emotions.

Purge the negativity and get rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy. This could even be your wedding jewelry.

Investigate why it’s constructive to doubt your religion in this conversation with activist Brian McLaren and Rabbi Rami.

What’s the spiritual meaning of acne? Start with issues around boundaries.

Flummoxed by self-esteem issues? Give up on self-esteem and move to Self-awareness.

How can plant sacred medicine bring us back to a place of rootedness?

Practicing death awareness need not be morbid. It can help you live your values more fully and cherish your life.

What do you do if you are languishing or know someone who is?

This ritual to invite winter solstice magic is best done sitting in a circle (real or virtual) with others.

Occurring near the winter solstice, the Cold Moon invites you to take a closer look at what lies beneath the seemingly cold and frozen surface. Discover the spiritual meaning of the Cold Moon.

A nurse becomes a patient and finds spiritual renewal from an unexpected source.

Leslie Gray Streeter is a journalist and speaker and the author of Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief For People Who Normally Avoid Books With Words Like "Journey" In T…

“I’m convinced that bereavement is one-third sorrow, one-third anger, and one-third paperwork.”

On a tragic anniversary—a traumaversary—ask yourself: What does your body need?

What are your symptoms telling you? Knowing the meaning of your symptoms can help you recover more quickly.

Joni Sensel is an author and certified grief educator with art therapy training. Her interests in intuition, creativity, and spirituality are explored at more length in her forthco…

Soto Zen Buddhist Priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel wades through the muck of racism, sexism, and homophobia to empower practitioners.

A groundbreaking, authoritative exploration—rich with powerful personal stories and convincing research—of the many ways the living can and do accompany the dying on their journey into the afterlife.

Mixed-media artist Morgan Harper Nichols explores how art can lead to empathy.

Ready for your magical wake-up call?

More…

Emotions do not go away. They get trapped in the body and can even lead to mental and physical illness.

Honoring your pet with friends helps healing begin.

Australian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist Fariha Róisín on restoring relationships to ourselves, to one another, and to the earth.

The Empress tarot card holds rich symbolism and is connected to two important goddesses. Learn what lessons we can glean from this powerfully feminine tarot card.

The shadow doesn’t just hold the negative parts of our personality—it also houses our lost light. Learn how to reclaim your light and honor the unsavory parts of yourself.

"When we can be completely authentic, resilience is the flow of strength that comes to us from everything that is not us."

Kushmanda, mother of the entire universe, can guide you into knowing and loving yourself more deeply. Learn more about her, and enjoy a heart-opening rose recipe.

During the trauma of losing her beloved life partner, love notes from the Other Side inspired one author to move forward in life with peace and joy.

It's never too late to become a spiritual leader in your community. Rabbi Rami reflects on four decades of spiritual leadership, and what the process could look like for you, no matter your age.

Cori Howard finds that it takes more than Marie Kondo and burning sage to transition to an empty nest.

Suzanne Mariott’s beautiful memoir on caregiving, published this month, began taking shape years ago with conversations at a S+H writer’s workshop.

Cathérine Denys grew up in a small town in northwest Belgium. She studied social pedagogy and taught psychological and educational subjects in various schools. Prior to settling in…

While fatigue can indicate a physical imbalance in the body, it can also point to an energetic or spiritual imbalance. Learn more about the spiritual meaning of fatigue.

Is it an overactive nervous system, or is it unprocessed emotions keeping you awake at night? Learn more about the spiritual meaning of insomnia to get a better night's sleep.

Ayurvedic wisdom can help us have a healthier and happier holiday season—learn how with these five tips.

What are flower remedies, and how can they be utilized to help highly sensitive people navigate the world? A Mind-Body Medicine practitioner shares her thoughts.

As a well-respected and experienced psychotherapist for 31 years, Pamela has treated thousands of clients and has developed over 20 tools and practices to teach conscious bravery. …

Explore the potential spiritual significance behind that lingering cough, sneeze, or ache in your lungs—you may be experiencing unprocessed grief.

Because human beings are already divine, we have the capacity to learn from our worst moments, to find beauty and hope and help for other people when we recover from our struggles.

