Flower Mandalas Project

Recently, I was in touch with a woman who is transitioning from being an engineer to becoming a therapist, and we’ve been exchanging emails on our respective paths. I thought I’d share a bit of mine, here. My path to becoming a therapist was a slow, trial-and-error process. I’m 67 now and was 51 when I enrolled in Cambridge College’s program to become a mental health counselor. I grew up a sort of… Continue Reading →

My Flower Mandala images – which I created as a form of meditation to help me through a difficult time – have had the unexpected result of carrying me, metaphorically, to widely dispersed parts of the world. Via Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media, they’ve found their way onto the screens, and sometimes into the homes, of people on all the continents of the globe except (as far as I know) Antarctica.… Continue Reading →

NOTE: Today is the 25th year anniversary of my near-death experience, an event that ended one phase of my life and began another, like the period at the end of this sentence ends it. And then a new sentence begins. This post from my book Paths to Wholeness: Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas describes that experience and its aftermath. GRACE: CONTINUATIONS On February 21, 1993, at about 7:45pm, I was granted a form of grace… Continue Reading →

To more widely distribute the ideas and practices in The Art of Balance: Staying Sane in an Insane World, I’ve started to create supplements to the book. As I create them, I’m making them available to new subscribers, and I wanted to make sure that you get them, too. The first is The Art of Balance Cheat Sheet. This little booklet introduces the characters in The Art of Balance and walks the reader through how… Continue Reading →

A legion of UnBalancers has been unleashed upon the Earth – Along with the means to send them scurrying! Or, to put it another way, my new self-help book – The Art of Balance: Staying Sane in an Insane World  – is now out, just in time to battle stress, anxiety, winter doldrums, and whatever the evening news delivers next. I’ve boiled down everything I’ve discovered about staying sane in this insane world in my 15 years as a therapist and life coach into one power-packed volume, and so far the response among early reviewers has been very positive: “I cannot say enough about The Art of Balance . It’s an amazing manual for re-balancing one’s life!” “If you want to avoid a long-winded and theory-based self-help book, then this is the book for you. David provides practical exercises that are easy to follow and they really do work. Even if you have a hectic lifestyle David gives you quick exercises to perform wherever and whenever you can fit them in.” “In an age of anxiety this...

I’m doing the final tweaks on the book, ebook, and website for The Art of Balance . Here’s what some early reviewers are already saying about it: “I found it empowering and self-motivating. It truly was difficult to stop reading once I began.” “A self-help book that actually helps!” “If you want to avoid a long-winded and theory-based self-help book, then this is the book for you. David provides practical exercises that are easy to follow and they really do work.” “This book is very motivating and extremely validating!” “Comes at the subject in a simple, easily understood approach. I found myself not wanting to put it down.” “This book is a must have for artists and creative people.” “Whether you’re in a recovery program or just feel lost, the principles, exercises, and examples in this book can help regain a feeling of purpose and direction. It did for me.” “Definitely a must read.” “I would recommend Bookbinder’s newest effort to anyone struggling with issues in recovery th...

Don’t let your heart be colonized by fear . – Jack Kornfield What I Learned About Practicing What I Preach The Battle for Balance is a life and death struggle. Stay balanced, and we enjoy life to the fullest. Lose balance, and life gets hard. I’ve learned this lesson many times, over many years, and I’m sure most of you have, too. But a couple of years ago, I discovered that even a therapist with a toolbox full of self-help tools can get unbalanced if he doesn’t practice what he preaches. A big part of my job is to help people deal with difficulties and uncertainties. Because I’m an empath, while I’m working with them, I’m also feeling what they feel. Usually, I can process those feelings in the moment, so that by the time the next client walks through my door, I’m ready to freshly take in who they are and what they may need. My work feels like a calling, and that’s a good thing. But there have been two extended periods when too much of a good thing was… too much, and it was in...