The
April 17, 2020 Issue #2
Crazy Wisdom Weekly
Shining a light in the dark.
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
No part of this publication may be reproduced for any reason without the express written approval of the publisher. There is a token fee charged if you would like to use an article in this publication on your website. Please contact us first. Articles from back issues will be available on our website’s archive. Please read our parent publication, The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal. You can find online archives on our website, crazywisdomjournal.com. The Crazy Wisdom Journal has been published three times a year since 1995. Copyright © Crazy Wisdom , Inc., April 17, 2020.
Word of the week:
Cattywampus Something that is in disarray, that is askew, or something that isn’t directly across from something else.
Our cover photo is by Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash. Thank you to our contributors for this issue: Angela Kidd Sibel Ozer Emily Marcil Katie Hoener Samantha Hart Carol Karr Bobby Pennock 2
Angela Madaras Judy Liu Ramsey Ani Daher Rob Meyer-Kukan Jennifer Carson Bill Zirinsky
Because of Covid-19, we’re not publishing our usual springtime Crazy Wisdom Community Community Journal in mid-April. (We will publish it later on in the spring.) But in the meantime, we thought we’d create a weekly online version—short, and lively, and perhaps a mild distraction for our local and regional readership. We welcome articles, interviews, recipes, wisdom, personal essays, breathing exercises, favorite places for socially distant walks, news of your dogs, whatever. Send your submission to Jennifer@crazywisdom.net.
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly A Letter From Our Publisher
As this second issue of our new weekly “goes to press,” it has now been exactly five weeks since a National Emergency was declared, and we began to exist in pandemic limbo. I’m getting used to the rhythms of being at home, of spending all day and all evening with Ruth, my wife of 28 years, our 12-year-old daughter, Grace, and our mini-labradoodle, Copper. I’ve seen no one socially, except passing neighbors on the streets of Burns Park, for close to four weeks. My favorite new thing is “power-walking” through Arbor Hills, a reasonably fun and healthy substitute for the loss of my cherished swimming routine. And each night, Grace chooses a teen romantic comedy (PG) and we curl up together, transfixed and safe. As David Brooks wrote some weeks back, we’re all seeing the world “through plague eyes,” and with that, a hidden part of our collective human history has been found and awakened. Each day, creative journalists are reminding us of classic novels and major works of art inspired by plagues. We’re re-imagining the history we’ve been taught, and the weight of previously obscure pandemics begins to sink in. I find myself wanting to seize the opportunities presented by this experience. Years ago, I read a short story by Doris Lessing about a pre-adolescent boy swimming through an underwater tunnel, a rite of passage. As a very healthy fellow in my 60’s, I’m visualizing these months of plague as a tunnel through to the other side of my life, or to my death. On the Thursday night before the Emergency was declared, I had gathered eight leading lights in Ann Arbor’s conscious living subculture for a photo shoot, for the 25th anniversary issue of The Crazy Wisdom Journal: Richard Mann, Bronwen Gates, Larissa Czechnowski, Cathy King, Linda Diane Feldt, Haju Sunim, Lev Linkner and Brian O’Donnell. Lori Fithian couldn’t come— she was taking care of her elderly parents and didn’t want to potentially expose them. Wasentha Young was teaching a final Tai Chi class. The photographer had posed the group, sitting on tall benches, and standing. We were asked to touch each other, clasping hands and arms around each other’s shoulders. She had us move into different configurations and took dozens of photos. We all knew it would be a last form of communion for some time to come—a sweet hour of gentle connection. And the next morning it all began, in earnest.
Table of Contents Word of the Week .........................................page 2 5 Questions for Angela Kidd.............................page 4 Sound Bath Meditation Sessions....................page 5 With Rob Meyer-Kukan Book Pick of the Week...................................page 5 The Fabric of Our Lives................................page 6 By Sibel Ozer Charoite..........................................................page 8 Yoga Pose of the Week..................................page 9 From Our Blog...............................................page 9 By Samantha Hart Why Are You Home?......................................page 10 By Judy Liu Ramsey Local Music Online Concerts.........................page 12 With Bobby Pennock Comfort Food................................................page 12 By Angela Madaras
Bill Zirinsky (Ruth Schekter and Bill Zirinsky have been the owners of Crazy Wisdom for 31 years. Bill is also the Editorial Director and Publisher of the Crazy Wisdom Journal.)