A real superpower? Accessing our inner wisdom and guidance as we change.

Jungian psychologist Dr. Joanna Laprade explores the perpetual pull of the climb from darkness.

Thanksgiving is an opportunity to spread some joy. Discover five easy ways to brighten someone else’s holiday.

Frigga is one of the most beloved goddesses in the Norse tradition. Learn how working with Frigga can bring healing and empowerment—especially for matriarchs and mothers.

Did you draw the Hanged Man tarot card? Discover the spiritual meaning behind this often-misunderstood symbol.

People are finding their higher purpose by sharing their spiritual gifts, interests, and skills.

Impotence can be frustrating and disempowering—explore potential solutions from an Ayurvedic perspective.

Let this ritual for the Great Mother, and your ancestral mothers, guide you into your wisdom years.

Our animal chaplain share what it's like to choose compassion for the smallest of beings, even when it's difficult.

Sherry Finzer’s new album is a journey of radiant solo flute music that releases stress and relaxes the mind and body. Finzer specializes in native flutes and low flutes. This is t…

Though the Death tarot card may not indicate literal death, it does forebode change. Explore the spiritual meaning of this misunderstood tarot card.

Paul Sutherland struggles with creating an off-ramp for his unskillful thoughts and actions. He falls down, gets back up, and tries again.

Our resident animal chaplain explores the complexities of mortality as it regards our animal companions—and ourselves.

Time with our feline friends can be deeply nourishing. Explore how one program is connecting shelter cats with incarcerated individuals to promote interspecies healing.

By contemplating the heartwood at the center of trees, we can gain a greater respect for the impermanence of life.

Celebrated writer Ruth Ozeki’s latest novel, The Book of Form and Emptiness, continues her tradition of “enacting the Zen teachings in the world.”

Is your style aromatherapy, sound healing, or one of the others? This spiritual vibration test will tell you.

Author and activist Michelle Cassandra Johnson discusses generational trauma, yoga, beekeeping, and more.

Burial shroud maker Susan Cross discusses the crone in all of us.

“My role was to stay and tell the story of how we transformed ‘Why us?’ into ‘Why not us?’”

The appearance of a blood moon has had spiritual meaning throughout history.

Let go of nostalgia and start living for today through ritual. "It is essential to our sense of belonging ... that we mark the moments of transition in our lives."

Sciatica is a classic condition of lopsidedness. What is the spiritual meaning of sciatica and imbalance?

Paul Denniston is the founder of Grief Yoga®, which blends many forms of yoga, movement, and sound. Get exclusive access to an online companion course when you pre-order the book a…

“I am who I am because we are who we are. This inextricable connection is what I call fierce love.”

Explore what is normally unseen and celebrate the rare blood moon with a blood moon meditation.

The black box is awkward at best and excruciating at worst. But it’s where change happens.

Don’t rush to cultivate your gifts in an effort to accomplish or secure what you want or dream of. Slow down to meet the world through what you’re given and your beauty will be released.

“Holding death close serves as a continuous, gentle reminder that every moment I am alive is a special but limited opportunity.”

“Folk hero” among writers Anne Lamott revisits her life from writing to sobriety to creativity and her relationship with God.

Interspecies healing practices include prayer circles and shawls.

Forgiveness is not so much an act as an attitude.

To uncover the spiritual meaning of pain in the upper-middle back, ask if you’re getting enough support in the back of your heart.

“I wasn’t sure what my purpose was, and couldn’t wrap my mind around actually walking said purpose out when life felt too pressing to actually feel myself breathe.”

Can’t head to Europe for the Camino De Santiago? You can craft a small pilgrimage close to home.

A community of Christians once flourished in the Egyptian desert.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro answers questions from S&H readers. “My priest confided in me that despite her best sermonic efforts, racism still infects our overwhelmingly white church. What else might she do?”

M.C. Taylor, singer-songwriter and frontman of Hiss Golden Messenger, shares his go-to spiritually uplifting songs—with links!

