Have you ever yearned for a pure immersion experience in another culture? My mate Lety and I recently returned from a week in the south-central area of Mexico, where she was born and raised, and where most of her relatives still reside. Having direct ties with an indigenous family gave me the opportunity to live…
Author: Tamarack
Moses Amik Beaver: 1960 – 2017
“Windigo, Windigo, please don’t steal my soul!” This is a line from a story that haunted Moses Amik Beaver, who some of you know as the illustrator of Whispers of the Ancients, the collection of traditional legends that he and I co-authored. Some of you may also know him from the time he spent instructing…
Anxiety Online
I have longtime friends and associates who I’ve always known to be kind and thoughtful. Yet something happens to them at times when they are on Facebook, Twitter, or e-groups. They become bullies. They shame and troll. They criticize and judge. I see the tendency in myself. What comes over us that makes us…
Understanding Our Core Nature Through the Three Archetypes
We can understand the intertwined experience of the archetypes the same way we understand the harmony of organs within an organism. Our eyes are the Guardian; our hands, the Nurturer; and our mouth, the Communicator. Each serves a distinct role, and yet there may be times when we communicate with our eyes or see with…
To Listen is to Honor
The following is an excerpt from my latest book, Becoming Nature: Learning the Language of Wild Animals and Plants. To learn more or to order your own copy, visit my Amazon.com page here. I learned to connect with animals nonverbally when I went to live with Wolves. At first, I thought we spoke different languages, as I couldn’t understand…
Has Kombucha Gotcha?
A recent stroll past the beverages section of my local natural foods store revealed five brands of kombucha in twenty-five plus flavors. In addition, there was kombucha soda pop—six or seven kinds. At the deli counter, I noticed kombucha on tap—eight flavors. Yet all I had to do to discover this latest health food craze…
The Probiotics Gold Mine
Yogurt, a great source of probiotics, is a boon to health because it helps establish healthy intestinal flora, right? The same is true of kombucha and other cultured foods, isn’t it? And how about probiotic capsules with billions of live cultures and dozens of strains? This is what the food industry would have us believe,…
Inspiration #3: How Idealism Keeps Us Sick
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my therapist colleague, and this awareness is another one of the reasons why. Ideals can play an important role in guiding our lives. At the same time, ideals can keep us crippled and dysfunctional. I see people-me included–hiding behind relationship ideals when we don’t want to admit our pain or inability to resolve…
The Time Has Come
Several of us just came in from a great wilderness training run – we bore enough irritation (a slightly twisted ankle, some scratches) to know that we were pushing our edge, but not too much that it derailed us. The experience is a metaphor for the way I’ve lived my life, and it has brought me to a tipping…
Inspiration #2: Be vulnerable? Maybe not
This is another one of the awakenings I had during the unbelievable afternoon I recently spent with a fellow therapist. How often have you heard people encouraging someone to be vulnerable, meaning to put down your guard and be open? Although it made sense to me, I felt uneasy about it, as though there was some inherent…