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The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
questions for
Angela Kidd
1. When did you realize that you were a storyteller? I first began to tell my mom stories around age four, before I could even write yet. I was always inventing characters and trying to find new worlds around my neighborhood. I discovered performance poetry in college and told the story of my family tree on stage while dressed as a tree. As a children's librarian, I would share other people's stories during preschool storytime. Then one day I finally decided to create my own stories. 2. What is it that you love about books/stories? Their ability to transport me to a new world. To discover places I've never been and meet interesting characters with unusual perspectives. To learn something about myself I never knew. To see the world in a different way. To comfort me in dark times. They give me hope. 3. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this book? When my grandmother became sick, I learned just how fragile life can be. But I also realized there is always hope, sometimes in the most unexpected places. I already knew that a shooting star is actually a meteor. In my research, I also learned about the death of a star. A supernova is an exploding star, which could result in a black hole. But it also produces particles of dust and gas that may form a planetary nebula. Some nebulae are called "star nurseries" because new stars form there. Thus the profound line from Sara Bareilles song Cassiopeia, "A supernova grew up to be stardust." 4. What inspired you to write The Healing Star?
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I was inspired by several things including: • A trip to Montreal and Quebec City where my husband saw a shooting star, but I didn't • Two songs by Sara Bareilles from her album The Blessed Unrest (Satellite Call and Cassiopeia)
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My own grandmother who also became sick Jack and the Beanstalk A crater I saw in Canyonlands
5. As a child, what did you dream of becoming when you grew up? I wanted to be an astronaut. I think that's where my interest in the moon and stars (and the universe in general) came from. But then I learned you had to spin around upside down to go into space. I have terrible vertigo. But truly, I always wanted to be a children's author. So, luckily, I was able to write about the stars instead and still take a journey into the nighttime sky! A. Kidd lives with her husband and daughter in a suburb of Detroit, MI. The Healing Star is her debut novel. She often wishes on stars but hasn't caught one yet. Visit her online for more information.
You can purchase an ebook of The Healing Star through Crazy Wisdom.
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
Sound Bath Meditations with Rob Meyer-Kukan
Rob Meyer-Kukan will be offering online sound bath meditations weekly (using Himalayan and crystal singing bowls, chimes, and other instruments) to help relax, calm, and soothe the soul at this time. All sound bath meditations are available through Facebook as streaming video. You can find those live sessions by following his page. Here’s the schedule: • •
April 22 - 7:30 am Earth Day Sunrise Facebook Live Sound Bath Meditation April 30 - 7 pm Beside still waters: Facebook Live Sound Bath Meditation
The Sound Bath Meditations are free of charge. Donations are humbly and graciously accepted. A portion of this month’s proceeds will be given back to the community, specifically to Ozone House.
Rob Meyer-Kukan is a Licensed Massage Therapist, a Licensed Sound Therapist, and a natural health educator. He helps others avoid burn out and thrive in their work through sound, massage, meditation, and more. Learn more on his website.
Crazy Wisdom Book Pick of the Week This week’s book pick of the week is from Crazy Wisdom staff member Emily Marcil.
