Life was great in the 90’s. Wonderful longtime partner. Beautifully remodeled house designed by a world-class architect.  Successful business ventures for me and and my partner. Money rolling in. Political involvement. Making a difference in human rights. Great family and friends. Can’t get much better than that – the American dream in action.

But the universe, or whatever you want to call the force that permeates all, had other ideas. That force clobbered me and knocked me awake. And life was never the same after that. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday morning, Keesha left her body and crossed the rainbow bridge. It's been one day and I keep expecting her to nudge me and sing a bit asking to go out.

Keesha is a once-in-a-lifetime dog for me. My soul companion of over 10 years in so many adventures. Climbing Mt. Elbert in Colorado and Medicine Bow in Wyoming. Meditating on the shores of Lake Superior and camping along the Temperance River. Thanksgivings and Christmases in Glen Ellyn and Winter Park. And of course, Travels with Keesha across Canada and up through the Yukon, crossing the Arctic Circle into the Northwest Territories. Then on to Alaska, taking the ferry back and driving back across the Western US. And many more - too many to list. Our mantra was "on the road again" and we were happy in the tent together. Read the rest of this entry »

Last weekend, I led a retreat for a group of women from my home town church, First Unitarian Universalist church. Our theme was Creativity as a Healing Path. As the women explored creativity, I found myself confronting stress accumulated from work that simply did not feed my soul and the weariness of business travel. A friend who gave me a short massage asked if I had whiplash my neck was so tight.

I couldn't begin to explore my creativity feeling like this. So I did what I know helps. A long walk in the forest. A good cry. A few conversations with trees and what ever animal swoops in. When I returned the retreat center, I wrote this poem, the first I've done in a long time. Read the rest of this entry »

Because I meditate, I learned to format photos for the web, create a podcast, upload files and add links and even start with search engine optimization - SEO for those of you who may be geeky enough.

Let me explain.

Last Saturday I walked in the door of my church, First Unitarian Universalist of Rochester (MN not NY). It was our Mid-Winter Retreat. I was going to talk for 10 minutes about belonging. And I'd signed up for other topics too. But I felt drained from a week of training people and travel. The meditation session seemed so much more soothing to me. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always loved dogs and I have enjoyed the company of many dogs throughout my life, great friends and companions. But this one, this red and white Siberian Husky with the brilliant blue eyes and a yip that can send you flying out of your chair with heart pounding, is rare. A once in a lifetime dog. Read the rest of this entry »