When there is pain in the neck or restriction in the throat chakra, it’s worth asking: What emotions are caught in our throat, unable to be spoken?

Some have a simple and loving relationship with their mom. For others, Mother’s Day can be a day where we pull out our complex feelings about mothering and unpack them a little bit.

What is compassion? “We believe that the word represents something that we offer to others, or to ourselves. But is that accurate?”

When we confront obstacles, our feet may be the first to know it. The spiritual meaning of foot pain lies in our direction and the path we’re on.

Get tips on how to strengthen your intuition, the critical tool you use to listen to that inner voice that often knows the best way forward.

Joseph Campbell describes the second stage of marriage as a place of alchemy, “of the two experiencing that they are one.” Taking the time to dance together can make that alchemy happen.

Claire B. Willis and Marnie Crawford Samuelson are co-authors of Opening to Grief: Finding Your Way from Loss to Peace. Claire B. Willis is a clinical social worker who has worked…

A puppyhood coach and pack therapist explains how to ease the transition from fall to winter for your canine companions, including the pandemic puppy in your household.

Claire B. Willis is a clinical social worker who has worked in the fields of oncology and bereavement for more than 20 years. As a lay Buddhist chaplain ordained by Joan Halifax, s…

“Many therapists work to help clients create a better life—a Soul Companion works with clients to create a better death.”

A small way we can get out from feelings of overwhelm and helplessness is by using our dollars to support people, organizations, and values that are important to us.

More…

Guided meditation can be used to promote better sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, and even to relieve chronic pain.

I would like to be laid to rest in a big tomb topped by a stone figure of an angel, who appears to have landed there in order to sob forevermore, her face buried in her bent arm, …

“This God was present to me in fullness during the falling, present just like my daddy had been when the training wheels had been taken off of my pink bike.”

Become an “energetic activist” by joining with others to create a collective healing circle in difficult times.

Accepting (even embracing) challenging emotions takes practice, but it's never too late.

Julie Peters describes her experience with SIBO and her long journey back to health.

Maybe you’ve come across one of those bumper stickers that reads Let That #$!% Go, or you’ve seen a T-shirt with the same expression and a serene image of Buddha. But how to let go?

Writer Julie Peters talks about a past eating disorder, how she overcomes feelings of food obsession, and how she frees herself from internal oppression.

We dig in with author Sue Stuart-Smith. “When we sow the soil, we plant seeds of healing within ourselves.”

An excerpt on the power of healing circles from Mia Birdsong.

The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest GiftBy Steve LederAVERY ON THE EVE OF Yom Kippur 2017, Los Angeles-based rabbi Steve Leder delivered what …

What is it really like to try a kambo cleanse? The South American detox treatment.

Mindfulness and Vipasana meditation teacher Christiane Wolf kicks off her second book by introducing us to a simple equation: “Suffering = pain x resistance.”

There is a unique connection between spirituality, science, and your smile. Discover the spiritual meaning of tooth pain.

With this ritual, become an observer to your emotions surrounding loss, and release them into the universe.

Lyanda Lynn Haupt explores where science, poetry, mysticism, and the traditions of earth-based cultures intersect in her book “Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit.”

When it comes to trauma, many misunderstand the true meaning of forgiveness. How can you forgive, move forward, and thrive? Discover the secrets to post-traumatic thriving.

When it comes to the spiritual meaning of left shoulder pain, your heart is at the heart of the matter.

“Pain can turn our world and our internal compass upside down and shove us into darkness. Simultaneously, however, pain can shock us or catapult us out of everyday autopilot.”

“According to Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), emotions that aren’t properly processed become stored in the body—clogging up the flow of vital energy, known as qi, through the body’s invisible network of meridians (channels).”

Stock up your sleep station with supplements for sleep from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and the world of mushrooms.

Yoga and mental health are inextricably intertwined. Yoga helps promote mindfulness, healing from trauma, and boosts creativity.

Something joyful, beautiful, pleasurable, or delicious is happening: Notice moments of sweetness.

“What we need to forgive in others, often is something in ourselves that is hidden from our awareness.”

