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A Holistic Journal Celebrating & Supporting LIFE! April/May 2011
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Volume 9, No. 6
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Tapestry Just Be
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Change ~ Part 2
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Emerging From Trauma
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A Business Built On Love
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Modern Shamanic Living An Emerging New Human
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The Way of Life It-Self The Phenomenon of Life
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Wandering Sage Wisdom Springtime of the Soul
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A Breath of Healing ~ To Emerge Like A Butterfly
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Awareness and the Art of Seeing The Pendulum Swings
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Loving Earth ~ Emerging Spring, Evolving Garden
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I nner Tapestry Contents
This Issue's Theme
Emergence
UP COMING THEMES J une/J uly 2011
Su p er Co nsc i o usness April/May 2011
Are We There Yet ?
Features The Translucent Path 2011
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by RM Allen
Just Be by Kat Logan
Emerging From Trauma by Jill Hackett, Ph.D.
The Transition Into A New World by Diana Cooper
Transforming Upward
Page 14
by Phyllis Light Ph.D.
Change ~ Part 2
Page 18
by Maria Harrison
Walking
Page 27
by Ashok Nalamalapu
Page 28
by Donald and Sara Hassler
A Business Built On Love
Page 32
by Heidi A. Lewis
O c tober/November 2011
M ovi n g At The Sp eed o f Grace D ece mber 2011/J anuar y 2012
Let t i ng G o o f I t All
Submission Dates June/July 2011 Articles – April 15th Display Ads & Directory of Resources To Reserve Space – May 1st For Ad Copy & Graphics – May 5th Calendar & Classified Ads –May 5th
Departments Modern Shamanic Living ~ An Emerging New Human
Page 10
by Evelyn C. Rysdyk
Loving Earth ~ Emerging Spring, Evolving Garden
Page 16
by Pat Foley
Awareness and the Art of Seeing ~ The Pendulum Swings
Page 17
by Jen Deraspe
The Way of Life-Itself ~ Emergent Life
Page 20
by Norm Hirst
Wandering Sage Wisdom ~ Springtime Of The Soul
Page 21
by Aaron Hoopes
21st Century Bohemian ~ The Art Of Emergence In Creative Process
by Teresa Piccari
Welcome Home ~ Ask Asrianna
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(207) 799-7995 (203) 779-0345
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Email: info@innertapestry.org Or Visit: www.innertapestry.org
Page 30 Pages 46-47
Directories Directory of Resources Yoga, T'ai Chi, & Meditation Directory Heart Visions, Calendar of Events, Classifieds
Joan Emmons Ron Damico Betty Close
Advertising & Distribution
Page 29
by James Bean
Mixed Media ~ Book, Website & Music Reviews
Publishers
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by Donna Amrita Davidge
Exploring the World Religions ~ Kabir...
T apestry
Page 26
by Asrianna Dameron
A Breath of Healing ~ To Emerge Like A Butterfly
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Pages 33-40 Page 41 Pages 42-45
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Let Your Animal-Centered Love Emerge
August/S eptember 2011
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I nner W orkings New This Issue:
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Just Be by Kat Logan
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s Spring is arriving and we are inviting the question of how we will emerge into this time of new growth, I would like to share an experience that was brought to me by my husband’s deceased mother. Yes, being a psychic medium, my relationships extend not just in this world but to that which we will transcend to. It makes for a very interesting and full life! At the time, my husband and I were in the beginnings of our courtship, enjoying our new found love and discovering new and wonderful things in each other. Being psychic is not the first thing that I usually share, and I was waiting for the proper moment to tell him. His mother, Miriam, (who was in spirit) had her own ideas about this. On a lovely day in May we were taking a walk in the meadow behind my home. Admiring the newly blooming flowers, we became aware of the abundance of bees around the new milk weed plants. As we brought our focus to this world of life, there seemed to be more and more of it... bees dancing, flying, gathering... busy in their pursuits. The buzzing grew louder as our awareness was increasing... taking us into this magical world. The buzzing now almost deafening. It was then that I first met Miriam. She came to me, not very gracefully but like a lightening bolt... wham... bam... into my body. It took me by complete surprise. I have learned in my years of psychic mediumship, that it takes a little training for those who are in spirit to be able to communicate with us. I don’t believe that Miriam had been able to reach her family before, and she felt an open door with me... but with her enthusiasm, she nearly knocked me over. She then began to spill out a message to her family, full of information, detailed with her instructions of how “this” relationship could be healed and “that” conversation should happen. She had a lot to say. Miriam had not been able to talk to her family for many years, as she had early Alzheimer’s and had been unable to communicate. She was trying to make up for it now. This is all happening as I am standing beside my future husband and me trying to figure out how the heck to tell him what I was experiencing ( and not send him running)! I needed to lay down. God love this man, when I told him what had happened, he was not only excited but moved to tears from the experience. The information was all very helpful for his family and healing as they came together that summer, and I was able to be myself with him... my real self... a good sign to me, early in our relationship. Later in the summer we were again, on a walk. Walking by the Kennebec River, through the woods, we came to a large overhang of sumac on the path. Again, the buzzing of bees began, becoming louder and louder as we stopped and brought attention to it. I wasn’t connecting the experience at the time and became full of wonderment as the buzzing noise again became almost deafening. This time Miriam was much gentler with me. Like a sweet and tender caress, she came and touched my head and whispered softly in my ear... "tell him, just be." Filled with those wonderful loving chills that spirit brings, I took my to-be husband’s hand and said... "your Mom has a message for you... and it is just be." Just be... and consider what we were experiencing at the moment as the bees were “being” all around us. Nature, supporting spirit, supporting this beautiful, simple, loving message... to just be(bee). Spirit often uses these delightful metaphors to bring us messages. These metaphors expand with meaning, and the more we are willing to dig into these meanings, the deeper the meanings will become. Messages can be all about us, in license plates, in road signs, on television commercials, in a magazine article at your dentist’s office. These spirit inspired messages abound, and the more that you begin to notice them, the more they will be obvious. It takes a bit of work on our part to be the keen observer. It also helps to be asking spirit for help with whatever it is you are needing. One of the rules of assistance... is that we have to ask. Miriam visited several more times through that first year together. I think that she
approves of our union and sent me great gratitude for delivering her message to her son who she loves so dearly... and yes, we were married two summers later. There is no more a simple place to go then to the center of our beings, to find out who we are and what we are to do. As humans, we sometimes look for the complicated solutions to things. We take classes, search out gurus, get degrees, climb mountains, questing for our answers to the basic question of who were are. There is a hunger within us to find the answers that can lie so hidden within. But just as the acorn carries all of the information of the mighty oak it is to become, so within us is our simple truth of being. Just Be. Returning to our childhood moments, when we were natural and comfortable playing, exploring and being just who we are... we didn’t need help with that knowingness... we just were. As adults, layers upon layers of stuff may be put upon us... labels that others may give us, expectations that we try to meet, and mostly we do it to ourselves. We become laden with the complications. Miriam’s message is so sweet and simple and it is full of Divine wisdom. Just be. Let yourself emerge from the simple beautiful truth of what is lying right inside yourself... your self. May you enjoy this arrival of spring and enjoy Just Being! Kat Logan is an psychic medium and energetic healer and lives with her husband, Jim, having her practice in Friendship, Maine. She also has a regular schedule doing readings in Freeport, at Leaping Lizards and in Brunswick at the Soul Sanctuary and may be reached by emailing her at: kat@mygreatfullheart.com. You may find out more about Kat and her work by visiting her website at www.mygreatfullheart.com.
The Thirteenth Moon
Susan Bakaley Marshall ATR-BC, LCPC board-certified art therapist, licensed clinical counselor, Shamanic practitioner
ART from the heART
Art Therapy & Shamanism Studio ~ a light-filled circular sacred space surrounded by fields and trees ~
• Shamanic journeys and healings • Soul retrieval • Individuals • Groups • Classes
(207) 589-3063 moonarts@gmail.com
www.thirteenthmooncenter.net
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. ...Buddha 6 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
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Emerging From Trauma
by Jill Hackett, Ph.D.
H
ow do you best support a friend or loved one who is healing from trauma? You feel for them and want to help but aren’t sure what’s useful and what might not be so helpful. Where to start? It is not always clear how to be supportive when a friend is healing from deep wounds. It can be an awkward time, wanting to reach out and wanting to be respectful. Here are a few guidelines to consider.
Empathy strengthens, sympathy weakens. Psychologist Alfred Adler is credited with this insight. Sympathy, however well intentioned it may be, carries a subtle judgement, standing apart from the situation or person. “I am so sorry that happened to you” feels different to receive than does “That’s a scary situation. How are you doing with that?”
Listen actively and empathically, not autobiographically. We all tend to listen autobiographically, taking in whatever we hear and measuring it with our own experience and choices: “Would I have made the same decisions?” “What in my experience is like this?” Especially when a friend is opening up about their own deep experiences, it is important to listen actively and non-judgementally. It may be tempting to blurt out, “I know just what you are going through—something like that happened to me once” if in fact it did. Try and stay with their experience first, and check in if and when they are ready to hear your own experience.
As a friend, this is an important delineation to keep in mind. Keep strengthening the emerging health and strength of your friend, rather than dwelling on their pain with them. Listen to and witness her experience, but actively support and strengthen her emerging resilience.
Expand the support networks. As Judith Herman writes in Trauma and Recovery: the aftermath of violence, “To hold traumatic reality in consciousness requires a social context that affirms and protects the victim and that joins victim and witness in a common alliance. For the individual victim, this social context is created by relationships with friends, lovers, and family.” Help your friend connect and strengthen her network of support, and when indicated find professional help in healing from trauma.
Jill Hackett, Ph.D., is an author, teacher and consultant and can be reached at www.jillhackett.com. She will be co-presenting, with Bonnie-Kate Allen, LADC, Maine Integrative Wellness Center, and Dory Cote, Shamanic practitioner and founder of Earth Light Healing Center, Stand By Your Woman, April 30th at the "Barn" in Topsham, Maine. (FMI: please see the calendar listing.)
For people emerging from trauma, telling their story can be part of the healing process. A traumatic event can be so out-sized from everyday experience that the psyche needs to repeat the details as if to digest the experience. Depending on the form and source of the trauma, they may have been threatened to keep silent. Speaking up can take courage, and listening carefully and fully is supportive and healing. If you find yourself wandering when listening to a friend’s trauma, try a technique called active listening. Consciously focus on them as fully as you can, as if you are putting a hugely bright spotlight on them, radiating your attention. Then, watch their face and body carefully, as if you will be quizzed on every nuance. And if you need yet again another level of focusing, internally repeat each word they are saying as they speak, running a time-lag audio in your head, so you hear them twice.
Support the emerging strength, not the victim’s pain. This point is best illustrated by a story. I was taking a self-defense course, and each woman had to engage in a physical fight with a trained (and padded) male instructor, simulating a skirmish. One by one we women fought, we cheered each other in the fight, and when the instructor detected what would have been a sufficient blow to end the fight, the fight was declared over, and the woman trainee returned to the line of waiting students. One woman in particular fought an admirable fight, and each time when she returned to the lineup, she broke down in tears and sobbed. We fellow classmates became attuned to her impending breakdown, and we watched for it and went to her to comfort her. After about three rounds of this, the instructor blew the whistle and gave us all a talking to. “It’s important to support the strength in this woman, not her fear. You reward
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. Kahill Gibran April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 7
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Sympathy can carry an innate distance in relationship, while with genuine empathy, one is standing next to and with another person, feeling into the situation from their viewpoint, standing by their side. Try to practice empathy. It keeps the friendship stronger.
her with your attention when you look for her to break down. Support the survivor in her, not the trauma. Don’t turn a cold shoulder to her pain, but don’t reward it either.”
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The Transition Into A New World by Diana Cooper
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eople everywhere are becoming aware of the importance of 2012 though there are many doom and gloom scenarios being spread, especially in films and in the media. Few of these apocalypse merchants look at the positive side, which is that 2012 will accelerate a great change in the world, which ultimately offers huge opportunities for a more satisfying way of living and spiritual growth. 2012 marks the end of a 260,000 year cosmic era. By 2032 this planet and universe will have a new blueprint and frequency. In human terms this is like a major house move. Every single thing from attic to cellar has to be examined to see if we want to take it with us into the new paradigm. This is in our personal lives and the world of international business and government. All the old secrets that have been covered in dust for so long are surfacing. Institutions that are burying information that should be in the public domain must reveal it or they will collapse. Wikileaks has emerged in perfect divine timing.
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Economics The banks, financial institutions and big businesses of our world are not aligned to the highest good. Exactly in accordance with the time line predicted in the Mayan calendar, the current economic structure has started to collapse for we must accommodate a new way of operating. The system will continue to break down and evolve until an economy based on fairness, honesty, openness and integrity is in place. Big businesses are the dinosaurs of our time. Only those companies that work for the highest good of all will survive, although in a very different form from the present way. The New Business Paradigm is based on creating or producing for the highest good of the community and the planet. There will be an emphasis on cooperation, seeing the best in others, empowering them and offering excellence. People will do what makes them happy. Businesses that work for the good of animals, the nature kingdom and humanity will continue to be successful during the transition period between 2012 and the start of a new golden age in 2032. By 2022 there will be massive international cooperation on many fronts and rich countries will help poor ones. By 2032 the majority will live in fifth-dimensional communities and will occupy themselves in a way, which honors and respects their gifts and talents. For the first time in thousands of years most people will enjoy soul satisfaction in their daily lives.
Unemployment and what to do about it For generations souls have been doing jobs to earn money and keep a roof over their heads. Because this is no longer in tune with the new energy sweeping the planet the Higher Selves of people are calling on them to find work that makes them feel alive and full of joy; that harnesses their creativity and enables them to live in the fifth dimension. As a result such souls are finding themselves made redundant or otherwise without work. Many spend hours running round in circles applying for jobs similar to the ones they have left but this is wasted energy. They are called on to do spiritual work on themselves to raise their frequency. When their vibration matches that of their perfect soul work, the right employment will automatically find them. Archangel Gabriel brings clarity. He is in charge of the cosmic portal of Mount Shasta in California.One thing that you can do if this is your dilemma is to ask each night before you go to bed to visit Gabriel’s retreat during your sleep to receive purification and clarity. Or you can meditate daily with Archangel Gabriel for these qualities. You can also remember what brought you great joy when you were a child. Before you were squashed into an adult world what was your vision? What did you really want to do? Even if you cannot see how it can earn you a living, start doing more of it. Depending on how aligned you are with your soul purpose, you may need some patience, but the universe will inevitably carry you forward in the right direction. 8 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
The Key to harmony in relationships and families One of the Keys to the Universe is held in the portal at Honolulu which is opening right now. It is spreading out a wonderful rose pink energy which is just starting to help teenagers to handle their sexuality by making wise respectful decisions. This will impact very positively on the children of the future who will feel safer in the love of their parents. The love coming through this portal will also help people to use unconditional love to dissolve karma from past relationships. It will help us all to free the cords of the past and invite in higher quality relationships. Many families have been emotionally entangled and involved, without even realizing it, so that individuals cannot truly be themselves. Sometimes they feel trapped, others escape far away. As the love flows in from this portal more people will be able to express themselves honestly, take decisions for their own lives and follow their hearts. At the same time they will feel connected to their families. At last, for the first time in thousands of years, family dynamics will become rich and supportive because people will be linked by higher love from this portal. Individuals will feel free yet belonging. To accelerate this process you can link into the portal and use the energy from it to help you cut cords and spread higher love around your family and friends. Then wait for magic to happen.
Forecasts for the world based on our current consciousness Russia As snow melts there will be flooding and people will open their hearts as they help each other. As countries co-operate trust of the west will grow. The awakening of the powerful cosmic portal of Agata will considerably affect the consciousness of the citizens, many of whom will open up psychically as well as spiritually. By 2032 Russia will have let go of the areas conquered and smaller communities will develop. Because the land has been purified for a long time by snow and ice, the energy will rise quickly and this will attract high frequency newcomers to populate these areas. Fifth dimensional communities and Golden Cities will arise here and the people of Russia will laugh again.
Australia In 2012 and Beyond I write that initially the conditions will be more extreme here with floods, heat waves and droughts, so that more of the country will be uninhabitable. When I was receiving information for the book I was told that parts of Australia would disappear and unfortunately this has already proved to be true. This will change after 2027 for as the frequency rises, scientists will discover the secrets of controlling the weather and creating rain. This will be used wisely and a massive reforestation program will render more areas pleasant and beautiful. Australia will change beyond recognition for there is not much karma here. Australia was very Lemurian and when the portal of Uluru opens the wisdom about healing the land will come forward. The people will become much gentler and share their knowledge freely and openly in a fifth dimensional way with the world.
Europe If the current consciousness continues, there will be much flooding and other forms of cleansing. In Germany the last of the karma of war will be cleansed and the guilt will be released from their consciousness. As a reward for the generous financial way the West Germans welcomed the East Germans, this country will spearhead the move towards enlightenment on the planet. They will also bring forward and spread cellular light healing. There is a portal in Marseilles, France which will considerably influence that country and help it rise to the fifth dimension. Italy has been much influenced by the beauty of the Renaissance which has kept its energy high. The Mafia will lose their influence as the frequency rises. The Vatican will either open and share its secrets or disappear. The UK has lost its way. It has been repaying massive karma to other countries
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for its part in the British Empire. The spiritual Earth Star Chakra in London is due to be grounded there in 2012. The Olympic Games are to be held here in order to focus light into this area, but currently it is not ready for the higher chakra. Glastonbury in the UK is the fifth dimensional heart chakra of the planet and is due to open in 2012. However, many needy people focus on this centre and the heart must keep transmuting their energy. This is holding it back. Please send light to these two chakras.
United States There is much cleansing needed in this vast country as there is a huge backlog of karma held in the land. Resistance to change and dogma is holding it back and it has become isolated from the world. The cleansing will open the hearts of all here and they will cooperate to help each other and the world. There is also much very high frequency energy from ancient times held in the land which will attract angelic help to this continent, including the assistance of Seraphim. There is a vast cosmic portal covering Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and the bottom of North Dakota beginning to open. There will be land changes and the energy will impact the people. It will swiftly reform many parts of world society. Higher angelic energy will pour from it bringing compassion and love beyond that which we have yet experienced. There is another cosmic portal in Sedona connecting with Native American wisdom opening in 2012. People influenced by this portal will start to accept their magnificent gifts and talents. Communities will stand together and begin to understand their land, their heritage, their past and their place in the world. There is a very important cosmic portal in the Bermuda triangle which houses the Great Crystal of Atlantis and another in Alaska. This latter carries huge amounts of the Christ light, which will affect the whole country considerably. In addition Yellowstone is a huge portal for nature. The volcano here will not erupt during the transition years. The Grand Canyon holds the energy of the Pleiades, so it is bringing in healing for the continent and the world.
China The cleansing here will be by earthquakes and floods. We have seen it start already. Currently the portals and sacred sites are closed, but when they awaken in 2012 the people will be touched spiritually and psychically and this will have a massive affect. There will be more spiritual focus, and women and animals will start to be honored. By 2032 the Generals will be replaced by community love. Tibet will be free and independent by 2022 and by 2032 will be a beacon of light.
Africa As with other places the weather will be more extreme and cleansing will take place. For example unprecedented flooding of the Nile in 2012 will cleanse that area. When the land is clear again and the portals of Africa are open, the ancient wisdom of this country will come forward. Africa will be instrumental in taking the world forward.
India has currently lost its soul but will be at peace within twenty years. As it raises its spiritual level it will automatically attract abundance. Its neighbor Pakistan needs cleansing and this has already started. By 2032 it will be influenced by India and will be moving to peace.
South America This continent is influenced by Venus. As the divine feminine fully returns the people will regain their self worth and soon the whole of South America will flower. During the transition between 2012 and 2032 there will be a huge shift in the way individual cultures perceive themselves and the rest of the world. In the challenging times of cleansing and weather disruption, people from different countries will work together and support each other. This will leave a lasting feeling of goodwill towards others. People will start to understand that we are all the same, and will regard each other with eyes of love, trust and acceptance. The incredible energies flooding in during 2012 and the following twenty years offer the greatest opportunity for spiritual growth that there has ever been. We can choose whether we focus on the challenges or seize the chance to ascend, attract abundance and find soul satisfaction. The angels and Archangels can help.
Working with the angels The Keys to the Universe reminds us of the many ways the angels and Archangels are working with us. There are Orbs of many of the faster frequency angels of the angelic realms in the book and my other books and Orb cards. An Orb is the sixth dimensional light body of an angelic being, and once it has been recorded on film, it retains the high frequency energy. You can place the name or photograph of a person or location onto an Orb and they will receive the energy of the angel. For example if you know someone who needs to open their heart, place them on an Orb of the Archangel Chamuel, angel of love, and it will profoundly affect them. My granddaughter was very ungrounded and found being on Earth difficult. My guide told me to place her photograph on Orbs of Archangel Sandalphon for grounding and Archangel Jophiel to align her crown and bring her into balance. I did this without telling my daughter and she phoned me a week later to say how much better Isabel was. I still have her photo on those Orbs and she is a different child. These two Archangels help very sensitive children. Unicorns help autistic children who have withdrawn part of their soul energy, so place them on a unicorn Orb. And I always place those who need healing on an Orb of Archangel Raphael. There are 48 keys and 2 golden keys. Each of these unlocks the information to a section of universal knowledge. When you hold a key you expand your knowledge. When you hold all the keys to the universe you become an enlightened ascended master. This is a possibility for this lifetime and the greatest thing your soul can achieve.
Diana Cooper is a therapist, healer and author of several books including Key To The Universe. She will be presenting at Leapin' Lizards in Maine, April 5th and 6th and she can be reached through her website: www.dianacooper.com.
Let us support your beingness in growing!
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 9
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By 2032 the US will be an open, caring fifth dimensional country, part of the community of the world.
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m od er n sham an i c l i v i n g
An Emerging New Human by Evelyn C. Rysdyk
R
ecent scientific discoveries have proved that we Homo sapiens or modern humans carry Neanderthal genetic material in our DNA. The same is true about another branch of the family tree recently discovered in Siberia. The genetic material of these so-called Denisovans, was also successfully passed to the modern human genome. This has a powerful significance. It means that we are not as different as we once thought. For successful interbreeding to occur between these variations on the human theme it would have required that we are essentially the same species. When members of different species interbreed—like horses and donkeys producing mules – the resultant animals are sterile and so cannot pass on the mixed genes. So these ancestors were more like us than we previously imagined. As a result we carry a bit of them in our body.
