The V-Word

“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” -Confucius

These days when I meditate on my vision of the future, I pray for my ability to serve to expand to its largest possible dimension. I believe the deepest service that I offer in life is my ability to write and teach about love. It is the work that feels like...

“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.” -Vince Lombardi

In my small northwestern town, which is home to the University of Oregon, the main attraction at this time of year is our football team, the Ducks. In fact, when I travel it is the one thing that helps most people recognize where I live. Our mascot is Donald Duck, and...

“It often happens that a man is more humanely related to a cat or dog than to any human being.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Of the many gifts that a Buddhist calm mind is supposed to confer on the practitioner, the belief that you will be loved by animal spirits has always been an active daily marker for me. I am sure that this is in part due to the amount of my days that are indeed devoted and...

“Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than material force, that thoughts rule the world.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today I was talking to a friend and colleague who lives in Boulder Colorado. She was sharing the volunteer work she was doing in support of the many people who lost so much during the recent fire. With more than $8 million of losses, it has been called the most...

This week seems to be ripe with new beginnings. My last year of college started just a few days ago, which means everything’s changing around quite quickly. But let me backtrack for a moment to introduce myself. I am the founder of Good Clean Love’s daughter, a senior in college attending the University of Oregon and will graduate with a degree in public relations. I would like to announce the...

“The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.” -Carl Gustav Jung

I have always attributed my most intelligent thinking to the ideas that helped me extract meaning from my days. One of my primary goals is to make meaning out of my experience. I want to understand my choices within context of the world I live in and I want my actions to be...

Join Dr. David Schnarch, world-renown sex and marital therapist, and international best-selling author of Passionate Marriage, Resurrecting Sex and most recently Intimacy and Desire explore the crossroads of healthy sexuality and the maturation of our humanity. Dr. Schnarch’s brilliant understanding of the core issues behind the majority of sexual problems that most couples face and his...

“There are no gains without pains.” -Adlai Stevenson

One of the reasons that people give up on their goals and dreams is because it is hard work to stay with them and the rewards of our commitments are often not immediate. Whether your goal is improving your physical condition, increasing your mental capacity or re-orienting the direction of your life, the work to get there is challenging and...

“Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.” -Anne Sullivan

One of the most difficult passages in life is moving through the times when we try with all our might and fail anyway. It can turn your heart into a rock and make you not...