Explore how to heal a relationship with your sacred womb—a place of death, life, and possibilities.

“I believe that spirituality and creativity are intertwined. I live alone, atop a mountain in Santa Fe. My companion is a tiny white dog that I walk daily along the trails near my …

Pandemic pods kept you sane while keeping COVID-19 at bay. It's okay to mourn the loss of your pod as you celebrate the world moving closer to normal.

Seeking and acknowledging the spiritual meaning of lower back pain can set you on a course for recovery.

Panic attacks can be scary and require care, but they can also teach us a lot about ourselves. Explore the spiritual meaning of panic attacks.

The Lovers tarot card doesn’t just indicate a new relationship on the horizon—it also represents deep archetypal wisdom about love, growth, and learning. Learn more about the spiritual meaning of the Lovers tarot card.

At winter's halfway point, take time to honor the past year's losses and harness the cleansing power of fire. Learn more about the spiritual meaning of Februalia.

Explore sage advice and a powerful 12-minute guided meditation from psychotherapist Andrea Wachter that can help you embrace your emotions and experience healing and relief.

How do we break through the fog of illusion and realize our true nature? Beloved author and teacher don Miguel Ruiz explains.

The Four of Swords tarot card encourages us to rest after a long, hard battle. Learn more about the spiritual meaning of this tarot card.

Our animal chaplain shares inspiration for sustaining canine advocacy from a mother-daughter team in India.

Our lead digital editor reports on one master herbalist's suggestions for our current age of anxiety.

The ancient pagan celebration of the winter solstice deeply influenced many of our modern-day holiday traditions. What is the spiritual meaning of Yule?

How are you breaking your own heart? The Three of Swords tarot card asks us to look into what is causing us pain.

A Division of Hay House

Explore the many options when considering a career to help children and families.

Fight off seasonal afflictions with Ayurvedic wisdom. Hint: You’ll be utilizing emotional healing, breathwork, and delicious recipes.

Utilize this gentle, soothing Ayurvedic practice when you need an afternoon pick-me-up, or when you’re experiencing stressful situations.

If you feel that the positive thinking movement has let you down, experiment with tragic optimism. Learn more about this practice.

At the cross-quarter date between the summer solstice and fall equinox, many modern pagans celebrate Lughnasadh. Learn more about this ancient Celtic harvest festival, and explore how to celebrate it yourself.

Celebrate Lughnasadh, a pagan summer harvest festival, with an earth-centered ritual. Enjoy the abundance of late summer and honor the ancestors.

David Hardy’s early years were shaped by his experiences growing up and being schooled in the UK, Africa, and Australia. Having an innate sense of adventure and curiosity for the w…

These three inverted yoga poses can spark awakening if practiced with attention, mindfulness, and care.

Rabbi Rami explores your questions about trans loved ones, the image of God, and interpreting dreams.

Explore Rev. Sarah Bowen's top four books for animal-loving kids, and enjoy a bonus interview with animal advocate Camille Licate.

Deliver delight this year. Look to the Magi to inspire new gift-giving practices this holiday season.

As suicide rates rise, it’s important to recognize the warning signs. You may be able to help a loved one get the support they need if you know the warning signs of suicide.

Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad is the founder of Muslim Wellness Foundation and the Black Muslim Psychology Conference. She is a fervent advocate for social justice, activism, and mental wellness in the black Muslim community.

Uncover the power of writing poetry as a way to discover the heart of your pain, and to heal from it in this excerpt from Jacqueline Suskin's Every Day is a Poem: Find Clarity, Feel Relief, and See Beauty in Every Moment.

Your body is sending you a message—in the unfortunate language of pain.

Loneliness is hitting especially hard during these holidays. Here are some ways to cope.

The symbolic meanings of animals often vary from culture to culture. Different animals and their symbolism can serve as a great comfort and reminder that you are not alone, even in grief.

After death, what remains? Rabbi Steve Leder discusses his book The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift.

Keep yourself in the right mindset to avoid being vulnerable to Spirit Attachment during these uncertain times.

Most humans have burdened sexuality with lots of baggage. Here’s what we did before we could tell stories about our most intimate acts.

