The Gift of Making Amends in Recovery

3 questions I learned to ask before saying ‘I’m Sorry’

2 Albatross touching beaks with an energy of kindness

I went to a funeral this week and found myself reminiscing with relief. It was a walk down memory lane on a broken old road, but gratefully many of the potholes had been repaired and I’d dropped off a lot of my baggage already..

One of the beautiful processes I discovered in 12-Step programs is getting to make amends to people I had harmed in my life. And when the time came for me to do that, I discovered I had a lot to learn before I could say, I’m sorry and have those words hold water. … Read More

Mending the Overachiever

Helping those who strive too hard for health

I have a precious figurine of a wooden angel holding a bundle of apples in her arms. It was given to me by a patient who did everything in her power to be healthy and young-looking. So when her husband called weeping to tell me she’d had a fatal heart attack, I was shocked.

After much deliberation, I recognized one thing I wished I’d been able to help her with. Something which engenders a way of being that would have helped her listen more closely to her inner guidance and react less to her fears. … Read More

Your Customers Don’t Mind Duplication

The magic repetition formula I discovered that creates a magnetic pull.

I used to think I shouldn’t repeat myself for fear of boring an audience.

Boy was I wrong about that!

> … Read More

How To Deal With Patients’ Skepticism as a Holistic Practitioner

Nurture your bedside manner with curiosity and unconditional empathy

A woman came to see me with a hundred symptoms. I’m not kidding.

On her first visit, while I did my usual intake process for complex cases, I saw a pattern form in my mind as she spoke, and I could see a couple of paths ahead for treatment options.

Then I blew it!

… Read More

Creating a Suggestion That Sticks

What I learned about guidance through misunderstandings

Sitting in my clinic supervisor’s professional office, eager to find out what herbs and supplements he’d choose for my ‘student exhaustion syndrome’, I realized something that would become a guiding principle for how I approach practice.

I began experimenting with the question — how do I give a good suggestion? … Read More