You Are Woman, You Are Divine: The Modern Woman’s Journey Back to the Goddess This book transformed the way I think about my role in society and the universe in such an empowering way. Starr brings you on a journey through different ancient goddesses, reveals their struggles and successes, and creates a space for you to do the same. My advice when reading this book is to take it one sentence at a time and allow yourself to completely surrender to the wisdom written on the pages. You can purchase this book through Crazy Wisdom’s online shop. Click here to purchase your own copy of You Are Woman, You Are Divine: The Modern Woman’s Journey Back to the Goddess
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The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
The Fabric of Our Lives Writing and Art by Sibel Ozer I want to preface this piece by paying my respects to all the lives that will be lost due to the coronavirus pandemic. Living beings are unique and irreplaceable, and not a single one is worth the benefits that might come out of any crisis. I am not writing for the present, but with the intention to invite contemplation about the aftermath. It is not even that lessons can only be learned as a result of suffering, but I have to be honest with myself as a cancer survivor, that there are things I learned from that experience I would not have otherwise. So, sometimes, if we are searching and paying attention, there are things to be learned from tragedies that would be harder if not impossible to integrate, if it wasn’t for them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and yet none of us would choose it. There is a reason many religions encourage (mandate) fasting, and that is because it is close to impossible to remember or know hunger if we haven’t experienced it in decades. We think we might know it, but our capacity to habituate will make us insensitive whether we like it or not. Knowing is what creates true empathy, from which arises true compassion, and the world has been in need of a lot of it, for a long time coming. We simply haven’t been in right relationship with other living beings, or with fellow humans, let alone half the time, with ourselves. So I am hoping and praying that we take the time to take in the lessons that are hidden within this crisis that will have cost so many dear lives by the time it is over. I hope and pray that we will not just go back to business as usual.
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I want to share the message of this painting that came through a few years back. I knew what it was about then, but it wasn’t time to share it yet. This painting is titled The Fabric of our Lives and brings to attention the parts of our lives both large and small that make it complete, that bring an element of wholeness
that could be captured in the experience of a deep sigh of wellness. It is about the interconnectedness of all living beings. The most important parts that make our lives complete are known to most of us and therefore don’t need as much attention. Our families and loved ones, our health, our carriers, our hobbies make up the main figures of the tapestry of our lives. And then there are the colors and designs that connect the whole, the threads that link pieces together that often get overlooked as significant parts of the whole. Here are some of the things I miss since they are cut out of my life that I might not have noticed if it wasn’t for the forced isolation: I miss my brief interactions with the garage personnel at the 4th and Williams garage on Main Street, where I park daily. I wonder what book Joe is currently reading and want to check in with how Sue’s health is going. Our conversations are never long or deep, and yet there is value there, a joy that comes from a look of recognition and the waving. So there are more people that make up the fabric of our lives that we have heart connections to then we might be fully aware of, some even whose names we don’t know, but recognize in passing.
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020 without all the elements that make up the fabric of our lives. Some fast out of duty or obligation, not using the opportunity to contemplate and connect with the deeper points of the exercise. We could just as easily come out of this period simply with relief, and fall right back into all the patterns that existed before. Perhaps we can pay close attention to what our hearts and souls are yearning for the most, and what they are enjoying in this imposed restriction of what I typically think of as overworking. Maybe we can re-enter in a way that we change some things so that we all live more congruent with our psyche’s deepest desires. How I wish we could re-enter business life by increasing the salaries of all those undervalued professions that we are reminded are so incredibly essential to our wellbeing. Teachers make the top of my list of who should get an immediate increase, and I only had to imagine how hard it would have been were my children younger.
I miss seeing the giant oak on Plymouth Road that never ceases to take my breath away. Unless I’m in a horrible rush, it manages to capture my attention and I’ll take my imaginary hat off as I send my greetings of respect in passing. And since this is Ann Arbor, with the numerous special trees all around, I admit to missing my heart connection with more than one.
Having focused on the subtle, I want to end with a look at the hardest part of this crisis, which is the loss of human life. A pastor I know had mentioned a drop in funeral attendance in the last decades. There might be value in revisiting our attitudes about this timeless and priceless practice now that we are deprived of practicing it in community. Our losses held and witnessed by our communities become just a little lighter when this tradition is offered in a way that meets the needs of those involved. Let’s all look at why we haven’t been showing up and renew our commitment to being there for one another as we experience loss at our own turn. Sibel Ozer is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist.Visit her online at sibelozer.com.
