Too often the holidays bring with it a sense of urgency, losing yourself in tasks and to-dos. Called a “moral imperative” especially for women, self-care gets de-prioritized as you try to keep up with others’ needs. During this season it’s more important than ever to slow down, savoring and moving at a human pace, connecting […]
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Leading with Wholeheartedness: Lessons of El Camino
In October 2002, I first walked the Pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago, Spain with three Cuban friends. I arrived at this ancient, thousand year old route with a ‘get it done’ attitude, clueless about the spiritual nature of pilgrimage or even my own deeper motivations for being there. Instead, I was hyper-focused on externals: selecting the right […]
Radical, Radiant Rest
Earlier this year, I did something I had never done before: I decided to buy a one-way ticket to a Zen center for a three-month silent retreat. Not only did I need retreat, I needed to rest in a radically deep way. The not-so-subtle two-part message I’ve received most of my life was first: ‘Hard […]
Insight is Waiting for You
Recently, I had a soul-enriching conversation at Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) whose mission is to support leaders in aligning their inward values and purpose with their outward service and action. In her last interview question, Meena Srinivasan, TEL’s ED, asked ‘what do you know for sure now’? Without hesitation, I replied, ‘these are not normal […]
Hope Leans Forward’s E-Journal: Supporting Your Life & Work with Brave- Making Practices
My latest book, Hope Leans Forward, Braving Your Way toward Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace, was written through a period of profound personal loss, life-altering transitions, and the urgency of Black Lives Matter. Tending grief required time to sit with my scattered thoughts and emotions, to dive into questions without ready answers, and to let the truth […]
New Look, Deeper Focus: A Rebirth
By: Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC This winter, after an extended period of personal and profound loss and grief, I decided to do something I had never done before: I bought a one-way ticket to the southwest for a three-month silent retreat in a Zen monastery. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever […]
Radical Rest
The Big Reset: What Can Two Months in Silence Teach You? by Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC Like many people and perhaps like you, the last two years with the global pandemic, the immediacy of climate crisis, the murder of George Floyd and countless others, and now the war in Ukraine has made me realize […]
Women Empowerment through Pilgrimage
By Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC Many of us, especially women, are in a state of ambiguity and depletion from COVID. We have spent years caretaking others, supporting family, friends, co-workers, and raising kids, all of which has brought tremendous joy into our lives, and we’re wondering: ‘When will there be time for me?’ Some […]
From Exhaustion to Self-Empathy & Self-Compassion: What You Need to Know About ‘Black Fatigue’
Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC The emotional, physical, and psychological toll of racism, whether in the form of implicit bias, microaggressions, racialized trauma, structural and systemic racism, is the unrelenting lived experience of many Black people. Racism, whether experienced directly or vicariously through the traumatic video footage of the murder of George Floyd and other […]
‘The Journey Itself is My Home.’
Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC ‘The journey itself is my home.’ Basho About this time of year for the last several years, I lace up my walking shoes, pack my bags, and head off to Spain, taking with me a small and select group of pilgrim seekers on one of the most transformational life journeys: […]
