Welcome to already, always on Substack

a sacred gathering place to practice letting go and resting in the field of love that is already, always here

I’m so happy you're here! Welcome to the “clearing in the dense forest of our lives,” as poet Martha Postelwaite beautifully puts it. Through Substack, my aim is to create a space that feels like a retreat, a place of learning, and a spiritual practice.

After moving from our family home in the fall, I found myself living on what surely must be sacred ground (though isn’t all ground sacred?). My 1940s cottage sits on a small peninsula, surrounded by water on two sides and watched over by a towering Willow Oak tree, its massive branches stretching out in a loving embrace of the land. It is within this embrace that I’m creating this space for us—a clearing where we can gather, reflect, share, laugh, cry, and connect with one another. A heart-centered community.

I’m so glad you’re part of it.

The opposite of a fork in the road, with this Substack we bring two paths together towards one aim: to access the source of flourishing. One path is the Direct Way, how we relax back into what is already, always here- the field of Love that is always loving us. Our true nature shines here, the core part of us that is calm, creative, compassionate and clear. Some call this our Bodhisattva nature.

The second path is one of cultivation, of practice, of ritual and routine. We can learn to strengthen our capacity to access that field (and our true nature) with specific, evidence-based practices that support us in navigating this human life that contains ten thousand sorrows and ten thousand joys.

Peace and joy are already here, dear ones, and we can strengthen the skills, mindsets and embodied practices that remove the barriers to being here… in the now… feeling more aliveness, more awe, more connection. Gratitude flows naturally from this path of living, of being awake to the life that is right here.

Where do we begin? We pause, we listen deeply, we send love inward… this is how we let go and let be. The body calms the mind, we open the heart, and we listen to what arises. As our hearts open, love flows outward, in all directions. Already, always is a place where we return again and again, just like mindfulness teaches us to do. Come for a live video, or a live Q and A, to read a Thursday post, or to reflect on comments from the community or to write your own. It is a virtual retreat. Have compassion for yourself and put down your task list, let your heart be fed and your spirit be nourished.

Comments are open to all readers for the first two weeks. If something moves or inspires you, you’re welcome to share your reflections, your own stories, insights, or a different perspective. After that, commenting will be for paid subscribers. I’m so glad you’re here.