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Indeed, our DNA carries many other surprises. When the scientists sequenced the three billion bases and 100,000 genes of the human genome they discovered that fragments of other species might be seen in our genetic code. For instance, as much as 8% of our DNA is genetic material that came from viruses. Our cells’ mitochondria—our cells’ power plants that convert nutrients to energy were passed to us from bacteria that entered cells in the primordial sea approximately two billion years ago! We share genes with every single creature on Earth that has a backbone and even some that don’t like starfish, as we shared a common ancestor over half a billion years ago. Thanks to this kind of information, we can begin to imagine our amazingly complex and rich genome—the DNA we carry in every one of our cells—as a library of our biosphere. This molecular library is a sacred record of Life on Earth and so our bodies may be thought of as a kind of sacred bundle. Much in the way a shaman’s sacred bundle or a medicine bag holds a collection of objects from which a shaman feels her or his connection to power, the DNA in our cells can remind us of our complete integration into the body of the Earth. Even on a gross physical level, our bones and tissues are composed of the minerals found in the soil and rocks while our blood and lymph share many similarities with the waters of our planet. We are inseparably connected with our Home. We live in her body and her body lives inside of us. We are part of the Earth’s body and our distant cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovians passed traits to us with their genes. We can wonder with amazement what of who we are now was once them! Who of the hundreds of thousands of generations of our ancestors gave us the desire to create beauty? Who passed to us the desire to care for other beings? Which one was the first heart to feel love? We may never know. These are remarkable times. We are learning so much about who we are and the powers that we have. We are starting to remember our place in the Cosmos and recognize that we have the capacity to co-create our reality. I believe that this is a very powerful period in human evolutionary potential. In his book The Biology of Transcendence, Joseph Chilton Pearce examines our five neural centers—or brains—four of which are located in the head while the fifth is located in the heart. He suggests that the dynamic interaction of the head brain (intellect) and heart brain (intelligence), of biology and spirit, allows us to transcend from one evolutionary place to the next. Our biology has designed us to be transcendent beings--becoming who I like to think of as the New Human. As we are beginning to make these shifts we are feeling the dissolution of much of what we previously understood. It may be likened to the period of time that a caterpillar pupates into the butterfly. The chrysalis is the body that the 10 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
caterpillar reveals when it sheds its skin for the last time. This shell is what protects the caterpillar while it transforms. Inside this protective chamber, the caterpillar secretes enzymes which breaks its body down into a kind of soup that contains nutrients and imaginal disks. These imaginal disks are undifferentiated building blocks—like stem cells—in that they can become any type of cell. In the chrysalis, the rich environment that was once the caterpillar’s body supports these undifferentiated cells to begin growing and creating a completely new organism. So for the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into butterfly to occur, there needs to be a period of no form. In the same way, we need to let go of the attachments we have to our old, outmoded ways of perceiving and behaving for a new way of being human to emerge. This can certainly feel disconcerting as, like the caterpillar, we have no previous experience to help us to know who we are becoming. It may even be as inconceivable as the caterpillar’s transition from a soft-bodied, leaf-eating, worm-like creature into a hard-bodied, flying, nectarsipping insect! Just as none of the caterpillar’s previous experience could possibly prepare it for such a change, we have to rely upon something other than our thoughts. This is where our heart, as the fifth neural center or intelligence, can come into play along with the ability to expand our awareness to help prepare our psyche for previously unimagined possibilities. The act of expanding awareness creates shifts in our perceptions. We experience new things in the shamanic state of consciousness or in very deep meditation that create new neural pathways. We gain new insights and ways of looking at reality. This in turn supports a shift in understanding the nature of the world and ourselves so that we gain not only a new perspective but also gain the opportunity to respond to the circumstances of our lives differently. The “new” information we receive in an altered/expanded state helps us to gain the “bigger view.” In the way climbing to an observation deck gives us a new perspective on how a city is laid out, this new vantage point helps us to better understand how things and beings are connected. The new perceptions that develop help us to respond differently to the stimulation around us. We have opportunities to think and even more importantly, feel differently in situations. This internal shift has the effect of transforming the situation itself. As I wrote several years ago in this journal, “There was a time that many dismissed the possibility of such a profound shift, yet through such relatively new scientific disciplines such as neuralcardiology, the truths given to us by the great transcendent masters of the past are confirmed. When talking about miracles, the master Jesus told us, These things shall you do and greater things than these shall you do also. He taught his followers that all human beings are divine. Our sciences now support this as well. When we begin to see and feel our selves as creator beings, we are not behaving in a heretical way, rather we are following the logical truth which was encoded into our biology. We were designed to evolve through our limitations.” Still some of us hesitate. If this remarkable leap of evolution truly is encoded into our biology, why do we stubbornly desire to remain caterpillars when we have the capacity to fly? Perhaps these few lines of Marianne Wiliamson’s 1992 book A Return To Love, explains it best: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
11 Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. ...” Then she writes, “We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?...” Indeed, we are meant to transform ourselves and our world. To accomplish it, we need to enter into expanded states to experience the world of possibilities and so shift our old understanding of the world and begin to feel our part in its transformation. We need to learn to feel the reality we want to experience and cultivate a state of being that is grateful, loving and takes action in accordance with profound awareness of our interconnectedness. In a Hopi Prophesy it is said that, “When birds fall from the sky and the animals are dying, a new tribe of people shall come unto the earth from many colors, classes, creeds, who by their actions and deeds shall make the earth green again...” I think of these people as the New Humans. These are not only the ones we have been waiting for to save us, they are "the ones we are already becoming." It is happening all around the world. We are making profound changes in ourselves. From the global networks of which I am a part, I am hearing stories of ordinary people transforming their lives through gratitude, by living more fully in the awareness of themselves as co-creators and by choosing to speak out and take
actions for the benefit of all beings. In my healing practice, I am seeing people who once felt powerless, disconnected and victimized becoming empowered, grounded, joyful and able to make contributions to the larger world. From my blessed vantage point, I am experiencing positive changes happening all around me. When these changes in our selves—and so our world—more fully emerge, we will have taken the sacred bundle passed to us from all of our ancestors to a new pinnacle of evolution. Maybe the current definitions of humanness and our taxonomical designation will no longer be appropriate. Maybe we will begin to refer to ourselves in a new way. No longer Homo sapien, but instead, Homo transcendentia—the transcendent human. I can’t imagine participating in a more exciting process—at least not yet! © 2011 Evelyn C. Rysdyk
Nationally recognized shaman teacher/healer, speaker, and author of Modern Shamanic Living: New Explorations of an Ancient Path, Evelyn C. Rysdyk delights in supporting people to remember their sacred place in All That Is. Whether through face-to-face contact with individual patients, workshop groups and conference participants, or through the printed word—Evelyn uses her loving humor and passion to open people’s hearts and inspire them to live more joyful, fulfilling and purposeful lives. In joint practice with Allie Knowlton as Spirit Passages, her website is www.spiritpassages.com.
Reflection on Creating a Wellness Fair
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 11
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This will be the sixth annual wellness fair in Yarmouth, Maine. When we started planning our first fair, we had no idea what it would turnout to be. It all started out with this statement and question. “I think we should have a wellness fair. Who wants to help create it?” I remember talking to Carolyn Schuster, Director of the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, about creating the fair. I don’t think I was the first, because shortly afterwards I received a phone call from Terri Arden, LMT. Terri and I began to talk about what we would like to see in a wellness fair. We kept Carolyn informed and she kept encouraging us, as well as connecting us with more people of like interest. One of the early introductions was to Marcia Noyes, Director of Yarmouth Community Services. Together the Chamber and Community Services agreed to be the hosts for the fair. With the introductions having been made, we became the committee of dedicated volunteers that created the solid foundation for our first fair in 2006 and for each fair thereafter. So, what did we want our fair to become? Early planning focused on what would be allowed and what we felt wouldn’t be a match for our fair. We wanted our exhibitors to be local, unless their modalities were a unique discipline. We also would limit the number of practitioners from the same modality to make sure we had a diverse group of exhibitors. There was to be no selling of products or promotions of tier marketing. We also wanted to raise awareness of a local charity that serves the community. The fair was to be free to the public. We have been able to uphold these decisions to this day. We hoped to find the ideal model of our concept. We attended the wellness fairs that were professionally run. We took away from these what we liked and didn’t like, and then discussed how we could use the “likes” in our fair. At the same time, I was searching the Internet for a model from other fairs. I discovered a fair that had run for 2 or 3 years in Rutland, Vermont. “Rutland” provided us with forms, marketing ideas, and a caution. The caution was to not make the fair more than what it is intended to be. As we started to develop our fair, we realized we didn’t have anyone who could really offer advice. The Rutland fair was discontinued 2 years earlier. The commercial fair companies would have had a consulting fee, and we had “no money”. That required us to have a longer planning period with many more meetings than we have today. I don’t think that we took any shortcuts. We did create a list of priorities and chose our own subcommittees to work between meetings. We also didn’t hold self-ownership to our tasks. Comments, edits, and praise were and are one of our strengths. Today, if you joined the committee, you would join a “well oiled” team. If I had a timeline for our current fair process, it feels to me like this: 6 months out start your meetings * 4 months out – advertise for exhibitors * 3 months out – receive applications – * 2 months out start the press releases 1 – * * month out – get your advertising out * 2 weeks out – close the applications, do your floor plan, breathe In creating the fair, we have developed some wonderful relationships. Betty, Joan, and Ron from Inner Tapestry have been and continue to be fantastic at connecting us to practitioners who wish to be exhibitors at the fair. With the savvy of some computer literate committee members, we have press releases, articles, applications, photos, and advertising online, at www.yarmouthmaine.org, for downloading. Our local weekly newspapers, especially The Notes, have helped draw the public to the fair. In the month before the fair, we have been promoted by the very popular radio station WCLZ 98.9fm. Last year the Governor of the State of Maine issued a Proclamation naming our fair date as “Maine Wellness Day”. We have also been very intentional in staying within our community, working with our community, and being a part of our community. On April 9th, 2011, at 10:00am the doors at Rowe School, 52 School St., Yarmouth, Maine, will open for the 6th annual Yarmouth Wellness Fair. It will have 40 exhibitors, as well as presentations, discussions, and interactive experiences. The fair will be filled with wonderful energy and very interested guests. When we first had the idea, we had no idea how long we would continue. And continue we will, because we are addressing a need in our community to introduce, demonstrate, and educate about alternative health care. We have built it and they are coming! So if you have been asking “Should we have a wellness fair and who will plan it?” Come to the Yarmouth Wellness Fair. We would love to be your model and help you with planning your own fair. It is time that we stand out for our community of providers! Douglas Reighley, LMT, RPP
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ArcSounds
Awaken... REALign Consciously with Sound
Harmonic Sound Immersion Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
an evening of sound healing with alchemy crystal bowls, gongs and vibrational instruments.
Join us Fridays at 7:00 PM $20 April 1st, May 13th, June 17th & July 29th Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton, CT Call 203 779-0345 for reservations Join us at 7:00 PM $20 April 22nd, May 20th, June 11th & July 15th Unity Church, 919 Ellington Rd., South Windsor, CT Call 860 289-8693 for Reservations Wear comfortable clothing. Bring plenty of water, eye covering, a pillow, blanket and something soft to lie on. Please no scents ~ perfume or cologne.
12 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
Channeled Messages for the Soul with
Roland Comtois Roland Comtois, a Rhode Island native is widely known locally and abroad as a Spiritual and Intuitive Consultant, who channels the world beyond. Every message is channeled from the Divine Energy in honor of your spirit and your life.
Saturday ~ May 7th 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Banner Total Fitness 1 Banner Rd., Moodus, CT 06469 Tickets are : $70.00 For more information and to reserve your seat: A Simple Truth at 203-779-0345
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A Simple Truth
Offers the following workshops: May 1st ~ Partner Yoga with Erin McGuire and Patti Muldoon 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM - $35 Couples / $17 Individuals
June 4th & 5th ~ Cranial Sacral Philosophy & Practice Part One with Joe Belanger, PT 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM $275
Holistic Moms &
June 9th ~ ResumĂŠ through Acceptance Prepare For Your Next Job With Confidence with Barbara AmEnde 6:30 PM-9:00 PM $20
&
I am looking for like-hearted moms who would like to get together for a weekly play group for pre-school age children in the Columbia, CT or surrounding areas. My intention is to create, with your participation, a supporting, loving, safe and healthy environment for our children to play, socialize and interact with new friends as well as their parents. We can determine the details regarding time, place and frequency once we establish the group participants. If this plan feels right for you and you would like to participate, please call me, Nela, at 860-228-3692.
June 15th ~ Discovering What Matters Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning with Lizz Milardo 6:30 PM-8:00 PM $25 Workshops are being held at: Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Wellness Room 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown For contact info see the calendar of events section.
No Place Like... OM ~ with Ron and Joan www . ronandjoan . com
Gongs & Crystal Bowls
7:00pm - 9:00pm $20 March 25th, April 29th & May 27th
The Middlesex Hospital
Cancer Center Wellness Room 536 Old Saybrook, Rd. #280 Middletown, CT
Wednesday $20
7:00pm - 9:00pm The Goff House 2 Barton Hill Rd. East Hampton, CT
FMI & Reservations 203 779-0345
Discussion and Vibrational Sound Meditation April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 13
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Six Sessions ~ Third Friday of the Month Starting May 20th Freedom and Flow - The Art of Letting Go and Letting In with Donna Lombardo 6:30 PM-8:30 PM $150 for all 6 sessions ~ $30 for individual sessions
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Transforming Upward
W
by Phyllis Light, Ph.D.
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e are getting ready to emerge into spring, once the winds of winter subside, and the snow and cold start to release their icy grip on the land. This happens every year. Every spring, we have the opportunity to awaken to a newer and better version of who we are. We shed the heaviness that had come upon us as we slowed down to accommodate our winter world. And, now we’re ready to lighten up and welcome the sunshine back into our lives, to illuminate and inspire us to rise to greater heights. The caterpillar is almost ready to emerge from its cocoon, transformed into something lighter, freer, and more beautiful. We, humans, have the opportunity to do this as well. However, it’s not always as easy or spontaneous a process for us. We, humans, have been programmed, since birth, to experience life in certain ways. If, for example, our family was poor while we were growing up, we may have learned to “do without.” Or, we may have grown up resenting others for having more than we do. If our parents told us “no” all the time, we may have developed a deep depression about being able to be who we are and do what we want. We may also have developed a rebellious attitude toward anyone who tells us “no,” the way our parents did. We may unconsciously push people away when they don’t support us fully in having our life be the way we want. We humans have become quite complex, because of all the myriad of life experiences and circumstances we have had since birth (and from past lifetimes as well, if you believe in that idea.) So, to transform… to change… to become a new and better version of yourself—these are not easy concepts for most people to embrace. Most of us simply want to stay the same. Why? Because it is safe and comfortable to do so. Even if we are unhappy, there is a fundamental level of safety within our consciousness, because we are familiar with our circumstances. The more familiar we are with our state, no matter how “bad” or “unpleasant,” we have survived with it and continue to survive. The subconscious mind thinks, therefore, “I need this to survive.” The call to transform that comes each spring can touch our hearts, and awaken us to make new choices, to consciously begin to let go of the old and worn out—just as the
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caterpillar fearlessly leaves its cocoon behind in order to undergo the transformation of its whole being. The question is, “Do we heed the call this time? Do we feel safe enough, being who we are, to let go of those parts and pieces of ourselves that no longer serve us, and prevent us from “transforming upward?” We always have the choice to let go of fear and embrace change. Caterpillars move forward automatically. For us humans, there has to be a conscious choice and willingness to do so. Know that you are in charge of how life is for you, and how life can unfold for you. You have your choice to “shrink in consciousness” or embrace further awareness and further personal transformation. You can choose which path you prefer… every spring! Do you play it safe, again, and keep doing what you’ve been doing? Or, do you take a risk, try something new, and choose new avenues of self-expression and creativity? Sure there is some fear involved in changing your old ways. But the potential reward that comes from making such choices is enormous. There is no “right or wrong.” Your lessons will always be there, awaiting the time when you are ready to learn what your Higher self is trying to teach you. Your choice to follow “path B” rather than “path A” will present itself again and again, until you finally wake up to what your inner spirit is urging you to do. There is no correct or incorrect choice… you will awaken to your own personal transformation when the time is right for you. Stay open to your “Highest spiritual good,” and you’ll know where you need to be and when, in every moment. Life can be a wondrous gift, when we stay open to learning all that we need to learn with an open heart and open mind. Phyllis Light, Ph.D., in Psychology, is a counselor, teacher, author, and expert in “Telepathic Healing,” With over 35 years of experience, Phyllis helps people clear negative programming to the depths of the subconscious mind and empowers them to rise to their true spiritual potential. For more information about Phyllis’ work, visit www.lighthealing.com or call (512) 301-2999.
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ON THE COVER Light Variation 56 by Daniel B. Holeman
Welcome to this issue of Emergence. Our feature artist is Daniel B. Holeman, from San Rafael, California. Daniel, as expressed in his artwork, has captured the essence of light being color alive with shape and definition. His work is much like the mandala, when gazed upon it will bring you to a meditative or as some might say a "journey state" where questions maybe asked and answers maybe found. Daniel's work reflects his inner beliefs of living from a "Unity Consciousness," from core values of truth, honesty, integrity, fairness, justice and responsibility. This brings Daniels life to be an expression of equality for all species and all life, to treat with equality every human, no matter what race, gender, status, position or level of intellect. To be within self, as an expression of peacefulness, humility, compassion, gratitude and generosity.
I am please to share with you Daniel's written expression of his work. "When people are awake they naturally abide by these values, they naturally care for all people, all species, all of life; and when these values are lived you get Peace, Harmony, Security, Happiness and Joy as a by-product. These things cannot be bought or forced (as those currently in positions of power and authority continue attempting). Believing the illusion that one is separate from the whole leads one to pseudo solutions – such as attempting to find happiness by acquiring more money and things, attempting to gain security by using force, acquiring more and more power, etc. True solutions are only found within. It takes us, as individuals, looking within, waking up and living in unity consciousness and as a result of this (which is already happening and is in progress) we will stop giving our power and money away to those in positions of power and authority who are unconscious and greedy. Those in positions of power and authority are diseased by ego – like an extremely obese person who is on a destructive course. They crave power and money and are sick people. It only contributes to collective negativity to hate them or hold them in contempt. So forgive them and look in the mirror and clean your own house and those outside will eventually lose their power as a result. I see people invest great passion in the "rightness" of their held beliefs. Jews, Christians, Muslims and others, often so sure they are right and others are wrong, the fundamentalist of each ready to kill others in the name of their "god" and their "rightness". In addition to this there is the global (all levels of our civilization) issue of class, power and exploitation of less advantaged and of the earth and her resources. When the earth was less populated it was just an unfortunate state of affairs...now, if it continues much longer, it will destroy the planet (or at least the inhabitants). I am talking about those with wealth and power using their wealth and power for self-gain by exploiting people and resources. This is the root of most the world's problems - environmental crisis, social injustice, etc. I have listened to many teachers and I have checked in to my own experience and my innermost being to validate, or not; what is said. It is my experience that we are all of the same oneness, and that our "separateness" is indeed an illusion; that this illusion is vast and pervasive and seems very real; that the stronger we indulge in the illusion the more egoic we act, the more ignorant we are and that all suffering we experience is in some way a result of this complex illusion. The illusion is a distortion of the Truth, which is always present behind the illusion and That is all
When we are truly in our hearts, truly feeling the connectedness, the love, we then feel joy and peace as we are more being our true nature. Truth does not assert, defend, or try to convince others. Our true nature is Heart, is Love. The pain and suffering and apparent "wounds" are a result of being in illusion, in one's egoic activity too much. Most of what is going on in our day to day world is just a bunch of egoic programming interfacing with other programming, more like the Matrix (film) than people think. I know it is possible for each individual to wake up out of the dream or illusion to realize one's true nature, one's true being. The requirement is putting that commitment above all else - making realizing one's true nature one's highest priority in life. And that commitment leads in some way to honest selfinquiry (specifically, self-inquiry into the truth of one's self, one's true nature, and what activities of one habituates which keeps one from realizing what they already always are). And when it comes to "beliefs" it is important not to simply take the words of another and recite them as one's own, or quote them from a scripture, but to listen to others and then always find out for oneself through personal experience. And to share from there (personal experience) what one has found freely, openly, and relaxedly with others - for them to accept or reject as they wish. The diversity of perspectives, when shared casually with others can be a wonderful thing, expanding life's possibilities. Wanting or forcing others to see things the way you do is counter productive and not fun. I think this is one of the downfalls of traditional religions - trying to force or persuade others to their way of seeing things. This behavior stems from an insecurity based on a shaky foundation of beliefs. from a sound and truly stable foundation of Being people do not need to persuade others or force anything onto others. My devotion is to Truth. My highest priority and commitment in life is to abiding as and living life from my true, natural state. I regularly visit and listen to and speak with true teachers, who talk about this with other who are interested. I have found some great teachers who are quite good at pointing to the Truth. I gladly point to the pointers and you can connect with them here if you wish. Therefore, to sum up my philosophy I would state simply: 1) We are all the same One "consciousness" that can take itself to be anything – and thus we seem to be what we take ourselves to be (including taking ourselves to be separate people). And we ARE unique, individual expressions of the One whole.
Conintued on Page 31 April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 15
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His artistic talent and life-long exploration of consciousness and devotion to self-realization has given Daniel the ability to create profound sacred imagery.
of our One true nature - pure consciousness.
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Emerging Spring, Evolving Garden by Pat Foley
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ach winter, at a certain point, although it’s cold and the snow keeps descending and allows excess moisture to escape. We chose bags designed for potatoes and were from flat grey skies, the possibility of spring takes form. The lengthening days pleased with the results. Potatoes are pretty plants, especially when flowering. They are noticeable. Sometimes on a sunny morning an optimistic chickadee makes enjoy cool weather and are planted early in the growing season. Our plants grew well its spring call. It’s a quiet thing in the beginning, just a slight stirring of what’s and produced a nice crop of tubers. The bags needed more than twice as much water to come. Yet it persists, and then it’s upon us in a rush. as was recommended. The hot, dry season probably accounted for that. Because We check the seed catalogs and begin to work up a new garden plan. We’re tempted the fabric breathes, an easy way to think about how much moisture is needed is to compare the bag to an unglazed clay pot rather than to a non-breathing plastic to order far more seeds than we can possibly plant. Each year this happens, and each container and water accordingly. The bags are reusable. One cleans and dries them year’s subsequent garden teaches us new things. out at the end of the growing season, then folds them up for future use. Simple. Gardening ideas come and go. In our experience, the ones that work best are the We’ll do this again. ones that arise from the basic understanding that nature really does know what she’s We also tried replacing the standard peat pot many of us use for starting seeds doing. These ideas assume a cooperative stance, seeking to work in a beneficial way with an alternative called a cow pot. Cow pots were dreamed up and developed by with what’s naturally trying to unfold. If there are problems in the garden, rather than viewing them as a declaration of some kind of war and grabbing the most deadly Connecticut dairy farmers Matt and Ben Freund. The pots are made from composted cow manure. The manufacturing process removes weed seeds, pathogens and odors. weapon handy, we can take a breath, look more closely and try to figure out what it Cow pots stand up to months of above ground use in greenhouse conditions. is we need to do differently to provide optimal growing conditions for our plants, However, within four weeks of proper planting, the pots disintegrate, adding nitrogen keeping in mind that it is we, not nature, who make errors. to the soil as they do so. We used our cow pots to Bio-intensive gardening, a whole system whose start squash, tomato, melon and pepper seeds. The individual parts work best when used together, results were excellent. The seedlings grew very suggests that initial deep soil preparation and well and exhibited absolutely no transplant shock ide rows the generous use of compost are beneficial and when moved into the garden. When planting, it is make it possible to grow plants close together in necessary to completely bury the pot, making sure a grid pattern within beds of varied lengths that the rim is actually below ground. We liked what rganic growing are approximately four feet wide. As the plants the cow pots did for our plants and are looking mature, their leaves spread out and just touch each methods forward to using them again this coming season. other. This shades the soil, slows moisture loss and Critical Mass provides a cooler growing environment for the In his book Gaia’s Garden, A Guide to Homeplant roots. It also discourages weed growth. The aised beds Scale Permaculture, Toby Hemenway writes about gardener, working from first one side of the bed the point at which everything in a developing and then the other, can easily reach to the center. permaculture ecosystem “pops.” This happens Ed Smith, author of the very popular The eep soil when the individual components of the system Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, proposes his W-O-R-D start to work together in a synchronistic fashion. system for successful gardening throughout the Ed Smith author Pop, the system now supports itself and no longer country; wide rows, organic growing methods, depends on our constant intervention for survival. The Vegetable Gardener's Bible raised beds and deep soil that, as one sign of Interesting unplanned things begin to happen. its good condition, is able to support a vital Birds arrive. Available water comes into balance earthworm population. To take a worm census, mark out a block of soil about a with the needs of existing plants. The ecosystem becomes more than the sum of its foot square and seven inches deep. Dig up and spread this block on a board or drop parts. It emerges as a living entity. This is a thrilling moment. cloth. Gently break up any clumps. Now count the earthworms present, both large For us a little mini-pop came when we began using wide beds in the veggie garden. and small. If you find more than ten, be happy. Your soil has sufficient organic matter The plants, leaves just touching, were pleased by their close proximity to one another to attract wormy attention. These little wigglers will work for you improving soil and grew with enthusiasm. The soil, shaded by their leaves, required far less water structure and fertility and producing worm castings for you right in your own garden. and weeding than before. We noticed a toad hanging out under the kale, chowing Different systems? From our perspective, they have much in common with each down on insects. A phoebe built a nest nearby and also did bug removal. Everything other. Each is mindful of the plants’ basic needs. Each considers the garden soil to be began working well with everything else. Productivity increased and we found we important and strives in natural ways to keep it fertile and its texture friable. actually were needing to do less work than before. Wide beds create a situation in which the gardener can avoid tromping up and In new gardens and for those of us switching from chemical addiction to better down long single rows of veggies, compacting the soil on either side of the growing growing through organics, often the beginning is difficult. We experience problems row and thus limiting the areas in which roots can easily spread out. This tromping that are the result of long standing imbalances. It can be discouraging. But wait and compaction adversely affect plant vitality and ultimately the harvest as well. Just awhile before throwing in the trowel. It took time for the imbalances to develop. It to see how extreme the compaction can be, you might take a garden fork and fluff will take time for things to return to health. Persist, and one day there will be real up the soil in a small area of your garden, perhaps one foot wide and three feet long. change. The constant insect invasions will lessen and ultimately become incidental. Then walk back and forth in that spot a few times whenever you go into your garden. The health of the soil will improve, the earthworms return and do their aeration and Do this for a week or so, then take the fork, dig the area up again and check the fertilizing thing. Once we stop squirting poisons all over the garden, the birds will condition of your soil. We are always amazed at how quickly its texture can be ruined. start to come back and will do a lot of bug removal for us. The various components of Paths between beds can be heavily mulched to both eliminate weeds, the time the garden will begin supporting and encouraging each other. The veggies will, if not and effort spent removing weeds and to mitigate the effects of foot traffic. One actually smile, at the least look healthy and happy and respond with an abundance of might put down several layers of newspaper and cover them with straw. Walking tasty food for us. If we have patience and pay attention, this really works, and spring, planks also work but don’t decompose and add to general soil fertility as readily the start of a new growing season, is a natural time for us to begin. as newspapers and straw. Copyright Pat Foley, 2011 Each year, something new Pat Foley attempts to live a green/sustainable life just outside of Cornish, Maine. Her focus is on Last spring we began experimenting with growing bags. These floppy-when-empty following Gandhi’s advice to be the change we wish to see in the world. Pat offers group seed ordering containers are made of a felt-like double-layered polypropylene fabric that breathes each spring and a bulk spice and herb buying co-op. You may contact Pat at earthrest@psouth.
