Orange Beard, digital painting by Jacque Rosenau, www.JRosenauStudio.com
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essential wellness digital magazine Twin Cities Wellness aka Essential Wellness 4270 Honey Tree Pass Danbury, WI 54830 Publishers Dee & Lynn LaFroth ADVERTISING Dee LaFroth sales@esswellness.com 715.259.3047 EDITOR Lynn LaFroth info@esswellness.com ART DIRECTOR Sunshine Sevigny WRITING SUBMISSIONS Click here for 2013 Writers Guidelines RECEIVE ESSENTIAL WELLNESS BY EMAIL Send us your email to receive twice-monthly Celebrate Wellness e-news and Monthly digital Essential Wellness info@esswellness.com 4 www.esswellness.com
8–19 Joy marks the authentically creative experience BY JACQUE ROSENAU
20-21 Try this art exercise to view what is within BY JANET HOVD
24-29 The voice and/or ancient sound instruments heal the body and mind BY STEVE SKLAR
30-33 Sound transforms and heals BY ERIN DEWITT
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS
BY JACQUE ROSENAU
Joy marks the authentic creative experience
O
NE OF my first real decisions about my life was a declaration that I wanted to be an artist. There was always paper and a pencil around so I could practice anytime. It was sometime before preschool, I cannot remember exactly when, but I recall being satisfied with my decision and I had a world of time. Examining my creativity means defining and talking about something that is very innate to me. It is a great topic of interest these days for behaviorists, since they have looked closely at almost all aspects of human behavior. When I read
about it, I always try to see how well I fit in. My creativity is most apparent in the form of visual arts. I would say, “Pretty much, a direct connection.” From my experience, we are all creative in some form or another. So I am always curious how it manifests. Some are the obvious things like music and art. But there is also the curious scientist that finds a way to put their notion of one idea, together with some remote notion they learned and come up with a completely new way to address an old question. Now that is pretty creative! And that coming from someone who thought the old cloud in the bottle experiment was some sort of exotic wonder.
The part where it gets a little slippery is measuring it. It is the scientist who wires up a creative thinker and starts trying to measure how much the machine lights up. That’s when we start to go our separate ways. You know it when you see it. You can benefit from it when it shows up. And for sure, it can be transportive when you experience it. But there is a little something that just isn’t all that easy to describe.
Orange Beard, digital painting by Jacque Rosenau, www.JRosenauStudio.com
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS continued...
JOY MARKS THE CREATIVE MOMENTS
MY INNER WORLD REPRESENTED IN MY ART
It’s that “other” element. It seems as elusive and as concrete as that cloud in a bottle. It is where all things come together in a sort of harmony that is understandable through our senses. It reflects a sort of knowing of something more universal than ourselves. When we find it in what we are doing, it is generally accompanied by joy. I learned the skills to first draw and then paint. Then my drawings and paintings taught me. I saw it as sort of a language. My first language which was a visual language. Most of us give up our visual language for the verbal one around the time we started socializing with our peers. Mine has been with me my whole life. (Probably because of that first decision I made.) For whatever reason, it is like having a twin with our own symbolic language.
I labored over the skills, honing the basics that later became the foundation of communication. Other people could understand that the figure was a figure and that the still life was in fact a still life. But my symbolic language took me through a representation of my inner world. Through expressing myself and later looking back, I realized I was telling the stories from my subconscious. All the things that were imprinting my life seemed to be told in the lines and the forms that I was choosing. Through my self-conscious years I shifted my art towards organic shapes and abstraction. I was following a natural progression. As I delved into the pure nature of lines, color and form, I also encountered the complexities that I was learning about myself. Where ever I went….there I was.
Corsage Swirl, digital painting by Jacque Rosenau, www.JRosenauStudio.com
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS continued...
As I got fluid in this communication and I found that other artists, who were considered 20th century artists, were also using the same symbolic language to speak about their art and their subconscious. I started looking at other artists and learning. I would read about them to see if what I was learning from their work was accurate. It was true. I was speaking and communicating with other artists. In a visual language. I even found a kinship or a familiarity with a family of artists. Klee, de Kooning, Rothko, Motherwell and others. As I matured so did my artwork and the family of artist I could understand expanded. I identified by the way they approached the canvas and the way they solved the problems with color and emptiness. With light and darkness. Along with the obvious was the navigation of their impulse for creating. Blush White, digital painting by Jacque Rosenau, www.JRosenauStudio.com Continued Page 18... 14 www.esswellness.com
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS continued...
