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Breathing Space for the Depths of Discovery

Today, I am in discussion with a friend who, to put it simply, is “in-between” that which he no longer is and that which he has yet to become.  Years ago, William Bridges called this transitional space the Void.  Others…

Helen Maupin

Signs of Life

One of the great spiritual challenges for humanity is accepting that everything happens for a reason.  Literally, this means there are no coincidences.  A second equally great challenge is trusting that life (source, spirit, creation, or the god of your…

Helen Maupin

Blind Spots—How Do You Reveal Yours?

In the quest to know themselves deeply, clients often pose the above question to me during coaching sessions.  A person’s blind spots are those areas of limitation they carry within. At a superficial level, we know they exist but often…

Helen Maupin

INNER Space: The Real ‘Final’ Frontier

As you may have already gathered from the title, this ain’t no sci-fi fantasy, but I might fondly classify it as a space odyssey. From childhood, my life pilgrimage has always been pre-occupied with space. Isn’t everyone’s? Hmmm, maybe on…

Helen Maupin

What Catches Your Ear — a Whisper or a Shout?

Outside my window, the rain that accompanies deafening thunderclaps is pelting the pavement.  These “shouts” from nature are mighty sounds that pique our awareness and our response to take cover somewhere safe.  Mother Nature has a simple formula, the more…

Helen Maupin

Breathe Your Way Out of Depression and Anxiety

For millennia, yogis practised asanas (poses) as well as breath regulation (pranayama) for whole-being wellness.  As mind-body-spirit beings, humans are more complex entities than merely a physical body or a collection of emotions and thoughts.  Nonetheless, western medical practices still…

Helen Maupin

Detachment is Not Indifference

Although most western-culture dictionaries treat detachment and indifference as synonyms, they have a crucial difference.  Their common element — non-reaction — is paralleled by indifference’s additional qualities — coldness, passionlessness, lack of feeling/sympathy.   I thought my friend Chris said it…

Helen Maupin

Practice + Non-attachment = Navigation Skills for Being Human

Both practice and non-attachment (nonreaction) are required to still the mind.  Yoga Sutra 1.12 For millennia, the yoga sutras have provided its practitioners with aphorisms or truths meant to increase understanding and provide direction with regard to the mystery of…

Helen Maupin

In-to-me-see

Real intimacy is only possible to the degree that we can be honest about what we are doing and feeling.  Joyce Brothers How would you define intimacy?  The definition I am most interested in is “close familiarity or friendship.”  Typically,…

Helen Maupin

Discovering Your Blind-Spots

Transformation occurs when we are able to expose our blind spots and release the unconscious but conditioned default patterns associated with them.  The challenge is how do we become aware of what we don’t yet know about ourselves. My last…

Helen Maupin

Clear Seeing + Calm Abiding = Truth

Knowing that the mind’s afflictions are overcome through penetrating insight [clear seeing] suffused with stable calm, you should first seek the peace of calm abiding, which is found in joy and non-attachment for the world.  Santideva  Yogis are famous for…

Helen Maupin