I've been thinking about the value of failure lately. I started my first business when I was in my twenties, and it failed miserably. I was already $50,000 in debt when I realized that it was never going to work. To pay off that debt, I spent a few …
Can we become more authentic by embracing our shadow? The shadow is a term used in psychology to describe the unconscious parts of ourselves that we tend to repress or hide from the world. These can sometimes be traits or desires that we view as ne…
What is your personal myth? Our personal myths are the stories we tell ourselves of where we've come from and where we’re going, what we love and what we fear. Often, this story is full of reasons why we don't or can't have the life we dream …
How do we cultivate intuition? Intuition hasn't always been something I’ve relied on. I've often tried to think and control my way toward what I thought I wanted from life. But when I'm lost in thought or trying to control the world around me…
How do we live with uncertainty? Summer and autumn are fire seasons here on the mountain and that means that we live with the near constant threat of wildfire. Would I rather that we didn't? Absolutely, but not enough to leave this beautiful place …
How can we embrace resistance? This month’s story is a bit longer than usual, and a bit more personal, but I want to share something with you that’s spurred some deep transformation for me, because it’s something I think a lot us …
Do we have seasonal rhythms? It’s summer on the mountain, and life here is pretty much in sync with the sun. Both it and I rise around 6 am. It sets around 9 and I’m never too far behind. :) Bodhi and I try to head out for our daily wa…
How do you deal with setbacks? We all have times in life where things don’t go the way we hoped or planned. I remember the first year my sleep podcast listenership took a dip in May, I got a little anxious wondering what I was doing …
Many of you know that Bodhi came from our local shelter. He was the runt of a litter of 12 puppies found out in the woods about 10 miles east of here. This picture is from the first time I saw him. (That's him in the middle with his nose sticking th…
The end of February is late Winter here on the mountain. The buckeye trees are starting to leaf out, the first wild flowers are beginning to peak out of the brown oak leaves littering the the forest floor, but it's still frequently below freezing at…
every morning we wake to a new opportunity to tell a new story and leave the past behind us surrender to the path before us and be here now I wrote this yesterday afternoon after a walk with Bodhi where I was alternately thinking about …
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." This is the first line of Endymion by John Keats. It's the poem that inspired this week's story on the podcast. For me, it's a good reminder of the essential nature of life. I saw this band-tailed pigeon feathe…
Lately we've had a lot of fog and a lot of sun here on the mountain. It reminds me of how life can seem so foggy sometimes that it's hard to think the sun is ever going to come out again. Last year was a lot like that for me. In the fog of the pand…
This week, we saw a rainbow but no unicorns. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking for unicorns. ;) After it rains, when the sun comes out, we sometimes get the biggest brightest rainbows I've ever seen. Joe took the picture above when he…
This week we had snow, rain and sun. The rain and snow were nice because it gave me a good excuse to stay inside and work on the new Thursday night sleep meditation episodes. How did you like the first one? Let me know so that I can make them as sle…
The day after Christmas was Bodhi's sixth birthday. We had a great day celebrating Bodhi's doggy forties! In some ways, it's hard to believe he's been with us for six years and in others, it's hard to remember what life was like before he was a part…
Did you know that the artwork on the Listen To Sleep episodes is based on a real place here on the mountain? It's a waterfall that's a 10 minute walk from our cabin. I've been photographing it for years and it's one of my favorite spots to swim in …
It snowed up here this week. Well, almost. It snowed up on the ridges and gave us the most beautiful views of snow without having to actually deal with any ourselves. We got some much needed rain instead. We have our neighbor's dog Darla staying w…
For the past twenty years, the holidays have been a difficult time of year for me. I know there are many others who feel the same. On December 20th 2001, my youngest brother died in a car crash. The shadow of that has been long and dark. For the pa…
A couple of my dreams came true this week and I am so grateful to all of you for your help in making that happen. Ten months ago, I wrote about my dreams for 2021. This week, with all of your help, those dreams came true. Thanks to you, Listen To…
Bodhi and I took another sunrise walk this week and it was spectacular. We set out in a heavy fog but by the time we came home, there was an incredible view of the moon setting over the ridge. Here's a shot of the moon coming up the night before. …
This week I flipped my morning routine on Wednesday and took a walk up to the top of the hill before having my morning coffee. It was a foggy, chilly morning and I felt like doing something different. It only took a few minutes for me to realize ho…
There's a barn along the road in town that has "Don't forget the magic" painted on the side in five foot tall letters. Ever since my first trip up here, I've tried to remember to take that advice to heart. I grew up believing in all kinds of magic.…
Ever since the rain started back up a couple of weeks ago, I've been looking forward to the return of the red-bellied newts. They usually start roaming the hillsides soon after the first rain, but this year I hadn't seen a single one. Until today. …