ART IN THE COMPUTER AGE As computers became more accessible and software was getting closer to addressing “us creative types,” I was getting more curious how I could integrate it as a new medium. A huge new medium. Sixteen million illuminated colors and all the brushes I could image. The only drawback was getting it out of the computer. Up until recently the printer was the weakest link. I was working on wrestling down the color choices. All those colors had to be maneuvered to work fluidly. At the same time, at the urging of my husband, we attended an orchid show. There it was. Two unrelated ideas that seemed to find their way of coming together to address an old question.
ORCHID BEAUTY: A MEANS OF SURVIVAL Those Orchids were living forms and colors, the same 18 www.esswellness.com
ones I was dealing with on my computer! I drew out my cell phone and began photographing them. I was seeing them as abstractions and alive. The real amazement is I sensed they were aware of my attraction to them. I was encountering a life force that used beauty as a means of surviving. In the world of Orchids this instinct is fierce. They evolve to attract a pollinator, and they can be found almost all over the world. I think I am embarking on a new “other” place. This one is not about my subconscious but rather a whole world of life that is grounded to the earth. So for the last few years I have been engaged in this new realm of creating with illuminated color and the living force of beauty in Orchids. I have ventured into other flowers that catch my attention such as Iris and Peonies. Mostly, because I grew up with them and now I can see them differently. Each has their own sense of beauty. While building skills
and understanding a language that has been with me forever, the one guidepost that keeps me on track is the joy. I have experienced the best joy, so far, exploring this grounded life force and being able to freely express it in the unlimited materials found in my computer. Maybe I could conclude that survival and the impulse to create for some people are one and the same. I learned that from the flowers.
Jacque Rosenau, whose work is featured on the April 2013 cover of Essential Wellness magazine, is a digital artist. Her abstract work has been collected by private collectors, universities and the Minnesota Museum of Art. Exhibitions of Digital Orchids have been with the Orchid Society of Minnesota at the State Fair and the Winter Carnivals Orchid Shows, 2012, 2013, and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum 2013 Irresistible Iris 7 paintings. www.JRosenauStudio.com
Almost Phal, digital painting by Jacque Rosenau, www.JRosenauStudio.com
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS
Try this art exercise to vi
T
HERE ARE three images associated with this article. Of the three, which one draws your attention? Zoom in if you like. Which section of the piece draws your attention?
And in the past five years, I have invested time and energy in making art. My current primary art modalities are art quilting and gouache painting. Art is play for me—play with images, textures, colors, energy, healing, and intuition. In my mixed media art, I follow my inner wisdom. To the
Loved
Make a list of at least five words that describe this section. And put it aside for now. This year I am celebrating the 15th year of my healing practice. 20 www.esswellness.com
BEGINNING MY WORK WITH INTENTION As in my energy healing practice, I begin my art work by setting an intention, in this case for the greatest good for myself and for future viewers of my work. I imagine that my materials are
Grace
best of my ability, I do what I am guided to do. I may not fully understand the choices in the moment but am often surprised by the esthetic results.
infused with healing energy. Not only am I surprised by the esthetics of a finished piece, but it is fascinating to tap into the energy and the information
BY JANET HOVDE
iew what is within the completed piece holds. A private person by nature, it is sometimes disconcerting to discover my deepest life stories “exposed” in my work. Guess what? Although my life stories are specific to me, the themes are universal. You may or may not see my story. But you do have the
the best gifts available to you. These images are intentionally filled with healing energy. If you like, imagine viewing them with your heart wide open. Choose to receive whatever is in your highest good. Now go back to your list of five describing words. Write the
thank you, also, to all the angels and guides for holding the space for this healing. Janet Hovde, Intuitive Artist and Healer, offers appointments in Roseville, MN, and via phone or email. www.janethovde.com for more information about heal-
Touch of Sunshine
opportunity to learn more about yourself as you look at art. You might notice the drama of your own life unfolding as you allow yourself to be open and receive
words “I am” in front of each word. Do these new sentences tell you anything about yourself? Thank you for participating in this healing exercise. And
ing appointments, Soulful Living classes and her art gallery. Personal art commissions are available upon request. Photos are courtesy of Lori Hamilton.