If you could see your heart, you would see what fulfills your life. Here's a glimpse of what's inside you.

Parent to a nervous cat? Body-Mind-Spirit connection isn't just for the humans—help your cat cultivate its inner peace through music.

2020 was a year. But maybe there's a silver lining (or two) to this pandemic after all.

The practice of self-love isn't one-size fits all. Your body knows what it needs. Create your own practice by tapping into your emotions and listening to your body's signals.

A new generation of psychologists finds that a spiritual approach to treatment can help patients heal.

A new generation of researchers is getting inside the mind of chronic pain—and unlocking powerful psychotherapies against what might be the nation’s biggest health crisis.

Breath is life—something we take for granted, but couldn’t do without. In times of stress or grief, often we hear advice to “take a deep breath.” But sometimes deep breathing becom…

An excerpt from Dreams at the Threshold by Jeanne Van Bronkorst.

I’ve been told that I have a fairly broad and deep emotional range. That can be a good thing, because it means I feel things with sensitivity, complexity, and intensity. I notice n…

“What’s most simple to say is that, for our hearts to be wise and free, we have to attend to the mandala of our being—which includes body, emotions, mental states, and thought structure—and their relations with one another.”

How to break free from this perpetual drama

How a retreat leads to increasingly positive thoughts

A dialogue on end-of-life care

San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley Middle School is an unlikely beacon of hope. Shootings and murders are common enough in the California city’s southern neighborhoods that the loca…

An excerpt from To Be a Man by Robert Augustus Masters

Leaving conflicts unresolved can lead to regret.

The art of moving into the peaceful state of Letgo.

A documentary filmmaker discovers a healing process that helps veterans facing the end of life and struggling to resolve their past.

“Which do you prefer, adventure or comfort?” I was asked recently, matter-of-factly, as if the two were mutually separate entities, and I, given the option to choose only one.I clo…

I remember the first time I went to a talk on “letting go” nearly thirty years ago. I could not comprehend what the speaker was talking about. I remember thinking I didn’t have any…

Over the last several years, I’ve come to believe that the greatest, most powerful, most courageous thing we can do in our lives is learn to befriend our pain. This idea is a majo…

September is a bit of a wild month, astrologically speaking. There is a solar eclipse with the new moon on September 1st and a lunar eclipse with the full moon on September 16th. I…

The day after I finished a major project (my new book, Secrets of the Eternal Moon Phase Goddesses), I came down with a fever. For a few days, it hurt my brain to do anything other…

This is the time of year when we wish people “Happy” or a variation on the theme, “Merry.” Happy Holidays. Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. The other night my husban…

Can any of us read the news anymore without a sense of overwhelm and even, can I say it, nausea? Politics that are more theatrics; race relations that are more heart-breaking than …

It’s been a hot summer. I showed up to my yoga studio the other day, and noticed that the air purifying machine was blinking and beeping, which made me think of my kitchen lights, …

As we launch into a new year, resolving for fresh starts, you may discover that there are some lingering grudges and issues bothering you. It is then that the F-word starts to haun…

While interviewing Katherine Woodward Thomas, author of Conscious Uncoupling: Five Steps to Living Happily Even After, for the Love Well podcast, she said something that really str…

‘Tis the season for drinking too much eggnog, eating too much, and pulling out old family hangover cures.We’ve just moved past the Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the sun cycl…

We all know the drill with New Year’s resolutions. Make a fancy wish. Look to the twinkling lights of the holidays. Hope for the best. Mmm hmm.But haven’t New Years resolutions bee…

The yoga that we practice here in North America has a fascinating and complex history and lineage. There are influences from different branches of Hindu religion, Buddhist philosop…

During the time of the Fall Equinox, which fell this year on the same week as a new moon, the energy shift feels palpable. Many people can feel the change in light and weather, and…

"A Rabbit Noticed My Condition"I was sad one day and went for a walk;I sat in a field.A rabbit noticed my condition and came near.It often does not take more than that to help at t…

Intimacy is, at its essence, a practice of presence: showing up and paying attention, whether it is to your best friend, the moss on the trees, or to the heaviness in your heart.

