Hello Kindred Spirit! I took care in getting ready for my event at Village Books. It would be my third year returning to the iconic bookstore in Fairhaven, Bellingham, WA. I loved sharing my book, Naked in the Now: Juicy Practices for Getting Present, and teaching my Naked Writing workshop. I have been leading versions of Naked Writing, also called Write Now Mind, since before COVID. I saw over and over again how it had a way of making a group of strangers feel connection with one another....
12 days ago • 5 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! Last week, somewhere on a long stretch of highway, my husband and I shifted our “long-road” listening preference. Instead of a novel—something with plot, escape, a story to disappear into—we chose Christopher Wallis’s Near Enemies of the Truth. And somewhere around hour three, I realized the choice itself was the point. A novel would have carried us away. The teaching kept doing the opposite—it kept bringing us back. Back to the road, the car, the actual moment we were...
22 days ago • 3 min read
In-person Write by Red Rock class: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 12:30 pm at The Blue Diamond Library! I have been approved for another year to partner with the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District to offer a series of in-person free writing workshops at the Blue Diamond Library! These are open to the public, free and will happen on the first Wednesday of the month (excluding August) for the six months from 12:30 pm to 2 pm. The next session is tomorrow, May 6, 2026 at 12:30 pm, Blue Diamond...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! Nobody wants advice. Not really. At least, that’s what my four-year-old granddaughter reminded me. Last weekend, June was saying goodbye to her mother, who was leaving for a five-day business trip. As the door closed, June ran to the bedroom in tears. After a little while, I went in and sat beside her. “What are you feeling?” I asked. “Sad,” she said. “Mommy’s gone and I want to snuggle with her.” Of course she did. I told her I understood. And then—because I am a...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! The Ring My husband stopped wearing his wedding ring about ten years ago. Honestly? I was a little crushed. My brain, ever helpful, immediately began generating meaning. Was something wrong? Were we okay? The story I was weaving had a worrying thread running through it. His explanation was simple and completely reasonable. He'd taken up climbing, and rings and climbing don't mix. After a while, it was just easier to leave it off. My brain noted this, filed it under...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Two-year-old Summer was running through the house in full delight one day when she slipped and fell. She began wailing. Her mom could tell the injury wasn't serious, but she made her way over and gathered Summer up. Holding her in her lap as Summer cried, Sanni said calmly, "That was surprising, wasn't it?" Little Summer gulped, looked up at her mom, and nodded. Her tears quieted as she considered the question. I've witnessed this technique many times — both of my kids have offered it to...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! On any given day, I sit down at my computer and ask ChatGPT a question. I’m grateful for AI’s ability to access and summarize vast amounts of information, presenting it in a practical and digestible way. As a writer, I have a love/fear relationship with AI. On the one hand, it sometimes feels as if the role of “author” itself may slip into nonexistence as AI grows increasingly expressive. On the other hand, I sincerely appreciate what it can offer. I especially value its...
7 months ago • 5 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! Jay made his way up to the tower of our casita here in Loreto Bay. One step, pause.Another step, pause. He had strained his calf playing pickleball a few days earlier and was only just able to walk again. I sat down with my coffee facing east, sipping slowly, letting my thoughts swirl. I wish I could say I was perfectly at ease up there in the tower, but I wasn’t. A quiet restlessness had settled in me. It had been weeks since I’d written a newsletter, and though I kept...
7 months ago • 4 min read
Hello Kindred Spirit! When my youngest daughter was about eight years old, she used to place her hands on her slightly rounded belly and say, “I love my belly.” I used to marvel at this innocent expression of appreciation for her body exactly as it was. At the time, I recoiled at my own slightly rounded belly, desiring instead the sleek, flat, preferably ripped abs on the covers of grocery store magazines. Now, in my sixties, I appreciate that having such light-hearted affection for our...
11 months ago • 4 min read
The moment I arrived at the retreat center and settled into silence, something unexpected happened. On day one, instead of emptying my mind into a serene pool of nothingness, I was ambushed by a slew of creative ideas — including a very insistent vision of a Christmas play! I had intended to practice letting go of thoughts. However, what I noticed is that presence (with perhaps a bemused detachment) also creates space for whatever wants to bubble up. Doing Nothing, Seeking Nothing One of the...
11 months ago • 4 min read