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS
Voice and ancient sound heal the body and mind
S
S O U N D HEALING uses a variety of sonic tools and musical instruments which are often directed toward or applied directly to the person’s body. While there are a growing number of high-tech gadgets available, I prefer to use ancient technology such as Tibetan singing bowls and tingshas, didgeridoo (based on the ancient Australian Aboriginal wind instrument), large gongs and frame drums. I also find the voice and vocal harmonics to be quite useful, and teach clients and students to use their own voices to cultivate and direct energy. When learned, such use of the voice provides a great technique for self-help, and works from
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the inside-out. My approach is always geared toward the individual, based on a mix of discussion, experience and intuition and there is often a shamanic component as well. SOUND HEALING CAN CALM OR ENERGIZE
A sound healing experience is highly subjective, with the person receiving often entering quickly into a state of deep relaxation or trance. The vibrations have can have both calming and energizing effects, and often provide quick and effective reduction or relief of pain, discomfort, and stress. Many sessions produce a beneficial trance, or dissociative state, in which cycles of physical and emotional suffering are disrupted, allowing body, mind
and spirit to restore balance and facilitate the natural healing process. This aspect alone can provide great relief. The sonic tools and instruments I use offer a wide range of physical, mental and energetic/ spiritual effects. They all work on the physical body in a similar way to massage, in that the sound waves have considerable intensity (from subtle Tibetan bowls to quite loud in the case of the gongs, with didgeridoos in between) which vibrates the body. The vibrations also affect the energetic systems.
Continued Page 26...
BY STEVE SKLAR
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS continued...
phing harmonics. Notes aren’t beat, air rushing in and out of SOUND arranged in patterns; instead a the lungs, and even minute INSTRUMENTS FACILITATE HEALING single or few notes focus the at- sounds produced by tiny sparks Singing bowls, didgeridoos and gongs (along with one of my other interests, Throat-Singing) have very different qualities than most musical instruments such as pianos, violins or clarinets. The latter instruments produce sounds that have comparatively simple tonal characteristics, intended to be played in sequences and combinations to create melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. The attention of the listener is drawn to the macro, exterior perceptions, the musical performance. With my sound healing instruments, the sound and its effects are very different. While Tibetan bowls and didgeridoos are often poorly suited for most popular musical forms, they produce very complex tones and textures with shifting, swelling and receding and mor-
tention. This is micro listening, and has the effect of drawing the listener IN, leading the listener to inner channels of perception and exploration. When this happens, one finds themselves in a pleasant, trance or dissociated state. A trance is simply a narrowed focus of attention, and the bowls or didgeridoo can produce a very quick shift. Here, very deep work can take place.
THREE TYPES OF SOUND There are three types of sound: External, Internal, and Inner. The most familiar sounds are external, and include all the sounds that we hear through our ears, and to a lesser degree via our skin and tissue conduction. Internal sounds include those from digestion, the heart-
occurring as signals leap between neurons. Inner sounds are altogether different, and don’t consist of physical waves of vibrations. These are sounds of the psyche, mental sounds. They may have emotional content, and may or may not produce physical effects. Imagine the sound of thunder… the cry of a baby… the voice of a loved one. One “hears/ feels” the sounds, even though they are not physically present. These sounds can have a profound effect on our perceptions, emotions and health. And many problems, physical, emotional, and mental can have roots in blockages formed by misuse of the inner sonic network. Continued Page 28...
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When we are in pain, stressedout, anxious, we tend to repeat to ourselves that we are in pain, worried, etc. This serves as a negative form of self-hypnosis. It begins in our conscious mind courtesy of the ego, then often gets tuned-out. Over and over, we send these messages to our body consciousness, and the various other portions of our psyches. This system, used to
painful experiences, I may use a visualization accompanying the bowls. I guide the receiver on a journey of consciousness down into oneself, through the various systems to the organs and down to the cellular level, then to the sub-cellular realms of molecules, atoms, to the level of the tiny, vibrating and bits of conscious energy that are the manifestation and expression of All That Is.
Steve Sklar is a sound and shamanic healer, musician, teacher, photographer, and the leading throat-singer in the Western world. He is also the founder of the Worldwide Sleep Apnea-Didgeridoo Network, which is dedicated to helping sleep apnea sufferers improve their condition by learning to play the didgeridoo. Steve and his wife, musician and artist Johnna Morrow are longtime collabora-
‌we are mostly space with vast distances between the submicroscopic bits of energy and matter orbiting one another, like infinitesimally small solar systems. maintain wellness, is now used instead to send the wrong directions. This is a major source of physical, emotional, and energetic blockages.