This long lasting isolation, albeit necessary and lifesaving, is a type of fasting for the psyche. We are still allowed to go to parks, otherwise I would mention missing the Huron River and our walks we take along its banks. We will get back to rowing as soon as the weather improves, so I won’t be missing the close encounters with the herons. How lucky are those of us with backyards that offer us regular interactions with wildlife. How much harder it must be for those that are living in an apartment, cut off from nature in a significant way. I remember the songbirds finding their way onto our balcony when we did live in an apartment, so I suppose we are rarely completely disconnected. Since most everything in our houses come from the earth, even though the various objects go through multiple refinements and transformations, one could always feel connected to Mother Earth through contemplation of the origin of things. My floors were once an oak tree, my cabinets a maple, the glass was sand on a beach somewhere near an ocean. As the virus is causing devastation among us humans, nature gets a break from the constant devastation we have been causing through our various misdeeds of pollution, overuse, and general disregard. This long lasting isolation, albeit necessary and lifesaving, is a type of fasting for the psyche, we are having to make-do 7
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
Charoite
artwork by Ani Daher. Follow her on Instagram @ ani.daher
Feeling a little anxious and negative in these “stay at home” days? Charoite may be just the stone for you. With its majestic swirls of purple hues, this stone brings high spiritual energy together with unconditional love and grounds it here on Earth, where we need it most. Dark violet crystals are talismans for dreams, providing insight beyond ordinary understanding. The lighter shades help with the knowing of the self, but also help one focus on our understanding of hidden desires. Charoite is a support crystal for many, including those who care for the sick, as it helps one open up to his/her full potential and encourages a path of service to humanity. Discovered in eastern Siberia in 1940, it wasn’t until 1978 that it became known to the larger world population. Its name is derived from the Russian word “Chary”, meaning magic or charms. Charoite is a crystal that may help with overcoming exhaustion, stimulating and regulating blood pressure and pulse rate, soothing the nerves, and helping overcome insomnia. Also known as the soul stone, charoite provides synthesis between the heart and crown chakras. It fills the chakras with the loving spiritual emotion of purity, allowing one to see with love. It may also help to challenge and conquer fears, as well as provide inspiration, aid in dreaming, and giving a boost to psychic abilities.
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The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
Yoga Pose of the Week
From Our Blog Self-Care — The Ultimate Act By Samantha Hart You may have heard it before — that you are the most important person in your life, and the more selfish you are, the more selfless you can be. I know, it sounded like baloney to me at first too, but hear me out. The word “selfish” — defined as being concerned primarily with one’s own personal profit or pleasure — has a negative connotation, almost synonymous with “self-absorbed.” It is the opposite of “selfless.” However, in life we are constantly striving for balance, whether it’s with work, relationships, food … so why should this be any different? The more we take care of ourselves, the more we are able to take care of others. So let’s take a moment to be selfish, because it is just as important to our health as eating our kale.
Warrior I, or Vriabhadrasana I By Katie Hoener Warrior I is both a posture for power and for grounding. Our Warrior postures are all fantastic for tapping into our inherent strength! In times of uncertainty, we have the ability to connect with how our body and breath works together as a source of power and grace. Coming into a Warrior I--step back with one foot. Keep feet about hips distance apart. How far you step back, and how far your feet are from one another is up to what feels good for you, for your feet, for your hips, and for your low back. Another variable will be the angle of your back foot. Though some traditions ask for a specific angle with the back foot, my tradition does not. Allow yourself to sink into the posture safely. We want the front knee to track roughly over the second toe and to not pass the ankle, we want to keep that patellae tendon nice and safe. For Warrior I we want the hips facing forward as much as possible. See where you are feeling openings, and where you feel strength. Some days we want to tap into softness, and other days spaces of strength. Allow the arms to float up, with shoulder blades as grounded as possible. Warrior I is also a wonderful heart opener, so taking a few breaths to focus on this area can allow us to open through the arms, channeling energy all the way through the finger tips. We all have these wonderful moments of power, take a few breaths to connect with yours today, whether that’s after a morning run/walk, in between conference calls, or anywhere you can find the space and time.
