The Sacred Pause

A Free Weekly Gathering in Silence

In a world of constant noise, urgency, and uncertainty, The Sacred Pause offers a simple invitation: to stop, be still, and rest in silence—together.

This is not a class, workshop, or discussion. It is a quiet, shared experience designed to create space for calm, clarity, and inner grounding.

No meditation, prayer, or mindfulness experience is required. You don’t need to prepare or participate in any particular way. Simply arrive as you are.

Many leaders in caring professions — coaches, therapists, ministers, doctors, nurses — approach self-care the same way they approach their work: with commitment, discipline, and a desire to do it well.

But when we bring our high-achieving, goal-oriented selves into self-care, it can quietly defeat the very purpose.

True self-care isn’t something to conquer.
It’s something that nourishes.

It’s about identifying the practices you look forward to, return to again and again, and rely on to sustain your energy, clarity, and capacity to serve.

If you are someone who leads and serves with heart, you are likely carrying more than most people realize.

Ambitious, values-driven leaders often neglect their own care—not because they don’t know better, but because the needs around them feel urgent and unrelenting. Over time, this takes a toll.

I am declaring this year to be one of Collective Care. The pace of change, the challenge of complexity and uncertainty, the poly crisis before us… you name your stressor. They are taking their toll on our individual and collective well-being. We all have enough to consider, on top of our jobs, to have us feeling depleted, or on the verge of burnout – even in the context of a new year beginning.

We are living in an unpredictable, hurting world and need one another now more than ever – to love, be loved, to care, to do the right thing, to speak up… and the list goes on. 

Sometimes, we just need to stop, pause, rest, and recover. May you take time to rest in your still point this holiday season, find gratitude, and the next right action when the time is right. 

“Grounded Gratitude” means you are identifying ways in which you are thankful for ALL of what you are navigating, not just the high points. It’s a mindful practice about also finding the positive or blessing in the low points or what is not wanted. THIS is the REAL work of gratitude.

It’s been a while since I communicated, as I have been full in so many ways! I am still ensconced in my leadership and organization development work – and I graduated from seminary in June as an Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister. This just adds to my eclectic background and ways I can be present and of service to a world transforming.

It’s Valentine’s day - a holiday to celebrate love and loving relationships.

In the United States, we have a lot of changes taking place. Some of my colleagues are happy, some are not. Despite our differences, how can we show love, care and kindness for our fellow human beings?

What is your Personal Vision?

Do you have one? If so, is it clear, still relevant, and compelling?

Ideally, you want your goals to align with your vision. This is how you sustain energy and commitment to achieving your goals. It puts all your goals in context of why you are doing what you are doing—what is the bigger picture for you.

We work with senior leadership teams a lot, and sometimes, they are hesitant to bring in an outside consultant to support them in reaching their next level of effectiveness. The thinking is, we are smart, ambitious, successful people, so why can’t we do it ourselves? Sometimes, you can.

Right after I finished filming today’s Sage Tidbit video, I received an email from a colleague: “I just wanted to check in to see if we needed to clean up from the way we left things.” I so appreciated this reach out—that they did it and the way in which they did it. I interpreted this as their being sensitive to the possibility that their words or tone may not have landed with me in the way intended.

Words, Thoughts and Feelings Matter.

Today, I’m sharing a story about one of my clients, Mark (name changed), and how he was able to honor his late father's advice while he was meeting some leadership challenges in terms of how he developed the leaders who reported to him. In Mark’s story, he was protecting a leader who he perceived to be weak, but in doing so, he was allowing harm to come to other employees. Sometimes we can do harm by not doing anything.

Here, in the United States, many of us are digesting the results of the Presidential Election. Some people are celebrating and excited about the future and some are scared or terrified about the future. Regardless of where you are, it is important, now more than ever, to build bridges and seek to understand the other person’s point of view.

All results start with a thought. It’s important periodically to take inventory on WHAT you are thinking and HOW you are thinking about what you are thinking, since your thoughts directly impact your behavior and results.

Once you have clarified your goal and really believe it is possible, and see yourself achieving it, AND take consistent action aligned with your goal, THEN it’s about making sure you measure what will give you the information you need that helps you know you are making the progress you need to in order to achieve your goal.

Last week, I talked about belief and the power of the mind and what’s possible. You can think and believe all you want but if you don’t have accompanying action, not a lot is going to happen. So, it’s not ALL about JUST believing. It’s most important to engage in action that is aligned with what you believe.

When we are in a state of "anything is possible," we are uplifted, optimistic, we can "rise above it all" and BELIEVE. THAT is the key. BELIEF.

How can you Power-On your belief that It (insert your aspiration here) – or anything - is Possible?

Leading with Head and Heart

That is what it means to be an integrated leader – one who embodies being connected to themselves and others, and who can also rigorously think through complex problems. Easier said than done!

What does this REALLY require?

Today I’m sharing Amy’s* story: A leader who was already very successful and had just been promoted and given a much broader role in the organization. She was a dynamic doer and adept at mentoring and educating her people. They looked to her for answers. Her challenge was being an even more strategic leader who needed to learn about...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness…” An often-quoted passage from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, that can describe the world today.

Which city do you want to live in? It’s about conscious leadership and deciding who you are and how you want to find meaning and contribute regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.