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Awareness and the Art of Seeing: Contemplations on the environment and interconnection by Jen Deraspe
The Pendulum Swings Disclaimer: This author does not intend to endorse, offend nor discriminate against any one particular religion. What follows is simply the author’s experience.
Another twelve-year cycle began, worshipping the cow.
Jen Deraspe, is the founder of Nurture Through Nature, an eco-retreat center in Denmark, Maine. Jen is a certified yoga instructor, a licensed Maine guide, and a certified coach and facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. She has been leading holistic nature retreats since 1999. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 17
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True confessions… as a teenager, as much as I could get away with, I would steal away to McDonald’s and partake in a Big Mac, large fry, diet coke and hot fudge sundae. This was heavenly to me. In college I could eat (proudly) 5 cheeseburgers in one sitting. On weekends at the college cafeteria, I would fill a cereal bowl with cream cheese, toast two bagels, (not 2 halves), smearing and piling the white on white high and wide, topped with jam. Scrumptious! And this was just the warm-up for breakfast. Luckily, I was an athlete all those years so most of what I put in the pie hole was used up during that entire rigor. Maybe. After surviving nutrition mishap mixed with gluttony during college and graduate school, I was ready for a change. At the wise age of 24, I decided to begin the clean up process by not eating red meat. No more cows, I declared! I read everything I could get my hands on. I learned that red meat was just not a good thing for the body. I discovered why it was a spiritual act to not eat meat, thus, causing no harm to living beings. Nothing with a face would die on my account. Being a budding environmentalist, I studied how much more earth and resource friendly it was to feed 100 people the acre of grain instead of one cow that acre of grain. I delved deeply into the vegetarian doctrine, went to meetings and became a card-carrying member, completely devoted to my new religion. For twelve righteous years, I stood on my soapbox (sorry everyone), proclaiming how my religion pointed to the way, the truth and the light. I was genuinely amazed that any educated human being still ate meat at all. Over the years, my body argued with my pious choices. I lost muscle mass, had weight gain around my midsection, and was constipated by the 4 servings of odd soy products (faux meat AKA Not Dogs, Fakin' Bacon and the sort) that I was consuming daily. I felt weak and tired, compensating by amazing amounts of coffee and a regular dose of chocolate to meet the day’s demands. At some critical juncture, I went to see a Naturopath at Women to Women for my annual physical. After a lengthy interview and evaluation, she told me, (the nerve), I was doing it all wrong. I could not hear it. I knew the way, after all. How dare her argue with my religion? Perhaps she could tell she was speaking to deaf ears in the way she turned abruptly and left. I watched her long skirt sway back and forth as she marched for the door. I sat there quietly for a while, drooped. Leaving the appointment rattled, I went to my mentor for more guidance. He told me to go to the woods and ask the trees what they thought about it. The next chance I got, I gathered my senses and walked meditatively through the forest, slowly, quietly, aware. I waited for a tree to draw me in. There was an old spruce growing out of a boulder, its roots wrapped around the rock, reaching into the earth. I stopped. Asked. Listened. I heard, "Get what you need. I am." Still not convinced, I went to an organic cow farm to see if they had anything to say. I parked the car and walked slowly towards the pasture. I locked eyes with a beautiful black and white cow chewing her cud. We both walked towards one another, separated only by electric barbed wire. We stood close to the fence, staring into each other’s eyes. I asked, “Are you good with your place in the food chain? Are you good with being raised for human
consumption?” I heard, “Yes, it is my role. I am here to serve you on your way.” Whoa. So, I researched organic farms in Maine with happy cows eating mostly grasses. I found my farm, checked them out and it felt like everyone was treated humanely and having a pretty good life. I ordered some organic, grass feed ground beef. Here we go! It was like jumping out of an airplane to a place that was unknown. I was giving up my righteous identity and what I had preached by attitude, example and word. I was eating my own cud. From that modest day in the life of a 34 year old finding her way, I have slid down the slope towards a vast, carnivorous reality. Give me your masses, your cheese, your dairy and chicken; your turkey, fish, and my favorite, cow. I don’t know how it happened. My body was responding well to the protein in my life, so I followed with glee and innocence. Another twelve-year cycle began, worshipping the cow. Amen to muenster, swiss, and cheddar, yogurt, ice cream and butter. Praise be to the burger, the taco and the steak bomb. Just say no to Nayonaise and bring on the mayonnaise. All these years, coffee has never left my side for more than a brief spell. She has been a side religion (I like to church shop), a comforter, and a good, good friend. A coffee whore I am. French Press me with dark, bold and oily beans or step aside. Please. Fast forward to February 2011, as it turns out, the beginning of another 12-year cycle. It felt like time for a little house cleaning and self-evaluation. I began with coffee… cutting my best friend out a bit, to see how I am with less attachment. What is life like without such a charge behind it, without that push? Could I join the ranks of those mildmannered tea drinkers that I have envied? In the midst of the coffee weaning, the machine stopped pooping. Apparently, coffee had become my necessary laxative and without it, the plumbing was not working. Unbeknownst to me, this coffee whore was lactose intolerant. I had gone too far with my cow worship. I found myself in a humble position in the throws of a vigorous colon cleanse and detox. I wanted to do my part in the healing. I did want to poop again, after all. The “end result” was nothing short of atrociously awesome. Plaque and sludge were my friends now, some sort of alien beast that was residing in my digestive tract, had been set free. Day by day, the creature that was adhering to my colon wall released. A strange satisfaction filled my soul as I watched. I transitioned back to solid food again. The glorious abundance and decadence of real, whole, live, juicy food. And, I watch. Closely. I wait. I listen. I follow the voice as a practice as I enter this new cycle. I shall see what religions remain. I thought I knew something. Perhaps there isn’t anything to know. Or just to know enough to stop, look and listen for the internal yes and no. The rest will take care of itself. I am excited to see if the pendulum has swung more to the middle range, the balancing point, where the inner knowing will guide the way.
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Change Part 2 by Maria Harrison
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n the first part of this series we examined some of the phenomena of change for the purpose of producing a new understanding for effective action. From the beginning, it has been my intention (and hope) to have these specific examinations designed to unfold like a new spring blossom; unfolding gradually where all is not yet visible, but continuing to unfold until we can appreciate the full essence of the nature of “Change” and its many different faces. So once again, I invite you to become a different observer of yourself, others, things going on around you and the happenings in the world that produce the magnitude of change we are constantly experiencing.
Becoming A Different Observer of Change
Peter Senge says in his book The Fifth Discipline that "the structures of which we are unaware hold us prisoner." In addition, I would claim that which is concealed by its own obviousness limits our capacity to become a different observer. Only by understanding how certain variables in our lives relate to each other, and how they influence our behavior during transition, will we ever reach our optimum potential for change and transition.
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During any transition, whether in business, in a family, or even in a country, there is a complex underlying transition going on at the same time. This underlying transition is the transition from an interpretation of change born in another time in history and a new interpretation of change being invented now. Research indicates that the already existing interpretation of "change" we have as culture, may not be sufficient to produce effective right action in the rapidly changing world we now live in. The acceleration of change in every part of our lives seems to be creating confusion, fear, frustration, panic, stress, health problems, and, often disorientation. Moods of resignation and resentment are part of the chaos and upheaval people find themselves in on a daily basis. I believe this is in part because people are dealing with an unprecedented acceleration of change, with old interpretations invented yesterday that no longer apply to what is happening around them today. This is certainly true in every aspect of business: people come to work and it isn’t the way it was yesterday.
Misconceptions of Change
In addition there are misconceptions of change that are widely held, especially in many organizations. These misconceptions of ‘change’ and the lack of understanding of "what it is to be human" often have entire organizations taking actions that promote non-productive moods that ultimately create large scale morale issues. Revealing traditions, interpretations, misconceptions of change, and what it is to be human can open tremendous possibility for growing human potential and taking care of people during any transition. When interpretations are revealed and we understand when and why they were invented, we become different observers of historical time and different observers of action. Because actions are created from a background of interpretation, becoming an educated observer of tradition opens possibilities for invention, innovation and creative effective action. It is through this process of understanding and observing that we open the possibilities to create new interpretations that invent new solutions to act from. People can begin to invent new responses to the onslaught of changes in the workplace and in business that often create individual and collective morale issues. New educated responses will have people live in constant discontinuous change as the norm, look forward to things changing rapidly and begin to perpetuate change as a way of developing and nurturing their human potential. For example, educating all people in an organization to become educated observers of tradition and interpretations will create a willingness to let go of all the "yesterdays" and embrace change as a way of “being.” This article attempts to reveal traditions, misconceptions and promote new understandings of change that allow people to create more effective action and produce competence through their learning.
The suffering, stress and inability to get ungripped in the moment creates collective morale issues and loss of productivity, and not only in the workplace.
Let’s examine the traditions regarding the "already existing interpretations" of change to create a better understanding of how traditions shape our realities. Within this examination we will begin to observe that specific interpretations of change we hold as "truth" were invented in the context of specific times in history. Interpretations over time become tradition and tradition is then, over time, held as "truth." Traditions and interpretations are handed down from generation to generation until they become understood as "just the way it is" or "this is how we do it here." There are also more pointed interpretations that sound like "this is the only way we do it…” or “you must do this—this way…” There is often little or no understanding or observation that all interpretations are invented within the context of time and can be changed when time renders them no longer effective or useful. Interpretations and traditions create illusions which create a blindness through the automatic actions they produce in people. This explains why most people do not question into existing interpretations that no longer work, they just continue to act from these old interpretations even though it is clear they no longer produce the desired – intended result. The automaticity of this recurrent action of repeating what doesn’t work is so common it is astounding.
Tradition and Interpretation
If we begin with the premise that interpretations are invented within the context of specific historical events and happenings which we call tradition, we can begin to understand how these traditions become concealed by their own obviousness. By this I mean, these traditions and interpretations are hidden by automaticity. People operate from these traditions and interpretations so automatically that they do not 18 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
see that these interpretations were invented from specific historical times to deal with specific human concerns.
Research indicates that people generally view change as a negative phenomenon. Change often represents having less, taking something away, opportunities decreasing, the future looking smaller and more constrained and certainly upsetting and not something to look forward to. I find that when people hear the word change, they automatically react with fear, panic, dread, gloom, overwhelm, resignation, and sometimes resentment. People begin to question their ability to absorb the changes, produce new action and we find they unconsciously begin to mourn the loss of what was familiar to them. In the familiar, they produced confidence, knowing, knowledge, productive actions, comfortability and consensus for truth. This broad spectrum of emotions produce interpretations and narratives that often leave people "frozen," unable to act or consider other possibilities. The suffering, stress and inability to get ungripped in the moment creates collective morale issues and loss of productivity, and not only in the workplace. When was the last time you and anyone around you really looked forward to a new change about to happen in your work or home environment? It appears that for the most part, human beings do not have a history or an on-purpose learning that might embody a positive perception of change... an interpretation that would have them automatically think of change as anticipating something bigger than they currently have, a feeling of more opportunity coming their way, or the opening of more possibilities and positive outcomes. Even where people have begun to see some changes have produced more not less, they have been unable to meet the next on-coming change with an entirely new interpretation of change that would eliminate or decrease the fear, panic, confusion and stress. My research also indicates that human beings fundamentally have an unconscious interpretation of themselves and others as non-changing beings. This shows up in a variety of ways. If someone is assessed as "not smart," the assessment is spoken as if this person can never change or never "get smart." This assessment is spoken as permanent; as if human beings do not have the ability to learn, so change
19 is possible. You seldom hear people say, "Billy is not smart in math right now, but with study and tutoring he can become smart in math." What you usually hear is "Billy is not smart in math." This type of speaking indicates that human beings basically do not hold interpretations of themselves and others as a "changing phenomena," even though biologically we change by the second. We observe there is a profound lack of understanding for all human beings in "what it is to be human." This lack of understanding produces a blindness regarding our "biological being" which is the prime example of constant change. We are a discontinuous changing phenomena, and our biology is a testament to that, yet we hold interpretations of change as if they were all outside of ourselves. Many organizations also have traditional understanding of change and see change as something that can be declared and implemented without much difficulty. Senior executives and managers, while admitting and often declaring that their organizations have to change, see change as something for others to take on. Surveys reveal that these same executives do not see the need for change in themselves; they see themselves separate and apart from that dynamic. This lack of self-awareness usually becomes one of the first pitfalls to change. Change requires new models of behavior. And people can’t be ordered to change, give up control or take responsibility if they never learned how to do it. People need to see and practice new models of behavior, and they need time to learn and safe places to experiment and make mistakes. In our next, the third part of this series, we will take a closer look at Emotional Illiteracy in the workplace and change as a process.
Maria Harrison is a professional certified life coach. She is certified as a Core Energy Life and Ontological (The Power of Language) Coach by The Newfield Network and ICF, is a Reiki Master, certified EFT and Prosperity Guide. Maria offers transformational principles and tools as a foundation of her practice. Maria can be reached through her website: www.tapestryoflifecoaching.com, by calling: 207 358-0311 or email: maria@tapestryoflifecoaching.com.
Harmonic Sound Immersion Discussion and Vibrational Sound Meditation Gongs and Crystal Bowls create a harmonic resonance that vibrates through each cell of the body. When in harmonic resonance, resistance no longer exists as a dis-ease factor within the body. This allows harmonic tones of our body, emotions, mind and spirit to produce a harmonious resonance within and without creating life as abundant joy. All sessions are energetically supported.
Wear comfortable clothing. Bring plenty of water, eye covering, a pillow, blanket and something soft to lie on. PLEASE no scents ~ perfume or cologne.
Join us Thursdays ~ April 21st, May 19th, June 16th & July 21st
at 6:30-8:30 PM $20
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Reservations & Information 207 865-0900
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Visit us at theses upcoming events! Yarmouth Wellness Fair April 9th The Portland Enlightenment Expo May 1st
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Emergent Life by Norm Hirst
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his month is a month of accelerating and profound change. What is emerging, at last, are our abilities to know and understand what it means to be alive. There is evidence all over the world that this planet is subject to profound change and everything we thought we knew about life could change so much so that it is bewildering. As I see it:
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A Pole Shift is occurring: It was fifty years ago at MIT that I first learned about pole shifts. The North Pole and South Pole switch roles. We were aware that we were approaching a pole shift. Exactly when it would occur was not certain but it was getting close enough to discuss what effects it would have on life. There are species dependant on familiar compass directions – birds, for example. Thus when 80,000 birds fell from the sky in a single event, that would be what we would have expected in a pole shift that is, in fact, now in the process of happening. The evidence is becoming overwhelming. Science, as we’ve known it, used to predict, to control, force, measure, determine cannot understand life from those perspectives. First there is life, and then there may be abstractions. It is never the case that abstractions create life. Today, considering the power of the IBM machine known as WATSON some are predicting the end of humans, as unnecessary, given the power of WATSON. This kind of thinking illustrates the blindness of such a worldview. The basic nature of reality is life. As we begin to understand life, it is clear what we thought was reality, i.e., the world of physics, is a tragic limited misunderstanding—though in providing useful tools, it does lead to helpful technology. I see the decade of the 1970’s was extremely important as a period of learning that physics is not the fundamental science. Our natural reality is life; a world of smiling faces, fluttering leaves, resting cats, and billowing clouds. Yet today’s science hides behind abstractions. Instrumental pointer readings are thought to be real. But nowhere amongst pointer readings and associated mathematics is there a living entity. Biophysicists have made far more relevant discoveries since 1990 revealing life between the forms and structures, i.e., the role of sounds, color, and wave-like qualities. In future articles, I will be describing this emerging reality being discovered about life. To view this living reality through the current dominant views of physics, the
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ways of life are incomprehensible. Living entities are organisms. Humans have 75 trillion cells functioning in simultaneity, living together as a single entity. No collection of parts can be assembled to make an organism because an organism grows itself as a unity. Seeing what has been achieved I stand in awe, but I am, never-the-less, amazed at our continued entrapment by materialism to see anything beyond the structures, the “thingness” of living entities. I have read about research leading to artificial structures imitating what structures a cell might make. Thus some believe artificial cells are possible, but the structures are not living; they perish. In a living structure there is an awareness of purpose, a life that goes on no matter what. It is a mystery, to some, as to why someone with a shattered body could just keep going. There is clearly something living-alive beyond the structures. So what does all this have to do with the pole shift? I have read that pole shifts don’t always reach damaging extremes. A pole shift may have wiped out the dinosaurs, but in a living universe we are connected and could mediate a less damaging extreme. We could awaken, get it and pay attention to the message that we need to live life in harmony with life-itself – rather than trying to control, impose and force it to conform to some abstraction.
Norm and Skye Hirst, PhD – co-founders of The Autonomics Institute. Together they are combining their work as consultants, researchers and educators to bring this emerging view of life as organism into focus. As the shift of consciousness occurs, Skye works as coach and educator to individual progressive leaders worldwide, helping business owners, policy makers, and community organizers process the difficult challenges facing us at this time. Beginning at MIT studying physics, mathematics and values, Norm chose as his life work the study of where and how values show up in science. 50 years later he’s bringing out his findings of a whole new reality, philosophy and science for understanding life-itself dynamics. Contact them at hirst@autognomics.org or shirst@autognomics.org.
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wa ndering s age w i s d om Springtime Of The Soul Aya Itagaki
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by Aaron Hoopes
Spring – Wood Element In Chinese 5 Element theory spring is associated with the element of Wood. Wood energy flow is processed through the liver. The liver is the yin organ that stores blood and facilitates the flow of blood and energy through the body. The liver is responsible for the strength and flexibility of muscles, ligaments and tendons. The gallbladder is the yang organ that balances the liver and is responsible for storing and excreting bile. Cultivating Wood energy can help with subduing anger and irritability as well as banishing indecisiveness. It also helps with blood flow problems. The increasing power of Wood during the spring season provides us with the ability to recognize our higher purpose in life. Connecting to Wood energy brings us into alignment with nature.
Spring Cleaning for your Liver After a cold winter it is always beneficial to take care of your liver. 1. Drink water 1st thing in the morning – this supports the liver’s natural detoxification process. 2. Eat more green vegetables – green is the color associated with the liver and provides chlorophyll, a substance plants use to trap the energy of the sun. 3. Avoid refined sugar. 4. Eat more sour tasting foods to enhance bile flow. 5. Reduce alcohol, nicotine and caffeine consumption to ease the pressure on the liver. 6. Schedule time for self-care. Get a massage, take a hot bath, or attend a retreat! 7. Remember to Breathe. Wishing you much peace. Please visit my blog to share any comments you may have. More Wandering Sage Wisdom at: http://wanderingsagewisdom.blogspot.com. Aaron Hoopes has spent 28 years studying and teaching martial arts, tai chi, yoga and meditation. He is the founder of Zen Yoga and the author of five books. He teaches an Online Personal Development Course for Spiritual Deepening and holds retreats at the Ledge End Retreat and Healing Center in the mountains of Vermont. His best-selling Zen Yoga Daily Warm-Up DVD is a simple method for integrating breath and movement into daily life. Please feel free to contact Aaron: breathe@artofzenyoga.com. Visit the Zen Yoga Website: www.artofzenyoga.com
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 21
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pring is a time of magical awakening. In the cycle of the seasons, spring is a wonderful experience of rebirth and emergence. It is important to take a moment and immerse yourself in this process. The natural world has so much healing energy for us; it is vital to embrace it whenever possible. Imagine a seed deep in the frozen ground of winter. That seed contains the potential energy to become a beautiful flower or a mighty tree. The potential of the seed is waiting to be unlocked so that it can expand and blossom. In order for the potential to be realized the seed needs certain things. Most importantly the seed needs fertile ground, water and sunlight in order to grow. With the change of season from winter to spring, those needs are now able to be met, bringing the opportunity for the flower or tree to emerge from the seed and begin the growing process. It is a special time full of possibilities. Our Soul is the seed of our pure being. It resides deep within us holding the potential for growth into an enlightened being. Each individual Soul is unique throughout the whole of creation. It is the spark of individuality that gives us the belief that we can become something better. The potential of the Soul is waiting to be unlocked. If we can provide what it needs then, just like the seed buried in the ground, it can emerge from its dormant state and begin growing. The fertile ground of the Soul is the body, the foundation of our being. A body that is free of toxins and pollutants is a much cleaner vessel to carry the Soul. A body that is healthy and active provides the nutrients the Soul needs to be strong and vibrant. When the body is in a state where it can respond to what we ask of it, the Soul is given the freedom it needs to expand and embrace life. The water of the Soul is found in the clarity of the mind. As I wrote last issue, Mind Like Water is the process of mindful awareness. When our minds are full of thoughts and distractions, we have difficulty responding effectively to situations that come up. If we have too much stuff going on in our heads, we can miss opportunities or fall into difficult situations. The Soul needs clarity of thought in order to thrive. The sunlight of the Soul is our connection to the breath. With each deep breath we inhale, we bring vital life force energy into our body. With each deep breath we exhale we release toxins and pollution from the body. Conscious breathing is the fundamental connection between body and mind. It is the point where we are able to connect the two. The Soul needs this connection in order to expand. 2011, the year of the Rabbit (yin-metal), is the Springtime of the Soul. We have a wonderful opportunity to experience the emergence of the Soul and rise to a higher
vibrational state of being. It is time to re-commit to our physical training through such arts as yoga, tai chi, dance, hiking, martial arts, etc. We must intensify our mental training through meditation as well as a reduction in mental distractions such as television. And we can deepen our breathing training patterns with qigong, pranayama and other breathwork practices. Then we can begin to focus on Soul work. Soul work is deeply personal and can be quite challenging, especially if we are weak in body or mind. This is why training them is a vital step on the journey forward. Soul work is primarily concerned with our relationship to the self. As we begin to turn our attention inwards, all sorts of barriers appear. These barriers are blocks we have erected within ourselves and must be dealt with before we can go deeper. Barriers may manifest as physical problems or mental difficulties, but these are often just symptoms of issues we have in our Soul. The work can sometimes be a little painful and traumatic. It may feel overwhelming at times, especially without a strong body and mind to support you, but the benefits are real and joyous. The seed of our Soul can grow vibrant and strong. But first we must process our experiences, heal our wounds and face our fears so that we are able to know ourselves fully and completely. Then we can reach our potential and evolve into better human beings. It is the Springtime of your Soul, help it to emerge. Give it fertile ground in your body. Water it with the calmness of your mind and breath sunlight into it.
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APRIL 19TH 6:30 - 9:00 PM
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The Art Of Emergence In Creative Process by Teresa Piccari
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reativity, like healing, is not generally a linear process. Our progress is often marked by voids, when it feels as if nothing at all is happening. Setbacks rise – what we once saw clearly, has slipped behind a cloud, eluding us. Often, when we heal, as when we create, darkness precedes the light. The creative process demands that we walk hand in hand with faith and trust before it delivers up its transformative goods, in its own time, and something new emerges. If we pay attention, experience and synchronicity, cue us when something is afoot. Being present during our interactions with others, and alert to the signs that abound in the natural world, help illuminate our path.
