We just visited my mother-in-law who has dementia. Her long-term memory is enough that she recognizes us. But she has very little short-term memory, which means she repeats the same few things over and over. She’ll talk about how big the kids are and ask them what they’ve been up to this summer. Then her
“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” –Nelson Mandela I
Shirley has been a flight attendant for 40 years. When she was very young and new on the job, she was badly hurt in some turbulence. She was afraid to fly for a while after that experience. One day a passenger noticed her fear and asked her about it. She admitted to being afraid and
I’m always having conversations with people about the fact that we feel our own mental dialogue, and only our own mental dialogue, all day every day. Life is an inside-out experience, coming from within our own minds, not from the world around us or from the things happening to us. And I totally get that
Relationships: the source of the vast majority of pleasure—and pain—for the entire human species. A couple years ago I taught this 30 minute class on having easier, more rewarding relationships. Yes, it’s old, but I recently revisited it and I felt called to share it with you again, two years later. And yes, I know–there have
“If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” ~Ram Dass I just returned from a four-day trip with my family. It was my own family of four (my husband and two kids), plus my mom, my two sisters, and my brother-in-law. It was great. We get along well and have fun
Please watch this 9 min video about the Second Annual Being Human Workshop in Ann Arbor this October. I’m really excited about it and I hope you’ll take the leap and choose to join us for a life-changing weekend. You can find out more here (after you watch the video, of course!) Ready to sign
Imagine there’s an oven. A magic oven! The magic oven has a timer that you can hear from wherever you are. Even the timer is magic because you don’t have to set it—the oven is so wise and so magical that the timer simply sounds off when your delicious creations are complete. Pretty magical,
I’ve always been insanely curious about people. For literally as long as I can remember, I’ve read about characters in books and watched people around me in fascination, wondering how they see the world and what drives them to do what they do. Curious and interested as I was, I wouldn’t say that I necessarily
The fact that all is well in the outside world—that there are conditions and circumstances but not problems, per se, out there—is something I’m continually discussing with people. It’s quite simple, actually. And when people are already in a nice feeling, they see it right away. There’s something that just feels true about truth,
