I feel like a humpback whale, feeding on huge amounts of plankton and krill (in the form of information), filtering it through my baleen...receiving all, trying to keep that which works for me, filtering out that which doesn't, and inevitably other stuff gets in. India is, well, overwhelmingly full of information - sights, smells, sounds, that enliven, shock, scare and bring joy. We have travelled to many countries and India is the country that offers the most......

When we start to develop...unconditional acceptance of ourselves, then we're really taking care of ourselves in a way that pays off. We feel more at home with our own bodies and minds and more at home in the world. As our kindness for ourselves grows, so does our kindness for other people." Pema Chodron Everyone looks so vibrant and healthy here in Varkala. There are masses of yoga-body women of all ages with glowing faces, tight, lithe bodies, long hair pulled...

As the New Year arrives, I reflect on my annual theme. I usually make a theme that is broad enough to be a guide and is not a goal. In 2016, I acknowledged my theme was a disguised goal or, really, a New Year's resolution (which I didn't accomplish), thus the reason I don't do resolutions. They just don't work for me. My 2016 theme of '500 hours of joyful writing' manifested as '50 hours of far-from-joyful writing'. Ah, but, it is often the themes that don't work...

"I'm happy to be here, but still a little sad to be here too. Sometimes it's better to travel than to arrive." - Robert Pirsig And to arrive and be so far from home during Christmas is always hard for me. Ah, but sometimes being home at Christmas is also hard with no family living near us. I've been listening to Firestarter Sessions from Danielle LaPorte and I'm taking some advice from her. Easy is not always lazy or undisciplined; sometimes it is you intuitiv...