A Feathered Visit
Creating a Bohemian Waxwing I knew the perfect artist to draw the waxwing. He, like the original bohemian waxwing messenger, was right outside my back door. Ken Foster runs his architectural design business in the carriage house directly behind the main house where I run my business. Three years ago, as Ken sat by his mother’s side for extended stretches near the end of her life, he began drawing her. “It was amazing to realize that here was this woman I knew my entire life and yet as I drew her, I became aware of how much I hadn’t seen about her before. I had never noticed how her ear came around and went like this at the bottom,” he recalled, reaching up to demonstrate on his own ear. “Or that her mouth came across this way and then dipped. All these nuances I saw truly for the first time, when I drew her.” From that point on, Ken began sketching on a regular, daily basis. It was as if his mother, an artist in her own right, was reaching out and bestowing a final gift to her son. A gift that brought healing, providing a creative vessel that helped to ease his pain over losing his mother, and having just divorced. It also allowed him to pay tribute to his
A Fractured Voice I recently worked with a shamanic practitioner who performed a soul retrieval, blowing a fragmented part of myself that had been lost, back into my body. This fragmented self, a twelve year old girl, was found deep in a forest, singing like a songbird. But no one could hear her. The part of me that had splintered off was related to my artistic voice. Artists must infuse their work with childlike wonder and vulnerability to manifest his or her full potential. It was up to me now to make that 12 year old feel safe, and to know that I was ready to embrace her and make sure her song would be heard. I had to determine what I needed to do to make her stay, and to integrate her back into my whole self. Convincing her to stay was a daunting task at first. I was directed to honor my voice with a song – a song that eluded me. The shamanic practitioner explained that this integration could be done over time. I was advised not to pressure myself but instead to set an intention, remain focused and allow things to unfold naturally. Armed with the knowledge of the age I was when this part of me fragmented off – I began to ruminate on my life before and after. Once I relaxed and began to trust in the creative process, clarity started to emerge within days. One morning, I stumbled upon a column in a local newspaper detailing the bird species spotted during the annual counting of feathered creatures in midcoast Maine. I scanned the list, 34 bohemian waxwings spied over three days it said, not a cedar waxwing to be spotted. Oh, that really was a bohemian that visited me, I realized with some embarrassment—for not having enough faith. More research about the color markings, confirmed once and for all, my winged messenger had most certainly been a bohemian.
Conintued on Page 31 April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 23
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A year and a half ago, as I departed the back door of my office on a summer Saturday, I stopped as my eye caught sight of a brilliant flash of red and yellow. There, sitting calmly in a petite pine, eye level with me, was a bird I had never seen before. It didn’t even appear real to me at first with its extraordinary color and markings. It was crested, like a cardinal and had a distinct mask across its eyes. Its body color was a soft chocolate, like coffee with a lot of cream in it, gradations of pink were unevenly stirred into the mix. On its wings and the tip of its tail, were red and yellow of the most intense saturation. The most unusual thing about this bird though, was how it sat perfectly still and did not leave. Although I didn’t dare, I felt like I could have reached in and taken it softly into my hand. I remained with it for several minutes, in awe. Eventually, I went back into the building. When I returned, the bird was still there, waiting for me. Clearly, it had a message. I mentioned the sighting to a couple people, who did some quick research and reported it to be a waxwing, a cedar waxwing. My own study uncovered that there was also a bohemian waxwing – well wouldn’t that be fitting for someone with a column called The 21st Century Bohemian, I thought? But not having big enough faith in that moment, I dismissed the idea and settled on the notion I had seen a cedar waxwing. In Animal Speak, the late Ted Andrews writes about the waxwing, noting that “masks are tools for transformation, but most people fear change and transition. The waxwing can show how change and transformation can occur as gently and easily as you desire. The waxwing shows how to use masks, head gear, and paint to create a doorway in the mind, a threshold that you can cross to new dimensions. Like its relative the cardinal, the waxwing has a crest upon its head. This reflects an innate wisdom that it can awaken. It also has ties to ceremonial head gear and the use of it to shift consciousness.”
As Plain as Day Then, I set about building a website. As the designer guided me through the process (having done this in an advertising setting for other clients, building a website for myself was a whole different experience) it occurred to me the mermaid logo that represents my Village Scribe brand would need a counterpart to represent my column. The 21st Century Bohemian is about art, healing and transformation. Two swans, another bird of transformation, have graced the top of it for nearly three years. But placing that art on my website did not resonate with me. I went into creative breakdown around the creation of the public nature of a website, which as an introvert, pushed my buttons big time. I stumbled out of the meeting with the web designer, in an emotional and creative tailspin. I drove to a favorite mediation space and sat, asking for clarity. The message emerged as if sky written by a 757. The bohemian waxwing needed to nest at the top of this column, singing her song, a symbol of my artistic voice. Like its cardinal relative, the female bohemian waxwing sings. In most bird species, only the male sings. After fifteen minutes, the message that had begun a year and a half ago, emerged before me as a gleaming constellation. The pieces of the puzzle slipped into place.
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w elcom e h o me
ask asrianna Questions and Answers on Relationships, Spirituality and Conscious Living
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Dear Asrianna, I’ve been married to a wonderful woman for nearly thirty years. She’s creative, dynamic, a loving wife and mother and a hard worker. To the outsider she’s confident, funny, strong-willed, and engaging. But the truth is that as long as I’ve known her she’s struggled with severe depression. At times she completely withdraws and except for her work and the daily interaction with our daughter, she hardly talks, eats, or shows the slightest sign of enjoyment in any other area of her life. It tears me up inside to see how devastated she often feels and I don’t know what to do to help her. I see her as exceptionally courageous because I know what it sometimes takes for her just to get out of bed in the morning. From what I’ve read some people can’t even function on a daily level when severely depressed and yet she gets up and puts on a warm, receptive face even when it takes everything she has to do it. I’m not writing this because I’m an unhappy husband. She tries very hard to show me I’m loved and the guilt she feels over her depression and how it limits her is so sad. Sometimes I get so angry over how unfair this is and I want to just strangle something, but of course there’s nothing and no one to hold accountable. We can’t tell our family because in the past whenever we’ve attempted it, they respond by disbelief (“Oh but she always seems so upbeat!”), or simplistic ways of fixing it by “thinking positive.” What can I do to help this remarkable woman? How can I make her see the beauty in herself? Is she, as she often says, doomed to this for the rest of her life? She’s on medication and sees a wonderful therapist, but is this the best it’s going to be? Signed, Desperate to help Dear Desperate, A 2008 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) statistical analysis found that roughly four and a half percent of adult Americans experience some form of serious mental illness. Approximately twice as many women are affected as men, and a growing segment of sufferers are those between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five. And all indications are that this trend is growing rather than diminishing. While this points directly to the populace with mental health problems, it doesn’t begin to factor in the toll it places on loved ones and care-givers. With this admittedly limited data in mind, one of the first things any support person can do—and you’ve already addressed this in your letter—is to get the depressed individual professional help. This holds its own difficulties as it’s not always clear to those involved that depression or mental illness is present. There are many online sites providing checklists to help identify depression or other forms of mental illness. While I don’t intend to promote one site as superior to another, the NIMH or WebMD websites offer checklists to help identify a need for assistance. So many people simply suffer silently, feeling that chronic depression is a character flaw or weakness. Getting professional help, which can include medical evaluations, various forms of licensed mental health therapy, as well as complimentary methods of healing is a vital part of moving toward health and understanding and can diminish the personal feelings of shame and immobility that so many who experience depression can feel. While I’m quick to note that I’m neither a physician nor a licensed mental health provider, over three decades of psychic mediumship work with my wonderful clients has taught me that almost inevitably those who suffer depression—and I’m just speaking of depression now—are those individuals of high emotional sensitivity, possessors of immense gifts of the heart. I’m not speaking of the way our culture typically uses the word “sensitivity,” which often translates to being made to feel over-sensitive, over-dramatic, or overly prone to taking things too seriously. Those implied character flaws are nothing more than ways of continuing to blame the sufferer and do nothing to promote wellness and joy. Rather, the sensitive spirit first processes everything through the heart rather than the intellect. In talking to countless people with emotional ways of sensing the world, I’m struck by their compassion, love, empathy and care. They often shoulder an inordinate and additional burden of sadness because their caring can be irresistible to those who need help, guidance, or simply non-judgmental listening and understanding. Yet this deeply feeling individual often pays a high price. They take on others’ suffering as if it was their own, and in doing so can see the world as a place of potential pain and struggle. These are often people who find it difficult to be in busy 26 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
places, locales with too many people or sensory stimuli. This isn’t a weakness, rather it’s a very real sign that they’re wide-open to the emotional energy around them and lack a protective filter helping them to remain calm and centered. Know that this isn’t to throw the towel of “what causes mental illness, nature or nurture,” into one camp or the other. It’s my personal belief that for the foreseeable future we’re unlikely to be able to say with confidence that an individual is either born with a physical propensity toward mental illness or that, conversely, they were raised in a manner that created mental problems. More than likely it’s a combination, but I certainly believe that the emotional sensitivity that I’ve spoken of is a part of that mysterious mix. You’ve already seen that along with her depression your wife possesses amazing gifts. Those, too, are often an accompaniment to emotional sensitivity. One woman I knew many years ago, in talking about her chronic depression, said that it wasn’t that she saw the world as anything other than beautiful and miraculous, it’s just that she felt it was a party she wasn’t invited to. This same woman could lose herself in true moments of bliss over the unfurling of a flower, her grandchild’s giggle, or a hawk flying overhead. Yet her moments of despair were profound and it took everything she had to endure them. You already know this, dear Desperate, and your wife is blessed to have a companion who sees beyond her depression to the heart of her precious nature. One of the first things I’m going to suggest in your path of nurturance for you wife, is that you take care of your own nature and needs. This often seems counter-intuitive for a care-giver, but the “well” analogy is never so appropriate as in this situation. If you can see yourself as a deep well from which thirst-quenching water is drawn, then you’ll understand an empty well cannot provide sustenance no matter how many times the bucket is lowered. You’re not being disloyal to your wife’s suffering by engaging in life sustaining moments. Indeed many depressed individuals speak of the guilt they feel in seeing their loved ones’ sacrifices, in recognizing the effects their mental illness has on others. I’m not suggesting physically leaving your wife, if she’s in an emotional crisis leading to potential self-harm. Yet there are times when it’s a necessary priority to do something that lightens and enlivens your precious heart and soul. Not only does this fill your personal energetic well, but it also offers the very real opportunity of drawing your wife into her own moments of refreshment and healing as she sees the joy it affords you. Sometimes when the heart feels bleak it sees only the darkness and that becomes the single reality. You can provide a counter-balance to this one-sided viewpoint. There are so many variables to this dynamic, so many types and levels of mental suffering. I can’t possibly cover every potentiality or avenue of action. Yet, a frequent frustration depressed individuals talk about is the burden of trying to verbalize their pain, especially if they believe they need to somehow alleviate their loved ones’ fear. While getting professional help is crucial, sometimes the greatest gift you can give your wife will be your loving presence. It’s normal to want to fix her problems. It isn’t always possible nor the most beneficial avenue of healing, however. So let her know you’re there for her, be patient in allowing her to find her own way of expression, don’t offer quick, meaningless platitudes out of a desperation to say anything, and affirm her courageous effort at healing and growth. Throughout it all, do not give up hope. Take care of yourself and don’t forget your own need for happiness. No one, not a psychic, not a licensed health professional can predict your wife’s future, but I’ve learned the greatest peace often comes on the heels of the greatest challenges. May you both find that joy. Asrianna
To have your questions answered, please email your letters or comments to
Asrianna at Asrianna@Asrianna.com
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Christmas Day; 12.25.2010; Sobernia Rain Forest, Panama
Walking by Ashok Nalamalapu Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking on fallen leaves Walking on soft pebbles Walking on brown mud Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking under the beautiful sky Walking on the slippery road Walking in between lush green plants and trees Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking while listening to the melodious stream Walking while enjoying the songs of birds Walking while seeing a butterfly dance with complete freedom Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking with my best friends, Denali and Vishva Walking in the fresh air Walking where hardly any people are around Walking with sweat on my face Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking in the gorgeous rain forest Walking when my spirit is at its best Walking where life is the sweetest Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Walking early in the morning Walking near very tall trees Walking in silence Walking. Walking. Walking for a long time Ashok Nalamalapu of Sadhana, a spiritual center (yoga, meditation, Kirtan, workshops) serving people from all walks of life in cultivating happiness and compassion through spiritual practices. ashok@SadhanaMe.com, (207)772-6898, www.sadhaname.com. April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 27
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Let Your Animal-Centered Love Emerge by Donald and Sara Hassler
E
mergence in philosophy is described as a system theory, science and art where complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of simple interactions. Relating the theory of emergence to our animal companions lends itself to logic.
When we reach out to an animal, we engage in the process of building a friendship. When we love a companion pet our hearts interact with theirs.
When we let ourselves feel waves of unconditional love wash over us, we begin to rely on our pets for acceptance. These simple interactions bring us to new levels of human relations that walk us down the path of grace. Our animal friends work beneath our outer-shield and penetrate every facet of our personality. They are able to open the doors to intuitive communication and a silence that sings the words “it’s ok to love completely.” They often enter our lives with the intention of opening a window to our souls. Laurel Steinhice wrote in Under the Guidance of Earth Mother, Edgar Cayce and The Crystal Circle, 1992 this beautiful poetic description of our connection to each other on this planet. Steinhice said: All life forms upon the earthplanet are connected to each other and to the planet itself.
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All Be-ings hold within themselves a spark of Universal Life Force, a living selflinkage to All-That-Is. All creatures great and small are spiritual. Into each species was breathed the "Breath of Life," as it was in the Beginning.
new complex system of universal love for the animals of our world. If each of us took our personal interactions with our pets, and shared them with others, we would force a new reality through the divinity of universal acceptance, love and adoration. This emergence of animal-centered love has the capability to pull us back to our natural concern for the well-being of all the animals on our planet. Our pets enrich our lives to the point where we can easily become consumed with their love. It’s the letting go of current cultural standards and choosing to embrace this love that can push us once again into a society that values their animal companions. Whether you have a bird, dog or cat or keep cows for milk, goats for cheese or chickens for eggs, we encourage all our fellow pet lovers to be free! Share your love today, tomorrow and from this point on and blossom into an inspiration! What you whisper, shout or talk about will inspire someone and that goodness will transfer into the life of another human that interacts with an animal. Together we can all emerge and enjoy universal kindness and humanity to all the Be-ings on our Mother Earth!
Donald and Sara Hassler are co-authors of the award-winning children’s book, Loving Marley, and reside in Connecticut with Marley and Belle the real-life inspiration for the PugTale Adventures storybooks, www.lovingmarley.com. The Hasslers are active members of the press and write exclusive feature articles for several publications. Their columns are also published in Pug Talk Magazine. Donald and Sara and Marley and Belle, write, produce and host their own talk radio show called The Responsible Pet Owner, which airs live on Good Company 14/WILI in Connecticut. Visit them online at www.responsiblepetowner.com.
All species have evolved spiritually, as well as physically, since the Beginning of timespace upon that entity which is called the Earth. Life does not stand still upon itself. It flows… In the age of transition in which the many veils are lifted, the many limitations are set aside, in the process of co-creating new realities. New bondings are formed between one species and another. Old bondings are rediscovered, strengthened and renewed. There is a sharing of new realities between humanity and other earthplanet life forms, and this sharing is an important part of the Reunion itself. Each of us is unique. And we are all One. If we are to work a complex string of interactions to our favor we can review Steinhice’s writing with a microscope and learn how to submit to the beauty of what our pets offer to us. We can apply her thoughts specifically to how we can re-discover and re-connect with our animals and each other. Historically, women have always lived closely with animals and have cared for them similar to how they care for their children. Long ago in Europe, the village midwife/healer was also the village veterinarian and animal healer. During these days many families would keep animals for nourishment, farm work, protection and hunting. Horses were used as the only source of mobility and the humans that kept these animals knew that their well-being was of paramount importance to their family and their survival. As time moved on, it’s become common for humans to keep animals for sport, pleasure and for financial gain. The years that have transformed us into a more civilized world have set us back in the sense that it’s hard to recognize the important role that animals played in pushing our society forward. Yet intuitively we know our animal friends make our world a more peaceful, beautiful and splendid place. For many pet owners, it’s become embarrassing to admit that they adore their animals and value them. Yet, as history shows us, this is a completely natural and instinctive feeling. Though we many no longer keep a horse to take us to the market, or a cow to feed us, our animal companions live a much simpler life now. Accustomed to taking on enormous responsibilities, our pets have transitioned into being loving partners, caretakers, protectors and companions. Our Wild Kingdom animals have shown us how important it is to take care of our natural habitats so they can continue to live with us. Our domestic pets have taken on the enormous task of transitioning themselves from pulling a plow, chasing geese and providing us with food, to being a friend, bringing joy, humor or entertainment to our lives as faithful pals. If we want to go back or drag others back with us into re-living a time when we cherished our animals, we can do that. It’s completely possible for us to create a 28 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
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a b rea th o f he alin g
To Emerge Like A Butter fly by Donna Amrita Davidge my life has evolved, I believe we have a choice to emerge into the person we want to be. Perhaps this man had not yet awakened, emerged, into his own awareness. I wish that for him. Perhaps he was not aware that even when we are “ having a bad day,” we don’t have to make it a bad day for someone else. Yoga is a way to help us discover awareness. The woman with the Swami said that yoga is not what you do on the mat, it not about doing the best headstand or holding a pose the longest; it is how you are off the mat and in the real world. Our yoga practice can help us emerge. The synonyms for emerge are arise, arrive, originate, dawn, be present, come to light, loom and show. The antonym is hide. In emerging we may have to face our fears, not hide from our true selves and others. Can we let the world see who we are on the inside? Can we look there ourselves with honesty? Today in class a woman said, while she was in plow pose, “I feel like I am going to break.” She is not a young woman and has to be careful and mindful in her yoga practice (as we all should!) so I applauded her for listening to how she felt, letting the fear be there so that it could protect her from going too far in her emergence. In the word emergence there is the root for emergency. In those moments we cannot hide. We must act. We must decide. We must be present. And we must emerge at our own pace, like the butterfly leaving its cocoon to become a thing of beauty, strength and fragility. Because, after all, we are all that. One harsh word can make us wish to go back into the cocoon, to hide. Yet we all do get hurt. No one is immune from that. It is the courage of our commitment to dawn again, to a new day, a new moment, which is the gift we have been given in breathing another breath—to go on to the next moment, to learn from the hurts. The yogi and his assistant spoke about happiness. The butterfly seems so joyous as it flits from flower to flower. He said that happiness is really quite simple. All it requires is discipline. Ah, discipline! Yoga is a discipline, a practice. Discipline to greet each day with a salutation to the mighty sun, to eat the right foods for the temple of the body, to be with the people who are best for us, to meet the challenges as they come with a spirit that can be present, even as the challenges loom, to still not hide from the life and the world that is offered to us in this fleeting moment called life. We can never give up on our emergence into something more and the same is true for all of us. Life these days has thrown many in to emergency moments in their lives, their careers, their relationships, and their finances. In these times Yoga Bhajan predicted were coming, he said it was a necessary process for consciousness to shift. The Swami from India left us with a prescription for happiness:
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Diet ~ Quiet ~ Sunshine ~ Laughter
Our lives are complicated these days; things can change suddenly for the worse or better. One purpose of yoga and meditation is to help us emerge as individuals who can weather and better handle the storms of life. The Swami’s assistant made the analogy of a boat on water. No matter if the water were churning with turbulence or calm, we could use our practice to stay steady in the boat regardless. Yes, many are not doing yoga for spiritual enrichment these days, though it can give you that. Maybe they find it another way. The ways that work – all work. If we can use these
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“If you decide, just for now, that there is nothing to fix but only life to savor, you can transform your reality. What if you simply stopped right now, right here, right in the moment and chose to let go of everything that needs fixing (your husband, your wife, your children, your parents, your finances, your health, your shadow, your inner child, your past, your future) and just savored this precise moment—and this one —and this one? Why not stop reading for a few minutes and simply cherish. Cherish what? Cherish all there is, whatever comes up.” Sedona Journal of Emergence, June 2004 The Buddhists say the one thing that is constant is change. There is one thing that is constantly with us, the breath. I attended an evening with a Swami from India a few nights ago, a man they called a living Saint. He had gone in to the Himalayas as a young boy and emerged a yogi. His assistant was a woman from California with a PhD from Stanford in Psychology, a spiritual seeker who had followed the Swami since 1996. She spoke before him. One thing she said struck a deep chord in me. I have written, and teach often about the breath and its importance. How we become more aware of it in our yoga practice, and then learn to use it as a tool for health and healing. She suggested that we remember that in any given second, people are dying all over our earth. The one thing they would give anything for is our breath. The breath leaves, it does not return. You cannot get it back. This may seem like a solemn thought. But it is actually an inspiring thought to remind us of just how precious the breath is, how precious each moment is, how precious is the gift of time. In those moments that we are just being, just breathing we can allow things within us to emerge. They might be thoughts, feelings, sensations or ideas. We are living in a time of change and, for many, chaos and confusion. We ask ourselves questions that we want answers to, but don’t have in the moment, and wish we did. The image of the butterfly has always been one of my favorites. People who know me often give me gifts and cards with butterflies because they know I love them. When I started to have an affinity to them in my early 20’s I had no idea that they represented transformation, emerging from one phase of our life to another. A birthday card a dear friend gave me this year says, “If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” Another birthday card that a student gave me last year says, “What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly,” Lao Tzu. Recently a student told me that if you touch a butterfly to try to help it from its cocoon, it will die. The metaphor is- we have to live our life in our own time, emerging as only our timetable can. No one else can enjoy the moment for us. No one else can ruin the moment for us. At any moment the choice is ours because the moment is ours. Today I went to lunch with a friend. I went to the salad bar where you ask the person behind the counter to add the ingredients you choose. The man was rude to me several times. I told my friend that I preferred to eat at a place where the people were kind. I believe that energy is reflected in the food they serve. I thought about how unhappy that man must be, in his life, his job. I don’t know what. I did tell him in a neutral tone that he did not have to be rude. Then we left, found another place with the same food where everyone was pleasant. Every moment we can decide, but until we are conscious we may not know that. I thought of myself when I was younger, still emerging as we are always, and that I too am sure I had been, perhaps, rude to someone when I was unconscious of it. As
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ex plorin g the wor l d r e l i g i on s Kabir: One of India's Greatest Poet-mystics and Spiritual Masters by James Bean
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abir lived during the fifteenth century, born near Banaras, India of Muslim parents. He grew in the impassioned poetry and deep philosophy of the Persian mystics like Jalaludin Rumi. He is, as he says in his hymns, “at once the child of Allah and of Ram.” He achieved a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim belief and freely used symbols from both religions. He was a weaver, a simple and unlettered man, who earned his living at the loom. It is out of the heart of the common life that he sings his rapturous lyrics of divine love. “Kabir” is an Islamic name popular in the Muslim world – it’s one of the “Ninety-Nine Names of Allah” found in the Quran, meaning, “The Greatest.” Kabir was indeed a great soul, a kind of “Christ of northern India,” believed by some to be one of the most advanced souls to ever incarnate into the world. Today, Kabir has over twenty-five million devotees in various Kabir Panth and Sant lineages and is universally loved by Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims alike. Kabir’s hymns are still sung in the satsangs (spiritual gatherings) of various spiritual paths all over India and the world. Kabir is Everyone’s Universal Saint He was: a Master or Sant Sat Guru of Inner Light and Sound Mysticism/Surat Shabda Yoga and Sant Mat (Path of the Masters); a musician and poet of Nirguna Bhakti (love and devotion for the One Formless God); a great teacher of eastern mysticism and gnosticism; a peace maker between Hindus and Muslims; a social reformer in India who denounced the caste system; considered by many in Islam to be a Sufi Master or Murshid; considered by Hindus to be one of India’s greatest poet-mystics and Vaishnava devotees in the history of India; considered a Bhagat by the Sikhs -- many of his hymns are included in the Adi Granth (Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures); greatly influenced by Goraknath and the Nath Yogis, and the Nath Yogis of northern India were, in turn, influenced by Tantric Buddhism. And some Christian missionaries at first thought Kabir might have been a Christian mystic due to his use of the mystic term “Word” or “Shabda” – Celestial Music, which reminded them of the Gospel of John, chapter one: “In the beginning was the Word...” Kabir freely used both Hindu and Islamic names for God. He attempted to make peace between Hindus and Muslims by pointing out that there is not a separate God for the East and West, but one universal Spirit Supreme. “The Hindu says Ram is supreme the Muslim, Rahim both die fighting each other neither knowing the Truth. “The south is Hari’s abode; Allah’s camp is in the west. Look inside your own heart inside your heart of hearts - there is His abode, His camp. “If Hari is merciful He will place love in your heart, and you shall obtain the fruit of His name. “Allah-Ram, I live by Your name. Be merciful.” Kabir views humanity as being caught up in illusion, searching for Ultimate Reality in all the wrong places, always seeking It outside of ourselves in various 30 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
rituals, temples, forests and mountaintops, not realizing That for which we seek is already hidden within us. “Your God dwells within you like fragrance in the flower; Musk lies within the Musk-deer yet seeks it afar.” For Kabir, God, called “Allah” in the west and “Hari” in the east, can be experienced directly in a rapturous meditative state of Love, Bliss, visions of Light, Heavenly Sound – a total oneness of soul and oversoul in the Ocean of Love. Kabir’s spirituality was a blend of Prem-Bhakti: love and devotion for the Beloved Lord of Love, the One God (Ekongkar), and mystical soul travel experiences of a visionary and auditory nature. This is my all-time favorite poem of Kabir, and it illustrates Kabir’s approach to God as both that of an out-of-body mystic as well as that of a lover for the Beloved. “How could the love between Thee and me sever? As the leaf of the water abides on the water: so Thou art my Lord, and I am Thy servant. As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night at the moon: so Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant. From the beginning until the ending of time, there is love between Thee and me; and how shall such love be extinguished? Kabir says: ‘As the river enters into the ocean, so my heart touches Thee.’” That’s from the book, Songs of Kabir, by Rabindrath Tagore. From that same translation, here are verses where Kabir described some of his own inner mystical experiences. “What a wonderful lotus it is, that blooms at the heart of the spinning wheel of the universe! Only a few pure souls know of its true delight. Music is all around it, and there the heart partakes of the joy of the Infinite Sea. “Rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant with light. There the Unstruck Music is sounded; It is the music of the three worlds. “There the whole sky is filled with sound, and there that music is made without fingers and without strings. “The effulgence of the Supreme Being is beyond the imagination: Ineffable is His beauty, to see it is the only proof.” Below is a list of recommended key translations of Kabir in English. In addition to those, I also want to call attention to a book called, The Anurag Sagar, (Kabir’s Ocean of Love), published by Sant Bani Books, Sanbornton, New Hampshire, USA 03269. The Anurag Sagar is an epic reminiscent of the Ghat Ramayana of Tulsi Das and the Bhagavad Gita of the Mahabharata. In India, this text serves as a kind of “Genesis,” “Gospel,” and “Book of Revelation” all in one! A kind of gospel of Kabir, if you will. It summarizes the teachings of Kabir about the creation of the universe and higher planes/heavenly realms, the origin of evil and suffering in the world, the path to freedom from transmigration and reincarnation, and about Kabir’s past lives. It is believed by some, that Kabir incarnated during each of the Four Yugas or epochs of time, to establish lineages of spiritual Masters in the world in order to enlighten humanity. This Ocean of Love or Anurag Sagar is also a valuable manual for learning about meditation practice.
