The Shadow Hunter

“If you die before you die, you won’t die when you die.” Inscription over the door to St. Paul's Monastery, Mt. Athos Mt. Athos in Northern Greece is one of those places that gave me goosebumps.  I can see why people thought, hundreds of years ago, that this mountain ITSELF was holy.  It has this awe inspiring, etherial quality of this towering mountain on the very edge of the deep blue sea.  And because of these qualities...they built a monastery on top of it.  So that people could be closer to God.  While it's not currently open to women (sigh) I stayed at a hotel that I could see the sunrise over the holy mountain many years ago and it was magic. But apparently, there is a strange quote on the door.... “If you die before you die, you won’t die when you die.” You are probably thinking to yourself...Kristina.   How the HELL do you do die before you die??!?!?! ... I'm going to let you in on a little secret... You've already died at least once.  And have been reborn. Yup

I recently discovered something rather alarming about the way I travel.  Flying is the easy part for me.  But airports are my nemesis .  This is a relatively new discovery, as traveling used to barely affect me.  (Or, let's be honest, it did affect me -- but I was too busy to let it really bother me.) This year, and last, I've been very fortunate to be able to do some international travel again.  After Covid, admittedly, I didn't travel much. Or, at all. I cut myself off from the world and focused inward, to figure out who I was at my core.  This was a huge time of introspection and deep inner work.  Which meant I was a HUGE introvert at home with my spiritual books and meditation mat.  And slowly, with many tools and much guidance and patience, I started figuring out who I was, what I wanted from life, and what my truth is.  Over this time I grew very content at home in my happy little "cave", sitting outside in my garden, by the fireplace or near my sacred spac

Have you ever heard something that completely changed how you viewed your life? Today I want to share a saying that comes from one of my heroes -- my grandfather.  My grandfather was a very DEEP, wise man.  His life was far from easy.  He went from being the son of a very successful third generation piano and pipe organ company in Germany, right before WWII, to losing literally everything, nearly dying once from shrapnel wounds and later from typhoid.  Then he had to start from scratch in America after leaving a war-torn country with his young wife, my grandmother, and with two little girls (my aunts) and later, my mom.  One of the things he taught me, growing up, when we would play chess together (I never won and he usually fell asleep after I would take FOREVER to move) was:   γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnóthi seautón) which is Greek for... Know Thyself.  This philosophical saying is inscribed at the Temple of Apollo in Greece, in the ancient precinct of Delphi.  You know, where the famous Orac

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever changed your life when you hit a "tipping point"? Where you sat in a situation and put up with it for SO. LONG. that eventually, you knew, something had to change? Yup. I feel you.  And I...was very stubborn!  For me, I RESISTED that change with every fiber of my being. Why? Because change is hard. Change is scary. Change shifts your world on its axis.  But change can be necessary.  And change comes with GIFTS. (We'll get into those!) But first...I want to talk about what leads to change. One of the biggest changes in my life was, in part, inspired by a woman I'd worked with. To be very honest -- everything about her triggered me. There was a deep lack of boundaries, consistent misinformation, mismanagement, inappropriate and hurtful comments, elitism..for years.  At first? I tried ignoring it.  Then, I would address it -- even directly, with her. Later, I would enlist help and guidance of those that managed me (and her).  Not

I have a confession to make.  Ready? Here's my secret: I haven't made a successful   New Years resolution in years.  Yup. Failed every time! Me and my brother were asked to write them as kids and then read them out loud (I know) and I...kind of hated this exercise with a passion.  Though I understand the meaning behind it, I just struggle with it. Why? Because I, probably like so many other people, forgot about this resolution about 2 weeks later. Truth.  And it's really, really hard to stick to a new habit when the weather is wet and cold and gross out.  Right?! (Let's blame the weather. That's how I feel about it anyway, haha.) So this year, instead of making a list of grand resolutions to do things  I probably will never wind up doing, I'm going to make one, single, intention. Just one.  That I'll write on a sticky note and keep on my desk as a daily reminder.  I'll even share it with you at the end of this blog post.  But why intention instead of re