Journaling During this Time of Liminal Change and Transition

Dear Friends,

During this past year, I've begun keeping a journal again. Writing has always helped me navigate difficult times. Suffice it say this year has been challenging, I lost my father, moved, had long periods of separation from family, redefined how I work and of course felt the shared grief for so many lost to disease and the anxiety of uncertainty we were all feeling!

I tried my best to find meaning in the new normal, learn new strategies and use my coping tools. And like many of you I experienced many ups and downs. I looked for comfort in the words and teachings of learned wise teachers like Pema Chodron, Tara Brach, and others. My teacher of Positive Psychology, Dr. Maria Sirois, calls these teachings "life boats".

I try to write every morning and have found a lot of similarities between writing and yoga practice. Both processes uncover what is happening below the surface, both allow me to pause, and help me find what is true. And my writing helps me witness, observe and reflect on patterns of thought. Writing has provided opportunity to unwind.

We are living in a time of transition now, and slowly taking baby steps back into life outside of the safety of our cocoons. Everyone of us has different comfort levels. Sometimes we rub up against each other in an uncomfortable ways. Writing can help us deal with the uncertain and anxiety of the unknown and navigate the new normal, integrating all the mixed information we are still receiving about vaccines, variants, etc.

Please join me for a series of three journaling and mindfulness sessions to help us delve deeper into what feels true for us in community. Each session will be one hour. I will organize it, provide inspiration and prompts and arrange a forum for connection. I'm calling this "Pausing to Uncover and Connect to What is True."