Inner Map: The Grove of Softening
This stage of meditation brings the body into a softer, more open state. As tension loosens, breath deepens and ease becomes the natural direction of your practice.
Inner Map: The Village of Everyday Mindfulness
Mindfulness becomes most real when it enters everyday life. This stage invites you to bring presence into ordinary moments — walking, speaking, cooking, pausing — letting awareness blend quietly with your routine.
Inner Map: The Crossroads of Integration
Meditation becomes most meaningful when it begins to shape your everyday life. This stage invites you to bring one small thread of your practice — breath, patience, presence — into ordinary moments throughout the day.
Inner Map: The Summit of Spaciousness
Spaciousness arises when effort softens and the mind begins to open. In this stage of meditation, awareness widens naturally, offering a quiet, grounded sense of ease.
Inner Map: The Mountain of Presence
Presence doesn’t come from force — it comes from staying close to what’s here. In this stage of meditation, awareness rises like a steady mountain, offering clarity that’s quiet, grounded, and natural.
Inner Map: The Forest of Shadow
Some stages of meditation bring you into deeper emotional terrain. In this shaded part of the inner landscape, feelings and patterns surface quietly. The practice is to stay grounded, steady, and curious as they appear.
Inner Map: The Desert of Emptiness
Sometimes meditation opens into quiet, spacious terrain. This stage invites you to rest in simplicity without searching for more — letting emptiness be a place of ease rather than uncertainty.
Inner Map: The Canyon of Insight
Insight in meditation is usually subtle — a small shift in how you see or feel something. This stage invites you to notice clarity when it appears, stay grounded, and let each moment pass naturally.
Inner Map: The River of Feeling
When emotions begin to move in meditation, they can feel like a shifting current. This stage invites you to stay close to the sensations in your body and let each feeling rise and fall without tightening around it.
Inner Map: The Marsh of Restlessness
Restlessness is part of meditation. Sometimes the body wants to move and the mind won’t stay still. This stage invites you to slow down, anchor your attention, and let extra energy settle on its own.
Inner Map: The Foglands
Some days the mind feels dim or hazy. In this stage of meditation, attention drifts and everything softens. Instead of fighting the fog, small adjustments help bring gentle brightness back into your practice.
Inner Map: The Valley of Distraction
The mind wanders — that’s its nature. In this stage of meditation, thoughts move quickly in every direction. The practice isn’t to stop them, but to return with softness each time you notice you’ve drifted.
Inner Map: The Meadow of First Attention
Early attention is gentle. It comes in like morning light, soft and steady, helping you notice the breath and settle into your practice without forcing it. This stage isn’t about perfect focus — it’s about beginning to stay.
Inner Map: The Trailhead of Arrival
Meditation begins with a simple arrival — a moment to pause, settle your body, and choose your pace. This first step doesn’t require clarity or perfect focus. It’s just a quiet shift into presence, where the path ahead starts to take shape.
Compass: Open | Softening into Sensation
Sensation is often the body’s first language. In this Open Mode practice, you’ll learn how softening into temperature, pressure, and subtle feeling tones can create more space in your day — and open you into a calmer, more present state.
Compass: Focus | Breath as Home Base
Meditation often begins with a single steady breath. In this Focus Mode practice, explore how one inhale and exhale can bring you back to center and reset your attention.
A Hat That Belongs to the Canyon
Buying a bespoke hat in Topanga turned into more than a shopping trip. It became a small rite of passage — a way of stepping further into the unique culture of this canyon. From choosing the green felt to working with Enrico, the local Italian hat maker, the process was slow, intentional, and rooted in place. Here’s the story of how the hat came together and why it already feels like part of my everyday life in the canyon.
Clearing the Hillside, Clearing the Mind
Brush clearance week pushed me harder than any physical work I’ve done in years. With a crew of four, we carved a fire moat along the western ridge of the property, uncovered an old protective cactus line, and cleared steep hillsides of chaparral. After losing my own home to a fire last year, this work carried a different kind of weight. The result is simple: a safer property and a quiet sense of relief.
Meditation, Michael Scott, and My Sister’s 30th
I was very honored to attend my sister’s 30th birthday (what a milestone!) and give a short toast at her wedding. It allowed me to reflect on just a few of the things that I most love about spending time with her.
Why Nature Is the Ultimate Meditation Partner
Feeling overwhelmed by constant noise and digital stress? Step outside. Discover how nature becomes your best meditation partner — grounding your thoughts, calming your mind, and reconnecting you to a deeper sense of peace and presence that screens can’t offer.