JOURNEYS OF CONSCIOUSNESS INTO BODY HEALS BLOCKAGES As with all experiences, perceptions, thoughts and beliefs, these are stored in our bodies. And for removing unpleasant, or 28 www.esswellness.com
From that perspective, we are mostly space with vast distances between the submicroscopic bits of energy and matter orbiting one another, like infinitesimally small solar systems. The sound of the bowls, or the didgeridoo, gongs or voice then blows through them like a warm, loving, cleansing wind, sweeping away any pain or unpleasant experiences, memories or fears, and replacing them with positive, healing energy.
tors who perform sound healing concerts and other musical events in the Twin Cities and on tour. Sklar is an importer and dealer of Tibetan bowls and didgeridoos. For information about Steve Sklar’s healing practice, performances, recordings, workshops and more, please visit http://skysongpro.com To learn about the playing the didgeridoo to help treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea, please visit http://sleepapneadidgeridoo.com
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HEALING THROUGH THE ARTS
Sound transforms and heals
N
N A D A BRAHMAN: The world is sound. Ev e r y t h i n g vibrates. Although invisible, everything at the atomic level moves. Whenever there is motion there is frequency and although inaudible at times, all frequencies make a sound. We do hear sound, but what few people realize is that the aural experience not only allows us to hear, it also affects nearly all the cranial nerves. Ten of the 12 cranial nerves lead to the ear. The 10th cranial nerve meanders through the thoracic and abdominal cavities affecting the larynx, the bronchi, the heart, lungs, bladder, kidneys, and the gi tract. Thus sounds affect our voice, breathing, heart rate, and digestion. The ear
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brings in energy that touches us from top to bottom. Sound is not just vibrating the eardrum. It is resonating the entire being. Every organ, bone, tissue, and cell is in a state of vibration and has its own resonance. Every part of your body is putting out a sound that is contributing to creating an overall harmonic of health.
The basic principle of sound healing as well as any vibrational medicine is to restore the optimal vibratory resonance to that part of the body that is vibrating out of harmony, or to return the sheet music to the 2nd violin player so they can begin playing in tune with the rest of the orchestra—our human body.
OUR BODY IS LIKE AN ORCHESTRA
FOCUS INTENTION TO HEAL
Sound Healer Jonathan Goldman has likened our bodies to an orchestra with each section playing the proper notes for what could be called the “Suite of the Self.” However, what happens when the 2nd violin player loses their sheet music or plays out of tune with the rest of the orchestra? The body finds itself with a condition of “dis” ease or out of harmony.
How can we do that? In addition to the frequency the sound creates we need to bring forward our intention. The intention is the energy behind the sound. According to universal laws, we get what we put our attention on. So be sure your intention is focused on that which you want to see in your Continued Page 32...
BY ERIN DEWITT
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life or world. We often focus on that which we don’t want (our pain, war, homelessness, etc.). If your focus is peace—then have that be your intention—align with that by feeling peace in your whole being or imagining what it would feel like to live in a peaceful world and see yourself doing it as if it has already happened. Once you have your positive intention and feeling space, bring yourself into a heart coherent state by thinking about someone or some place you love. Imagine that you are with that person or in that place. Allow feelings of appreciation to flow from you heart throughout your whole being and out from your heart to that person or place enveloping them in your love and appreciation.
AMPLIFY INTENTION THROUGH SOUND Now amplify these feelings and intent by allowing a soft “Ah” to flow from your heart out to that person or place. The “Ah” sound can bring about a state of inner peace, opening us to deeper 32 www.esswellness.com
levels of love and compassion. In that state, we transform consciousness. We can also intend that this empowered “Ah” flow to any areas in our body that have lost their sheet music. You can experiment with other vowel sounds too. Continue in this way until you feel complete. You may choose to extend your love and appreciation out to the Earth, the water, and other loved ones. The possibilities are infinite. Sit quietly for a moment and bask in the radiance that you co-created. Know that you ARE the love that you are feeling. You ARE the beauty and the peace.
SHARED TONING, SINGING, CHANTING AMPLIFIES INTENTION You can engage in this conscious action solo or with others. When we tone, sing or chant with others we amplify our shared intention. We create a synergistic effect. When working with sound, 1+1=3. Harmonics are
created in addition to the sounds you make individually. I just returned from Maui where I toned with 900 people from 44 countries on the Solstice. It was incredible. Words cannot convey the beauty we shared. While toning, the harmonics lifted me to other dimensions and shifted me deeply. So many brilliant souls saying yes to a world that is peace, vitality, joy, abundance, love, and harmony. Encoding their vision upon sacred sound. Won’t you join us? Your sacred sound, coupled with heart coherence and intention will transform your life and raise the consciousness on the planet. For this and more, I thank you. Erin DeWitt is a Reiki Master Teacher, Sound Healer, and Reconnective Healing Practitioner. She is the co-creator of Conscious Living, where she sees clients and teaches consciousness studies in Duluth, MN. Erin is a member of the Sound Healers Association. www.ConsciousLivingNow.Org
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Live Well.
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