31 Recommend Books On Kabir: Songs of Kabir, Rabindranath Tagore, Samuel Weiser Books; The Bijak of Guru Kabir (volumes I, II, and III), Dr. Jagessar Das, published by The Kabir Association # 208-14770 64th Avenue, Surry, B.C. CANADA V3S 1X7 Kabir: Songs of the Divine, 180 Mystical Poems of Kabir, Dr. Jagessar Das, Urban Mystic Books, Surrey, BC. Canada; A Weaver Named Kabir, Charlotte Vaudeville, Oxford University Press;
The Kabir Book, Robert Bly, Beacon Press, Boston; Praises to a Formless God, David Lorenzen, SUNY Press, NY Kabir – The Weaver of God’s Name, Radha Soami Books.
James Bean interviews guests, reviews books and music for HealthyLife.Net Positive Talk Radio and other stations via a syndicated radio program called Spiritual Awakening, and teaches Sant Mat Meditation and Surat Shabd Yoga in the Bangor, Waterville, & Portland areas. Address questions or comments to James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com, (207) 358-9381..
Continued from page 15 ~ On The Cover ~ Daniel B. Holeman ~ Light Variation 56 2) All that we experience in life is based on our interpretation. Our interpretation determines the nature of our existence. This goes deeper than just our surface thinking. 3) ALL suffering and unfulfillment is the result of faulty interpretation – of taking ourselves to be a somebody separate from others - separate from the One. Taking ourselves to be an identity different from our true nature. It is like believing you ARE the Halloween costume character you put on. 4) Therefore, having the broadest, truest angle of vision, the most accurate interpretation is wise. It is okay to be lost in the illusion, but our species is on a destructive path (ruining of our habitat, etc.) due to this getting out of hand. To continue Life as we know it on this planet we need to wake up and consciously create a better dream of life. 5) Truly realizing and abiding as one's true nature (consciousness), the natural state, is the only way to accomplish this. All solution to all problems come from this awareness place.
7) The clincher is this - No one outside you needs to change - only you. It is up to You! This may not make sense, but that is only because of the illusion of separation. It also makes it a whole lot easier as that is all you can change anyway, and it is actually distraction and avoidance to be fixated on what seems to need to change in others.
Daniel feels it is not so much the beauty as the place it stirs in people that they are responding to. He invites the viewer to dive into a deeper dimension of consciousness while viewing his paintings. The imagery stirs forgotten awareness of a place felt to be home – a warm, familiar and heartfelt state of mind – a welcome contrast to the day-to-day world we live in. His work has been used on TV and videos, book and CD covers, magazines, prints, posters, cards and the internet. At a young age Daniel had a profound spiritual awakening and experienced the nature of pure consciousness from which the manifested world is created. Since then his life has been about deepening that awareness and sharing it with others through art, lifestyle and conversation (with a few detours along the way). He is now offering spiritual advice and counseling to those interested. His Website is a special world to explore and enjoy www.awakenvisions.com. Thank you Daniel for sharing so much of yourself, your work and talent with our Inner Tapestry community and the rest of the world.
Continued from page 23 ~ 21st century bohemian ~ The Art Of Emergence In Creative Process mother, a woman “who liked to create beautiful things” in her art and through her gardening. The portability of sketching holds great appeal for Ken, as his tools fit into a small carrying case and can go basically anywhere he does. “Sketches are not as highly valued as some other visual expressions – like an oil painting. But for me there is so much energy in a sketch. A sketch captures a moment, so they really make you present. They are like a first draft. There is so much life in them,” he said. Another quality that appeals to Foster is that a sketch “gives the viewer an impression, but requires you to use your imagination to complete the picture.”
Ken Foster is principal designer at B4&After Renovation Design (www.b4-after.com) and loves to travel and sketch and paint in his free time. To see more of Ken’s sketching work you can visit his online sketch blog at www.kfostersketch.blogspot.com. ©2011 by Teresa Piccari Teresa Piccari is a writer, teacher and creativity coach living in coastal Maine. She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a professional writing and editing business at The Wellness Center in Camden at 71 Elm Street. She teaches writing workshops including Memoir, Creative Writing and Mythic Structure. She runs the Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table on third Sundays at the Camden Public Library, from 2 pm to 4 pm. Contact her at The21stCenturyBohemian@hotmail.com or (207) 344-7070.
Continued from page 29 ~ a breath of healing ~ To Emerge Like A Butterfly tools and experiences to keep emerging we may indeed feel the grace and beauty of the butterfly settling in to our being, if only for a fleeting moment of bliss.
BREATH to help your inner being be strong: The breath of fire is a beautiful yoga breath to lift your mood and awareness. It strengthens the nerves, is good for digestion and helps balance your energy. The length of time you do breath of fire is equivalent to taking one long deep breath. Sit as tall as possible, on a chair or the floor cross-legged chin tucked in so the head lines up with the spine. Breathe through the nose with quick sniffing breaths in to the belly, so that the inhale and exhale are equal in length. The belly should move in as you breathe out and fill as you breathe in. If you feel like you are running out of breath or breathing shallowly (hyperventilation is not breath of fire!) then stick your tongue
out and pant like a dog until you can do it deeply and evenly through the nose. As Yogi Bhajan said “ the breath of life has a lot of power in it.” Use it to help yourself emerge. Final thought: When’s the last time you felt the flutter of your butterfly wings? Donna Amrita Davidge owns and operates Sewall House Yoga Retreat since 1997 in Island Falls, Maine (with her husband Kent Bonham) in her great grandparents home, where Theodore Roosevelt stayed three times and regained his health from life threatening asthma. www.sewallhouse.com has appeared in various publications, chosen top ten worldwide by Gayot online 2009-2010, offers ongoing small retreats April through October. Ask about special workshops- essential oils, belly dancing, teacher trainings coming up in their 2011 season. (See the calendar of events for class information.) 888-235-2395 Donna would like to devote this article to the memory of Samuel Sewall, her cousin, who, at 94 years old, said before passing “ the one thing we cannot challenge is time.” April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 31
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6) The requirement for enlightenment is to make #5 one's highest priority in life, above comfort, security, pleasure, etc. Then one will naturally attract the help and support one needs to wake up and stabilize in living that awakening. Stabilizing involves inquiring into and seeing all the ways in which one has avoided one's true nature, all the programming and habits and fixations, including one's very notion of being "separate".
Thus, I have found that the ONLY solution to the world's and an individual's struggle, suffering, or unfulfillment is true self-realization (enlightenment). All other approaches and "solutions" are pseudo and/or temporary and are of the realm of hidden programming, which goes deeper than people realize. All those beings throughout history who have truly self-realized have said the same things – among those things that we are in a state of illusion which is so profound that even our notion of separateness is illusion; that the answer to life's woes is through Truth – which inevitably leads to self-realization – the conscious awakeness. The conscious is always present behind the illusion. It is not "attained", it is what is always there and comes forth when the illusion is busted. All are now invited to wake up from the Dream." With Love, Daniel
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A BUSINESS BUILT ON LOVE A DAUGHTER TALKS CANDIDLY ABOUT MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS AND THE ROLE OF LOVE IN HER BUSINESS by Heidi A. Lewis As I took classes last fall in the beautiful, light-filled space that has become The InnerSpace, a yoga and Pilates studio in Avon, CT, I became curious about the mother-daughter team who had just finished moving their business into the building. In a relationship that is often fraught with conflict, how do these two create such a noticeably serene atmosphere? What makes a mother-daughter business relationship work and what can we learn from their experience about enhancing our own relationships? Following are questions I posed to Kathryn Coyle (the daughter) and her answers, which have been edited. HL: How did the business, The InnerSpace, come into being?
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KC: Zoey and I have a long history of working together. When I was a teenager growing up in Europe, my mother owned several fitness companies, and I would go with her to conventions where I would do stunt bicycle riding for various exhibitors to call attention to their booths. When we moved back to the states, Zoey asked me to find a small space for her fitness business and to help her set it up. It just felt natural for me to help out. We decided that Zoey would be in charge of training staff and that both of us would teach clients. The business did well and by the end of that first year, Zoey had fully accepted me as her business partner. HL: I notice that you call your mother Zoey. Did you always call her that? KC: No! At home I have always called her Mom. I started calling her Zoey when I was 16 and going to the conventions with her. I did not want to be seen as a kid tagging along with her working mom. I wanted to be considered a professional stunt rider who was there in her own right. I told her that I could not call her mom and accomplish that. She agreed. HL: It seems like you got along pretty well with your mother even though you were a teenager. How do you account for that? Didn’t you ever go through the usual teenage rebellion? KC: We certainly had a rough patch when I was 13-15 and being a rebellious teenager. But my mom has always been very good at respecting me as an individual in my own right, not an extension of her, and making sure that my interests were taken care of. HL: It sounds like she’s very good at boundaries. That’s an important skill that trips up a lot of moms. What do you think gives her that ability? KC: Zoey had harsh circumstances growing up and needed to be very independent. When she had children, she decided that she wanted her kids to always feel loved and to never question that they were loved, that they were enough, that she was proud of them. My mom is an incredible person. She’s always been very good at recognizing me as an individual in my own right. HL: What do you think is the most important thing your mom has ever given you? KC: Unconditional love. Even when I was an obnoxious teen, I never doubted that she loved me. She would tell me even when she was mad at me. I always knew that my brothers and I were the most important things in her life. She has always challenged me to be my best, no matter what it is. As successful as she has been in her career, my brothers and I have always known that we are the most important things in her life. She would drop everything to help us. She loves us fiercely. Also, in a surprising way, I owe my practice of yoga to my mother. When I was 17 and living in England, my mom was teaching yoga. She had me come and take one of her classes. I hated it! It made me very dizzy: all that standing up, bending over and then standing up again. I think I spent the whole class laying on my back or in child’s pose. I told my mom it wasn’t my thing and that I would not go back. Then, about six years later, we were living in Detroit and my mother was raving about this yoga class she had found at Jivamukti Detroit. She asked me to go with her as a Mother’s Day gift. I agreed to go to just the one class; I fully expected to hate it.
But when I got there I found that the spiritual message of the class really resonated with me. It felt like coming home. HL: Are you and your mom more similar in personality than you are different? KC: In some ways, we are quite similar. Zoey was always involved in theater and so was I. We are both very extroverted, people persons. We have a similar sense of humor; we can crack each other up and die of laughter. We always joke between us that we’re much more than mother and daughter. If you ask either one of us we will say that we go way back... many, many lives. We have both had Vedic readings done (Indian astrology) and there’s a consensus among the readers that this is so. HL: Now that the business is thriving, how do you and your mom divide the work? Who does what and how does this get decided? KC: We both teach Pilates and yoga. I handle the day-to day administration of the business, and Zoey does most of the work with the teachers. We just naturally divide the work based on our respective abilities and available time. HL: Is there ever any friction between you at work and if so, how do you deal with it? KC: Of course there are times when we do not see eye to eye or when we may be short with each other, but we get along remarkably well, I think, for being mother and daughter. We don’t fight often. Surprisingly, we have the most difficulty when we don’t see enough of each other during the day. In that case, we sometimes will schedule a “girls’ night out.” We’ll go to dinner, chat, see a movie, or go for a long walk. We do not talk business. HL: What are some advantages of working together? KC: Because of the love between us, and because we are family, perhaps we are more understanding of each other’s needs. For example, my mom encouraged me to take a month off from the business to pursue teacher training in yoga. I can’t imagine anyone else allowing me to do this. Similarly, I fill in the gaps when my mom is on the road for business. We don’t keep an accounting of how much time each of us puts into the business, the way non-family members of a business might. HL: Does your business have a philosophy? KC: “Love all, serve all.” It comes from Neem Karoli Baba. One of our gurus, Bhagavan Das, was his disciple. He always repeats this: ”love all, serve all.” The yoga of devotion, Bhakti Yoga, is a big thing for my mom and I. We feel it’s a privilege to do what we do every day. I am happy to rub my client’s feet at the end of every session. I feel lucky to have that opportunity. We say this motto to ourselves, each other and to the rest of our staff every day. For us, the bottom line isn’t a number. It’s love all, serve all. HL: What do you enjoy the most about teaching yoga? KC: As a teacher, you put the love out there, and it’s magnified and reflected, and the whole class comes together in a “bhav”: a divine mood. There’s something in sharing yoga that makes it more powerful. HL: Do you have one hint for daughters on how to get along with their mothers? KC: I had a turning point my freshman year in college. We had a huge fight. When I complained to my dad, he explained to me that my mom is a human being, and that she loves me, but that she isn’t perfect and to really love someone, you have to accept the whole person. I think that learning to see your parent as a human being and not as the perfect parent who you have in your head, as a child is really important. Try to see your parent as you would a friend: as imperfect but as someone you love. To really love someone, you have to love the whole person. Information on The Innerspace at http://www.theinnerspace.net Heidi A. Lewis is an attorney and writer living in the Farmington Valley.
32 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
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INNER TAPESTRY's Directory of Resources
Holistic Practitioners, Products and Resources Each category contains practitioners from various states. a l t e r n a t i v e livin g
counseling & the rapy -cont.
Maine Greensward Hamlet
Alternative Living .................................................. page 33 Counseling & Therapy ................................... pages 33-34 Creative Healing Arts ............................................ page 34 Evolutionary Consciousness................................. page 35 Holistic Healing Centers ...................................... page 35 Holistic Publications & Radio ............................... page 35 Hypnotherapy ...................................................... page 35 Integrative Healing ........................................ pages 35-37 Life Mastery ......................................................... page 37 Living Spaces ...................................................... page 37 Meditation ............................................................ page 37 Psychic & Spiritual Mediumship ........................... page 38 Reflexology & Healing Massage .......................... page 38 Retreats ......................................................... pages 38-39 Schools & Trainings .............................................. page 39 Shamanic Healing ................................................ page 40 Writing Services.................................................... page 40 Yoga, Tai Chi & Meditation ................................... page 41
Maine
Greensward Hamlet A Cohousing Community In Buxton, Maine Drawing on the Strength of Community To Live Sustainably.
your place in the community now. Visit www.greenswardhamlet.com or www.cohousing.org. Or contact: Françoise Paradis, Ed.D. PO Box 1325, Saco, Me 04072 (207) 227-3678.
Holistic Psychotherapy & Spiritual Development Work "When we are fully present to ourselves the light of who we are shines through and like a slow deep breath, fills the world with love." -PB
In over twenty-five years of experience I have merged a variety of psychological, sensate awareness, spiritual and creative practices into a process of deep awakening that can help you heal trauma, addictions and depression, rediscover meaning and purpose in life, build mutually empowering relationships, enhance creativity and embrace the deep stillness of being from within in which all experience arises. I have been deeply engaged in my own inner work for over twenty years and call upon my extensive training in spiritual and transformational practices to guide my work with others. I offer individual, group and couples consultation, personal intensives, workshops, supervision and training. Offices in West Baldwin & Yarmouth, ME, (207) 625-7012, pab@patriciaburke.com, www.patriciaburke.com.
cou ns e l i ng & t h e r apy Connecticut Introspective Psychotherapy & Life Counseling
Live From Your Center
Licensed Professional Counselor
Mark Nakell, LCPC
Jim Govoni
M.A.Ed., S.Y.C., R.Y.T., L.P.C.
"There is a crack, a crack in everything, that' s how the light gets in, That's how the light gets in." ...Leonard Cohen
The seed for growth is often in our shadow self and addressing what hides inside us can be knowingly and unconsciously scary. The therapeutic process necessitates a willingness to address acceptance of our shadow, embrace the totality of who we are and to make change, if necessary. I promise to provide you with the safe harbor of objectivity, warmth, respect, honesty, empathy and positive regard to explore the issues you wish to bring forth. Remember your Life has its own Story to tell and the right to be heard. The telling of your Story may be done in the security and convenience of your home or at my home/office. Licensed Professional Counselor Since 1994. Professional Affiliations: Connecticut Association For Jungian Psychology (Board Member) Connecticut Counseling Association Connecticut Mental Health Counseling Association Yoga Alliance-Registered Yoga Teacher 17 Parker Road, Marlborough, CT 06447, (860) 295-6491 or email:jagovoni@comcast.net
Awareness-based Psychotherapy Growth and Self-Realization Individual & Couples Counseling All of life happens in the present moment: Our natural condition is an
open awareness of each moment as it occurs. Increased awareness of this moment—now—and of yourself in the moment, provides an increased experience of life, more joy, and greater fulfillment. Developing the capacity of your own center enables a deeper, more immediate experience of your aliveness and presence now. The result is increased freedom—freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom of purpose—and deepened participation in the events of your own life. For a FREE introductory session, call (207) 773-4413 or email mnakell@openawareness.com, 25 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101. Further information can be found at www.openawareness.com.
The Greatest Prayer is Patience. ...Buddha
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 33
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Maine’s first Green, fossil free, cohousing community is nestled on 30 private country acres. Your 1-, 2-, or 3- bedroom home (& 1- or 2- car garage) will include the amenities of a spacious Common House for weekly community meals & gatherings; organic community gardens and nature trails. Access to the Saco River and hundreds of acres of pristine park land is within walking distance. Train and international airport services are just a 15-minute drive. Reserve
Patricia A. Burke, MSW, LCSW
34 creative healing arts
co u n s e l i ng & t h e rapy- c o n t . What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a self-awareness process with a particular focus on the body. With guided practice to help you remain present in the body, you simply allow thoughts, emotions and sensations to emerge in their natural patterns. This combination – conscious awareness and observation of patterns – allows both increased capability of self-regulation and expanded capacity for awareness itself. Current brain research shows that the part of the brain involved in awareness also regulates emotions and behavior. So practice Douglas Smith of focused awareness actually strengthens and expands the brain cell connections in this area, making the benefit of this work cumulative. The difference between this and mindfulness practice alone is that you also have access to somatic, or body reactions. These come under conscious awareness, creating the possibility of physical as well as emotional healing. Somatic therapy is useful for the resolution of stress and trauma, anxiety, depression, habits, addictions, "stuck" patterns, or can be used to enhance personal growth. For an appointment or more information
Maine Art Therapy & Shamanism
Susan Bakaley Marshall, ATR-BC, LCPC Art therapy is a dynamic combination—powerful artistic creation with the insight of psychotherapy.
Art therapy and shamanic counselling will help you cultivate your strengths like a gardener tending plants. Together we can use imagination to design the garden. We can learn to tell flowers from weeds when your spirit is overgrown. Then we can plant seeds, nurture and water them and reap a new harvest. Everyone has an artist within. Our spirit and soul speak through the artwork. The art never lies; it gently reflects back those areas of life that need our attention, promoting positive change and healing on all levels. The best way to walk into your future is to create it! Board Certified Art Therapist, Licensed Clinical Counselor, Shamanic Practitioner with over thirty years experience. The Thirteenth Moon Center, "ART from the heART," www.thirteenthmooncenter.net, (207) 589-3063. moonarts@gmail.com.
please call, email or visit me on the web at www.mindmeetsbody.com. Douglas Smith, LCPC, SEP., 440 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101 (207) 329-3566, smith@mindmeetsbody.com.
Prana Regina Barrett, BS, MIA, ERYT, CYT Life Coaching, Spiritual Counseling and Therapeutic Yoga
Private Sessions Workshops Retreats Portland, Maine ~ World Wide Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
Old traumas or wounds are released from the body and clients leave each session feeling lighter and more empowered. Prana has assisted 1,000's of people to transform & heal addictions, anxiety, panic attacks, physical and sexual abuse, accident trauma, chronic illness, injuries, pre & post natal, cancer, fibromylagia, vertigo, perimenopause, surgery recovery and more!
Surry Music Therapy Center: Alan Wittenberg M.A., CMT Certified Music Therapist, (AMTA) American Music Therapy Association Music therapy opens new channels of communication and contact through the creative and interactive use of music towards self-expression and self-discovery. It goes beyond
words and emotionally, physically, and intellectually touches those with psychological issues and special needs. Music Therapy is a dynamic clinical, educational, developmental and rehabilitative treatment approach. Alan specializes in autism spectrum disorders, emotional and behavioral issues, speech and sensory integrative delays, as well as work with the elderly and Alzheimer’s.The Surry Music Therapy Center is a unique facility in Maine offering individual and small group sessions, seminars, conferences, in-service training and workshop programs throughout Maine. Contact Alan Wittenberg at (207) 667-1308, alan@surrymusictherapy.com. Visit www.surrymusictherapy.com for seminar and conference information.
Visit www.pranaheals.com, (207) 632-6698.
Vermont
Gestalt Your Life Angela Hassenpflug Body-Mind Life Coaching Specialist
TM
Gestalt Practitioner This experiential and body-oriented approach supports you to
- - - - -
reconnect with your body, its language and wisdom learn to relax, reduce stress and practice being fully present enhance your relationships, both with yourself and others reinforce your strengths, passions and skills make sustainable life changes happen
Dynamic life coaching tools combined with Gestalt Therapy elements build the foundation of this life coaching approach. We can meet in person or on the phone. Groups offered on a regular basis. Call (207) 592-7888 or email angela@gestaltyourlife.com for more information and to set up a free introductory call. www.gestaltyourlife.com.
Di recto r y of R es ourc e s $375 for 1 year Print & Online Listing with an active link to your website! Includes 2.8 inch ad space, (approximately 130 words) Initial set-up fee $20 34 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
LEDGE END RETREAT & NATURE HEALING CENTER At Ledge End we offer private and group retreats to enable you to reconnect with yourself, your breath and the natural world.
Primary practice at Ledge End is based on the principles of Zen Yoga. Zen Yoga blends Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation and Qigong together to encourage energy flow through the body. Programs include day workshops, classes and weekend retreats. We customize our programs to meet the needs of each group or individual. Set on 150 acres of pristine woodland and rock ledge, we offer the opportunity to withdraw from the busy world and cultivate an inner space. In addition to our Zen Yoga Instructor Training Program, we also offer a 12-week online course that provides time honored spiritual teachings designed to assist anyone on their personal journey of self-discovery. For more information: Phone: (802) 685-4448, Email breathe@artofzenyoga.com, Website: www.artofzenyoga.com
Online listing (without print copy) with an active link to your website. $100 plus an Initial set-up fee of $20
Call 207-799-7995 or 203-779-0345 email: info@innertapestry.org
35 evolutionary consciousness
holistic publications & radio
M a i ne The Autognomics Institute since 1992 Norm and Skye Hirst co-founders Transcendental Autognomics (TA); going beyond scientific materialism to discover the emergent epi-principles within lifeitself... doing science the old fashion way.
