The Shadow and the Shimmer

Prelude to this post, the best vegan sandwich in the world at Aux Vivres, Montreal (veggie pate) We're getting ready to fly out to Montreal! Going home is so nice, but it also makes me realize that over the past 15 months, I have really made Switzerland home, too. It's OK to have two places that are home, right? The truth is, home for me has become less about location, and more about where my heart is. For two years, Thomas and I were nurturing our relationship long-distance style, and it gave us both such an incredible appreciation for each moment we have had together in one place.  For some, it might seem like just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill life, but to us, it's extraordinary. We really value what it means to have a home and a family together , because for so long we had to rely on seeing each other every 3-4 months...man, I don't miss those days, but I'll always be grateful that we had the experience of being apart; it makes our love so much

Happy Harvest Moon lovely people! I'm really excited about this full moon. Not only will it be huge and beautiful (hope I can see from my balcony, or at least behind our apartment!) it's also one of the most powerful astral phenomenon's of the year. This full moon, which is the one nearest the autumnal equinox, is a time to reflect on our feelings, emotions and spiritual "state of affairs" and to release any negativities that have been accumulated. Feeling frazzled at work? Not getting along with a friend or partner? Feeling like you are holding too much in and need to express yourself? THIS IS THE TIME! Let the mystical, magical moon do all the dirty work for you tonight! Then...have a beautiful and deep sleep to rejuvenate and restart! So, the nice thing is that there is no right or wrong way to do this ceremony. As with all things spiritual, you really have free range to follow your own path of what feels the most healing to you. The most

Often, as I am lying in bed drifting off to sleep, writing ideas pop into my head. Usually these ideas relate to my upcoming memoir self-help book, but sometimes they are other random bits of information that come out of the woodwork. The words flow through my head and soothe me to bed like a lullaby, and I get the sensation that I am reading and writing at the same time. It's pretty cool. Sadly, I don't always wake up (I rarely do!) to jot down these ideas, so the next day they aren't quite as fresh. But last night, something came into my head that was a pretty cool idea. What if you were asked to name 100 of your absolute favorite things in the world? This could be anything from an activity, a natural phenomena, an animal, a food...the list should be as unique and personal as possible. The only thing you should avoid is listing people, cause then the list risks becoming just a long collection of names ("I love my momma, my grandmomma, my daddy etc;" We a

I'm pretty sure that one of my earliest blog posts was titled this. There is something so reassuring, so calming and so poignant about this Yogi Bhajan quote.  Let's face it, life isn't always a bouquet of daffodils and roses. I am really happy that I've found a balance in my day-to-day life that keeps me in the "high on life" range for at least a good 80%-90% of my time, but that doesn't mean that I don't suffer from some human-level bullshit from time to time!!! The truth is, without the darkness, we can't appreciate the light, right? I used to live most of my time with my shadow, and only a small amount of time with my shimmer. Over time, with vigorous self-love practices in place, I was able to get rid of a lot of the dark layers; clean out the cobwebs and the dirt, and learn to love living in the shiny spots. But, I still have moments that test me. Just recently, I found myself caught up in a moment that tested my patience, my