There are ways to find time for self-care throughout your day. For many of us who have running, yoga, or other physical exercise on our daily to-do lists, a big act in self-care is actually taking these activities off the list. Yes, that’s right! Let it be what it is — an act of love to our bodies and beings rather than just another item to check off the to-do list. Whether you run, swim, practice Pilates or yoga, let it be a moment for you — for you to love the movement of your body, become one with the breath, and feel the beauty of your entire being. When we change our perception about an activity from it being something that we have to do, to it being something that we want to do, we allow ourselves to truly absorb the experience. If you practice alone, you may realize that this quality time with you is the biggest treat you can offer to yourself, and in turn, offer your loved ones. Moments for the self can also be found in moments of stillness. We crave quiet in times of chaos, but it never seems to become a part of our self-care regimen. To sit in awareness is to bring a bit of bliss, beauty, and harmony to the you, me, and we. We can find stillness (meditate) in the morning to set the tone for the rest of the day, or we can meditate after work or before bed to help clear and calm the mind from the day’s stresses. With practice, it will become part of our routine, but for a lot of us, there just isn’t enough time to sit when there are kids that need to get to school, bills to be paid, and dinner to be made. To find self-care in stillness, it once again becomes about a change in perception — rather than thinking of meditation as sitting in a lotus position, chanting, swaying, and burning a sage stick from side to side, let’s think of it as an offering to ourselves (and to others), and maybe in this mindset, we can discover a different route to enlightenment and self-love. It can be as simple as turning your morning coffee or an evening glass of wine into a meditative moment. Wherever you enjoy that coffee or wine, close your eyes for a few seconds to enjoy the stillness. Read all of Hart’s tips on our blog. 9
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
Why Are You Home? By Judy Liu Ramsey COVID-19 has created a different environment not only for us, but also for the animals who live with us. We’re home all the time! What happens now? We want our animals, as family members, to be safe. The animals are aware that something is different. Initially, they ask, “Why are you home?” The routine has been changed and at first, our animals try to resume relations as they were when their person was usually home. Play? Eat? Walk or spend time together? When they realize that the situation is not normal and their person has strong feelings of anxiety or fear, they rally to help in the best way they can to care for their humans. If the human is working at home, that creates another dynamic that in most cases means that the presence of an animal may not be helpful. How can humans and animals find a happy medium? Care of Your Animal Ideally, make sure you have at least two weeks of pet food and medications on hand as an emergency measure. If you have no income at present, please don’t pack everything up for the shelter just yet. There is help to be found in paying for pet food expenses and upkeep: Furever Full Food Bank for Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, and the Humane Society of Huron Valley for Ann Arbor have programs that can help. The Brown Dog Foundation helps with prescription medicine costs. Other resources, particularly for pets with cancer, may be found at humansociety.org. Set up a routine of exercise, attention, and feeding to provide some sense of normality. When working at home, determine specific hours you will work and when you will end to rejoin the family. Calm is important, especially for animals. When you are usually gone during the day, they stay home and energize. This doesn’t happen when you are home all day, so you may see some behavior changes due to exhaustion and worry—theirs not yours. To stay healthy around your animals, wash your hands after handling animals, their food, waste, or supplies. There is no evidence anywhere that suggests COVID-19 is transmittable from animal to human or vice versa, but animals carry germs that can make you sick and immune compromised. If you have COVID-19, the CDC asks you to avoid contact with your animal, perhaps leaving its care up to friends or relatives. They suggest no petting, snuggling, sharing food, or bedding. There is no reason to remove the animal from the home unless the animal will not receive sufficient care. For more information, visit CDC’s Healthy Pets, Healthy People website. 10
Veterinary care is important. However, as of April 1, veterinarians in Michigan were advised to take only emergency cases. Contact your veterinarian to see what specific office policies are. Some are doing drive-through pickup and delivery of animals. Care of the Person Each of our animals is a unique individual with its own purpose to fulfill. They have a wide range of spiritual awareness and communication ability, just like humans do. The animals I have spoken with in the past month are concerned for their people. Domestic animals frequently choose their families for a reason. As family members, they want to do whatever they can to help. Help can come in several ways that seem odd to people, but it is help nevertheless. Every animal has picked up on the fears, anxieties, and concerns for survival of their families (how can they not?). In many of our pets, this has kicked on a sense of protection—think barking incessantly, biting those who come too close to their person, and refusal to leave the house. If the animal didn’t have that behavior before the virus, it’s probably your own fears the animal is tuning into and ‘helping’ with. What can we do? Stay calm, be outdoors, tell our animals, “I’ve got this. It isn’t yours to carry. Thank you for helping me.”
