Catherine Duncan

02/01/2026

I’m deeply moved watching Deepak Chopra speak so openly about awakening.

My own awareness began early—surviving childhood cancer changes how you see life.

But awakening doesn’t have to come through trauma or crisis.

When conversations like this are normalized, people are given permission to pause… and wake up gently, not through suffering.

That’s powerful.

01/31/2026

Most people aren’t burned out because they don’t take care of themselves.
They’re burned out because they’re living a life that doesn’t fit.

You can’t self-care your way out of a life that isn’t honest.

01/31/2026

The past pulls us away. The future creates stress. Presence dissolves fear—not because life is safe, but because it’s alive.

When we live fully in the present moment, there is no room for fear. In this time of uncertainty, where are you living? Where is your awareness residing?

01/30/2026

Being busy is a socially acceptable way to avoid your life.

It looks responsible. It feels productive.
But it delays honesty. It delays presence.

And delay is where regret quietly waits.

01/29/2026

Most people aren’t lost —
they’re just not here.

Presence is not passivity.
It is devotion to the moment you’ve been given.

A meaningful life begins
the instant you arrive.

01/28/2026

It shouldn’t take almost dying to wake us up.

We don’t lose our lives from carelessness -
we lose them assuming there’s time.

One day you realize what hurts isn’t death…
it’s how normal distraction felt while life was quietly passing by.

01/27/2026

I asked people one question at the end of their life:

“Did you live the life you wanted to live?”

Almost everyone paused.

And then said no —
not because they failed…

But because:

• They did what was expected
• They stayed practical
• They avoided disappointing people
• They chose security over honesty
• They postponed what they wanted
• They told themselves it wasn’t the right time
• They assumed later would come
• They didn’t realize they were deciding every day

That’s what stayed with me.

01/26/2026

Most people aren’t wasting their life because they’re lazy.
They’re wasting it because they’re distracted.

Busy. Productive. Preparing for later.
And one day they realize -
their life already happened.

01/26/2026

We are living in uncertain and turbulent times here in Minneapolis, and many of us are feeling the heaviness of it. It is palpable in the air.

Join us Wednesday 6:30 pm CT on zoom for a gathering centered on healing, steadiness, and connection. Come exactly as you are. Leave feeling steadier.

Gregory A. Plotnikoff, MD, MTS, FACP will offer a sacred blessing that begins each week in our clinic. Karen Lawson and I will share simple, practical skills to help regulate your nervous system and restore a sense of empowerment in the midst of overwhelm.

May we meet this moment together and may we be given strength, presence, and compassion.

01/25/2026

Most people think they’re living a good life.
Busy. Comfortable. Reasonable.
Nothing was wrong.
But the soul was waiting—
softly, patiently, for their attention.

01/24/2026

I sat with hundreds of people at the end of their life.
Almost all of them struggled with the same thing.

Not dying.

But realizing:

• Nothing ever felt “wrong”
• Staying busy felt like living
• Waiting felt responsible
• Comfort felt safe
• Later felt guaranteed
• Honest conversations were postponed
• Joy was delayed for “when things calm down”
• Distraction replaced presence
• Regret arrived quietly
• And by then, it was too late to renegotiate

01/23/2026

The most common self-betrayal isn’t dramatic.
It’s lying to yourself about time -
what can wait, and what really can’t.

At the end of life, people don’t regret who they were.
They regret how long they postponed what mattered.