As summer’s sultry vibe settles in, time seems to slow and expand. We have places to go, things to do, people to meet, and yet the heat dictates a slower pace.

While this can feel frustrating when we are trying to get things done, it also provides an opportunity to reconsider the value of taking a slower, more deliberate approach. For healing and self-awareness, for example, softness, curiosity, and compassion can yield more subtle and profound rewards than aggressive action.

Is your intuition getting a busy signal?

If you've been to Luray Caverns in Virginia (pictured above), you know the surprising visual twist contained in this image. While this looks like a vast underground cavern covered in stalactites (mineral deposits hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (rising from the ground), that's not quite true.

In effect, I had gone swimming in a murky stew of panic, mistrust, fear, anxiety, and grief and had come home without cleaning off. (Hand sanitizer doesn't touch it!) I could have gone on feeling bad and radiating bad feelings to my family. These things are contagious. But it has made a big difference in my life to learn to distinguish the emotions and thoughts that are mine — up to me to experience and process — and the "debris" that is floating around and can glom on to any of us. Just awareness of a percentage gives me relief and perspective. What's mine I can deal with. The rest, I know to release.

One thing I have noticed in my work is that people often know exactly what is causing their pain, illness, or distress. It might be unhealthy habits, a trauma that hasn't fully healed, or a difficult situation they feel unable or unwilling to change