I was working with a woman recently who had been through two divorces. I was teaching her a new understanding of relationship dynamics and some new relationship tools when she bold…

If you look up at the moon on the fourth night from now, you’ll see a beautiful crescent shape. If it’s close enough to the horizon, it’s often a sweet hazy golden color. The godde…

“Some people awaken spiritually without ever coming into contact with any meditation technique or any spiritual teaching. They may awaken simply because they can’t stand the suffer…

Thanks to all those who joined our Chronic Pain Twitter chat on May 21, 2014. We heard from patients, health care professionals, and readers about their personal stories of living …

Once when I broke up with a man, I was struggling with getting over him. When he quickly got engaged to someone else, I was devastated. At the time, I was going to school and confi…

As the end of the school year approaches, expectations and anxiety begin to loom in equal measure. Prior to graduation, the notion that “now life really begins” fills people with g…

It is such a funny word, missing. We use it all the time, “I miss you,” “I wouldn’t want to miss that,” “My keys are missing.” But there is nothing that prepares you, no matter how…

For better or worse, challenge is an ingrained part of growth and awakening. All of us have struggles at some point or another. But some who face challenges are happy; some are no…

In February, my property on Maui, The Sacred Garden, was hit with a massive flash flood. Rain of one to two inches an hour for several hours on already saturated ground caused monu…

Anger: we all know it, many of us well. But at a yoga party, it would be gauche to bring up the raging intensity sitting in your gut. We’re all focusing on the positive here, right…

This feeling of being stuck seems to reside deep in our gut, and it is surrounded by fear.

I was once at a workshop about managing grief through yoga practice. I remember a girl in the back piping up and saying, “Sometimes you just need to discover that it’s pain from a …

When I first started “coming out” as a spiritual guy, so to speak, I was living in sunny San Diego, California. The West Coast seemed to be the birthplace of so much personal growt…

The rains have returned to my home on the Big Island of Hawaii, and with them, a memory. About a year ago, I had an experience that exposed my darker self. Granted, I was still com…

Everyone, at some time or another, has felt a personal connection to the moon. Most of us forget about it most of the time, but everyone I know has, at some point, looked out a win…

There’s an origin story that many yogis have: there was a first moment, a realization, a falling in love, a desire to shout from the rooftops: “Yoga saved me!”. For me and many oth…

In last week’s post, I talked about the vital importance of emotional intelligence. Medical professionals are learning that a huge, overlooked reason many North Americans get sick …

[I can't remember who asked me to write this, or if it was ever published, but I wanted to get it out there. It is long, it is Jewish, and some of it might not make sense to those …

We’re thinking about stress all wrong. “Pain is our absolute best teacher, because it forces us to change something.”

It’s Spring 2012, and we just had a super full moon: The moon was closer to the earth than it’s been all year. Here in Vancouver, it’s just starting to get warm, though the cherry …

by Amanda German In December 2002 I became pregnant with our first child. A few months later, the world around me seemed to blur. Cramping, bleeding, and the words from the ER doc…

There are many misconceptions about what radical acceptance — a skill taught in dialectical behavior therapy — actually looks like. One of the biggest myths is that rad…

It’s 2012: the end of the Mayan Calendar, the year of New Age spiritual transformation, year of the Water Dragon. I started off 2012 learning about the Divine Feminine with Shiva R…

In emotionally confusing situations, our first urge is to try to understand. We use our logical brains to try to figure out things like grief, pain, and (strangest of all) other pe…

Last week, a member of my extended family decided that life was no longer worth living and tried to end it, using an ordinary object sold at every hardware store and present in vir…

Stuck in a hole of despair over lost dreams and lack of support, escape lies in affirmation plus action.

