Acceptance, Stillness and Surrender Meditation 1. Center yourself and get into a quiet and comfortable position. Allow your spine to be straight, but not rigid; keep your legs and arms uncrossed; make sure all of your joints (think knees, here) are unlocked. Close your eyes or allow them to go soft. Be mindful and consciously […]
Author Archive | Adele Ryan McDowell
My love affair with the moon
As a grade school student, I listened with my whole heart and soul to what the nuns taught me. So, imagine my surprise when Sister Rosa, a nun who tended the convent grounds, warned us, a group of navy-blue-uniformed girls, about the dangers of the moon. We all stopped and stared. We felt she was […]
Welcome, Class, to Advanced Uncertainty
Is your world more down than up? Has sideways become your new vertical? Have your health, sanity, relationships, future plans, money, housing and/or employment concerns been in bucking-bronco states of flux? Have global warming, political warring, economic forecasting, ecological nightmares and cresting costs-of-living upped your blood pressure, lowered your sleep quotient and played havoc with […]
You Don’t Get to be Racist and Irish by Imelda May
This is beautiful, from the heart.

The suspended animation blues
Have you ever felt that you are simply hanging in the middle of the time and space continuum? You have plans, an agenda, goals, deadlines, places to go, and people to see, but you find yourself stuck in an energetic void where nothing — as in zippidy-do-dah — is happening. You want it to happen; […]

“What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade” by B.A. Modlin
Do read this fabulous poem. This is (or was) Krista Tippett’s (of On Being fame) email signature as a new personal favorite. I think you will agree. It’s quite wonderful! What You Missed That Day You Were Absent from Fourth Grade a poem by Brad Aaron Modlin Mrs. Nelson explained how to stand still and […]

5 ways to cope with our uncertain world
There are days when you might wonder if, in fact, Chicken Little was right, and the sky is falling. It’s enough to give a grown person the willies. Many things that once seemed bedrock-solid are crumbling. The world is changing; it’s all very fast and furious. Terra firma is shifting, at best, and a bad […]

The Thunderclap of Sudden Death
Sudden death hits like an enormous, out-of-the-blue thunderclap to the heart. It is a sucker punch to the gut. You search your brain thinking that this can’t be true. One minute the person is there; the next minute they’re gone. Like a flame extinguished, you are plunged into a darkness that is incomprehensible and, often, […]

In the thick of it with Diana Ross
We are in the thick of it. This will be one of those seminal moments in history that will serve as a demarcation line, before and after the pandemic. The days are surreal, the images are heartbreaking, some of the actions are appalling. We watch; we wait and hold our breaths to make sure our […]

We’re doing the yes’s, not the no’s, this year
It’s been a rough and tumble time in our upside-down world. In fact, it can be downright scary. The idea of curling up into a fetal position and streaming non-stop episodes of something mind-numbing and distracting is more than appealing. Somebody have the popcorn? We would all agree that the energies have been chaotic and […]