The right 

people, places, 

and things,

will nourish you.


That’s how you’ll know.


(Lalah Delia)









Owning our story can be hard 

but not nearly as difficult as 

spending our lives running from it.

Embracing our vulnerabilities 

is risky but not nearly as 

dangerous as giving up on 

love and belonging and joy - 

the experiences that make us 

the most vulnerable. 

Only when we are brave enough 

to explore the darkness will we

discover the infinite power 

of our light.


(Brené Brown)









To be human is to struggle.

Eventually we realize that when we

sit under the umbrella of “shoulds” - 

“This shouldn’t be so hard. 

I should be happy.” - the pain rains

down harder. But when we accept

the fact that anxiety, depression,

loneliness, powerlessness, grief, joy,

and exhilaration are all part of the

design, we step out into the rain 

and perhaps even dance a little.


(Sheryl Paul)









People say I’ve changed,

but I’ve actually always

had this wildness & 

fierce strength in me -

I just kept it hidden

so I wouldn’t disappoint, 

or upset anyone.

I didn’t really change at all, 

I simply found the courage to take

off this mask of feel good bullshit

and be what I am.


(Brooke Hampton)









One of the hallmarks of the ungrounded spiritual movement is this statement: 

“There is only THIS moment.” 

It is often made by spiritual teachers who are dissociating from their unresolved history -

self-avoidance masquerading as enlightenment. 

We can understand the value of this way of thinking -

it calls us out of our worry mind, our habitual consciousness - and reminds us to be here, now. 

But it doesn’t work - at least not for very long.

Because “this moment” actually includes and encompasses every moment before. 

The past is not behind us, as many of us wish it was - it is deep within us, encoded in our cells, somatized as memory and unresolved trauma. 

It fully informs our lens on reality. 

In most cases, the “power of now” is just a dissociative construct. Because most of us are still influenced, and ruled by, the power of “then.” 

The answer is not to pretend we are present, when all we have done is fled or momentarily suspended our past. 

That’s not true presence. 

That's not true healing. 

The answer is to own, embody and resolve the “then”, so that our experience of the moment both honors our history and recognizes the ways our moment is informed by our past. 

It is to recognize that past and present are intrinsic to each other.

The mystery begins with our history.


(Jeff Brown)









I often forget there is

something I can do when

I don‘t know what to do:




(Rachel Macy Stafford)









The individual has always had to

struggle to keep from being

overwhelmed by the tribe. 

If you try it, you will be lonely often,

and sometimes frightened. 

But no price is too high to pay 

for the privilege of owning yourself. 


(Friedrich Nietzsche)









Put your hand on your heart 

and know that there is always 

something strong and steady

beating inside of you.

Feel the beat of your heart 

push back against your hand and

remember that you are never alone.

You are here. You are worthy. 

Let your heart be your soft place

to land. Then remember - the sun

always rises on time, so does the

moon, and so love, do you.


(Emma Rose Tait)









The spirituality of today, is a fast track to avoidance. 

The spiritual path is not an easy path. 

The path of awakening burns away the layers of the human ego… 

It separates you from it so that you can then integrate it. 

Many seekers have decided that they want awakening because they think it will lead them to comfort. 

This means, the second they get to a place of discomfort with a particular teacher or path, instead of face the parts of themselves that are in need of integration, they will simply avoid the discomfort and abandon the teacher or path for whatever teacher and path enables their comfort. 

They will go for one that feels the best. 

For example, lets say someone needs to become aware of what they are doing and why in order to make actual changes to their life. 

Their current teacher says that they have to do shadow work to discover this but this person is afraid of seeing and feeling those things. 

In the past, this person would have heeded that advice and faced it. Today, they listen to another person on the internet say “you just need to focus only on what feels good and then your reality will become exactly that”. 

This is a much more appealing concept to the ego, which would like to stay comfortable. 

So, they abandon their teacher and path and join up with whatever challenges their ego the least. 

Now, more than ever the message spiritual teachers and leaders get is:

Make me feel good or else I’m not a follower or supporter anymore and in fact, I might turn on you.


(Teal Swan)









We are 

the last generation

with a real 


to save the world. 


(Laurence Overmire)