TA; New Field of Life-Energy and Transcendental Science/Philosophy is based on emergent epi-energy principles now being discovered throughout the Autognomics Research Community and Alliance. The mystery/the miraculous/ the wisdom of life-itself is revealing herself. To receive our email newsletter on how latest revelations are impacting us all, visit us at www.autognomics.org or join us on Twitter @autognomics for frequent tips and insights plus see who we are following. Co-founders – Norm and Skye Hirst, PhD.
holistic healing centers
Main e WRFR-LP is all-volunteer community radio, on the air at 93.3 FM in Rockland and 99.3 FM in Camden, and streaming world-wide at www.wrfr.org.
We offer a wide selection of live and recorded music, and a wide variety of talk shows. Music genres include jazz, old time swing, classical, country, folk, Celtic, South Seas exotica, classic rock, heavy metal, Broadway tunes, and more. Many shows feature live music with local guests. Talk shows range from news and public affairs discussions to live tarot readings, and often include live interviews and telephone call-ins. The station is supported by listener contributions and by business sponsors. Contact Jo Lindsay, volunteer coordinator, to learn more about how you can participate: info@wrfr.org. Contact Ananur Forma, sales manager, to learn more about business sponsorship: (207) 594-2565 WRFR's studios are located at 20 Gay Street, Rockland, Maine 04841. You are invited to stop by.
hypnotherapy
M a i ne Gardens of Atlantis Healing Arts Center are all returning with jest and joy! Many of us are concerned about the changes in our Planet and what we can expect ahead. Earth Intuitive, Pat Trotter is offering a day of "Earth Awareness" to share what are the Earth occurrences now, and their effect on our future. You will practice simple hands on exercises to reawaken the gifts of your senses to enhance your awareness to your surroundings. Join us on April 16th. And on May 1st, we have our May Day Fair. Admission is free! Come on out! Join us! (207) 929-5088, www.gardensofatlantis.org.
the awake collective We are a co-creative community platform in support of awakening. We offer massage,
hands-on healing, classes, workshops, yoga, dance, and space rental. It is our intention to create a supportive and nourishing space for our collective awakening. You're invited to come to events, enjoy our healing arts services, or rent space at the collective as a micro-enterprise, teacher, or practitioner. We value creating accessibility and sustainability within our community so we have made a commitment to providing affordable high quality healing arts services. We offer all of our basic services, like massage and life coaching at only $40 an hour. We also offer membership and monthly massage packages that will save you even more on our services. If you are wanting to create a conscious work space for your practice or you want to experience some of our services, then you should check out our website and join us in co-creating this amazing awakening. www.theawakecollective.com info@theawakecollective.com 207-318-1931, 79 Vesper St., Portland, Maine. Stay connected FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Awake-Collective/ 102331896486384?ref=ts
HypnoWave Hypnosis Training Center Ernest VanDenBossche, BCH, CI - Director Is it time for a change? Let hypnosis work for you in so
many ways. Become a Consulting Hypnotist. Training with Ernest VanDenBossche, Board Certified Hypnotherapist and Certified Instructor with the National Guild of Hypnotists (ngh.net), President Maine Guild of Hypnotists. Take the NGH “Consulting Hypnotist” Certification Training, 100-hour course. Be a Certified Hypnotist. Learn – What is Hypnosis, Trance Depth Testing, Hypnotizability and Suggestibility, Rapid Inductions, Mind/Body Relaxation, Self-Hypnosis, Goal Development, Smoking Cessation, Weight Management, Stress Management, Pain Management, Age Regression, Reframing Trauma, Ethics for Professional Hypnotists, create customized scripts, and CDs for your clients. You get: NGH Manuals, One Year NGH Membership, Local and International support by other professional hypnotists, supervised in-class practice time to master your techniques quickly, informational Hypnosis CD ROM, and CDs and DVDs for your business. Call: (207) 453-6133, www.hypnotraining.us. Private consulting and other trainings available.
integrative healing Connecticut
Belanger Physical Therapy A neck or back doesn't walk into the office, a whole person does and all their history as well. What we do not
choose to express emotionally will show itself in our bodies through tension, pain, illness and/or dis-ease. Joe invites his clients to welcome and feel, in order to transition, the walls that keep each of us from expressing our authentic selves in the world. Everything you need for what you really desire in your life is right in front of you. All you have to do is surrender to feel what is there. Joe chooses to support people physically, emotionally and energetically through manual therapy (cranial, muscle energy, functional technique, myofascial release), a deep belief in osteopathic philosophy, and heart. Marlborough, CT (860) 295-0572, or e-mail Joe at joeb.pt@snet.net.
Let us work with our earth companions, the flowers, trees and plants... they now need our help to continue cleansing our earth. April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 35
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Spring has Emerged and with it Mother Nature is birthing new life. Flowers, animals, birds and the bees
Main e
36 integrative healing–cont. Connecticut & Maine
Ron and Joan Are You Listening? Through the challenges of our lives
we are being asked to release what no longer serves us; to expand, living with an open mind and heart. Are You Willing? To embody the Truth of living your life as love in action. Ron and Joan support people to live the highest/greatest vision of themselves. Living Visions is a method of support that deepens levels of calm and joy, releasing the causes of emotional and physical trauma, which increases awareness of your true center and grounding. Living Visions is a way of realizing perfect union with one's self. If you are interested in exploring how we may be able to support you please visit www.ronandjoan.com, or call us at (207) 799-7998/(203) 779-0345 with questions or for more information. Sessions and groups available in Connecticut and Maine (call Leapin' Lizards for schedule in ME (207) 865-0900)
"There is more hunger for Love and Acceptance in the world today than there is for bread." (Mother Teresa).
integrative healing–cont. Lilysongbird Healing Jewelry, Sunsets & Flowers, etc. A Healing Session includes, Reiki, Integrated Energy
Therapy, Stones & Crystals, Chakra Balancing, Angel Work, Mediumship, Psychic Messages, Animal Guides, Flower Guides, Cord-Cutting. It is followed by a reading and write-up. Selling many stones and crystals in the office location and at outside events. Jewelry is made from beaded stones for their healing properties and is available in gold-filled & sterling silver. Earrings, Bracelets, Pendants/Necklaces. Photos are derived intuitively. Available in greeting cards, matted & framed prints. Learn Reiki and help yourself and others kickstart your body's ability to help heal itself. Now teaching all levels including Master/Teacher. Beginning I am now teaching Integrated Energy Therapy as an IET Master. Fern Dyer, Reiki/Master Teacher, Advanced IET Practioner Call (207) 415-8638, fdyer@maine.rr.com, www.lilysongbird.com located in Portland.
M a i ne
Shen THerapy Thai Bodywork
Roberta Barnes, CHT, Gendai Reiki-ho & Komyo Reiki Shihan (teacher/master) & Herbalist Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
“Secret to Health and Happiness,” is what Mikao Usui said of his spiritual practice to bring balance & harmony to mind/ body/spirit. Japanese styles of Usui Reiki
go beyond hands-on healing to help improve the quality of your life and the lives around you. Roberta R. Barnes, CHT, Gendai Reikiho & Komyo Reiki Shihan (master teacher) & Herbalist, teaches how to let go, connect with love and harmony. Roberta has practiced natural healing for over 30 years and one of her Shihans is a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. Nestled in a wildlife habitat, Natural Healing & Learning Center is the perfect environment to reflect the healing essence of Usui Reiki. In this harmonizing relaxing atmosphere you can – *complete one of 5 levels or enjoy healing sessions in Japanese Usui Reiki, *learn meditation, *go on a meditative journey into your past, and *receive herb consultations. Two of Roberta's original guided meditations are available on the CD “Finding Your Solutions.” For more information on classes and healing sessions call (207)
S. Brennan Murphy, CST, CTYB, CYI SHEN Therapy: A highly effective and accelerated
approach to resolving stuck emotions and physical conditions that are directly affected by emotions. Have you lost direction? Are you stressed? Do you feel disconnected from yourself and those around you? SHEN therapy works by releasing pain, old emotional memories and life scripts/beliefs buried in our unconscious mind. SHEN also helps with release of grief, depression, low self-esteem, panic/ anxiety attacks, anger, shame, guilt, hate, eating disorders, bowel problems, sexual problems, PMS, post traumatic stress disorder, pregnancy and labor. Thai Bodywork: is a comprehensive and relaxing approach to opening the physical body, reducing tension, opening joints, stretching muscles, over-all grounding. Excellent for athletes, sciatica and more! For more information on these modalities and Brennan, please email: sowelu@myfairpoint.net or phone (207) 326-3236.
445-5671 or visit www.naturalhealinglearning.com.
Susan Ortiz, MD Board Certified Physical Medicine & Pain Management Medical Acupuncture & Energy Medicine Mind-Body Medicine Are you living up to your full potential? If you have
joint, muscle, spinal pain, headaches, sleep problems, mood disorders, gastrointestinal issues, stress, fatigue or other troubling symptoms, you do not have to settle for ineffective or toxic treatments. After 20 years of medical practice, I know that a combination of traditional Western and Alternative methods is usually the best form of medicine. Having studied many different styles of healing over the years, I combine them with the latest in nutrition, movement and mind sciences to improve your health, function and vitality. Stillpoint Rehabilitation & Wellness,
Massachusetts
intuitive HEALING
"As a healer, I work with individuals in a way that consciously promotes a peaceful and healthy planet. Our
healing work takes place despite the conflicts that wash over us in our daily lives. By healing ourselves we create Wendy Marks changes that have a ripple effect on M.Ed, C.A.S.,FAPA the world around us." I offer Medical Intuitive sessions, energy healing and integrative therapy. With 30 years of experience in traditional and complementary healthcare, I am here to improve your physical, mental and spiritual health. I work with adults to develop and hone their own intuitive skills. www.wendymarks.com (781) 449-5368, wlm922@wendymarks.com.
15 State St., Bangor, ME 04401. Stillptrehab@gmail.com, (207) 990-2934, www.stillpointrehab.com.
Directory of Resources Listings are easy to compose. Write as though you are speaking to others about the work you do and the services you offer. For more information call: (207) 799-7995/(203) 779-0345 or email: info@innertapestry.org 36 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
37 integrative healing–cont. Peaceful Energies Balance your Energetic Body, Physical Body, Emotions and Spirit As a certified MCKS Pranic Healer, I balance your body’s energetic system by intuitively sensing and removing stagnant, diseased energy and strengthening depleted energy with specific healing frequencies and techniques. All aspects of your being are treated: energetic,
physical, emotional and spiritual. Treatment sessions offer blissful stress relief, alleviation of pain, and support in the healing of acute and chronic health complaints. Treatments are equally effective in person and at a distance. No distance is too far to receive a totally effective treatment. Pranic healing supports traditional and alternative healing methods. Contact: Miriam Smith at mgsenergy@comcast.net or (978) 683-6129. www.PranicHealingNE.com.
life mastery
life mastery -cont. Jen Deraspe, MS
Certified Coach; The Institute for The Work, Holistic Personal Trainer, Retreat Facilitator I spent my life searching for truth and happiness outside of myself. All served me on the path, and I am
grateful. Because my seeking path was more external, I experienced only temporary relief. What ultimately led me home was the simplest of methods, The Work of Byron Katie. It is a direct, no non-sense path to personal truth, clarity and freedom held within and no teacher is required. I have been humbled and opened through my own personal inquiry into the source of my stress, fear and internal war with what is. If you are seeking sustained peace and to experience lasting wellbeing, you are invited to join me on an invigorating journey back to you. The tools used are customized for your individual plan and include The Work, Hatha yoga, meditation, holistic nutrition, lifetime fitness and wellness programming. It would be a privilege to be your guide. I am happy to offer a complimentary phone consultation if you are interested in the possibility of working together. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929, ntnretreat@yahoo.com
Maine
living spaces
Ocean of Possibilities Life Coaching
Maine
Deborah Bergeron, CPCC, Certified Life Coach, Prosperity Guide
In our work together, you will learn to break through limiting paradigms and create a dynamic vision for your life – a vision that can pave the way to living your greatest potential and sharing your gifts with the world. By weaving in successful coaching principals and the Law of Attraction, you will be guided to access your inner wisdom, to get clear on what you want in your life and learn the tools that will support you in having it. Every journey truly starts with a single step. When you are ready to embark on your mission of life, I would be honored to walk with you. For a complimentary coaching session or schedule of workshops call (207) 797-9007 or email: debcoaches@aol.com. Phone sessions available. www.oceanofpossibilities.com.
Cent$ible Living Money Program for Couples and Individuals Jane Honeck, CPA, PFS Certified Empowerment Trainer "You can't solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created it." Albert Einstein.
Combining 30 plus years as a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist with insight as a Certified Empowerment Trainer, I developed the Cent$ible Living Money Program. Using the concepts in my award-winning book, The Problem With Money? It’s Not About the Money! we will embark on a personal exploration of your core beliefs and how these beliefs impact your financial and life choices. Together we will build a clear picture of how and why you got to where you are financially. We'll identify your own money values and priorities, not those given to you by parents, peers, society or the media. You will arrive at a new level of consciousness moving you through a process of financial change and solving your money problems once and for all. The result? Together, we'll create your own healthy financial approach to Living. For a free 15 minute phone consultation, contact Jane at (207) 797-4100 or Jane@janehoneck.com or through her website www.janehoneck.com.
We create an energetically clear and vibrant living environment in your home or office. A session removes stagnant and traumatic energy, cuts
emotional cords no longer beneficial, balances geopathic stressors, and removes harmful nonphysical beings. Co-creating with the Devic Kingdom, land, and with the expanded consciousness of owners, residents, and pets we remotely scan all areas to clear and remedy as necessary. Our clients have reported that a clearing has helped them to sell or rent their home, to emotionally let go of past relationships, and to be more at ease in their living space. Let us support your intention for the change you desire in your life! For more information please visit: www.GoldenRayEnergetics.com/Clearing.php or call David Dobson and Kristine Schares at (207) 892-0221.
meditation Maine
Sant Mat Radhaswami, The Path of the Masters The Maine Sant Mat Society presents the Enlightenment Experience as taught by Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj of Bihir, India,
a series of free lectures, meditations and satsangs around Maine facilitated by James Bean, a local representative of the Sant Mat tradition of Inner Light & Sound Meditation known as Surat Shabd Yoga, in the lineage of Tulsi Sahib.
For More Information call (207) 358-9381, or email: James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com, Website: www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/santmat.
There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew. ...Marshall McLuhan, 1964 April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 37
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Create an intentional life… Consider what it would be like to live life fully and authentically, experiencing love, prosperity, ease, freedom and fun.
38 psychic & spiritual mediumship Maine PsychicMediumship, Hypnotherapy
Bonnie Lee Gibson is a professional Psychic Medium, Hypnotherapist, Registered Counselor, Reiki Master, healer, teacher and lecturer with thirty years of experience. She
resides in Fairfield and Northport, Maine. Her first experience with Spirit was at the age of four. She has connected many people with loved ones who have crossed over, as well as their angels and spirit guides. Bonnie Lee communicates with pets, both here and on the spirit side. She gives spirit readings all over the world by telephone and travels in the US and Canada. Services include: Hypnotherapy, Psychic Mediumship Readings, Gallery Readings, Workshops, Classes and Lectures, Reading Circles and Private Groups in the comfort of your home. Call (207) 453-6133, cell (207) 649-7089, spirit@bonnielee.net, www.bonnielee.net, and www.hypno.us.
retreats Maine The knowledgeable and experienced practitioners at The Wellness Center offer a full spectrum of holistic, traditional and alternative techniques.
Enjoy engaging seminars that will flex your intellect. Join a movement class to tone your heart and spirit. Experience the skillful touch of artists sensitive to the subtle thread of muscle and mind. Freshen your outward glow from head to toe. For more information about ongoing programs, upcoming seminars and suite availability, please call (207) 465-4490 or visit us on the Wellness page at VillageSoup.com. The Wellness Center, 69 & 71 Elm Street, Camden, ME 04843.
Kat Logan
Intuitive Readings and Healing
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• Intuitive Readings (personal, group, parties, phone or email) • Energy Healing (also offering... Sound, Aromatherapy & Flower Essences) • Sacred Space Design for home and garden • Dowsing and Space Clearing Intuitively aware since childhood Kat has been offering readings and energy work for over 25 years. As a spiritual medium, empath and clairvoyant she lovingly brings the messages from the Divine Energies that are resonating with you, to assist you on your life's journey. My work is not to tell you your future but to intuitively counsel you of the many potentials that are resonating with you. You have the personal power and will to create the life you want. I want to assist you in that process. I also offer sliding scale fee schedules if money is a problem. Kat also offers other services such as Sacred Space Design, Intuitive Art Work, Medicinal Herbal Teas and Flower Essences.
Rolling Meadows, a 100 acre rural retreat center in Brooks over-looking the hills of coastal Maine, two hours north of Portland, offering silent residential retreats for the purpose of nourishing—awakening to Awareness.
Patricia Brown and Surya Chandra Das have been teaching for 30 years and are the resident teachers offering guidance in meditation, yoga and the direct path of self-inquiry. Students are supported to open and be present for whatever is arising and to recognize the ever-available nature of Presence when we are simply here as we are in each moment. Intimate small group experience. Retreats are scheduled thru the year in Maine and in the winter months in Mexico and Guatemala. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.
For more information, please check the website: www.mygreatfullheart.com or email: kat@mygreatfullheart.com. Kat is located in Friendship, Maine. Telephone (207) 226-7446.
reflexology & healing massage Maine Hands on Feet ~ Lynn Danforth, Certified Reflexologist Reflexology is a science-based, non-invasive method to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.
The deep relaxation found through this wonderful technique comes through the delicate manipulation of nerve centers in your feet and hands to send messages to the brain, which in turn sends the signals to the rest of your body. Many find the experience to result in a meditative, cleansing state, which can last days. Problem areas and issues are easily and gently relieved and reduced, from plantar fasciitis and arthritis to basic tension and foot pain. Don't force yourself to stress another minute, contact Lynn today: call either (207) 767-5776 or (207) 318-0129, or visit www.handsonfeet.net.
Sewall House Yoga Retreat Enjoy yoga twice daily, meditation, massage, sauna and healthy home-cooked vegetarian cuisine. Near pristine lakes
and Baxter State Park, hike, bike, swim, canoe, kayak or simply porch sit! Five days suggested, weekends, shorter and longer stays arranged. Step back into time in the comfort of this bed and breakfast style retreat listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. Nature guide William Sewall shared the healing attributes of nature with a young Theodore Roosevelt, who restored his health from life-threatening asthma here. The tradition continues since 1997 with William Sewall's great granddaughter, yoga instructor Donna Davidge, with over 25 years experience in the healing arts, and her Swedish husband, musician and chef Kent Bonham. Experience the friendly hospitality Sewall House has always offered. Sewall House Yoga Retreat Island Falls, Maine www.sewallhouse.com. (888) 235-2395 Open All Year, prearranged retreats available upon request.
Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ...Author Unknown 38 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
39 schools & trainings-cont.
retreats-cont. This land is a living resource! The 24 blessed
acres on which “Forest Circles” is located continues to provide visitors with uniquely personal mystical experiences. Overnight solo retreats in the forest are popular. Come for a gathering in a peaceful inside space, a program around the sacred fire pit or a walk. All are invited to experience this parcel of Earth that is eager to communicate and teach you how to find your way back to your heart. At Forest Circles we offer programs which include: multi-cultural spiritual ceremonies, classes for enhancing one’s connection to Earth and inner self, solo and group retreats, classes on native medicinal plants and children’s programs. Strongheart Healing with Regina Strongheart is featured at the retreat center. Self-Retrieval” is a technique developed by Regina that helps you reclaim your personal power and peace. Using healing energy, shamanic journeying and medical intuition, Regina will assist you in finding health and peace. Regina Strongheart has an MA in education from UNH and experiences including 29 years teaching high school chemistry, 8 years in the medical field and 14 years as a spiritual healer and teacher. She is the owner of “Forest Circles,” Topsham, Me.( 207) 776-3152, www.forestcircles.com.
schools & trainings
Treat Your Feet
A Very Rewarding Career ~ Nurturing your physical Nervous System through reflex points found within your feet & hands.
Learn about a specific touch technique of applying pressure, using your thumb and fingers, to reflex points of the feet and hands that relate to other parts of the body. Reflexology is credited with improving circulation and reducing body stress, which
removes blockages along the nerve pathways what we call Zones. A 250-hour certification course for School of Reflexology $3,300 to learn Reflexology and its application. Cost includes two Reflexology chairs, all required reading books, foot, hand charts, footbath items & much more. For a reflexology session, call Denise Johnson in Rockland at (207) 701-1028. For more information, call Board Certified Foot & Hand Reflexologist Myra Achorn, Augusta (207) 626-FEET. Classes start in February & September, www.treatyourfeet.com. Licensed by the State of Maine Department of Education.
For Massage Therapists and Bodyworkers Reiki I and Reiki II training offered monthly NCBTMB approved – 8 CE hours per class Learn the ancient hands-on-healing technique known as Reiki. This training is designed to inspire and teach massage therapists to integrate Reiki into their existing practice. Reiki is a powerful yet gentle therapy. Reiki has no contraindications so you will never have to turn another client away. This practical, hands-on workshop allows you to work on yourself, others, pets and animals. Reiki is essential for every massage therapist, even if you do not need continuing education hours. Register early – class size limited for individual attention. For more information on class details contact Rachel Pelletier, LMT, Kennebunk, Maine (207) 967-0035 or www.healingwaysonline.com.
“Rachel Pelletier is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education Approved Provider.”
Have you ever thought about how nice it would be to treat minor ailments and injuries with safe, natural and gentle medicine, but are not sure where to start?
Have you tried using homeopathy in the past and been discouraged with the results? Or maybe you’re interested in expanding the scope of your existing practice to include more natural alternatives. Homeopathic remedies are safe, non-toxic, inexpensive, ecologically sustainable and available without prescription. At Baylight Homeopathy Courses in Portland we offer two types of educational opportunities. The first is a one-year course, Introduction to Homeopathy, for the individual interested in learning how to use homeopathic remedies for first aid and acute illness. The second is a comprehensive four-year program for the student who wishes to become a Homeopathic Practitioner. Please call us at (207) 774-4244, or visit us on the web at www.baylighthomeopathy.com for more details, and to find out how to register for fall classes.
Don't smother each other.
No one can grow in the shade.
...Leo Buscaglia
Yokids
is a non-profit, tax-deductible organization. We teach yoga to elementary school children and their homeroom teachers. We can come to your school and teach
formal yoga classes, or we can come to your classroom and help you to initiate a yoga program you can use on a daily basis in your class. We also offer Tools for Teachers, an in-house workshop, which teaches teachers to use four basic yoga tools in their daily teaching. These tools will allow teachers to help children with relaxation, breathing and stress reduction, which will complement their overall learning and create a harmonious learning environment. Workshops can be scheduled as in-house workdays for teachers in public and private schools. These workshops are individually tailored, and price varies according to the length. Please contact Lily Goodale at ngoodale@aol.com or (207) 236-6001. Workshops can be given from Portland to Bar Harbor and are certified and part of the Yoga Ed foundation of yoga for children. www.yogaed.com.
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 39
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Maine
Healing Ways of Kennebunk Reiki Certification Classes
40 shamanic healing
writing services
Maine Spirit Passages Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW & Evelyn Rysdyk Spirit Passages is the partnership of nationally recognized shamanic teacher/healers, Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of Modern Shamanic Living: New Explorations of an Ancient Path and C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW. Whether through powerful heart-to-heart contact with individual patients or with workshop groups and conference participants—Evelyn’s & Allie’s extensive experience ensures you of safe shamanic healing encounters, as well as opportunities to train in shamanism with confidence. They are committed to help you increase your personal power, feel your intrinsic sacredness and expand your connections to All That Is! www.spiritpassages.com.
Connecticut
Grow Your Business You need professionally written advertorials, ads, interviews, reviews and web content that align who you are and what you do with your target audience.
A professional writer saves you time and gets you and your business in print.
Ghostwriting: articles, books, columns, advertorials and more Freelance Work: feature articles, interviews, book reviews, web content Coaching: guidance and insight for your own writing Published in local, regional and national print and digital media Portfolio: www.KarenMRider.com Email: KarenMRider@comcast.net
phone: (860) 638-8140
Maine D O R Y C OTE
…Follow the Path to Your Own True Essence. At
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the core of my shamanic healing practice is the belief that we have the capacity to be whole, stable and functioning at our highest potential. My healing space is safe, quiet and nourishing. I regularly perform soul retrievals, communicate with the spirits of deceased loved ones and facilitate healing the numerous wounds of life in the 21st century. I have completed a Three-Year The Center for Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Earth Light Healing Healing with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and other intensive trainings, including experiences with indigenous shamans from around the world. I graduated from a Two-Year Teacher Training Program with world-renowned shaman, Sandra Ingerman. I work with adults, couples, animals & specialize in working with gifted, autistic, aspergers, sensitive and ADHD children. Please see my workshop schedule or make an appointment at www.earthlighthealing.com, email me at dory@dorycote.com, or call (207) 841-1215.
