NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2025 Hello Reader, I love painting, but one of my biggest challenges is deciding WHAT to paint. I used to do a lot of second-guessing about my choices. Hereâs a story about that. A few years ago, I had a particularly vivid dream, and got a strong internal nudge to try and paint it. I had been saving a big canvas for something special, and had always been curious if I could capture a dream in paint. It was an elaborate dreamscape visual - a big hazy desert with two polar...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - OCT 2025 Hello Reader As the parent of a toddler, I am often on the receiving end of the advice âit goes so quickly, make sure you savor it.â My son is growing in leaps and bounds these days, and I am starting to understand the deep emotional undertone of this advice. And, no matter how many times I hear it, or how clichĂŠ it sometimes comes off - I feel grateful for the reminder: STAY AWAKE, JOE. However vigilant I am in my awareness practices, I find I can always use an extra...
3 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
NEWSLETTER - AUGUST 2025 Hello Reader, Today I want to share a recent God-wink I experienced. Because walking the spiritual path can sometimes feel discouraging - and for me, acknowledging moments of synchronicity and grace can provide counterweight to the difficult moments. Difficult moments--such as traveling home on a crowded airplane with a toddler after spending 10 days visiting with family. My wife and I are sleep deprived. I feel fried. My patience has already been maxed out multiple...
5 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - JULY 2025 Hello Reader, For most of my 20âs and 30âs, my primary occupation and identity was that of musician/songwriter. As such, one part of my mind was always scanning my surroundings for clever phrases or potential song titles. Every once in awhile I would feel a big olâ lightbulb go off and the idea would nestle itself into my creative psyche. Most of my best songs came about in this way. About 9 months ago, I was reading David Hawkins Power vs. Force, and in one section he...
6 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2025 Hello Reader, A phrase I often heard my teacher, Steve Flynn, use was âbecome a clearing.â He would say it with a deep, expansive resonance. I heard the words, but more importantly, I felt the words. This past week, my family and I spent the week at Ruby Retreats in Wimberley, TX, house-sitting for some dear friends. One of our daily tasks was to take their two pups on long morning walks around the 100-acre property, visiting the cow pasture and the grotto and through...
7 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - MAY 2025 Hello Reader, One of the practices that has become central to my daily routine is that of meditative walking. Like any modality, there are many variations - but the essential idea is to slow down and bring mindful attention to each step, instead of hurrying from one thing to the next. A few nights ago, I received a rare gift of free evening time; my wife and son had gone to bed early and it was still light out. I started with some good olâ phone-scrolling, a short...
8 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
NEWSLETTER - April 2025 Hello Reader, I used to have an almost constant dialogue of âbeating myself upâ going on inside. It was so pervasive, I didnât even notice it - as if my system had just sort of accepted it as the default setting. Positive affirmations, mantras, self-help books - these were all just surface attempts to combat the inner narrative of unworthiness, with temporary results at best. As long as things in my life were âgoing wellâ - it stayed at a low hum. But the minute things...
9 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2025 Hello Reader, My family lives in a bustling South Austin neighborhood increasingly full of strollers and other young families. Our evening walks are often peppered with friendly faces, impromptu frontyard playdates and âguess who I ran intoâ synchronicities. After a recent neighborhood playdate, we arrive home to realize that one of my sons toys - a bright blue bouncy ball, had been left behind. Câest la vie. These things happen. I make peace with the fact that we will...
10 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 2025 Hello Reader, This past weekend I had the honor of leading a group workshop for a womenâs retreat at the beautiful Camp Lucy in the Hill Country. Before we started, I asked everyone to take a âsnapshotâ of how they are feeling internally, as well as a âsnapshotâ of the group energy - the âWEâ space. Some of the group knew each other, but for the most part we were all strangers - so there was some nervous energy in the space and a general sense of needing to have...
12 months ago â˘Â 2 min read