I think it wild and wonderful that so many of the sacred sexuality retreats that I have attended include poetry. Poetry appears in talent shows, in offerings by participants, in readings by leaders. It shows up in handouts and materials, in suggested reading, and in exercises created for the events. I delight in it, but it does not surprise me in the least. If love is the erotic heart, and
I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Atlas Obscura, when I came across fascinating research that gave me some great insight into the creep factor. Why do we find some people creepy? Why are men and people perceived to be men seen as creepier than women? What is it that makes our skin crawl? The podcast, in case you are interested, was about the Isla de los Muñecas,
When Byron Katie first published “Loving What Is” in 2002, the book became an international phenomenon. Oprah endorsed it, everyone I knew was talking about it, and I found the approach an outstanding way to shake up my thinking. However Katie came to formulate the questions, they draw on older ideas: those of self-inquiry, which is part of philosophy; ideas that are reflected in narrative therapies, and the power of
Fertile. Abundant. Producing or bearing fruit. I’m reading these in my etymology sources as I look up the roots of the word fertility, and I’m having a number of reactions. Easter, from the Old pagan Oestar, came from a fertility festival (thus, the bunnies.) Sounds great! Sounds sexy! So why am I conflicted? Probably because I saw the word productive and felt vaguely nauseated. I am tired of the Western
In the years from 2018 through 2022, I dealt with a tremendous amount of grief. Among other losses, a some-time partner and long-time friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2020. I spent a year flying back and forth from Arizona to Florida during the worst of the pandemic to be of what help I could and to spend time with him. Strangely, I know I will remember it
Over and over again in the past couple of years I have been struck by the thought that if our culture were a marriage, we would be in the midst of divorce proceedings right now. This isn’t a new idea, there are plenty of others who have commented on it, but as a person trained in marriage and family therapy, my perspective is a little different. As an MFT