The Village Scribe The Wellness Center, Camden, Maine
207.344.7070
TheVillageScribe@hotmail.com
Communicate your authentic message. Writing and Editing services for the Creative and Holistic communities.
Original Copy for: Ads ~ Business cards ~ Brochures Articles ~ Memoirs ~ Websites Writing Workshops Creative Writing ~ Memoir ~ Mythic Structure Ducktrap Writers' Round Table ~ Supporting writers in their craft. Camden Public Library, third Sundays, 2:00pm-4:00pm $15.
Custom crafted words that represent who you are and what you do.
Pacha Works
Holding New Possibilities. Working with traditional shamanistic practices for healing. Eva Rose Goetz, director
"Healing is a collaboration. I love working with people privately or with groups. By working together we remove energies that may be in the way of our coming into wholeness and balance." Eva Rose Goetz: BFA University of Texas
at Austin, MS Ed. Bank Street College NYC, Medicine Wheel Training with Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. and Lisa Summerlott. Certified In Light Body Medicine with Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. Core Shamanism with Evelyn Rysdyk and Allie Knowlton. Eva gratefully continues her studies with indigenous medicine people in Peru, New Mexico, Canada, Africa and Mexico. Eva hosts workshops, leads ceremonies and has a private Shamanic Energy Practice in Falmouth, Maine. A new 16-month course in beginning Shamanism begins June 2011. More information about classes, private sessions, or ceremonies can be found at www.pachaworks.com or contact Eva directly at (207) 756-0488. "When working with intention
and holding the blessed energy of gratitude, with spirit's help, energy moves. A door opens and new possibilities are now available."
Explore your heart mission! 40 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
Article submission deadline for June/July issue "Super Consciousness"
is April 15th Please send articles to info@innertapestry.org
Calendar and classified listings submission deadline for June/July issue is May 5th Time flies don't forget! Please send your formatted Calendar and Classified listings to info@innertapestry.org
41
Yoga ~ T'ai Chi ~ Meditation-cont.
Yoga, T'ai Chi & Meditation Listings Six issues in print costs $160 for 35 words plus logo. Online placement in the Directory of Resources with a direct link to your website for an additional $75. Please call: (207) 799-7995 / (203) 779-0345 or Email: info@innertapestry.org.
Yoga ~ T'ai Chi ~ Meditation Connecticut
GORHAM Wai Nei Academy of Health What does the Tao, Chi and Traditional Chinese Medicine have to do with it? ...Everything. Come and experience authentic, genuine Taoist healing and protective arts. Chi Kung, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Pakua, Tung Pei, Ching I. Study ancient Taoist Cannons, learn how to heal yourself and others. Experience a chi transmission treatment, eastern “wu” shamanic sound healing, or receive private self protection teachings. “Teaching those to teach themselves.” Do you have what it takes to “walk through the gate?” info@integrated-performance.com; (207)839-LIVE(5483).
Midcoast Maine Wicked Good Yoga Awaken your own personal power with heart pumping Baptiste inspired power vinyasa yoga. Become lighter as you shift your energy, peeling away layers of physical, mental, and emotional toxins. Our studio (with changing rooms and showers) is conveniently located off Route 1 in Wiscasset at the Snow Squall Inn. Daily classes are all levels and drop ins are welcomed. Massage is also available by appointment. New Baby and Me classes. Thursday mornings 10:30am-11:30. Website: www.wickedgoodyoga. com. We are also on Facebook or call us at (207) 882-6892.
SOUTH PORTLAND
Radiant Yoga Offering all level group classes, private sessions, workshops and yoga hikes. Classes are a blending of styles with attention to alignment, fluid movement, pranayama (breathing), and relaxation. Erin McGuire, RYT. Check us out on facebook at Radiant Yoga, CT - Life Illuminated, call (860) 267-6388 or email radiantyoga@sbcglobal.net.
Sadhana The Meditation Center Come to Sadhana to experience yoga asanas as a pathway to meditative bliss. Whether you are looking to begin a yoga practice, or deepen spiritually through a continuing practice, Sadhana teachers will work with you to take your next step. Our space is clean, quiet, beautiful, and just waiting for you! A monthly yoga pass is $79. FMI: re drop-in and series classes, www.SadhanaMe.com; (207) 772-6898; info@SadhanaME.com; 100 Brickhill Ave.
GLASTONBURY WINDHAM
Sacred Rivers Yoga Offers Yoga for Every Body, therapeutic massage and bodywork modalities, acupuncture, nutritional and herbal therapies. We are also a Yoga Alliance 200- and 500-hour registered yoga teacher training school. www.sacredriversyoga.com.
www.ReDefiningYogaandPilates.com In the hustle of this modern day, technologically, media manic world, there is a place of balance. Yoga, Pilates, Massage, Nutrition, Reiki and Community. 725 Roosevelt Trail, (207) 892-0964.
Maine DENMARK, GREATER BRIDGTON LAKES REGION
Together
Nurture Through Nature's Donation Based Yoga Center
we are
Our intention is to offer the gift of yoga in a sacred space, supporting healing, restoration and healthy active movement. We offer weekly, quality classes in a beautiful, natural setting. Design your own healing yoga retreat. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929, getaway@ntnretreats.com,.
the change
We Hope You Enjoy reading this issue of Inner Tapestry! April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 41
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EAST HAMPTON, HEBRON, MIDDLE HADDAM & MOODUS
42
Calendar And Classified
Guidelines And Advertising Rates Are Located on Page 44
H eart V isions
Spring 2011 Spirit Passages' Shamanic Initiatory Training Program
FMI: see the ad on page 25, or visit www.spiritpassages.com, (207) 846-6829.
May 22nd-29th Assisi, Italy ~ Remembering Your Sacred Work Know the wisdom of St. Clare and St. Francis and the sacred silence of the stones of Assisi with Megan Don. www.mysticpeace.com.
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June 13th-22nd Pilgrimage to Ireland ~ Exploring the Divine Feminine July 15th-24th Pilgrimage to Ireland ~ Living As An Elder with Megan Don, www.mysticpeace.com.
September 11th-17th Pilgrimage to Avila ~ Knowing Your Spiritual Self-Worth with Megan Don, www.mysticpeace.com
May 2012 Glastonbury, England Experience the healing waters of the Chalice Well, bringing harmony to your well being. With Megan Don www.mysticpeace.com.
April ~ Connecticut April 1st, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Joseph N. Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton.$20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
April 3rd & 10th, 9:00am-4:00pm, both Sundays Usui Reiki III, ART Workshop
April 21st, Thursday, 6:30pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group
Advanced practitioner attunement and techniques, working with crystals and the Reiki Grid, meditation and aura balancing techniques. Ample practice time. Must have completed Reiki II. FMI: Yvonne Thibodeau, Sacred Heart of the Wolf at (207) 356-2662.
With Ron and Joan at Leapin' Lizards, 123 Main St., Freeport. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and for information call: (207) 865-0900. $20
April 8th, 9:00am-7:00pm - 9th, 9:00am-1:00PM Basic Pranic Healing® CEU’s for NURSES, LMT’s & LSW’s The Maine Center for Pranic Healing, Oxford. FMI: call Heather at (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.
April 9th 2:00pm-7:00pm; 10th, 9:00am-7:00pm Pranic Psychotherapy® CEU’s for NURSES, LMT’s & LSW’s The Maine Center for Pranic Healing, Oxford. FMI call Heather at (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.
April 9th & 16th, 9:00am-4:00pm, both Saturdays Usui Reiki I Workshop: Learn the history of Reiki, energy and the energetic system, as well as, meditation and treatment techniques. Ample practice time. FMI- Yvonne Thibodeau, Sacred Heart of the Wolf at (207) 356-2662.
April 9th, Saturday, 10:00am-3:00pm Yarmouth Wellness Fair
with Amara Pagano, Friday, 6:00pm-9:00pm, Saturday 2:00pm-9:00pm, Sunday noon-5:00pm, cost $225. Location High Mountain Hall, Camden. To register or FMI: Kari Luehman, 5RhythmsME@gmail.com.
April 2nd, 9:30am-12:30pm 15 Yr. Anniversary Celebration Open House! Mini-workshops each 1/2 hour plus films, & snacks. WholeHeart Yoga Center, 150 St. John St., Portland. www.wholeheartyoga.com or (207) 871-8274.
42 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
April 29th-May 1st Continuum of Awareness/Patricia Brown Self-inquiry, meditation and yin yoga retreat at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary in Brooks. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.
April 30th, Saturday, 9:00am-5:00pm Stand by your Woman
Sisters of Rhythm in celebration of Sadhana’s first anniversary. Multi-faith program at 5:00pm, potluck supper at 6:00 and Inanna at 7:00. Suggested donation $15-20. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
Topsham, at “The Barn.” This one-day workshop is for any woman over 18 who wants to learn how to better support a woman who has been through trauma—be that a friend, partner, lover, sister, daughter, mother or other family member who has been traumatized, or you yourself. Copresenters: Bonnie-Kate Allen, LADC, Maine Integrative Wellness Center www.mainewellness.com/bonnie_allen.html, Dory Cote, Shamanic practitioner and founder of Earth Light Healing Center www.earthlighthealing.com, Jill Hackett, Ph.D., www.jillhackett.com
April 10th-15th Look Within Silent Self Retreat/Patricia Brown Self-inquiry and meditation retreat at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary in Brooks. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.
April 13th-May 4th RYT-200-Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training
April 16th, Saturday, 10:00am-4:00pm Wabanaki Arts Festival
April 1st-3rd Embodied Soul - A 5 Rhythms Workshop
A retreat for partners to enhance their communication and connection. A Silent Retreat for those familiar with The Work of Byron Katie as facilitated by Jen Deraspe and Raja Michelle, Nurture Through Nature. Experience: Guided Meditation • Daily Hatha Yoga • Sacred Silence • Time in nature • Shared eco-cabin/ yurt space and meals. Cost: $427; www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
April 9th, 5:00pm-10:00pm Come Dance To Inanna:
April 29th, 6:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group
April ~ Maine
April 29th-May 1st, Denmark Relationship Retreat
April 30th, 7:00pm-10:00pm Blissful Kirtan with Simrit Kaur of Los Angeles
Unity Church of Hartford, 919 Ellington Rd., South Windsor. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (860) 289-8963 or email vibrations@unityhartford.org.
With Ron and Joan at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown.$20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
who has recorded with Wah! among others. Suggested donation $10-15. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
Free admission, William H. Rowe School, 52 School Street, Yarmouth. Join our community practitioners and vendors; experience the gong room, meditation room, demonstrations, presentations, Tai Chi, Acupuncture, Laughter Yoga, Zumba, 40 exhibitor booths and so much more. FMI: www.yarmouthmaine.org.
Sewall House Yoga Retreat, Island Falls. Limited to 5 participants this offers a private personalized training. Each day sessions will be 10 hours plus homework. Tuition is $2,700, which can be paid in three $900 instalments; room and board is an additional $100 a night for private room and three mostly organic meals a day. No refunds only serious students visit www.sewallhouse.com for application.
April 22nd, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds
April 23rd, 7:00-10:00pm Devotional singing with Devadas of NYC
at Bowdoin College, Brunswick. The festival will have items for sale from Maine Native American artists and basketmakers and will feature drumming and storytelling throughout the day. Location Morrell Lounge, Smith Union, free and open to the public. Updates at http://www.bowdoin.edu.
whose sounds have an ancient, deep and sacred quality. Suggested donation $15-$20. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland, FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
April ~ Massachusetts April 30th, 9:00am-4:00pm The Rings of Oden Module 1 New Technology for Quantum Healing. The Rings combine Sacred Geometry, DNA Re-Patterning, Crop Circles, and Cell Microbiology concepts through revolutionary technology, NetNeutral Ionic Energy. Ring vortices open stuck areas, increasing light resonance in the body. Experience configurations that enhance mental clarity, endocrine, immune systems, liver/ gallbladder functions, etc. Presented by Sue and Aaron Singleton. $85; Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
April~NewHampshire
April 17th, 2:00pm-3:30pm The Thinking Heart:
April 9th, Saturday, 9:00am-Noon Achieve Life Success
a performance of two voices with cello, based on the life of a Dutch woman, Etty Hillesum, who died in the Holocaust. Suggested Donation $5-15. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland, FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
with Asrianna Dameron and Karen Girard for an interactive seminar on reaching your goals and Achieving Life Success. Cost is $95. (603) 264-6203, info@asrianna.com, www. asrianna.com.
April 19th, Tuesday, 6:30pm-9:00pm Open House at Spa Tech! for Massage, Polarity, Aesthetics and Cosmetology. Join us for a fun night of demonstrations and free mini sessions in chair massage, polarity, reflexology, skin analysis and make up application. Spa Tech, 100 Larrabee Rd, Westbrook, RSVP (207) 591-4141.
April 29th, Friday, 7:00pm-9:30pm Gallery Reading with Asrianna Dameron Join Psychic/Medium, Asrianna Dameron as she connects with loved ones on the other side. A great evening for all. Cost $40, Holiday Inn, Concord NH. (603) 264-6203 info@asrianna.com, www.asrianna.com
Send all listings to ~ info@innertapestry.org
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May ~ Connecticut May 1st, Sunday, 1:00pm-3:00pm Partner Yoga Workshop - Sponsored by A Simple Truth With Erin McGuire and Patti Muldoon. Connecting Through Laughter and Touch. $35 for partners/$17 for individuals. Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. Come together through yoga, we are taking a playful, loving approach to a deepening connection with friends, family and loved ones. Participants are guided through partnered poses and touch release. FMI: or registration call Erin McGuire (860) 267-6388.
May 7th, Saturday, 10:00am-4:00pm. 25 Annual Mug Day/Spring Open Studio at Birch Mountain Pottery. Find your perfect "Soul Mug" from 100's of handcrafted pottery mugs made on the premises. Also, a wide range of other pottery perfect for Mother's Day. Free refreshments, music. Birch Mountain Pottery, 223 Merrow Rd., Tolland, (860) 875-0149 www.birchmountainpottery.com.
May 13th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Joseph N. Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
May14th, 2:00pm-4:00pm Book Signing Ancient Wisdom by Elizabeth 'Rainbow Dancer', A Hand In Healing, 244A Main Street, Farmington. FMI: (860) 676-8500 or www.ahandinhealingct.com.
May 20th, 6:30pm-8:30pm Freedom and Flow - The Art of Letting Go and Letting In
May 20th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Unity Church of Hartford, 919 Ellington Rd., South Windsor. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (860) 289-8963 or email vibrations@unityhartford.org.
May 27th, 6:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group With Ron and Joan at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
May ~ Maine May 1st, 10:00am-5:00pm The Enlightenment Expo Fireside Inn & Suites, Portland. Free Workshops, Door Prizes, Readings, Energy Healing, Animal Communication, crystals, gems and live music. A day of Oneness, Unity and Community. FMI: www.themagickcloset.com.
May 1st, 11:00am-4:00pm May Day Fair at Gardens of Atlantis FREE Admission! www.gardensofatlantis.org, (207) 929-5088.
May 7th, 10:00am-2:00pm Sacred teaching by Swami Tyagananda head of the Ramakrishna Order in Boston and Hindu chaplain at MIT and Harvard. Event by donation. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland, FMI (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
May 14th, 10:00am-5:00pm Enneagram Workshop with Herb Pearce, master teacher. Intro to Enneagram 10:00am-1:00pm $30; Advanced Enneagram 2:00pm-5:00pm $30. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland, FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.
May 14th and May 21st, 7:00pm-10:00pm Kirtan with Tom Lena of Boston and Devirose of NYC, respectively. Devirose will also offer an inspiring workshop on Living a Life of Love May 21 at 2 pm. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland FMI (207) 772-6898. www.SadhanaMe.com.
with Surya Chandra Das at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary in Brooks. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.
May 19th, Thursday, 6:30pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group With Ron and Joan at Leapin' Lizards, 123 Main St., Freeport. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and for information call: (207) 865-0900. $20
May 21st & 22nd, 9:00am-4:00pm, both days Welcome to “Shamanism:
May ~ Rhode Island May 21st, 9:00am-4:30pm Best You Retreat for WomenTM Enjoy, learn, and experience. This amazing event includes demonstrations, speakers, meals, and gift bag. Let us help you create your Best You! Newport. An Ellen Palmer Wellness Production, www.bestyouretreat.com, (860) 655-1382.
Upcoming~Connecticut
What’s it all about?” This workshop will be an introduction to shamanic practice. We will examine history, practice, and students will experience basic journeying techniques. FMI: Yvonne Thibodeau, Sacred Heart of the Wolf at (207) 356-2662.
June 4th, 9:00am-4:00pm, rain or shine Connecticut Herb Association: HerbFest 2011
May 21st & 22nd, 12:00pm-5:00pm both days Usui/Seichem Reiki Master Certification
June 4th & 5th, Saturday & Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm Cranial Sacral Philosophy and Practice Part One
Investment: $444. Dancing Angels Wellness Studio; Oxford. Includes copy of Reiki Master manual, Master Attunement, Master Symbol & hands on practice giving Level I & II attunements to self & others. To register or FMI contact Heather: (207) 240-4637 or heather@dancingangels.us.
May ~ Massachusetts May 1st, 9:00am–Noon Introduction to Stone Play Crystal Vortices for Fun and Transformation. Stone Play uses natural crystals in sacred geometric patterns, to create energy vortices and patterns for fun, healing and spiritual transformation. Great for novices or experienced crystal buffs! Learn layouts to create energy vortices, heal/balance your 2nd chakra, take the Great Step inside the Great Pyramid, explore Stonehenge, release vaccine residues, and more! $40 Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
May 1st, 1:30pm-4:30pm Crystal Matrix Healing Workshop (NEW!) Whether you want to kick your healing "up a notch," or explore the power of programmed crystals for the first time, you will be amazed! Be empowered and inspired! $40. Details: See workshop details at TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
May 7th, Saturday, 9:00am-5:00pm The Vibrant Life Expo Maudslay Arts Center, Newburyport, MA. A Day to celebrate your Vibrant Life – Health/Wellness, Nutrition, Spiritual Growth and More! www.VibrantLifeExpo.com.
May 14th Sue & Aaron Singleton to Present at Better Living Expo Visit www.SeacoastBetterLivingExpo.com for Sue and Aaron’s Talk schedule, and visit The Way To Balance booth! Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
May 21st Psychic Development, Past Lives, & Angel Communication Workshop with Ross J. Miller, psychic healer, medium, regression therapist. In this unique, experiential workshop you'll learn how to identify your guardian angels and spirit guides by name and receive their guidance, healing and inspiration; discover your soul's life purpose; experience two of your past lives and heal the residual karma from them; give psychic readings to others in class and more. Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm, Newton. To register for the workshop or to schedule a psychic or past-life reading or healing session in person or over the phone, visit our website: www.TheMysticWay.com or call Ross J. Miller (617) 527-3583.
May ~ New Hampshire May 14th, Saturday Seacoast Better Living Expo, Dover This expo is committed to connecting the community with local businesses that are involved in educating and providing alternative health and sustainable/green options for our lives and the environment. www.seacoastbetterlivingexpo.com.
May 27th, Friday, 7:00pm-9:30pm Gallery Reading with Asrianna Dameron
A day of celebration and education honoring the many gifts provided by herbs. www.herbfestct.com.
Take the mystery out of cranial technique. A course to introduce you to the basics and philosophies of cranial sacral technique and how it can be used in your life. To be held at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown, $275, Sponsored by A Simple Truth. FMI: and registration call Joe Belanger, PT (860) 372-8236. (Part Two September 17th & 18th.)
June 9th, Thursday, 6:30pm-9:00pm Resume through Acceptance Prepare For Your Next Job With Confidence with Barbara AmEnde, AmEnde Human Resource Consulting, LLC, Sponsored by A Simple Truth. Creating your resume, tips for responding to online job postings and how to handle personal interviews. Practice answering interview questions in a safe support environment. Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. FMI and registration: Call Barbara at (860) 646-0416.
June 11th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Unity Church of Hartford, 919 Ellington Rd., South Windsor, $20. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (860) 289-8963 or email vibrations@unityhartford.org.
June 15th, Wednesday, 6:30pm-8:00pm Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning With Lizz Milardo, Sponsored by A Simple Truth. Find help to live a balanced life with both positive and negative challenges. Understand how money works and how these beliefs overlap into the areas of your life. Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. FMI and registration call Liz at (860) 345-8212 or email lizzmilardo@yahoo.com.
June 17th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Joseph N. Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton.$20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
June 24th, 6:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group With Ron and Joan at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
July 15th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Unity Church of Hartford, 919 Ellington Rd., South Windsor. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (860) 289-8963 or email vibrations@unityhartford.org.
July 22nd, 6:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group With Ron and Joan at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280, Middletown. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI: call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
Join Psychic/Medium, Asrianna Dameron as she connects with loved ones on the other side. A great evening for all. Cost $40, Holiday Inn, Concord. (603) 264-6203 info@asrianna.com.
ALL EVENTS ARE LISTED ONLINE AT www.innertapestry.org
Continued on page 44
April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 43
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
Sponsored by A Simple Truth - Six series mini-workshop at Middlesex Hospital Cancer Center, Wellness Room, 536 Old Saybrook Rd. #280 Middletown every third Friday starting May 20th. Focusing will be on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual body. Through Yin Yoga, Polarity Yoga, meditation, breathing and discussion of food and nutrition expand your awareness of self. FMI: Contact Donna Lombardo at (860) 462-1031.
May 15th-20th Art of Being - Meditation, Yoga and Self-inquiry Retreat
44 July 29th, 7:00pm Harmonic Sound Immersion ~ With ArcSounds Joseph N. Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton. $20 Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of Gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and FMI:call (203) 779-0345 or email joan@ronandjoan.com.
U p co ming M aine June 1st-5th, Mid-coast Women's Retreat: Cleanse The Body ~ Celebrate The Soul Deep mind-body-spirit healing . Cost: $335 (includes Cleanse Kit) Hallie Holland, MSW, RMT, (207) 751-7537. Awaken Awareness: Reiki, The Polarity Way ~ Member of Team Northrup.
ECKANKAR Temple of CT -- a place for all who love God.
Taoist Tai Chi TM Internal Arts of Health
ECKANKAR, the religion of the Light and Sound of God. Worship services are the second Sunday of every month 10:00am with fellowship and refreshments afterwards. Corner of Route. 66 and Harvestwood Rd. Middlefield. (860) 346-2226; www.ct-eckankar.org.
Sustain or reclaim your good health with the Taoist Tai Chi Society® internal art of Tai Chi Chuan. In more than 25 countries around the globe, people of all ages and abilities enjoy the many benefits of practicing this art of holistic health. Classes are offered in Westbrook, Brunswick, Bridgton, Brownfield & Blue Hill. FMI: (207) 329-4346, or email: portland.me@taoist.org.
Ongo ing~ M aine
Birchwood Yoga Studio Sukha Yoga by donation Tuesday's 7:00pm-8:15pm and Saturday's 3:00-4:15pm. Offering Meditation, Sukha Yoga, Kirtan and Sadhana's, 81 Benson Road, West Gardiner. Phone: (207) 724-3658, Web: http://birchwoodyoga.org, Email: info@birchwoodyoga.org.
Wednesday Women’s Meditation Group All women welcome to a weekly meditation in the Greenfire tradition. Location: Newcastle, St. Andrews Parish House, Glidden St. 6:30pm–7:30pm (not on the 3rd Wednesday of the month). For more info please call: Angela H. (207) 592-7888 or Mary A. (207) 677-3229.
Sunday Night: Portland Spiritualist Church
June 11th & 12th, 9:00am-4:00pm Council of All Beings:
A Course In Miracles
Shamanism and the Spirits of the Earth. This workshop is based on Joanna Macy’s and my own work, and is a way to connect with earth/animal spirits shamanically, and how this can be healing for all, including our Earthly Mother. It is a movement towards balance and peace. Should have a basic knowledge of shamanism. FMI-Yvonne Thibodeau, Sacred Heart of the Wolf at (207) 356-2662.
Every other Monday noon-1:00pm at Meadow Wind in Falmouth. Newcomers welcome! FMI and dates contact Jane McGrady, janemarie44@live.com or www.meadowwind.org. $10-$15.
meets at 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center) for 6:30pm Service, Healing Meditation, Inspirational Talk, Messages from Spirit. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Wai Nei Academy of Health
Fourth Friday of each month - Gallery Readings.
