I’m writing this from an airport in Milwaukee, WI. As most of you know, I’ve been visiting my teacher Jackie. These past 12 days have been absolutely mind-blowing. Every visit I make to Madison opens my eyes to a whole new, unexplored layer of myself and I’m always eager to get back to NY to start putting what I’ve learned into practice. The process of moving into the unknown and shedding old patterns can feel strange and oftentimes painful. I’ve shed plenty of tears these last several days, but I’ve grown to embrace these trips and all that springs from them — tears that feel more like a baptism, a watering of the soul so that something new can grow and blossom.

I encourage all of you to regularly seek your own sort of retreat – a person or place, or even a book that helps to take you powerfully to that next step in your own life–a place or space that brings you closer to your true nature, challenges your status-quo, and brings you closer to a connection to all and everything. It’s important to allow in those shake-up, wake-up moments as often as your soul will allow. Like a glass of water with sediment settled to the bottom, it’s always good allow someone close enough to shake your jar now and then in order to do a bit of spiritual housecleaning.

Surrounding ourselves with people who will inspire us forward is an extreme blessing. Those who love us enough to challenge our thinking is a far greater gift than those who allow us to stay stuck. I encourage you to seek out someone to support you through your life’s journey – whether it’s a good friend, wise relative, coach, counselor, therapist or priest. None of us live in a bubble, and none of us can do it alone.