Sound Healing Chloe’s Singing Bowl   Some of you have met Chloe. She was a lab, a love, and my mother’s favorite “child.” Shockingly, both mom and Chloe were diagnosed with cancer the same week, just before Thanksgiving 2012. My mom, sadly, passed that New Year’s Eve. Sweet Chloe, however, stayed with me for another year.   It was during this time that I attended my first singing bowl training and began to compile my first set of bowls. But the one bowl that was eluding me was the throat chakra bowl. I found this interesting because Chloe had a tumor near her throat and also becaus ..read more

Presence "Today’s Day" “Wake up, it’s Christmas!” an unfamiliar, high-pitched voice chimed from the upstairs bedroom. I was puttering in the kitchen, excitedly setting out our traditional Christmas breakfast of homemade poppyseed bread and doughnut holes, when I heard the exclamation. Deciding the mysterious voice belonged to my mother, I let it go. She was probably egging on our two dogs, whose stockings boomed with treats, toys and, a surprise doughnut hole. With the downstairs shower flowing and my mom chattering upstairs, my parents were finally awake, and I couldn’t wait for the day ..read more

Gratitude During my week with Eckhart Tolle at Lake Louise in May, I experienced a most treasured, unplanned meal with five young strangers. On this particular evening, with a mix up in restaurant reservations, and only a short dinner break, we found ourselves sharing a table. Having sat for days in quiet contemplation, we were ready to use our words, and lively, animated conversation burst forth. We hardly noticed the food arriving.   Upon seeing his meal, one of my new friends from Germany, through his laughter suggested, “This is so fun, but I wonder if we could explore eating in sil ..read more

Life Dear Friends, This year has been full of immense blessings, gigantic challenges and  sweet miracles. Thank you for being one of those miracles as we journey together through this mash called life. You inspire me and truly make my heart sing. I recently came across this live recording from a Benefit Concert that I sang several years ago and thought to share it with you. This song always brings me joy. It's not the best quality, but perhaps the message will sound.   Ding Dong Merrily on High   Wishing you and your loved ones abundant blessings during this season an ..read more

Life “God is good, God is great, thank you for this food, amen,” I said joyfully, almost singing the prayer that I had recently learned in church. It was brief and to the point. And heartfelt. Now, I was ready to eat!   “That’s a prayer?” gramps Mihalik burst out.   I thought it was.   He bowed his head and began to recite aloud his blessing, slowly and with purpose. The longer (much longer) and more formal Catholic blessing was beyond what my kid-self preferred, and I was fidgety and impatient as I peeked at the fruit salad appetizer.   I don’t remember the words of the ..read more

Life My mother dreamed of having an animal shelter that housed a few goats to keep the grass at bay, a pig, just because she always wanted a pet pig, and a few abandoned or injured animals. Although she did not get to realize that dream, I always think of her when I visit the tiny animal shelter at the Govardhan Eco Village in Maharashtra, India. One of the monks shared this sweet, simple story about how the shelter came to be. It began with one rescued race horse. Although the monks were well versed in the care of cows,  they had no idea how to properly care for a horse.  First ..read more

Sound Healing Long ago and far, far away in a time that predated my awareness of singing bowls, sound healing and meditation, I was vacationing in Costa Rica with dear friends who were excited to show me the hidden gems of their home country. We began the trip in a tiny town, name long forgotten, and there, lived an elderly wind chime peddler. As he pushed his small wooden cart awkwardly along the rough road, the handmade clay bells randomly crashed and clanged into each other. The silent, hunched peddler moved slowly and steadily along, as the bells yelled out to anyone who might take notic ..read more

Singing Bowls This past Sunday, I tackled a project that's been on my to-do list for years: to drill holes into thirteen precious singing bowls. Just the thought of it has kept the drill deeply hidden in the closet for fear of ruining my rare and almost-impossible-to-find chromatic* set of hand-hammered bowls. I stumbled upon them six years ago, while shopping in Suren’s warehouse. As the set started to reveal itself to me, one bowl at a time, I actually began to tremble and geek out at the thought of finding something so special. It was not only rare to have private time in ..read more

Life I was blessed to be with my spiritual teacher, Radhanath Swami, last weekend and I fondly recall my first meeting with him about ten years ago. Bill and I had traveled to a Bhakti farm in Harrisburg, PA, and we felt like fish out of water. We were brand new to the culture, knew no one and were tempted to slip out early in our discomfort. But then, Radhanath Swami appeared. It was a simple entrance, with no pomp or announcement. From a distance, I saw him and began to cry. Radhanath Swami radiated something that felt familiar, comforting and all too rare; divine Love.  As he appro ..read more

Life I’m excited to be finishing my first book¬—and about learning to be a writer. It’s a completely different experience from all that I’ve already done. It’s immersive, vulnerable, fun and maddening. When my eyes, body and brain can take no more, I journey to the pond a few blocks away and immediately become mesmerized by the simple and profound ecosystem, both seen and unseen, beautiful and unsightly.  The tadpoles flutter to the surface for a quick nibble before returning to the shallow leafy murk, while the frogs’ wide eyes peek at the sun. The turtles float like a shadow, and the ..read more