CURRENTS THROUGH USELESS BAY

I’m learning how to value silence. Not the dysfunctional silence of withdrawal, but the rich and thoughtful silence of conscious retreat.

I watched one of those educational programs on TED Talks the other day, and the speaker made a comment about how our educational system trains us out of making mistakes. Mistakes are shamed and invalidated, while conformity and head-knowledge are rewarded. We are conditioned to get the right answers, and through our archaic [...]

Today marks a switch in the content of my blog. As the nature of my therapy practice evolves, these blogs must also evolve to reflect the changes. Even as the land beneath my feet reveals its healing process, so also, my practice is growing and changing to reflect a similar healing. The call has come to me in a very solid and clear way. Now is the time to begin a contemplative ecotherapy practice, and this blog will now speak toward that ethic.

This issue is far from easy, and has many layers of complexity. From a Buddhist point of view, we want to save all beings. But what does “saving” mean? And what if we are excusing ourselves somehow from our bodhisattva vows by using co-dependency as an out?

I haven’t reposted on this topic because, after thinking for awhile, I came to see that each individual is very different, and will need treatments based on his or her individual lifestyle, body type, and blood and salivary tests.  For some people, quitting caffeine and getting enough rest will solve their adrenal burnout.  For others, [...]

Like many of you, I am feeling anxiety about what is happening to our economy, and I am seeing more cases of anxiety in my counseling practice in Mukilteo. In times like these, it’s easy to collapse into fear or feel hopeless and apathetic, to point fingers of blame, and act out in anger.

I hate to admit this, but I want to vindicate myself from racial guilt by looking every black person in the eye and saying: “I voted for him—he’s mine too!” As if I want some sort of absolution from the sin of being white. And I know the casting of a mere vote doesn’t let me off the hook–that nothing is that simple or easy.

I’ve been trying to think of ways to encourage positive changes in my lifestyle without burdening myself with more “Shoulds.” I notice that I bristle a little when I read about “creating abundance” and thinking positively and “just doing it”. The plethora of advice on the internet for how to better run and control our lives is staggering.