The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020 Most animals seem glad that humans are finally becoming aware, being present, relatively, and coming together with family members to spend a loving time. They want us to be in the moment, where there is peace and calm. They want us not to stress. Consequently, an animal may take on the excess energy that we generate through worry, mind spinning, and anxiety. This may manifest itself in animal illness or peeing/ pooping inappropriately, especially if they never did this before the virus. If your horse begins to roll or pee when you approach her, she’s doing the same thing—taking your excess energy and passing it through to eliminate it. Again, telling your animal the stress is not theirs to carry, and thanking them for their help, can go a long way—so can managing your stress so that your environment and everyone in it doesn’t implode. One of my communications shed light on the measures some cats were taking. Joan called me to communicate with her two cats. For the past month, the cat she has had the longest has not been sleeping with her as he had for the past 10 years.
The other, usually active cat, was disappearing during the day. The cats showed me that they are taking shifts caring for their person. Her anxiety has been so high, one takes the day shift and finds a quiet place to recover at night away from the bedroom. The other finds a quiet place during the day and sleeps with her at night. When asked what she could do to make them more comfortable, they both asked her to spend 15 minutes with them daily. “Let’s just sit and be cats,” they communicated. Judy Ramsey is a professional animal communicator who is helping animals and their people survive these difficult times. She held a free webinar on how to cope at home with your animal friends during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period. If you would like to watch the recording you can do so here and enter the passcode: Q7*%C21Y. If you have questions, please email Judy at ramsey.judy003@ yahoo.com. Her website is hearttoheartanimalcommunication. net.
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The Crazy Wisdom Weekly, April 17, 2020
Local Music Online Concerts! Bobby Pennock is a local and accomplished singer/songwriter who has uploaded music videos to his Facebook page for your quarantine enjoyment! His musical stylings are described as unique, but reminiscent of those celebrated folksingers of the 1960s and 70s. When not performing solo, Bobby can be seen on stages around the area with a band of songwriters known as Taller Than They Appear. You can visit this great band at www. tallerthantheyappear.com. Listen and watch Bobby perform online on his facebook page.
Comfort Food by Angela Madaras
Irish Breakfast I first encountered Irish Breakfast at a pub in Amsterdam many years ago. It was a Sunday full of revelers with hangovers each hungry for a big and hearty breakfast full of fat, pork, eggs, and some vegetables to stave off guilt. Then add some freshly baked bread, homemade jam and butter for a belly-filling breakfast we would call brunch in our neck of the woods. I made this version on one of the COVID-19 lock-down days with our own bacon from the freezer, two frozen hot dogs from Sparrows Market, sautĂŠed mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, White Lotus Farm Olive Bread we bought online then picked up safely at the farm, and paired it with their fresh amaranth sprouts, eggs delivered to our door from Argus, and a can of baked beans deep from our pantry depths; which continues to be ravaged as each week drones along. I also had a little orange juice and fig jam on the side. You can read about a traditional recipe and see a photograph here of how they do breakfast over the green hills a-far. 12
There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.
—Bernard Williams
Photo by Jordan Wozniak on Unsplash