A Road Trip to Love

Last week, I taught a class to a group of seventh and eighth graders using the metaphor of a tree to talk about life and all the different elements important we must have in order to grow. For example, how a tree’s roots represent our foundation and what we need to help us stay grounded, and its fruit—our dreams and the gifts we came here to share. After class, I made the drive across town to attend a workshop I had signed up for a few weeks ago called, “How to Heal Your Hear

I think the best part of an experience is when it’s shared. There’s so much I recently experienced during my first session at the Allender Center, I could hardly wait to share with you some of what I learned. If aren’t familiar with the Allender Center, you can learn more about who they are and what they offer here. What struck me the most when I first came across the program at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology a few years ago was two of their foundational belief

Since becoming sober five years ago, I frequently have people reach out who want to meet and talk about my experience. Usually, it’s because they’ve heard a whisper deep inside of themselves and are curious about the sober path, so they have questions they’d like me to help them answer. One of the questions I let them know that I won’t be able to answer is whether or not their drinking is a problem. Knowing that we have a drinking problem is something I believe we have to arr

What is one thing you can forgive yourself or someone for today? A few weeks ago, someone asked me for a few tips I could give them to help heal from within. For some, healing from within means something health-related. For others, it's a matter of the heart. Healing and personal development are the same. Whether we call it healing or working on developing ourselves personally, we’re taking action to improve our lives. The action we take is a practice we commit to over and ov

A few days ago, I overheard a young homeless man say to his friend, "I may look dirty, but I’m actually clean." They were talking about how they've both recently become sober. It made my heart hurt to hear him bring awareness to his appearance and recognize what people may see when they look at him. It also made me think how much more aware we are than we actually realize. It was like his higher self was speaking and saying that even though his shirt was stained, his jeans we

“Life is an inward journey. No matter our background or beliefs, each of us is on a road trip to love. And it's a journey that begins within.” A few weeks ago, someone asked me for some tips I could give them to help heal from within. For some, healing from within means something health-related. For others, it’s a matter of the heart. Regardless, I truly believe each of us is healing and when we heal ourselves, we help heal the world. Healing and personal development are the

How using our thoughts can help create change. Growing up, I only associated prayer with religion. I was also only familiar with one type of prayer: the prayer of request or supplication. I thought to pray meant to ask for something. In fact, if you Google the word “prayer,” you’ll get hundreds of images of clasped hands, seemingly begging for something. The act of prayer isn’t only passive, beseeching, or religious. For me, to pray is to align my thoughts with my Higher Powe

Last week I had something happen to me that I haven’t experienced before. A young man sat at my bar. I immediately felt his energy and walked over. He seemed young, so I asked for his ID. He also seemed very nervous and uncomfortable. Something inside told me to make small talk to help put him at ease. His ID was from Colombia, so I joked with him about the recent Miss Universe pageant. I asked if he lived in Los Angeles or was just visiting. He said he was visiting his mothe

When I was in my mid-twenties, I lived in Monterrey, Mexico for two years. Officially, I moved there to work for an American company in their international marketing department. Unofficially, it was where I moved to fall in love for the first time, have my heart broken, and begin a long journey of getting to know myself. My road trip to love. Monterrey is the third largest city in Mexico and the city is nestled against a beautiful large mountain range about 3 hours below Texa