If you didn’t know me as a person, and all you knew about me was that I was a yoga teacher and a poet, you would probably think I was pretty boring. You’d think of poems filled wit…

You can’t think and feel at the same time. One of my yoga teachers, Nico Luce, said this in a class the other day, and it’s one of the sweetest, simplest, and most poignant senten…

Summer. A time of fun in the sun, pretty clothes, romance, rainbows, and unicorns.Or, if you’re me, a bad breakup, moving back in with my parents, getting hit by a car, two rounds …

Many of us have a hard time coping with negative emotions. This makes sense. “Painful feelings like anxiety, sadness, anger and shame tap into the parts of our brain that are conne…

Becoming Kuan Yin: The Evolution of CompassionBy Stephen Levine (Weiser Books) Stephen Levine’s Becoming Kuan Yin tells of Miao Shan, the daughter of a spiteful Chinese king. When…

“We are all individual in our response to trauma, and we are all unique in our recovery process.”

Ask A Practitioner

As she celebrates a new life with her husband, Amy Paturel finds love and acceptance where she least expected it—in the memory of his first wife.

By letting go of past hurts, we can heal not only ourselves, but our families, our communities, and our world.

We all have headaches—and, thus, often just accept them. But what is actually causing that pounding head? And what is it trying to tell you?

1. What important lesson came out of your childhood?Maybe most strikingly, the impermanence and uncertainty of life. As a child I had no ability to extract the sweet from the bitte…

In the growing field of music thanatology, research finds that a patient’s final days can be made easier with music.When aggressive treatments and heroic measures fail, caregivers …

Research now proves what these experts already knew: that if you want to change your life, the place to start isn't in your mind, but in your body.

The author of The Magic of Hebrew Chant, Rabbi Shefa Gold is also a recording artist and the director of the Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice in New Mexico. She…

Pet-loss support groups can help the healing process when we lose our most constant companions.

Writer Kim Rosen raises questions about Zen, openness, and the “desperation” of the creative process.

Money can do so much good if we use it in a spirit of interrelatedness, acceptance, and love.

This season, avoid the usual meltdowns and instead forge meaningful connections.

Nearly broke and pessimistic about the world, journalist Jane Ganahl heart and mind were opened by one abandoned cat.

The real art of being with what is is to know when to stop talking.

Author David Whyte on words, spirituality, and his idea of a "conversation."

An Interview with Josh Korda

Excerpted from Let’s Talk About Death: Asking the Questions that Profoundly Change the Way We Live and Die

“Whatever bad things have happened to you in your life, whatever hard things you’ve gone through, you have to do three things: You have to accept it. You have to be kind to it. ... And listen to me. You have to let it be kind to you."

To learn to be wise again we have to find a way to bring a safe feeling back into our lives.

Rabbi Rachel Cowan discusses aging workshops, wisdom, and loss.

I’m sitting at my favorite local diner on a warm and sunny Saturday in February, with my boyfriend across from me—so many things to be grateful for. Only, I’m starving. One-by-one,…

A longtime altar maker shares his practice

Co-create your big dreams with a shift from a Marketshare to a Mindshare mindset

My miracle cure was found in a moment of Grace more than 20 years ago. It involves no ingested substances or any special equipment, just a bit of time every evening.When I was an e…

An artist shares how his practice of creating beautiful morning altars blossomed.

An excerpt of The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Francis Weller

A look at bipolar statistics reveals that this mental illness affects approximately 5.7 million adults.

This began with my search for a hat and ended at a place I never could have imagined

A combination of hatha yoga, mindfulness meditation and playful fun.

To come to know and to make sense of and to share our stories is not an act of selfishness, but an act of growth, healing, and ultimately, generosity. But what is a writer to do with a violent story she cannot narrate—when it’s her own?

Shamanic healers help clients overcome trauma and find healing through the practice of journeying and soul retrieval.

Navigating the many forms of ecstatic dance

Not only do animals live, they have lives—with “undiluted purity and clarity…”

There’s so much to love about art. “Art is life, and life is art,” some say. It encompasses everything from drawing to painting, dancing to writing, music to theater – and more. It…

Imagery training can boost everyday wellbeing, a new study shows.

A memoir beyond words. . .

A way to honor your mother with others who have lost their own. Sponsored Content from Celebrant Foundation & Institute.