Every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00pm we study ancient and sacred Taoist healing arts, martial arts and meditation. Come by and join us for free! Facilitated by Shifu Kelcey Hart. FMI call (207) 839-LIVE (5483). Also offering private teaching, healing and consultation.
Join us at the Portland Spiritualist Church, 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center) for an evening of messages from Spirit. 7:00pm $10 event. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Holistic Gatherings The Healing Connection Cooperative of Rumford, Healing/ meditation circles, Chakra balancing/cleansing Reiki, psychic games, April 9th, June 25th, July 16th, August 13th, September 17th from 10:00am-4:00pm. Call: (207) 562-7094, www.healingconnectioncoop.webs.com.
and Awareness Classes, except for the 4th Friday which is Gallery Readings - see above. Portland Spiritualist Church, 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center). Classes start at 7:30pm. Most classes are by donation. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Etna Spiritualist Association
Meditation and Buddhism:
Celebrates it's 135th Season in the summer of 2011. Please plan to join folks of all spiritual backgrounds for seminars, workshops, meditation, healing, relaxation and renewal. Camp Season runs from July through August. Affordable lodging available. More information on our website: www.campetna.com or call (207) 269-2094.
Nagaloka is a spiritual community that provides space for individuals to explore and practice Buddhism. Weekly meditation sessions, retreats and introductory classes on meditation and Buddhism are scheduled regularly. Bookstore, too! 54 York St., Portland, www.nagalokabuddhistcenter.org, (207) 774-1545.
Bhava Yoga School
The New Moon Rituals with Chief Oscar Mokeme
496 Congress St, 2nd Floor, Portland, Maine. Weekly by donation; meditation, chant, and yoga classes. For more info www.bhavayogaschool.com, (603) 937-1163.
www.museumafricanculture.org and the class "Developing Your Personal Healing Gifts" with teacher, healer and medical intuitive Regina Strongheart at "Forest Circles," Topsham, www.forestcircles.com.
June 16th, Thursday, 6:30pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group With Ron and Joan at Leapin' Lizards, 123 Main St., Freeport. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of Gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and for information call: (207) 865-0900. $20
July 15th-17th Belly Dancing Workshop/ Island Falls Enjoy two hours a day with Reyna live! Our special guest for the third year, liberate your body while enjoying a yoga retreat with us. Donna/Amrita (646) 316-5151, info@sewallhouse.com, www.sewallhouse.com.
July 21st, Thursday, 6:30pm Harmonic Sound Immersion Group
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
With Ron and Joan at Leapin' Lizards, 123 Main St., Freeport. Come immerse yourself in vibrational sound healing through the tones of Gongs and crystal bowls. Reservations necessary and for information call: (207) 865-0900. $20
July 23rd, Saturday, 11:00am-4:00pm Rainbow Technique with Essential Oils
Peace & Meditation Group - Camden/Lincolnville
Using the Young Living High Quality Essential Oils Amba Winkler, owner of Shakt NJ and long tine yogi and essential oil expert, will guide us through a day of delightful healing oils along the spine. Donna/Amrita (646) 316-5151, (888) 235-2395, info@Sewallhouse.com.
Tuesdays at 6:00pm. Readings, Films & Audiotapes based on the works of H.W.L. Poonja. Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Jean Klein and other inspired teachers of Reality. All Welcome. Contact Michael at (207) 763-3860.
Upcoming~Massachusetts
2nd Thursdays of each month, 7:00pm-8:30pm. Come in community to pray, meditate and send love to those who you are concerned about, or ask for healing for yourself. Open to all! Bring a goodie to share for refreshments after. Sacred Circle Studio, Friendship. Contact: Kat Logan, (207) 226-7446, or email kat@mygreatfullheart.com.
June 9th Re-Activate the Pyramids & Temples of Ancient Egypt Pre-Convention Workshop at the American Society of Dowsers (ASD) Convention, Lyndonville, VT. Aaron and Sue Singleton combine ancient energy technologies and their net-neutral ionic technology with Sacred Geometry for a powerful reactivation of ancient Egyptian sacred spaces! The Singletons apply a variety of “device-less dowsing” techniques. View talk schedule, register and pay at www.Dowsers.org.
Healing And Prayer Circle ~ Free
Have a problem with food? Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy? There is help available in OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS! Check out oamaine.org to learn more, or call 211 for meeting times.
Authentic Movement Dance at Bath Dance Works
Friday Night: Weekly Psychic Development
Thursday Buddhist Meditation We practice Natural Wisdom and Love/Compassion and Tonglen. All practices are for beginners and long-time practitioners, 25 Middle Street, Portland. 6:00pm-7:00pm. Jane Burdick, janeburd@maine.rr.com or (207) 773-6809.
ShivaShakti School of Yoga, Rockland Give yourself the gift of Yoga! Ongoing weekly classes morning and evening for all levels. Call (207) 431-8079 or visit www.ShivaShaktiYogaSchool.com.
Spiritual Horizons Maine Meets every other Tuesday at 7:00pm, 75 State Street, Portland. Alternate weeks group on A Course in Miracles. Contact: Tom Peterson (207) 310-0030 or John Moulton (207) 874-7602, www.spiritualhorizonsmaine.ning.com.
EnergizeTM Sessions with Emmanuelle Chaulet
Ongoing~Connecticut
First and third Saturdays of the month, 10:00am-1:00pm, April 2nd & 16th/May 7th & 21st. suggested donation $10, no experience is necessary. FMI: call Kay Mann (207) 725-9997 or email dancingfewl@pobox.com.
Stress relief, energy clearing and balancing, RYSE®. Self-confidence, boundaries and empowerment issues. For artists, performers, women, body workers. $80 ($70 students) Holistic Pathways, Gorham, (207) 839-9819 www.emmanuellechaulet.com.
Sunday ~ Bhakti-Yoga Festival – 3:00pm
Kirtan at Portland Yoga Studio, 1st and 3rd Fridays
"Yokids" Yoga Ed Tools for Teachers Workshops
Join us for kirtan, philosophy and vegetarian dinner. No charge. Hare Krishna Temple. 1683 Main St. East Hartford (860) 289-7252, www.iskconct.org.
Join us on a vocal journey through the sacred sounds of ancient India with call & response group chanting. Beginners welcomed. $5.00 suggested donation. 7:00pm-8:30pm, 616 Congress St., 3rd floor, Portland. FMI: www.kirtanandyoga.com.
Yokids instructors Lily Goodale and Lynnette Moore will come to your school and train homeroom teachers to use simple, yoga-based mind/body integration techniques to enhance their teaching and support a harmonious teaching environment. Please contact Lily Goodale, ngoodale@aol.com, (207) 236-6001.
Ongoing Reiki Offerings Individual Reiki Sessions, Crystal Healings, Reiki Shares & Classes in Eastern CT. Please call Carleen, RMT at (860) 884-3125 for more information.
Holistic Moms Network National non-profit organization for parents with an interest in holistic health and green living. Visit www.holisticmoms.org to find a local chapter.
SunDo Mountain Taoism Classes in Taoist breathwork, meditation and postures for all fitness levels. SunDo Taoist practice enhances the body's qi-energy flow, which promotes health and higher consciousness. (860) 523-5260, www.sundo.org.
44 Inner Tapestry April/May 2011
The Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table meets on third Sundays at Camden Public Library from 2:00pm-4:00pm. A venue for writers who wish to share work, receive feedback and be supported in their craft. Call Teresa Piccari, proprietor of The Village Scribe, at (207) 344-7070 for more info. Suggested fee is $15.
The Birth House
Reiki - Healing Ways of Kennebunk
Self-Hypnosis, Weight Management, Smoking Cessation, Relaxation, Guided Imagery Classes. Bonnie Lee Gibson, CH and Ernie VanDenBossche, BCH, CI; www.hypnowave.com (207) 453-6133, (207) 649-9655, Waterville.
Reiki classes offered monthly. Learn this ancient art of hands-on healing for yourself, loved ones, and pets. FMI Rachel Pelletier, LMT (207) 967-0035 or www.healingwaysonline.com.
Bridgton's freestanding birth center is available for free tours. FMI: contact heidi@birthwisemidwifery.edu, www.birthhouseme.com or (207) 647-5919.
Wavelengths Hypnotherapy ongoing classes:
45 Oneness Blessings/Oneness Deeksha A Direct Experience of the Divine ~ Living in Oneness. Regularly scheduled circles (free). Become a Deeksha giver. Oneness Trainers Elizabeth and Maha'al. Contact Elizabeth@IntegralReal.com or (207) 619-1663.
Locavore Potlucks, 5:00pm York Locavore potluck (local and/or wild food from animal and plant sources) takes place every third Saturday at Aimee's Livin' Magic, 254 Cider Hill Rd., York. Occasional speakers from the health and nutrition field. Emphasis on connecting to local farmers. Call Aimee at (207) 409-0899 or visit www.liveinmagic.com for details.
Center of Inner Light, Rev. Gloria Nye Located at 267 Congress Street, Portland, (within the synagogue). Sunday Services: 10:30am-12:00pm followed by fellowship. FMI call (207) 576-7276, visit www.RevGloriaNye.com.
Dragonfly Taijiquan, Larry Ira Landau
Ongoing~NewHampshire Tai Chi for Health Thursday, 5:30pm-6:15pm, $15 pay as you go. Zev Yoga, 16 Market Square, Portsmouth. Age 14 and older. FMI: (913) 938-6384.
Eaton Satsang Near Conway, an informal small group meets Wednesday evenings to support meditation, awakening to nondual (Advaita) awareness and spiritual understanding. All are welcome. Details at. www.eatonsatsang.org or (603) 447-5401.
Ongoing ~ Vermont Zen Yoga
Group & Private Instruction in T’ai Chi Ch’aun (taijiquan) & Chi Kung (qigong) for beginners & experienced students. Studios in Portland and Kennebunkport. Ongoing classes, workshops & retreats. FMI: (207) 761-2142 or (207) 967-4070.
Breathing, movement, stretching and deep guided relaxation meditation. Every Wednesday evening. Beginners 6:00pm7:00pm. All levels 7:00pm-8:30pm. $10 per class. Location: Studio Time and Space in Springfield. Everyone welcome. www.studiotimeandspace.org, (802) 591-0990.
Doula tea ~ meet with doulas in person
Ledge End Retreat & Wellness Center
Learn how doulas help families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. We meet one Sunday each month at the Birth Roots, 101 State St., Portland from 9:00am-11:00am. There is no fee, pre-registration is required. Call Rebecca Goodwin at (207) 318-8272.
USM Center for Continuing Education. Ongoing classes in Complementary Therapies, (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Aromatherapy, Reiki, etc.) Visit www.usm.maine.edu/cce for course & registration information or call (207) 780-5900 for catalog.
Stretch, Relax and Recharge Through YOGA
“SANT MAT RADHASWAMI SATSANG” Inner Light & Sound Meditation. Surat Shabd Yoga. For a Bangor, Waterville, & Portland meeting schedule, call James at: (207) 358-9381 or James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com.
Classified Listings HEALING PLACES & SPACES Nurture Through Nature
Reconnective Healing & The Reconnection! Make contact with healing frequencies that are reported to heal: cancer, emotional stress, physical disease, addiction, etc. Contact Ruth Kirkwood (207) 773-1406 in Portland. $50.00 Free Consultations For The Reconnection!
Baylight Homeopathy Courses Join us in learning how to use this gentle and effective medicine. We offer on-going classes, workshops and seminars. FMI call (207) 774-4244 or visit us online at www.baylighthomeopathy.com.
Intuitive Readings Pause from your busy schedule to hear from your self, your spirit. You have the answers! I read at my studio or your place. Contact Paul: (207) 332-9681 or www.trustyourspirit.org.
SACRED RENTAL SPACE ~ Maine A Place In The Heart Energetically clear, beautiful spaces for classes, workshops, celebrations, and ceremony. Outdoor ceremonial space available. Located in Falmouth. Reasonable rates. FMI call The Vywamus Foundation (207) 797-6106.
Green-Certified Eco-Retreat Space available for rent. Nurture Through Nature offers three solar-powered eco-cabins, private camping, wood-fired sauna, yoga studio, hiking trails, mountain brook, Denmark, ~ Greater Bridgton Lakes Region, www. ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
Gardens of Atlantis Rental space available to practitioners/teachers. We are committed to providing our best to our community to support growth, beauty, healing and Love. Call Linda at (207) 929-5088.
specializes in holistic personal retreats. Experience peace, healing and connection with self and nature in a simple and earth-friendly environment. Enjoy yoga, body work, a Finnish wood-fired sauna steam bath, dips in the mountain brook, hiking, meditation, The Work of Byron Katie, canoeing, kayaking... create your own getaway for individuals, couples and small groups. Bridgton Lakes Region, Denmark, (207) 452-2929, www.ntnretreats.com.
Practitioner Space For Rent
Dancing Angels Wellness Studio & The Maine Center for Pranic Healing
Join Zen Yoga founder Aaron Hoopes and his wife Elfeya for a special weekend of breathing, gentle movement and meditation in the beautiful mountains of Vermont. Program includes nature meditations, tai chi, qigong and deep relaxation. Home-cooked meals! Ledge End Retreat & Wellness Center, (860)-805-6551, breathe@artofzenyoga.com, www.artofzenyoga.com.
We are happy to provide you with tools for Mind, Body and Soul Expansion! Angel Therapy®, Pranic Healing, Reiki and so much more! www.dancingangels.us or e-mail dancingangels@dancingangels.us.
Complementary therapy/ practitioner to join a thriving Massage practice, located in an historic farmhouse on route 302 in Bridgton, Me. For details call Maria at (207) 408-5971 www.FourWindsHealingArtsCenter.com.
SACRED RENTAL SPACE ~ Vermont Private Individual/Couples Retreat Getaway
PRACTITIONERS ~ Connecticut Schedule a facial or microdermabrasion in April & May and receive 20% off service and 15% off product purchases with this ad. Finishing Touches, Farmington. (860) 678-8200.
~ Ongoing Event Listings ~
Inner Tapestry ' s ~ Calendar of Events ~ Date Sensitive Listings ~ $12 per issue for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.
Please follow the format found in the journal and online, (Date information, title, description, location and contact information.)
Calendar of Events and Classified Guidelines
A six-month (3 issue) listing is $25 for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.
Please follow the format of our Ongoing Listings found in the journal and online, (Title, frequency, description, location and contact information.)
w w w .in n e rt ape st ry.o rg
Classified Ads Classified ads are $20 for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.
Please send formatted listings. We do not publish press releases.
All Calendar and Classified Listings are listed on the Inner Tapestry Website!
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A gentle way to reduce stress, tension and pain, while increasing vitality, flexibility, strength, a positive mind and balance on all levels. Ongoing Iyengar Yoga Classes (20 years of teaching) Kennebunk: Monday 5:00pm continuing level & 7:00pm beginners, Thursday 5:15pm continuing level 8 weeks at $99, drop in fee $15. In Portland: Saturdays 10am continuing beginners. Yoga Vacation in Virgin Gorda February 14th-21st, $700 plus airfare FMI: call Jeanette Schmid Lakari (207) 282-5528 or email at yogajs@maine.rr.com.
On going morning and evening classes in Tai Chi, Qigong, Zen Yoga, meditation and nature based spirituality. Accommodations available. All levels. Vershire, www.artofzenyoga.com, (802) 685-4448.
PRACTITIONERS ~ Maine
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Book Review
by Teresa Piccari
Human Design: Discover the Person You Were Born To Be By: Chetan Parkyn ISBN: 978-1-57731-941-2 Publisher: New World Library
After 30 years of reading people – their faces, hands, their Human Design profiles, author Chetan Parkyn, during a recent phone interview from his California base, says the big question for most people is about finding their life purpose. Human Design, he believes, is the system that provides the answer, showing us who we are and revealing our true nature.
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“You’ve come here to be yourself. That’s it. It’s a being. The doing is all a plus. The most important thing is to be yourself. And the beautiful thing about Human Design is that it shows you how to be yourself, and all you have to do is be in touch with your type, authority and profile.” Parkyn was a 29-year-old mechanical engineer back in 1972, when a psychic in India told him he would be introducing people around the globe to a system that would improve their lives. Following that prophetic reading, his life journey began to unfold in a very different way – he began studying diverse modalities including palm and face reading, Tarot, astrology, and the I Ching. In 1993, he was led to a teacher named Ra Uru Hu, who was launching classes in Human Design, a new system he had “downloaded.” “He’s a prophet, he’s a receiver. He’s like Einstein, how on earth did he ever come up with E=mc²? He was given this information. We’re very grateful to him that he was able to sustain it, to hold it, to reproduce it and bring it out into the world,” explained Parkyn of Hu, who continues to reside on the Spanish island of Ibiza, where Human Design was born. Parkyn offers Human Design as a map, what the author calls a personality blueprint, individually calibrated to illustrate how energy resides in us, based on the date, time and location of our births. The blueprint illustrates nine energy centers in the human body, seven correspond to the chakras: the root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, mind/ third eye, and crown. Two additional energy centers are depicted by the emotion and spleen centers. In an individual’s map, each of the nine centers are either defined or undefined with energy. Energy courses through us via 64 gates, or when an energy line runs fully, connecting two energy centers, through 36 channels. These energy gates and channels depict characteristics such as abilities, talents, values, and personality traits. It is similar to how an astrological chart paints a picture of how the stars and planets were positioned at the moment of our birth, and how they aspect one another. Like the primal triad, comprised of our sun, moon and rising sign, in our personal astrology – the foundation of Human Design is based on three keys - type, authority and profile. “There’s a parallel. But the type, authority and profile are much simpler, and they’re actually practical. Whereas the sun, moon and rising are not practical, they’re just ideas; they’re concepts. The difference with Human Design from
anything else, is that Human Design puts you in present tense. Nothing else does. In astrology you’ve got this characteristic and that characteristic, but it doesn’t tell you how to deal with situations that confront you, whereas, Human Design puts you in present tense. When you know your type, authority and human profile, anything that approaches you, anybody that comes at you – you have the means to be able to engage on your terms. This is a huge revolution. There’s nothing even remotely like this on the planet,” said the animated author. Human Design, notes Parkyn, is a synthesis of four ancient wisdoms – astrology, the chakras, the I Ching and the Kabbalah. But it also marries spiritual principles with science. “There’s two more elements to the soup as well. There’s the understanding of neutrino physics and also the understanding of the human genetic code. So all these things make up the soup, or the cake mix, and we end up with the Human Design which is not neutrino physics, or the Kabbalah, or the I Ching, or astrology - it’s something in its own right.” In Human Design, there are five types – manifestors, generators, manifesting generators, projectors and reflectors – that depict how we engage with life. The second key, our authority, informs us on how to make wiser decisions. Based on our design, our best decisions will originate from one of six body centers: emotions, the sacral, the spleen, the heart, the self or from outside the self. And the final key, to our Human Design, is one of 12 profiles. Parkyn studied extensively with Hu over many years. Combining that information with his own further study, he wrote Human Design. “A lot of heartfelt energy and intelligence” went into the book, he said, noting he had to wait nearly four decades before it became a reality. He had tried to write it earlier, but it wasn’t to be, he said. Like many scholars who have mastered their areas, Parkyn views Human Design as a simple system and the book as very user friendly. True, generating our Human Design blueprint using the software on his website is easy. Matching how our energy is depicted on our individual blueprint with information contained in the book about type, authority, profile is also pretty straightforward. But getting an understanding of individual energy gates and channels, and the even more minute lines, takes some time. And then, we may feel like a quilter with lots of squares and no idea how to weave them into a quilt that reflects the whole human we are, the true person who is greater than the sum of our parts – or our type, authority, profile, gates and channels. Luckily, Parkyn is available to do Human Design readings, to help us more clearly see how the pieces relate and work together. He also expects to write another book on the subject. For more information, visit www.HumanDesignForUsAll.com.
Teresa Piccari is a writer, teacher and creativity coach living in coastal Maine. She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a professional writing and editing business at The Wellness Center in Camden at 71 Elm Street. She teaches writing workshops including Memoir, Creative Writing and Mythic Structure. She runs the Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table on third Sundays at the Camden Public Library, from 2 pm to 4 pm. Contact her at The21stCenturyBohemian@hotmail.com or (207) 344-7070.
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Book Review
by Donna Amrita Davidge
Raw Food For Real People: Living Vegan Food Made Simple By: Chef Rod Rotondi ISBN: 978-1-57731-974-0 Publisher: New World Library
While I am a vegetarian with an occasional bite of fish (but less and less so) there are many ways to eat as healthily as one decides these days. For some, raw food is a good choice. Many folks in the yoga world, the world I live in, have chosen this path. One of my biggest influences, Dharma Mittra (anyone who visits our retreat center sees his poster on the wall and his asana book on the windowsill in the yoga studio) believes in a raw food lifestyle. He is amazing at over 70 years old. I also have a dear friend, who will not tell her age, I believe her to be about 60 and she does not look it, who lives a mostly raw lifestyle. A few years back she developed a bronchial illness and thought juicing would help heal it. It didn’t. An acupuncturist told her she needed some heat in her body so when she added cooked foods she got better. It did not deter her from adopting a raw lifestyle again.
Though I have not tried any recipes yet, his premise is that eating raw is not difficult. I know that eating vegetarian is not as hard as people think so it is great to have a book that exudes enthusiasm and expertise in the raw food realm. He has chapters on dehydration and sprouting, soups, salads, entrees and setting up your vegan raw kitchen. Rod also covers desserts and children eating raw. Having had some raw desserts at restaurants in New York City and once taking an all day course in it years back, I can say raw can be delicious and healthy if you are inspired to do it. He has great testimonials from people like Mariel Hemingway and Bobbi Brown, the down to earth makeup mogul. You can find more information at his website www.leaforganics.com. I liked the book so much that I gifted one to my dear friend, who does not look her age and swears by a raw food lifestyle (most of the time).
Donna Davidge owns and operates www.sewallhouse.com in Island Falls, Maine when not teaching in New York City.
If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~...Toni Morrison Book Review
by Karen Hollis
Rachel Pollack's Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings By: Rachel Pollack ISBN: 978-0738713090 Publisher: Llewellyn Tarot Wisdom by Rachel Pollack explores the Tarot from a serious student’s perspective while retaining a deep appreciation for the mystery of Tarot. For experienced and novice Tarot readers alike, Pollack sheds new light on old meanings for the cards by turning the reader’s perspective like a Rubic’s Cube. She shows how what one person understands about the cards from an art or history perspective may give insight to how another person actually lays out the cards. Pollack helps readers of all levels gain insight through these multifaceted perspectives through the questions provided at the end of each Chapter. I was particularly impressed with the depth of knowledge that Pollack possesses, but more importantly, her ability to convey that wisdom to novice and professional alike. Her description of the “Fool’s progress” as being the essence of the Major Arcana is one I have often seen myself, in my profession as a reader! I also agreed with the way the author continued to expand upon the Major Arcana as dealing with the “large themes, and as the Minor Arcana as the scenes and characters from our lives.” I also enjoyed Pollack’s description of the Court cards as “movie stars, fairy tales, superheroes, and noble worthies” and have often taught the Court cards in my classes as such, each card having their own personality and demeanor.
With regard to the chapter on “Readings,” it was refreshing to find such an esteemed expert on the Tarot emphasize, “psychic spying” as being unethical. This has long been an ethical foundation in my 25 years as a professional reader. At the same time, it is understandable that Pollack would agree to this type of reading only if it helped a person “move on” with decisions that they needed to make for their own growth. However, I disagree with Pollack’s statement that it “probably won’t work” unless the person in question is there to mix the cards. In my experience, I have found that all I need to “tap into someone” is his/her first name and full birthdate. Energy tapping is all the same – with or without the person present, in my humble opinion. I have read hundreds of Tarot manuals in my 25 years of reading and teaching the Tarot Deck and Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf. It will be a pre-requisite read for my advanced Tarot classes in the future. Highly recommended!
Karen Hollis is a clairaudient intuitive and successful businesswoman whose clients span the globe. For more than 25 years, Karen has used her unique skills as a means to help individuals and organizations tap into their intuition and make meaningful decisions. Her clients value the accuracy, integrity and compassion Karen brings to her work. Connect: www.ReadingsByKaren.com. April/May 2011 Inner Tapestry 47
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Many of the raw food folks exude radiant health and the reasoning behind it, eating live foods, makes good sense. In the end it is a personal choice. Rod Rotondi, obviously has made a name for himself, as a successful restaurant owner from 2004-2010 in Culver City and Sherman Oaks, CA. His latest restaurant Leaf Organics in LA serves vegan and raw meals, and caters as well. Leaf Organics was a dream to create an inclusive eatery so affordable and delicious that people would eat there daily, changing their lives. He knows his
stuff and makes it user friendly and is currently teaching "uncooking" classes and working on a new TV show.
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