Offering Metta — loving kindness — to those around us, or even to ourselves, interrupts unhappy situations and helps soothe stormy emotions. Metta, a practice so simple a child can do it, is the lesson thoughtfully illustrated in Peace, Bugs and Understanding.

The Sun's passage through the fall and winter signs, the final six of the zodiac, turns the focus to partnering, engaging with the physical, mental and emotional realities around us and ultimately, self-mastery.

Let’s face it. Life is stressful. And when we are under stress we suffer. It’s bad for our health. So it’s helpful to have a few stress-busting techniques to reach for when it starts to creep up on you.

That night — her last night — as I sat quietly in her room, I thought about the woman my mother had been. She had raised a family of seven children born seventeen years apart. At age 53, she set out to fulfill her lifelong dream of obtaining a college degree.

My garden continues to reflect the changes in my life and I take great pleasure in my new freedom.

I hate clutter, and one morning I just couldn't take it anymore. Here's how I got my kids to throw out their toys and tidy up our house.