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Surrendering with Singer Songwriter Larisa Stow

Surrender is the mac-daddy of spiritual practices. It requires us to Trust the Unknown and the Invisible (Love, Grace, Compassion, Right Action, Presence) so deeply we are willing to relinquish our mental prowess to enter into an experience which is beyond the mind. and then act from that place.  The Bible would call this “listening to the still small voice.”  For me, I learned to trust control (the antithesis of surrender)  in order to maintain safety.  Trusting The Invisible and leaning into it has been a long and gradual process. My writing partner and I get together regularly to review and comment on each other’s work.  As a former reporter, she is always telling me to add more sources to my writing, to include more voices into my work.  I have taken her suggestion and in addition to source references throughout my book-in-process, I have taken to interviewing individuals who embody the theme for which I’m writing.  Larisa Stow embodies surrender. She actually embodies Love.  Yet the Love emanating through...

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The Impact of Trauma on the Emotions with Kim Lipsman

“Trauma, I would define, is the inability to stay in the present.”  Kim Lipsman Emotions are wonderful nuggets of energy which rise up in response to an idea, thought, perception, or reaction.  If, however, you are traumatized, these nuggets may proceed thought and/or direct it.  Even more likely, is the chance you are separated from thought. During my two years of solitude I worked with Kim, above, to restore my emotional self to a place of balance and trustworthiness.  I relearned the  nuances of emotion and came to fall in love, once again, with the miracle of self expression through emoting.  I allowed myself to write poetry, paint and wallow in emotional states not from a place of judgment, but from a place of gratitude. When is the last time you gave thanks for your ability to become angry, disgruntled, happy, frustrated or giddy?  It is a wonderful practice.  Catch an emotion rising up from within, name it and then with delight say “I love this feeling.”  This freedom...

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