The V-Word

“It’s the process of writing and life that matters… We are trying to become sane along with our poems and stories.” -Natalie Goldberg

I have been indulging in novels this summer. I have been lucky enough to find stories that capture my attention so much that I can’t stop reading, staying up late into the night, and cutting out less pressing goals in favor of reading time. I just finished reading I...

“Sanctuary, on a personal level, is where we perform the job of taking care of our soul.” Christopher Forrest McDowell

I live in the middle of Northwest forest. Tucked away in the midst of trees and sky and absolute silence is the singular circumstance in my life that brings sanity to all the rest. Our house is unusual, no closets in any bedrooms, only one family bathroom and no master suite. In...

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.  ~Victor Hugo

Like millions of other young girls in this country, my daughters were raised with the Disney girls. My eldest was a long-time fan of both Lindsay Lohan and Hillary Duff and witnessed with disbelief as their girl-next-door appearances slipped into sex symbol and their lives slipped out of control in...

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”  -Buddha

I was at a marketing lunch today discussing the plans to build the distribution and sales of Good Clean Love products. The conversation turned to my writing, as it often does. My writing has been my voice that has driven the message of sustainable love that, in my mind, is the raison d’etre of my...

“Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.” -Samuel Smiles

Today included a satisfying set of small steps that I have been working toward for weeks. For some reason, progress seems to happen like that. Our effort to move in a certain direction, to accomplish something gets...

Join Sherrie Dillardfor an intuitive perspective on love and relationships. With over 20 years experience working as a professional psychic an medium, her new book Love and Intuition offers both a deep look at the lessons our relationships provide and sound advice and exercises to develop your own intuition and grow your loving relationships. Join us in this riveting conversation about tapping...

“Marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.” Barbara De Angelis

I have told more people than I can count the one irreplaceable piece of advice that has kept my marriage going for decades. Sometimes, like today, I have to go inside myself with a pick axe and dig it out for me. The advice came from Bob, the...

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” ~John Muir

The beauty of the earth is an invitation to the felt sense of gratitude; not the kind that you think of, but the sort that inhabits your body and reminds you how good it is to be alive. Any experience of nature has the power to heal and give strength like a direct...

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” — Arnold Bennett

I often hear the voice of my product designer in my head of late. Just over a year ago, he answered an ad I placed on Craigslist for design help. When we sat talking about where I was and what I wanted, he waited for me to finish and looked me in the eye and asked “Can you change,...