An excerpt from Kale & Caramel by Lily Diamond

An Interview with Mark Epstein

Fight for your happiness. Here are some tips.

An excerpt from Randi Ragan’s book A Year of Living Mindfully: Seasonal Practices to Nourish Body, Mind, and Spirit

Sam Mowe: You’re the executive director at Zen Hospice Project. Are you a Zen practitioner? BJ Miller: No, ironically. I'm very drawn to Buddhism—and I can’t refute any of t…

How I turned from the question of what I wanted from life to what life wants from me

Excerpted from The Write Prescription: Telling Your Story to Move With and Beyond Illness by Judith Hannan

One author offers her thoughts on taking a 5-week, $500 vacation from anxiety.

To sit in Ceremony is to make a conscious decision to shift into a sacred space

Moving beyond the analytic mind to true soul-tending in relationships

An Invocation"Rise and place your hands on your heart. Bow your head to your heart and in doing so, bow your mind, bow your intelligence, bow your ego, to the presence of the Livin…

I’m too judgmental. It is a bad habit (there I go again!), one I learned from my family, where criticism far outweighed compliments. I went to a liberal arts college to learn criti…

For the last ten days of April, I had the great fortune of attending the International Gathering of Shamans in Dunderry, County Meath, Ireland. The purpose of our gathering was to …

What is a “good death”?A hospital chaplain reflects on the lessons from her patients.Suffering and death are what initially attracted me to a career in the spiritual care of the si…

"Pastures ranged over the rolling hills. Tall oak and beech woods lined both sides of the valley, and when sunlight suffused through them, they seemed as enchanted to Lisa as when she and her sister had played there as children."

A Burned-out M.D. turns to her community she asked what they wanted in a health-care clinic, then built it — and was transformed. Here’s what the future of medicine could loo…

Ninety percent of the cells in what we think of as our body are nonhuman. Our nonhuman components fuel our cells, digest our food, synthesize vitamins, maintain our immune defenses…

An Interview with Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.Twelve years ago, at 37, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist and spokeswoman for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Cen…

My mother died suddenly from a heart attack, and I can’t rid myself of the anger I feel toward her for that. I love her deeply, and I feel guilty about the anger. And I’m fearful t…

Eco-Buddhist Joanna Macy on facing an uncertain future, changing the world through love, and looking at the Earth as an extension of ourselves.

The psychologist Mary Pipher unites conservatives and liberals to defend Nebraska’s environment one small, sweet action at a time.

Kalia Kelmenson is the creator of The Salt in Us where she helps water-loving women harvest the wisdom of their grief and pain so they can find freedom and flow in their life. She …

In the 1990s I spent many happy years living in a beautiful apartment overlooking the River Thames in London. Then, in the summer of ’96, everything came crashing down. After findi…

Resilient GrievingBy Lucy Hone, PhDThe ExperimentLucy Hone is well acquainted with grief and resilience. Her 12-year-old daughter, Abi, was killed in a tragic car accident in 2012,…

Grace Without GodThe Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular AgeBy Katherine OzmentHarperWaveI’m a spot-on “none” as described by Katherine Ozment. Growing up in th…

Into the SilenceAvishai CohenECMMusic can be motivated by new beginnings and inspirational experiences. Music is also an ideal language for expressing loss. The tender jazz tunes o…

A Spiritual AutobiographyBy Richard RodriguezVikingIn the months after the events of September 11, 2001, the award-winning journalist Richard Rodriguez found himself drawn to learn…

What has been your biggest challenge in organizing social change in Africa? When women started standing up to defend their rights in their communities, it often caused them more g…

A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth ThinkingBy Stephanie KazaShambhala, $14.00“Living green” can be a powerful spiritual practice, an approach that offers a way to integr…

My ReincarnationDirected by Jennifer FoxDocumentary DVDIn English (and Italian and Tibetan with English subtitles)myreincarnationfilm.comAcclaimed documentary filmmaker Jennifer Fo…

Transform Your Life, Transform the World: A Sedona Method Movie Hale Dwoskin Hale Dwoskin and the sedona Training Associates want you to share this movie, so give it to your frie…